If you do not have a loved one who is or might be on the receiving end of medical racism, you can still take action.

Use your presence deliberately. If you are accompanying a Black woman through medical care, do not be passive. Introduce yourself, ask questions, and make it clear that what happens in that room is being observed.

Believe Black women when they describe their medical experiences. The first and most immediate act of ending medical racism is refusing to participate in the skepticism that sustains it. When a Black woman says her pain was dismissed, believe her. When she says the wait was longer than it should have been, believe her. The social permission for dismissal depends on people around the patient echoing the institution’s doubt.

Educate yourself on the documented patterns. The myth of higher pain tolerance in Black patients is documented in peer-reviewed research. This false belief is still held by a measurable percentage of medical students and residents, even by Black healthcare providers. Name it when you encounter it.