Getting “Our House” in Order: Re-Building Academic Pediatrics by Dismantling the Anti-Black Racist Foundation

On the heels of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others, we celebrated the independence of our country from British rule. The paradox of the American values of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” could not be clearer for the lives of Black Americans, in a country built on land stolen from Indigenous peoples, and the free labor, subjugation, oppression, and resilience of enslaved Black people. Amid increased public consciousness, powerful protests, and countless organizations—from the Academic Pediatric Association,1 the American Academy of Pediatrics,2  and the American Public Health Association3 to Apple, Twitter, and YouTube4—stating support for Black lives, pediatrics as a profession must initiate and sustain the steps necessary to ensure that this is not just the issue du jour. As academic pediatricians, we shape clinical practice, medical education, research, leadership, and advocacy. While we speak out against the brutal injustices committed by police,5 it is also imperative that we critically examine injustices perpetuated within our own field. We, too, must get our own house in order.