Dereliction of Beauty: First in a series from Inside Climate News on how lax regulation of beauty care products victimizes women of color. ICN is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. For Jeanette Toomer, the hours she used to spend to ensure that […]
health disparities
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
STI Rates Are Rising. What Should You Know?
Recent upticks in the rates of sexually transmitted infections continue to expose deep racial disparities in the American maternal health care system, from syphilis and HIV to gonorrhea. It’s been well-documented that Black Americans are disproportionately affected by STIs. This is due in large part to systemic barriers to quality health care, such as having […]
Posted inHealth, Mental Health
What’s Driving Black Kids to the ER?
This story contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Black children and adolescents have the highest rate of mental health-related emergency department visits, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. It’s an […]
Posted inCOVID-19, Health
The New COVID-19 Vaccine Is Rolling Out. Here’s What Black Americans Should Know.
Amid the recent uptick in COVID hospitalizations, a new round of vaccines is being introduced. The shots could be particularly important for Black Americans, who have continued to show an increased risk for severe complications from the virus. Although much smaller than past spikes, COVID deaths have risen above 1,000 per week this month and […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
In Chicago, Environmental Justice Was Birthed by a Black Woman. A New Podcast Tells Her Story.
Like many Black women throughout the history of social movements, Hazel Johnson’s contributions to bettering her community on the South Side of Chicago — and the rest of the country — are often forgotten. But in the 1970s and 1980s, when industrial polluters largely evaded consequences, the Altgeld Gardens public housing resident was one of […]
Posted inHealth
Why Promising New Alzheimer’s Drugs May Not Work as Well in Black Americans
Over the past decade, Jessica Guthrie has created systems and routines that include bright sticky notes and weeks worth of meal prep. Her playbook evolves with each chapter of her mom’s disease. There are personality shifts, paranoia, and talking to unknown people in the mirror. Then, the falls that result in calls to the fire […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather
How to Protect Yourself During Record-Setting Heat Wave
The dangerous heat wave sitting over two-thirds of the country comes two weeks after the globe’s average temperature was the highest recorded in 12,000 years. In Phoenix, one of the fastest-growing cities for Black people, temperatures have topped 110 degrees for three weeks straight. In Houston, the heat index pushed 110 degrees for multiple days. […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
As Heat Scorches Texas, Lawmakers Loosen Worker Protections
Eugene Gates worked for the U.S. Postal Service for nearly 40 years before dying on his route in Dallas. On that day in mid-June, the heat index hit 115 degrees, the highest since 1980. The exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed, but his wife and others attribute it to the brutal heat […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Why the Warning Against BMI Won’t Ease Bias Toward Black Patients
The American Medical Association’s recent warning against the use of body mass index may be a step in the right direction — but longtime critics of the metric worry it won’t fix bias in health care assessments. It has been criticized for years because of its racist history, and many advocates and dietitians have questioned […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
80% of Black Women Experience Fibroids. Does Racial Trauma Play a Role?
This story was produced in partnership with Vox as part of the discrimination issue of The Highlight. Comedian Dulcé Sloan took to Twitter recently with a burning health question: “Soooo EVERY black woman has fibroids,” she wrote, injecting a bit of hyperbole, “and no one knows why?!” The tweet sparked a flurry of responses theorizing why 80% of […]