The recent events that precipitated the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and the disproportionately devastating impact of COVID-19 on many communities of color are stark reminders of the pernicious effects of systemic racism on all aspects of our society, including science, medicine, and public health. The lack of diversity in the scientific and health professions—a longstanding manifestation of racism—can no longer be ignored, excused, or attributed to uncontrollable factors. We write at this moment of reckoning to explain what is lost by a lack of diversity; to describe some promising efforts to achieve it; and to propose urgent, larger-scale actions that political and institutional leaders, educators, and scientists can take to redress the inequities that pervade our professions.

最近的事件促成了“黑人的命也是命”运动的复苏，以及 COVID-19 对许多有色人种社区造成的不成比例的破坏性影响，这些事件清楚地提醒我们系统性种族主义对我们社会各个方面的有害影响，包括科学、医学和公共卫生。科学和卫生专业缺乏多样性——种族主义的长期表现——不能再被忽视、原谅或归因于无法控制的因素。我们在这个清算时刻写信来解释由于缺乏多样性而失去的东西；描述一些有希望的努力来实现它；并提议政治和机构领导人、教育工作者和科学家可以采取的紧急、更大规模的行动，以纠正我们职业中普遍存在的不平等现象。