Twin MDs fight entrenched racism in medical world
Identical twin doctors who have fought bigotry all their lives have a new mission: dismantling racism in medicine. Brittani James and Brandi Jackson are teaching other doctors how to see and undo racism in their work. (May 13) AP
by Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press
Posted May 13, 2021 12:27 pm ADT
Last Updated May 13, 2021 at 12:39 pm ADT
The inseparable sisters always stood out identical twins from Twinsburg Ohio, whip-smart students from the side of town with unpaved streets and no sidewalks, excluded from the gifted track because they were Black.
Their friends were white and a classmate’s comment still stings: “’I don’t even think of you as Black.’ I said, ‘’Thank you.’ And I felt pride,” Brittani James recalls, shuddering.
“I believed we were special. I believed other people in our neighborhood weren’t as good as us,’’ she said.
Twin MDs battle entrenched racism in the medical world
By Lindsey Tanner - AP Medical Writer
Dr. Brittani James, left, and her twin sister Dr. Brandi Jackson stand for a portrait in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Sunday, May 2, 2021. The identical twin doctors who have fought bigotry all their lives have a lofty new mission: dismantling racism in medicine. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
The inseparable sisters always stood out identical twins from Twinsburg Ohio, whip-smart students from the side of town with unpaved streets and no sidewalks, excluded from the gifted track because they were Black.
Their friends were white and a classmate’s comment still stings: “’I don’t even think of you as Black.’ I said, ‘’Thank you.’ And I felt pride,” Brittani James recalls, shuddering.
Lindsey Tanner
Dr. Brandi Jackson poses for a portrait in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Sunday, May 2, 2021. Jackson and her twin, Dr. Brittani James, have taken on the medical establishment in pioneering work to eliminate racism in medicine. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) May 13, 2021 - 11:51 AM
They were whip-smart students from the side of town with unpaved streets and no sidewalks, twin sisters excluded from the gifted track because they were Black.
A comment from a white classmate in Twinsburg, Ohio still stings: ââI donât even think of you as Black.â I said, ââThank you.â And I felt pride,â Dr. Brittani James recalls, shuddering.