News Byte: Brian Harper Celebrated as Black Trailblazer

On Friday, February 16, Brian Harper, M.D., M.P.H., vice president for equity and inclusion, chief medical officer, and associate professor at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, was one of three Black trailblazers celebrated on FOX 5 television’s programming for Black History Month. The panelists are noteworthy for the way “they are living examples of Black excellence, surviving tests and challenges to help make the country better for everyone.” According to the program’s host, Harper was invited for many reasons, including his participation in the inaugural Black Men in White Coats Youth Summit held on Long Island last fall and his efforts to encourage Black youth and young men to pursue careers in medicine.

“We have to start very early on—in grade school, elementary school—to get people focused and let them understand that they can become physicians,” Harper shared. He further noted that in terms of Black male physicians, the number has not increased significantly—percentagewise—since the 1940s, and that is why he “is in favor of things like pipeline programs and getting young people interested in science in general.”

Watch the full episode.