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To the Authors: My first reaction on reading this article was to defend the racist statements made by Dr. Osler, in a different era, over a hundred years ago. After all, I thought, no one can be perfect; he was simply a man of his time. And he was an inspiring medical educator, responsible for promoting bedside teaching and patient-centered medicine. But as I read further I found myself in agreement with the authors' major point. History, as written by white Europeans, has ignored the lives and distinguished accomplishments of Canada's first black and indigenous physicians. They fought the endemic racism of 19th century Canada to graduate as doctors and make a contribution to our society. We definitely should acknowledge their courage. Statues should be raised in their honour, educational institutions named after them.
I like to think that, given the chance, Osler would reconsider his racist attitudes. One of his many pithy quotes was this: " One special advantage of the skeptical attitude of mind is that a man is never vexed to find that, after all, he has been in the wrong." (2)