Expanding opportunities for American descendants of slavery to build a more inclusive and diverse global health workforce

Abstract

Historically, the terms African American and Black have been used interchangeably to describe any person with African ancestry living in the United States. However, Black Americans are not amonolith, and legitimate differences exist between those with generational roots in the United States and either African or Caribbean immigrants. American descendants of slavery (ADOS) are underrepresented in many fields, but I have noticed during my decades long career in global health that they are acutely absent in this field. Here, I offer seven recommendations to improve recruitment, retention, and advancement of ADOS in the global health field. Immediate implementation of these recommendations will not only bring diverse perspectives and immense capacity to the field but also allow ADOS an opportunity to engage in compelling and meaningful work and to collaborate with those from their ancestral homelands.