Abstract
The inclusion of race in medical research has a complicated and troubling history. For centuries, medical institutions and medical research contributed to racist beliefs and have been used to justify a racial caste system. Academic clinicians today must intentionally address the inclusion of race and racism in scholarly work to avoid perpetuating the sins of our profession's past. In this perspective, we recount an experience in which a journal reviewer inappropriately requested the inclusion of race in a case report and share the lessons our team learned in navigating the situation. We also explore the nuanced role of race in research, offer best practices for its inclusion in manuscript submissions, and provide sample language for addressing inappropriate requests for race-related content.