Breaking Barriers: Dr. Uché Blackstock’s Journey to Address Racial Health Disparities

Dr. Uché Blackstock, a Brooklyn native who grew up surrounded by Black women doctors, made history as the first Black mother-daughter legacy at Harvard Medical School alongside her twin sister Oni. However, during her time at the prestigious institution, she realized that only about 5% of practicing U.S. physicians are Black.

In 2019, Dr. Blackstock left her position as a professor of emergency medicine at NYU Langone Health to address the issue of racial inequality in medicine and founded Advancing Health Equity, a consulting firm aimed at helping companies, hospitals, and health systems understand the history of racism in medicine, eliminate biases, and create plans for promoting equitable healthcare.

Through her work at Advancing Health Equity and her bestselling book Legacy: A Family Memoir and Call to Action on Racial Health Disparities,” Dr. Blackstock has been able to make a larger impact than she could within a medical organization. She describes her book as both a family memoir and a call to action to address racial health disparities. Dr. Blackstock feels that she has been able to use her voice more effectively outside of academic medicine and is now making waves in the healthcare industry with her advocacy work.