jordan 🥺🖕🏼

A white physician has sued the online directory "Find A Black Doctor," arguing that limiting participation to Black physicians constitutes racial discrimination. On its surface, the question seems straightforward: Should a physician directory be allowed to restrict membership by race? But that framing misses what I believe is the more important question: Why did so many patients feel they needed a directory like this in the first place? The directory didn't come out of thin air. It emerged within a healthcare system where nearly half of Black patients report experiencing discrimination, where Black women remain far more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, and where racial disparities persist even after accounting for income and education. The controversy is not really about a website. It's about trust. And what happens when institutions struggle to earn it. In this essay, I explore: - Why Black patients actively seek Black physicians - Why poverty explains much—but not all—of the gap - Why physician directories may be better understood as a symptom than the problem itself - And what the existence of "Find A Black Doctor" reveals about the state of trust in American healthcare open.substack.com/pub/britta…