RFK Jr.'s medical racism is to be expected

RFK Jr.’s medical racism is to be expected
Black doctors and medical community say RFK Jr.'s rhetoric poses real dangers to public health

By Garrett Owen
National Affairs Fellow
Published April 21, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) Since his confirmation as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a magnet for controversies, ranging from his shakeup of vaccine schedules and recommendations to his assertion that Americans “shouldn’t be taking medical advice from me.” Among his many medically questionable statements are recurring instances of what leading Black medical experts call “medical racism.”

Last week, Kennedy was confronted with one of his past statements during a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ariz., questioned Kennedy on claims he made during a 2024 podcast involving medications and Black children, calling his prior statements “outlandish and disturbing.”

“You suggested that black children on ADHD medication should be ‘re-parented,'” Sewell said. The accusation drew an immediate denial from Kennedy. “I don’t even know what that phrase means, and I doubt that I said it,” Kennedy said.

On June 30, 2024, Kennedy appeared on the 19Keys show and podcast to discuss his vision for the future of American health. It was here that Kennedy made his reparenting claim.

“Every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence,” Kennedy said on the show. His claims are not backed by evidence, as research has not found a clear causal link between antidepressants and violence, for example. “And those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented — to live in a community where there’ll be no cellphones, no screens. You’ll actually have to talk to people,” Kennedy said. ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/21/rfk-jr-s-medical-racism-is-to-be-expected/