Reply To: From Separate to Equal and The 1619 Project

[Douglas_Burnett]

#793

d). It is not undenounced to anyone that chronic illnesses plague Black communities at an alarming rate. Much of this can be associated to poor eating habits, but it is important to note that unhealthy eating habits are derived from a form of systematic oppression. The media and, at times the health care industry make an attempt to equate the illness the Black community experiences via chronic illness with a poor diet. It is vitally important to note that Black people’s food is just as unhealthy or even healthy as any other race. Certainly, the food may be different, but the health benefits of them, whether good or bad are synonyms amongst many ethnic groups, but the media and society make a special attempt to note that our ethnic cuisine is nearly the most unhealthy. Many eating habits of Blacks are derived from historical roots of slavery. At most times slaves were essentially given the left overs from the live stock and poultry; therefore they received poor cuts of meat and scraps from the poultry. This particular eating habit lasted for nearly hundreds of years; as long as slavery was prevalent. As we catapult into todays society we still indulge in some of those same eating habits which has led to chronic illnesses like, asthma, diabetes, and obesity. Coupled with the harsh reality of the unprecedented terms of food disparities within Black communities; often times low-income or poverty stricken areas. Many succumb to the horrid circumstances of food desserts; where there are no outlets or nearby resources to obtain healthy food. Much of the aforementioned can be equated to systematic racism; which essentially creates a continuous cycle of oppression and sickness. This harsh reality is quiet astonishing and assures me of my desires to be an advocate for topics like this. A significant amount of lives have been lost because of the health disparities; a result of systematic racism has led to this atrocity.

Resource Link: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Research/HealthCareFinancingReview/Downloads/00Summerpg75.pdf

e). AS mentioned in the previous post, systematic racism is the harsh reality of much of the plight of Blacks, especially due to health issues. I am quite certain that class and wealth contribute to equity within the health industry. It is inexpressibly hard to gather the appropriate emotions to explain how heart broken I am to witness us a race be disadvangted in a conutry that we literally built from the ground up. As it regards finances in the Black community; we have an enormous buying power, but only occupy a quite small fraction of the ownership class. Good credit and access to the appropriate resources permits one with keen resources especially related to health care. The cash advance facilities located in low-income areas that are particular occupied by Blacks only set us back and place us in unprecedented amounts of debt which leads to poor credit.