MCVMA Research

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

ISSN: 0003-1488
Online Publication Date: 08 Mar 2022

Integrating the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association actionables into diversity, equity, and inclusion curricula in United States veterinary colleges

Marissa S. Milstein, DVM^{1, 2}; Marie L. J. Gilbertson, DVM, PhD²; Lauren A. Bernstein, MVB, MPH³; Weihow Hsue, DVM⁴

¹ Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Saint Paul, MN
² Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Saint Paul, MN
³ Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Saint Paul, MN
⁴ Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association
*Corresponding author: Dr. Milstein (mils0025@umn.edu)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.21.10.0459

“Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, police brutality, and climate change have exposed how structural factors such as politics, economics, and infrastructure impact human health, particularly the health of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Structural racism is defined as “the totality of ways in which societies foster racial discrimination, through mutually reinforcing inequitable systems (in housing, education, employment, earnings, benefits, credit, media, health care, criminal justice, and so on) that in turn reinforce discriminatory beliefs, values, and distribution of resources.”