Hispanic Identity and Its Inclusion in the Race Discrimination Discourse in the United States

Abstract

As protests against racism occur all over the United States and medical institutions face calls to incorporate antiracism and health equity curricula into professional training and patient care, the antiracism discourse has largely occurred through a Black/African American and White lens. Hispanics, an umbrella category created by the U.S. government to include all people of Spanish-speaking descent, are the largest minority group in the country. Hispanics are considered an ethnic rather than a racial group, although some Hispanics self-identify their race in Please see the end of this article for information about the authors.

An ecological approach to understanding and addressing health inequities of systemic lupus erythematosus

“…There may be less investigated for both of these groups as they are largely, albeit inconsistently, 103 considered an ethnicity. Indeed, these groups are less often researched in many health-related fields when compared to White and Black populations (particularly AI/AN people), [103][104][105] and this systemic exclusion maintains health inequities. Therefore, we recommend developing lines of research levering multiple sites specifically focused on AI/AN and Latino/a people (particularly women) SLE health inequities.…”

Unexplored Challenges of Minoritized Microbiologists in Academia

“…Hispanics are the fastest growing minoritized group in the United States, but they remain a significantly underrepresented group in the microbial sciences, comprising 6% of the total workforce of microbiologists in the United States ( 10 , 12 , 13 ). Because Hispanics have many commonalities, they are routinely treated as a homogeneous group in science and research ( 14 ). As such, the perception that this ethnic group has made significant advances in the numbers of trainees and faculty members joining different academic institutions is due to a broad definition that encompasses individuals of Hispanic/Latino descent ( 15 ).…”

Advancing Equity in Academic Medicine

“…Rabinowitz and Rabinowitz, 25 Lewiss and Jagsi, 26 20 speak about the importance of diversity within Hispanic identity, noting that "academic medicine risks ignoring the distinctive struggles of different minority groups if antiracism efforts are solely aimed at racial categories or an amalgamate 'people of color. '" "A more inclusive future for academic medicine, " as noted by members of our journal's editorial board, 16 "will be enacted not through sentiment, but by means of individual, structural, and symbolic action. "…”

“…19 In another example of underrepresentation in medicine, individuals identifying as Hispanic compose 18% of the population in the United States, yet fewer than 6% of physicians and 5% of medical school graduates identify as Hispanic. 20 Underrepresentation in medicine of individuals who identify as belonging to other, and sometimes multiple, ethnic, racial, religious, gender, and sexual minority groups is increasingly recognized, as are the additional challenges these individuals encounter in training and throughout their careers. 14,15,[21][22][23] As institutions of public trust, medical schools' failure to produce a representative workforce is a vital social justice concern and, furthermore, has been shown to contribute to differential health outcomes and health disparities.…”

“…Afolabi et al 32 describe a student-led effort to advance antiracist curricula at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. Fernández et al 20 speak about the importance of diversity within Hispanic identity, noting that “academic medicine risks ignoring the distinctive struggles of different minority groups if antiracism efforts are solely aimed at racial categories or an amalgamate ‘people of color.’”…”