The headlines read like news from the 1960s: Students at an Ohio high school hung “whites only” and “blacks only” signs above the water fountains. In Maryland, a Confederate flag was hung outside a high school. And in Florida, white students at a middle school took a photo holding up letters that spelled a racial […]
racism
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
What Happens After Your Town Declares Racism a Public Health Crisis?
When Milwaukee County became the first jurisdiction to declare racism a public health crisis in 2019, it had among the worst health outcomes in Wisconsin. It was also one of the most segregated areas of the country, with a high Black mortality rate. The county’s Office on African American Affairs and Wisconsin’s Public Health Association […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
How Racism in America Affects Black Babies — Even Before They’re Born
This is an excerpt from Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation. The book, by journalist Linda Villarosa, examines the inequities that quietly wear on Black Americans’ health from before birth, causing them to “live sicker and die quicker.” Villarosa, former executive editor of […]