Documentary Film Review: Black Men in White Coats
Produced by Dale Okorodudu, MD, Directed by Micah Autry
120 minutes
The broad-based work of the Black Men in White Coats project that Dr. Dale Okorodudu and his cohort of colleagues and supporters have logged since 2013 continues to raise consciousness that drives an invaluable national conversation about a seldomdiscussed cause contributing to health care disparities. The egregious paucity of African American male physicians is a national disgrace that negates research demonstrating the crucial importance of patients having a physician who looks like them, particularly one that demonstrates a common cultural identity and shows empathy.
With ingenuity and an eye to branding and using the tools and language of the modern era, Dr. Okorodudu has developed many effective methods over the years. His organization now sports a variety of products including a podcast, a youth summit, a speakers’ bureau, broad social media reach, and an impressive national network. To date, at least half a dozen participating major university medical schools coast-to-coast have signed on as active supporters. For this event, the US Army was an important sponsor.
Dr. Okorodudu has led the charge by investing his own money and securing additional investors. He has authored two books and founded the website DiverseMedicine. com. He is affable, passionate, and a crusading advocate well-equipped to make the case for righting the inequity. In his work, he demonstrates an affinity to speak the language of the committed science-driven physician as well as dressing and speaking in a manner comfortable to patrons of the local barber shop and the mom-andpop corner grocery store. Dr. Okorodudu has done his homework, laying the foundation for a sustainable effort that resonates universally.
The central premise of the documentary is based on the reality that 100 fewer Black men applied for medical school in 2014, the year that Dr. Okorodudu’ s enterprise began building momentum, than in 1978, during the height of an earlier African American social consciousness movement. Historically, Black men have experienced the lowest life expectancy in the country, yet only two percent of the US physician labor pool is African American and male.
Given the fact that health care represents nearly one fifth of the nation’ s Gross Domestic Product, this particular disparity is no small matter to be pushed aside. Many critics see the perpetuation of such indignity as benefiting an elite profit-driven system.
By employing the language of filmmaking, the production team has developed a sonorous, eye-catching formula that resonates and makes delivery of the bad news worth viewing. This call to action has a variety of familiar devices common to documentarians yet presented in a way that is both educational and entertaining. In short, edutainment.
The film serves many functions. It is at bedrock a collaboration of many stripes. It offers messaging through a creative platform. It is a discussion forum that offers strategic solutions. It surfaces essential, intrinsic societal needs. As a call to action, it is a catalyst. And it provides an impressive array of community stakeholders and professional experts who weigh in from a wide panoply of perspectives.
There is an array of expert witnesses. You see Harvardtrained actor Hill Harper, ever- articulate, throughout the piece. Trump-era Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams remarks,“ Your zip code is more important than your genetic code in determining your overall health.” White radiologist Dr. Wally Hooser notes the critical importance of the Black male doctor-patient dynamic because so much of the interaction is nonverbal.
Dr. Quin Capers IV notes that an African American
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 27