Universal Medicine

Neriah Clarke This piece is the first in a series of posts about scientific racism. It may be an uncomfortable read. Introduction Scientific racism is the use of pseudoscience (flawed science) to perpetuate racist ideas and practices. Race itself is also a product of pseudoscience and was first documented in Carl Linnaeus’ book “ systema naturae” (systems of nature), published in 1735 (Linnaeus, 1735). Much scientific focus of the 18 th century was on taxonomy, so it is unsurprising that this system extended to the classification of humans. By suggesting a natural order among mankind damaging consequences ensued and such patterns are seen to this day. Skulls Craniometry is a branch of physical anthropology (study of humans) and focuses on the measurement of skull size. Such pseudoscience was used by Morton in the 19 th century to categorise the intellect of the races (Morton, 2018 (1839)). Morton had an extensive collection of skulls from individuals of varying races and upon measur...

Akhil Hanmantgad [1] [2] According to a census taken in 2011, it was estimated that Black, Asian and other Minor Ethnicities (BAME) accounted for roughly 14.5% of the UK’s population, which at the time would equate to around just over 9 million people. Since then, the UK’s BAME population has grown, whilst our understanding of their medical needs has not.  [1] During the COVID-19 pandemic alone, it was found that Persons of Colour (POC) were 1.5 - 2 times more likely to die compared to their white counterparts. Epidemiologists attribute this difference to social inequalities such as predisposed health issues, crowded living situations and occupation. Whilst the above factors would contribute to an increased incidence of COVID-19 amongst BAME communities, it does not explain why POC were at a much greater risk of dying from the virus in the UK compared to their countries of origin. [3] [4] For example, in India, the number of cases have overtaken the UK, however, their death rat...