The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) condemns all forms of violence, discrimination, racism, harassment, and xenophobia, the organization said in a statement, noting in particular the spread of disinformation and bias that has fostered the mistreatment of persons of Asian descent.
Though further details regarding last week’s shooting in Atlanta are still pending, the ADEA said, the tragedy highlights the escalating violence directed toward Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders throughout the United States during the past year.
According to a recent Stop AAPI Hate National Report, the ADEA said, hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States have increased during the pandemic.
“Six of the eight individuals who lost their lives in Atlanta were working-class women of Asian descent, thereby reminding us of the dangers of stereotypical rhetoric associated with socioeconomic status, gender, race, and sexual identities,” the ADEA said.
“It also points to the need to broaden our conversation concerning bias, stereotypes, and discrimination, focusing more on intersectionality, and that our identities—race, class, gender, and other social constructs—overlap, intersect, and cannot be easily separated,” the ADEA said.
“The broadening of this conversation further prompts us as dental educators and health professionals to examine closely the intricacy of our relationships with our patients, students, peers, and colleagues that we encounter each day,” the ADEA said.
“We must consider these intersecting influences in admissions, promotion, evaluation, teaching, treatment, and the desire for health equity, justice, and a welcoming, safe, humanistic environment,” the ADEA said.
The ADEA further said that it mourns with the families who lost loved ones and with the nation. It also said that it stands in solidarity with its Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander students, faculty, staff, residents, and fellows.
According to a 2021 ADEA House of Delegates resolution:
- The ADEA stands firmly and unequivocally against all aspects and forms of hate, bias, harassment, and racism and affirms its commitment to the reduction and elimination of these destructive entities in all aspects of dental education.
- The ADEA recognizes racism as an urgent public health crisis that significantly impacts oral health and oral health education.
- Together, with its counterparts in health professions education, the ADEA is committed to collaborating on the development of policy to combat racism, harassment, discrimination, and bias in healthcare and healthcare education globally.
“We, therefore, call upon all members of dental education, health professions education, and the healthcare workforce to join ADEA in its steadfast resolve to develop programs, policies, and practices to eliminate all forms of insidious hate, discrimination, bias, harassment, and inequity, along with barriers to health equity, educational access, and structurally/culturally competent care,” said the ADEA.
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