Dentist Group Says It Should Have Stood Up To Racism Earlier

(NPR) — In a historic move, the American Dental Association has apologized for not taking a stand against discriminatory membership practices.  In an open letter, Dr. Raymond Gist, who became the ADA’s first African-American president in October, said the dentist group should have done a better job in making sure minorities could join affiliated state and local organizations before the mid-1960s. “[I]n looking forward, we must also look back,” Gist wrote. “Along with acknowledging past mistakes and to build a stronger, collaborative platform for future accomplishments, the ADA apologizes to dentists for not strongly enforcing non-discriminatory membership practices prior to 1965.”

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