Medical Students Take ‘Anti-Racism’ Oath at University of Minnesota

by Anthony Gockowski

University of Minnesota Medical School students took an oath to “promote a culture of anti-racism” during an Aug. 19 white coat ceremony.

White coats, the students said, are themselves a “symbol of power, prestige, and dominance.” Therefore, students will “strive to reclaim their identity as a symbol of responsibility, humility, and loving kindness.”

“We commit to uprooting the legacy and perpetuation of structural violence deeply embedded within the health care system,” the students said, according to a video of the ceremony.

Dr. Robert Englander, associate dean for undergraduate medical education, led students in reciting the oath, which he described as “beautiful.” He said the class oath was written by the students in consultation with their faculty advisors.

“We recognize inequities built by past and present traumas rooted in white supremacy, colonialism, the gender binary, ableism, and all forms of oppression,” the students said in their oath.

“As we enter this profession with opportunity for growth, we commit to promoting a culture of anti-racism, listening, and amplifying voices for positive change. We pledge to honor all Indigenous ways of healing that have been historically marginalized by Western medicine. Knowing that health is intimately connected to our environment, we commit to healing our planet and communities,” the students continued.

Students wrote a similar oath last year, pledging to be “actively anti-racist.”

The University of Minnesota Medical School is consistently ranked one of the best in the nation and was recently awarded the number-three spot on U.S. News and World Report’s list of the best schools for primary care.

But it has failed to buck the trend of wokeness in medicine in recent years, as evidenced by its participation in an “Anti-Racist Transformation in Medical Education” program.

This left-wing bias extends to other areas of the university as well. The dean of the College of Design, for instance, claimed during a commencement ceremony this year that George Floyd and Daunte Wright were killed because of “anti-black racism.”

Despite sounding admirable, anti-racism is a term popularized by author Ibram X. Kendi, who explicitly calls for discrimination in his writings.

“The only remedy to racist discrimination is anti-racist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination,” Kendi writes in one of his books.

These ideas are the basis for things like the new Minneapolis teachers union contract, which requires laying off white teachers first, or the University of Minnesota’s own lecture on “recovering” from whiteness.

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Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.
Photo “University of Minnesota” by AlexiusHoratius. CC BY-SA 3.0.