MLA History of the Health Sciences Caucus Statement

We, the History of the Health Sciences Caucus of MLA, stand with our colleagues in the African American Medical Librarians Alliance (AAMLA) Caucus (June 1, 2020, statement) and the other MLA caucuses who have issued statements condemning police brutality and affirming that Black Lives Matter.

The history of the health sciences inherently includes the history of inequality and the history of the public health issues of state-sponsored violence and racism. It is our responsibility to examine and reckon with that past, to amplify marginalized voices, and to use historical evidence as a tool toward building a more just future. We commit to work to decenter whiteness in our field, in our collections, and in our framing of the past and its effects on the present. We are forming a task force to put this commitment into action.

Megan Rosenbloom, AHIP, Chair