Three race-based scholarships were removed from the American Medical Association Foundation’s website after critics called for an Internal Revenue Service probe into whether the awards violate the organization’s tax-exempt status.
The three scholarships were deleted from the AMA Foundation website within weeks after Do No Harm, a watchdog group fighting identity politics in the medical field, filed its April 7 complaint with the IRS.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, said the foundation “appears to have removed the discriminatory scholarships at the heart of our IRS complaint – a tacit admission that our concerns were warranted.”
Even so, he said that the group’s complaint remains active.
“However, we believe the government is still obligated to investigate to confirm that these programs have truly been eliminated and not simply rebranded and reconstituted,” Dr. Goldfarb said in a Friday statement. “While the administration has made enormous progress in stamping out biased political ideologies in medicine, it is clear the AMA and other establishment medical organizations require continued scrutiny to ensure illegal and immoral racial discrimination is eradicated from the study and practice of medicine in America.”
The AMA Foundation, the American Medical Association’s philanthropic arm, offers $10,000 scholarships to “exceptional medical students entering their final year of training” as part of its Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarships program.
“With more than 17 scholarship categories, including those dedicated to students underrepresented in medicine and those pursuing specific areas of interest or leadership, the program recognizes academic achievement, personal resilience, and a deep commitment to service,” the AMA said on its website.
At the moment, however, the list shows only 14 scholarships. Do No Harm said that three previously listed scholarships with “explicit racial criteria” have been deleted.
No longer included is the Dr. Richard Allen Williams & Genita Evangelista Johnson/Association of Black Cardiologists Scholarship, which awards $5,000 scholarships to medical students of “African American/Black descent.”
Also missing is the Underrepresented in Medicine Scholarship, a $10,000 award to students who are “African American/Black, Latine/Hispanic or Indigenous (American Indian, Native Hawaiian, or Alaska Native).”
Interestingly, the third deleted scholarship is designated for White students, but only those of certain European ancestry.
The Patricia L. Austin Family Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship, which offers $10,000 to students who are “of Eastern European descent,” has also been removed, said Mr. Goldfarb.
The Washington Times has reached out to the foundation for comment.
In its letter to the IRS, Do No Harm argued the Supreme Court has held that the “presence of a single unlawful policy or purpose” under federal tax law on nonprofit entities “renders the entire organization ineligible for tax-exempt status.”
