“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dear Readers,
Here at the Harvard Medical School Review, we are committed to serve as a platform for student voice. We believe it is important to amplify the voices of our fellow Black students—now more than ever—who continue to face systemic and institutionalized racism. As aspiring healthcare providers, we recognize the many ways that racism has adverse consequences on the individual and on society. It is therefore our responsibility to seek racial justice; to uphold the Hippocratic oath; and to honor the sanctity of human life. We recognize that the medical establishment has also facilitated institutionalized racism, both directly and indirectly, and we call upon ourselves and our community to be a part of a long overdue change.
In commitment to this change—we dedicate a portion of all future issues of this journal to discussing racism and social determinants of health. In this way, we aim to amplify and to publish the voices of our peers on the frontlines of advocacy and social justice. This is how we break the silence. This is how we commit to you.
Sincerely,
The Editorial Board