GREENVILLE, Miss. — Cedric Sturdevant woke up with “a bit of depression” but made it to church, as he does every Sunday. In a few days, he would drive from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to join HIV advocates at an April rally against the Trump administration’s actions. It had clawed back more than $11 billion […]
Health
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
Baby Born to Brain-Dead Mom Spurs Lawmaker’s Push to Protect Women’s Rights
Adriana Smith, the Georgia woman declared brain-dead in February and then kept on life support, has a new son. Chance, weighing just 1 pound and 13 ounces, arrived June 13. Smith’s family announced she was taken off life support on Tuesday. In the wake of the controversy surrounding Smith’s complex situation, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams […]
Posted inHealth, Partner Content, Science
Kennedy’s HHS Sent Congress ‘Junk Science’ To Defend Vaccine Changes, Experts Say
A document the Department of Health and Human Services sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to change U.S. policy on covid vaccines cites scientific studies that are unpublished or under dispute and mischaracterizes others.
Posted inCourts, Maternal Health, Politics & Policy
Hospitals Are Drug Testing Mothers Without Consent, Fueling Family Separations
By junior year of high school, Desseray Wright was already a mother and didn’t expect to become pregnant again so soon. The Bronx, New York, teen was juggling raising a toddler and dreaming about becoming a lawyer. Sometimes, she would hang out with her friends and occasionally smoked weed. Then one day, despite still getting […]
Posted inCOVID-19, Health, Politics & Policy
COVID Guidelines Just Changed. Black Americans Could Pay the Price.
The Trump administration has declared an end to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people, and health experts have a warning: This is a threat to Black communities. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced the decision on May 27 and […]
Posted inHealth, Partner Content
Trump Won’t Force Medicaid To Cover GLP-1s for Obesity. A Few States Are Doing It Anyway.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — When Page Campbell’s doctor recommended she try an injectable prescription drug called Wegovy to lose weight before scheduling bariatric surgery, she readily agreed. “I’ve struggled with my weight for so long,” said Campbell, 40, a single mother of two. “I’m not opposed to trying anything.” In early April, about four weeks after […]
Posted inEmployment, Federal Overhaul, Mental Health, Politics & Policy
Fired, Rehired, Fired Again. Massive Federal Cuts Leave Black Workers Reeling.
Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. Regina Fuller-White had been applying for various roles at the United States Agency for International Development for more than a year, filling out applications whenever a new position opened up only to hear […]
Posted inHealth, Politics & Policy
Medicaid Cuts Could Leave Millions of Black People Without Care
Arlita Walker lives a fairly quiet life in southwest Memphis, Tennessee. The 60-year-old grandmother was employed with Federal Express for 15 years while she also raised her daughter. But when the toll of lifting heavy packages started to harm her health, Walker had to quit; she’s been grappling with health challenges since 2013. Since then, […]
Posted inHealth, Partner Content
HIV Testing and Outreach Falter as Trump Funding Cuts Sweep the South
JACKSON, Miss. — Storm clouds hung low above a community center in Jackson, where pastor Andre Devine invited people inside for lunch. Hoagies with smoked turkey and ham drew the crowd, but several people lingered for free preventive health care: tests for HIV and other diseases, flu shots, and blood pressure and glucose monitoring. Between […]
Posted inCOVID-19, Health, Partner Content, Politics & Policy
The Fight to Be Believed: Long COVID’s Toll on Black Americans
This article is part of a collaboration with the Associated Press, Capital B, and Flint Beat. The work is part of the AP Inclusive Journalism Initiative supported by the Sony Foundation. Chimére L. Sweeney, a Maryland middle school teacher, was preparing to lead one of her first online classes after the pandemic shutdowns in March […]
