Posted inHealth, Partner Content

The Cosmetic Industry’s Toxic Toll on Black Women

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 […]

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 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, 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 […]