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Animation Series

Antiracism Animation Series

Playlist

10 Videos

Anti-Racism in Medicine Animation Series

This reality-based cartoon series that highlights racism in medicine through animation encourages thoughtful conversations, expands education, and inspires action.

Season 1

Episode 1 “Taxation without Compensation”

Created by Dr. Princess Dennar, Dr. Jared Rubenstein and Dr. Andria Tatem released 6/4/21

There is hidden taxation that many Black professionals encounter, known as the Black tax. For some, it comes in the form of financial deprivation of potential generational wealth. For many, “Black taxation” occurs by overutilization or tokenization by institutions with no additional compensation. Not only does this lead to burn-out but also the overwhelming feeling of diminishment of one’s contributions.

Episode 2 “Personality Conflict”

Created by Dr. Princess Dennar, Dr. Jared Rubenstein and Dr. Andria Tatem released on 6/23/21
“Draptomania” or “Personality Conflict” ? In 1851, a physician from Louisiana named Samuel Cartwright referred to enslaved Black men and women who sought freedom and spoke out against their injustices as having suffered from “drapetomania.” In today’s current system, Black men and women who speak up against their injustice are reduced to having a “personality conflict.”
It is essential to understand how gaslighting and racially charged terms have taken on new forms in our current medical, industrial complex. It’s the same game with the same plays but in a new era.
We need to engage in more conversations about holding healthcare accountable for changing the narrative about racism in medicine and turning a blind eye to injustice.

Episode 3 “Feedback: The Development of Imposter Syndrome”

Created by Dr. Princess Dennar, Dr. Jared Rubenstein and Dr. Andria Tatem released 7/2/21

“It’s not just what is said but also what our medical institutions allow to be said based on stereotypes that matter.” –Princess Dennar, MD

The experiences of many Black physicians in residency are far from supportive. Their experiences range from negative evaluations, blatant discrimination, over-policing regardless of stellar performances, constant isolation, and the nurturement of the imposter syndrome.

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Episode 4 Faculty Feedback: The Compounding of Imposter Syndrome

Created by Dr. Princess Dennar, Dr. Jared Rubenstein and Dr. Andria Tatem released 7/9/21
S1E4 focuses on the myth and harm caused by the “Sapphire” Black female physician stereotype as a form of misogynoir.
From the early 1800s, black women were often depicted in popular culture as “Sassy Mammies” who ran the house with iron fists that berated black husbands and children.
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Dr. Dennar’s Show

Subscribe to Dr. Dennar’s Show on her youtube channel to watch a detailed lesson of each antiracism animation series of some of the ways racism present in medical education. Each session will provide you with an antiracism call of action to add to your antiracism curriculum toolkit.
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Episode 3 “Feedback: The Development of Imposter Syndrome”

Racial stereotypes, especially that of Blacks, have been part of America’s long-troubled history. Scientific studies during slavery, based on these stereotypes, were conducted to establish the “proper place” for Blacks in society. Blacks became victims of negative stereotyping in mainstream American culture in the aftermath of slavery and the resulting socioeconomic and political effects. 

Racial stereotypes, especially that of Blacks, have been part of America’s long-troubled history. Scientific studies during slavery, based on these stereotypes, were conducted to establish the “proper place” for Blacks in society. Blacks became victims of negative stereotyping in mainstream American culture in the aftermath of slavery and the resulting socioeconomic and political effects. 

In 1915, the premiere of the “Birth of a Nation” during the Reconstruction period emphasized the stereotypes that Blacks are intellectually inferior and should be feared. In essence, one should feel “unsafe” in our presence. Unfortunately, these stereotypes still exist today and bleed into our present-day culture and surface during routine occurrences like evaluations and feedback sessions, even in medical education.

Research shows that Black students’ and residents’ evaluations often include negative stereotypes, doubt-raising language, and career trajectory bias. It is crucial that we understand the impact of words on all of our students and especially how imposing racial stereotypes from implicit bias can create an imposter syndrome phenomenon.

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Episode 4 Faculty Feedback: The Compounding of Imposter Syndrome

It was not until the Amos’ n’ Andy radio show in the late 1920s that the characterization of Black women as angry, aggressive, and emasculating became associated with the name “Sapphire.” Such stereotypes include the myth of the “Sapphire Black woman” as aggressive, ill-tempered, illogical, hostile, and ignorant.
Today, “Sapphire” is one of the dominant portrayals of black women and, unfortunately, has bled into the medical world from popular culture. Sociologists discuss how dominant racial groups applaud a behavior when done by its members. Yet, they criticize that same behavior when done by members of a minority group—in essence, an in-group virtue becomes an out-group vice–For example, white men physician educators are often viewed as being constructive. Yet, black female physician educators are seen as destructive when giving professional feedback. It is a form of Misogynoir or the unique discrimination that Black women face in America.
Although the “Sapphire” caricature is a misogynoir slur and a harsh portrayal of Black female physicians, it is more than that. It is a social control mechanism, as part of structural racism, employed to punish black female physicians who violate the societal norms that encourage them to be passive, servile, non-threatening, and unseen. It is an invisible muzzle designed to silence dissent and critique. It creates a cognitive dissonance between the evidential accomplishments of Black female physicians and the belief of their qualifications. To be anti-racist in medicine is to recognize how such stereotypes are used to weaponize and compound the imposter syndrome phenomena.
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