The study by Silvernale et al 1 in this issue of Neurogastroenterology & Motility has provided an important insight into racial disparities in the care of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Following critical events over the past 12 months, this comes at a time where there is a heightened global awareness of the need to address inherent racial disparities within society brought to the forefront by the death of George Floyd in the United States (US) and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement. The term racial disparity is used in this context, rather than the term racial difference, as the implication is that some observed differences in society as whole or in health care more specifically are caused by underlying inequity. With regards to healthcare provision and patient outcomes, these racial disparities have been