This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The bottle of vodka sat unopened. It was the largest one Cheryl McJoy could find. If she drank it, she thought, maybe the stabbing sensations in her body would stop. “I […]
Health
Posted inCOVID-19, Health
Diabetes Diagnoses Doubled for Black Youth During the Pandemic
Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes doubled among Black children during the first year of the pandemic but decreased among white youth, according to a new study. The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic also saw a higher proportion of young diabetes patients with severe symptoms compared to years prior. The trend suggests that the racial […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Black Americans Are Disproportionately Affected By Monkeypox. U.S. Officials Failed To Mention It.
The Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency on Thursday, but during the 40-minute media call for that announcement, federal officials never mentioned the virus’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans. It’s an absence that harks back to the first weeks of the coronavirus when, in the spring of 2020, Black people were dying at […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
America’s Opioid Epidemic Is Devastating Black Communities
The first victims of the country’s opioid epidemic were predominantly white, living in rural communities devastated by prescription painkiller addiction. With doctors less likely to prescribe adequate pain medication to Black patients, racism protected Black Americans from the first wave of opioid deaths. Now, the face of the epidemic has changed. New federal data points […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
Has The Black Church Evolved on Abortion?
The Rev. Leonard Edloe doesn’t discuss abortion in the pulpit of his rural Virginia church. While the issue disproportionately affects Black women, members at New Hope Fellowship haven’t shared any abortion-related concerns or questions with him, he said. But outside of the church walls, some have come to him seeking guidance about the procedure. Edloe […]
Posted inHealth
Why Gun Violence Is a Public Health Crisis
The stray bullet that ripped through Greg Jackson’s leg as he walked home in Washington, D.C., struck two arteries. The 2013 incident, which led to a 21-day hospital stay and a six-month recovery, began with law enforcement by his bedside in the emergency room. “I was questioned and interrogated before I even met my nurse […]
Posted inHealth
STD Rates Are on the Rise. Are Black Communities More Open To Talking About Them?
Most people refused to talk to Shirlene Lightsey Manuel when she first appeared on their church steps a couple of years ago. The pastors, first ladies and deaconesses didn’t want to talk about HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. They would tell her the disease wasn’t a problem in their congregations. But statistics […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
How Overturning Abortion Rights Affects Black Women
This story has been updated. In a historic reversal, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that will limit abortion access in many states and potentially exacerbate racial disparities in maternal health. The impacts will fall disproportionately on Black people, who receive about a third of abortions nationwide. The opinion, released […]
Posted inHealth, Mental Health
The Invisible Effects of Gun Violence on Children
The nation’s most recent school shooting — which left 19 fourth-graders and two teachers dead in a Texas classroom — has again forced parents to question their children’s safety. While gun violence has become a near-universal fear for Americans, children from underrepresented backgrounds often are most susceptible. Capital B spoke with Charity Brown Griffin, a […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
What the National Shortage of Baby Formula Means for Black Families
As worried parents across the country scramble to secure formula for their babies amid a nationwide shortage, Black parents, who are less likely to breastfeed, might be bearing the weight of the panic disproportionately. In recent weeks, stores across the country have been scrambling to keep up with demand for baby formula, pushing some retailers […]