To The Chairman of the State Board of Education,

I am writing to inform you about the Black Men in White Coats mission, and to ask for your support in encouraging more of our young black men to pursue careers in the medical field.  In 2013, the American Association of Medical Colleges brought an alarming statistic to the nation’s attention.  They shared with us that the number of black men applying to medical school was declining (as a percentage of total applicants).  As a matter of fact, they highlight that there were more black men in medical school in 1978 than in 2014.

A series of short documentary films called Black Men in White Coats features black male physicians from highly regarded academic institutions, and aims to inspire young black men.  These videos have received tremendous attention in the world of social media, and many people are petitioning public schools to play the videos for their students, and to ensure that young black men have a chance to be inspired.  Likewise, I am writing to you with this same request.

Each one of the Black Men in White Coats short documentary video is between three and five minutes long.  Please consider coordinating with the public schools under your jurisdiction to dedicate just 10 minutes of school time for playing two of these videos for your students.  For many of your students, the impact of these 10 minutes will last a lifetime.

The videos can be found at www.BlackMenInWhiteCoats.org.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,