For Immediate Release

	August 1 , 2004 NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION URGED TO UNITE WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN COALITION TO ERADICATE HEALTH CARE DISPARITIES AND DRUG ABUSE MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2004. National Bar Association President Clyde Bailey today presented the Roland B. Scott Memorial Lecture before the National Medical Association's Pediatric Section in San Diego, California. Celebrating its 109th anniversary, the NMA is this nation's oldest and largest Association of African American physicians. Introduced by Judge Arthur Burnett, President Bailey told the audience of about 150 physicians that health care disparities and drug abuse are the two most crucial issues confronting the African American Community. Emphasizing the need to partner with the National African American Drug Policy Coalition founded by the National Bar Association, Bailey stated "The time has long since past that we can afford to operate separately. We need each other - not just for talking and mutual understanding - but for action which will lead to some resolution or amelioration of the multitude of medico-legal problems afflicting the African American Community." The National Bar Association, founded in 1925, is the nation's oldest and largest association of attorneys of color, representing a professional network of over 20,000 lawyers, judges, educators and law students. President Bailey's complete statement President Bailey's complete statement (PDF) 2.4MB