A white Colorado dermatologist and a conservative medical nonprofit have sued the creator of “Find A Black Doctor,” arguing that the directory unlawfully excludes non-Black physicians. The lawsuit, filed on May 19 in federal court in Manhattan, says the site’s race-based listing policy violates federal civil rights law.

The lawsuit was brought by Dr. Travis Morrell and Do No Harm, a group that opposes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the medical field, per Black Enterprise. According to the filing, the directory limits eligibility to “Black physicians and dentists in active clinical practice” and denied Morrell’s application because he is white.

“By excluding qualified doctors based solely on their skin color, Find A Black Doctor indefensibly robs some physicians of valuable advertising exposure and deprives patients of the opportunity to discover capable providers without regard to race,” said a statement from the organization.

Find A Black Doctor describes itself as a resource for patients seeking Black doctors, part of a broader effort to improve access and trust in care for Black communities.

“Having access to black doctors has been shown to improve health outcomes— particularly for black men,” a mission statement shared on Find A Black Doctor says. “Although African Americans make up approximately 13% of the U.S. population, they are only 4% of practicing physicians.”

The lawsuit challenges that mission, saying the platform blocks non-Black doctors from advertising exposure and promotes “racial concordance,” the idea that patients may do better with doctors of the same race. It also refers to the more recent case “AAER v. Fearless Fund Mgmt.” The lawsuit against the Fearless Fund, an organization that supports Black women-owned businesses, made national headlines after the organization was accused of discrimination against other groups by the American Alliance for Equal Rights in 2023. Both parties agreed to a settlement a year later.

Many supporters of the Find A Black Doctor directory say it helps patients find culturally responsive care and navigate a system where many Black patients have historically faced discrimination. Critics argue that excluding doctors by race creates a new form of bias.

Do No Harm is asking the court to stop the platform’s directory from considering race in its application process and to force acceptance of Morrell’s application. According to the complaint,

“Do No Harm, and Dr. Morrell seek all the same relief, except that only Dr. Morrell seeks compensatory and punitive damages.”