[Arrington_Ervin]

in reply to: From Separate to Equal and The 1619 Project #784

d) If one reviews co-morbidities of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, asthma, obesity, etc.) and their associated mortality rates across the 50 United States – to what conclusions can one come? What social-economic determinants are driving those situations?
After checking the CDC’s “Leading Indicator for Chronic Diseases and Risk Factors” portal, it was present that in the Southeastern region of the United States, as well as Texas and Oklahoma, that co-morbidities of chronic diseases were most prevalent in these areas, with the Western side of the country consistently being lower. With these statistics, I can draw the conclusion that the South has citizens who lack the economic and financial means to make themselves healthier or receive assistance. The Southeastern region has always been a rural area that centers their economy around agriculture and farming; this was evident during the 17th and 18th centuries where the world’s top product, cotton, was being manufactured from this area only. After the emancipation, many slaves and farmers remained in the South to find work near an area their comfortable with rather than having to migrate North. Although, this also led to the isolation of previous slave owners from their past workers and the segregation of colored people from the rest of society, this led to the lowering of the unification of Southern cities. With the lack of density and population, the Southeastern region never became the urban landmark like that of their Western, Mid-Western, and Northeastern counterparts. As a result, the South possesses more people who may not have access to healthcare offices due to the location of their homes, making chronic diseases more prevalent in these areas.

e) How do the stories and research that supported slavery mentioned in The 1619 Project tie to health related issues for African-Americans today? Do you think matters of wealth, income, land ownership and access to credit play a role in healthy/unhealthy communities? What advantage/disadvantage do payday cash stores play in today’s society?
With help from the stories explained in The 1619 Project, we can conclude that African Americans were forced to become second class citizens to that of our white counterparts, causing a strain on black lives even to this day. As the United States declared their independence, “our” founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson in particular, envisioned a country where “all men are created” and each person is “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” unless you were black. African Americans in the country were seen as inferior to that of the white race, leading to the continued enslavement and discrimination of our people. The economic and political systems that ran the country at the time were primarily focused towards keeping the white people in power and the black people in captivity. Due to the lack of concern over the course of 400 years from the government, African Americans carry burdens that no other race in America does. In today’s world, African Americans are more susceptible to viruses and various other illnesses simply because of their socioeconomic status and proximity to other individuals. According to WebMD, African Americans live in areas that tend to have poor air conditions, causing lung disease and asthma, African Americans respond to blood treatment differently than those of white people, leading to high blood pressure and heart disease, and African Americans are more likely to contract, and die, of diabetes than that of white people. Areas that lack individuals with substantial amounts of wealth and income tend to be areas that suffer from more illnesses, due to the fact that they lack the funds in order to finance treatments; plus, if these low income areas are faced with a virus, like CO-VID 19, it will attack them harder and faster since the people of these areas are, in fact, closer in proximity. Land ownership and credit play an additional part to the problem as well since those who do not possess land or property and have bad credit receive no additional help from insurance companies and the government, allowing for more sick people to roam the city rather than be in their own property isolated from the rest of the community. Individuals might combat their bills using payday cash stores which help tremendously the day of, but over time, I feel as though it will only hurt individuals financially due to high APRs, increasing interest and making it much more difficult to pay off the loan, stated on Self.inc.

[Arrington_Ervin]

in reply to: From Separate to Equal and The 1619 Project #753

Throughout my academic career, I have yet to encounter such a worthwhile text like that of The 1619 Project. This article was truly amazing taking the stories of the past, relating them to the social conflicts of today, while predicting future outcomes based on previous events. After reading, I could feel nothing but pride and gratitude towards my black ancestors who went through gruesome hardships so that I may possess opportunities that they themselves only dreamed of. However, the actions of certain white Americans and the government, modeled after their beliefs, leave me concerned for the well-being of myself as a black individual, along with any other minority groups currently living in the United States. Reading stories like that of the Bolling Family and Greenwood, Oklahoma provided great examples of the potential success black people can have in society. Buddy Bolling, an innovative entrepreneur who reinvented white industries into respectfully black-owned businesses that did not require slavery, and Greenwood, a neighborhood full of some of the most successful black people in the country at the time, shared one common element; neither parties experienced a happy ending. Due to the hatred and jealousy of some white Americans, Bolling and Greenwood were met with gruesome endings, leaving each one of them with nothing to spare. The 1619 Project allowed me to ponder the fact that “our” Founding Fathers and “our” Constitution and “our” government had no intention of allowing black people to become full fledged American citizens. In all honesty, black people have separate Founding Fathers and Mothers who fought and died solely for the betterment of our race. In the United States, black people began at the bottom and “our” Founding Fathers and their governmental system try to keep us there to this day.

The From Separate to Equal documentary about the origin of Truman Medical Center was an intriguing watch. During my viewing of the project, I felt nothing but admiration for the black healthcare officials who showed no hesitation to stray from the status quo and become licensed doctors, nurses, and administrators; in addition, I experienced surges of anticipation while waiting for the black healthcare officials to be completely accepted into the medical field, as equals to their white counterparts. Along with other professions, it took many years for black doctors and nurses to be respected as officials. But, even with their licenses, black healthcare officials faced segregation, being forced to work in poorer conditions than that of white Americans. Individuals, like Dr. Thomas Unthank, Dr. S.H. Thompson, Dr. John Perry, and many more, worked in the “separate but equal” facilities, utilizing their wits and any other resources that may not have been provided in order to better the lives of the black, KCMO residents. With the different black-owned hospitals and medical houses popping up all over the city, I still find it astonishing that so many of them had gone under before the creation of Truman Medical Center. Many centers went out of business during the video, but it was unclear why.

[Author]

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