CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago-based American Dental Association has acknowledged — and says that it deeply regrets — not taking a stronger stand against discriminatory membership practices before the high-water mark of the Civil Rights movement in the mid-1960s.
ADA president Raymond Gist said Friday that making the acknowledgment public reinforces the professional group's commitment to diversity.
Gist said that in the 45 years since he was a dental student, the diversity in dentistry has increased — but not enough.
Citing recent U.S. Census Bureau data, Gist noted that 12.9 percent of the U.S. population was African-American in 2009, and 15.8 percent was Hispanic. But he said ADA survey data for the 2008-9 school year indicated that only six percent of the nation's dental students were African-American and only an identical six percent were Hispanic.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
