BLACK MAN IN A WHITE COAT examines the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine. As Damon Tweedy transforms from student to practicing physician, he discovers how often race influences his encounters with patients. Through their stories, he illustrates the complex social, cultural and economic factors at the root of most health problems in the black community. These issues take on greater meaning when Tweedy himself is diagnosed with a chronic disease far more common among black people.