Perspective: The District’s racial and income divide is cutting short the lives of black residents
By Courtland Milloy Courtland Milloy Local columnist Email Bio Follow Columnist May 14 at 2:12 PM The District’s latest “health equity” maps shows a city divided by race and income. How well you live, or sometimes whether you live at all, can depend on what side of the line you are on.
The disparities are stark, the consequences appalling. And the cause is no mystery. As the report notes, they are the result of “historical forces that have left a legacy of racism and segregation, as well as structural and institutional factors that perpetuate persistent inequities.”“The only way to truly discard this legacy is to craft a new one, built on a shared vision for equity,” it says.
On the health equity map, we see that infant mortality for babies with black mothers is three times higher than for babies with white mothers. We know that the mothers’ hypertension is a factor in these premature deaths — and that financial stress, relationship stress, work stress have a lot to do with it. But while working for gender equity in pay, let’s get that blood pressure down.Every black church should have a healthy heart ministry.
The National Institutes of Health funds all kinds of research aimed at reducing blood pressure, heart disease and other health disparities. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recently funded a research project in Los Angeles County that successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of barbershops in curbing hypertension in black men.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pompeo cuts short European visit to return early to Washington: U.S. State DepartmentU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has postponed his visit to Greenland because he needs to return to Washington, the State Department said on Thursday. 'Secretary Pompeo must postpone his visit to Greenland due to a need for the secretary to be in Washington, D.C., today,' spokeswoman Mortgan
Read more »
Pompeo cuts short European visit to return early to Washington: U.S. State DepartmentU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has postponed his visit to Greenland because...
Read more »
Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro admits he was 'destroyed' after cutting short TV debateConservative commentator Ben Shapiro has admitted he was 'destroyed' in a TV interview with British broadcaster Andrew Neil after being widely mocked for storming out of the debate and telling Neil: 'I'm popular, and no one has ever heard of you.'
Read more »
Perspective | Where are all the books for black moms?I began to wonder if I even existed in the world of new motherhood. I walked up and down the aisles of my bookstore wondering: Where my girls at?
Read more »
Turkish finance minister hopes damage to economy from currency crisis will be short-livedThe Turkish economy will hopefully overcome the impacts of a currency crisis las...
Read more »
Hawaii’s Big Island residents rebuild their lives a year after volcanic eruptionOne year after the Kilauea Volcano began a months-long eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island, many residents are still struggling to return to normal.
Read more »
Despite an increasingly diverse country, a new survey shows Americans remain divided along racial and ethnic linesThe Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans largely interact with members of their own race or ethnicity.
Read more »
Students who owe lunch money won't be stuck with jelly sandwiches as district changes courseUPDATE: Rhode Island school district's plan to limit students' lunch option to only a sunflower butter and jelly sandwich if they owed money on their lunch accounts won't go into effect Monday as planned after a wave of public scrutiny.
Read more »