[livius drusus]

Studies have shown that race has a significant effect on quality of care, actually. White Doctors and Black Patients: Influence of Race on the Doctor-Patient Relationship (PDF).

Alternatively, encouraging black people to see black doctors may be an attempt to counter pervasive black-on-black racism. See this article by a black doctor to get an idea of the racism she experiences on a daily basis.

Where's the *real* doctor?

Only a small portion of the growing number of female doctors—not quite 4 percent—look like me. Perhaps that's why, for most people, "doctor" still doesn't fit the stereotypical image of a black woman in this country. Unfortunately, black children may be even more adversely affected by this than white ones. That point was driven home to me months ago, when a 6-year-old black girl refused to let me treat her when her mother brought her to the emergency room and left us alone. She insisted on being seen by a white doctor, leaving me feeling both embarrassed and humiliated.