A metaphor for life in America being White is that it’s like having the difficulty of a video game set on easy mode. I first heard this metaphor when I was a teenager, approximately in middle school or early high school, and it’s stuck with me since then. The premise is simple, and the metaphor can be expanded on. It’s not just that White is the easy setting, it’s that those who are playing at …
A recent NBC News article discussed the removal of the J. Marion Sims statue in New York City. It talked about how symbolic actions, while important, represent only the smallest step society owes to Black communities harmed by medical racism. Beginning with this moment makes it clear how deeply rooted these issues are: taking down a statue may acknowledge past harm, but it does not repair the systems that continue to cause harm today. It …
How do you feel about the police? Do you see them as people who are there to protect you from crime? Can you depend on them? This should be the standard and in some areas, it is. I’m sure you can guess as to what I will bring up. You know because it is a huge issue. You know because in 2020, George Floyd was murdered by police officers and it sparked a huge outrage …
Healthcare is the organized system of services aimed at improving the health of an individual, treating the sick, and supporting recovery. Sounds important, right? It sounds like something that everyone should have access to, right? Yet the reality of healthcare in the United States is a different story. Access to healthcare is a common struggle for millions of Americans, particularly those of communities of color. This unequal access is known as a disparity, an unfair …
To understand health disparities that disadvantage marginalized racial communities, you need to understand health equity. It is important to understand that public health and health equity are not limited to just the medical healthcare field, as many may believe, but are both concepts are involved and are integral to the overall health of the community. While this does include access to reliable and cost-effective medical healthcare, it also means having access to clean and fresh …
The 8th amendment of our Constitution clearly states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted” upon convicted criminals. However, lethal injection remains a longstanding practice in the United States and is subject to constant debate over its ethics. Throughout American history various states have grappled with the interpretation of the death penalty and ongoing debates about its moral implications. December 7th, 1982 a convicted felon, Charles …
The rates at which minorities are being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are disproportional to those of white people. Healthcare has always been an area in which black families have been systemically neglected with the proper resources to remain healthy: a right that should be given to everyone. Even though it might feel a little distant to those who aren’t directly affected by the virus individually or by the poor health of a relative or …
November 2019 was when the first case of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, was reported in China. January 2020 a lab confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States. Fast forward to today, September 2020, where there are 34.4M cases and 1.02M deaths worldwide (CDC, 2020). This led to closures, social distancing, and quarantining. People all around the world had their everyday lives shift and change. However, the coronavirus is not the only pandemic …
The invisibility of whiteness has never been an issue for me until I took this class. And when I became aware of the invisibility of my race, I began to notice it explicitly in other places, specifically when it came to the media. Grey’s Anatomy is a television show that is often highly praised for its racially diverse cast of characters, and more often than not in its recent episodes, it is praised for the …
The model minority emphasizes that Asian Americans are more academically successful than other racial groups. This is dependent on their hard work and individual effort (Atkin et al., 2018). We tend to see Asians being good at math and science, over all excelling academically. Due to the racial discrimination associated with Asian/Asian American, those who identify as Asian/Asian America are much more susceptible to negative health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, etc (Narra …
Spending four years at a college or university can widen one’s perspective, challenge previous beliefs and opinions, and provide opportunities that help them succeed. However, this does not happen through academics alone. Specifically, for students of color at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) from lower SES backgrounds, these four years can be particularly challenging because, while maintaining good grades and showing up for classes, they inevitably face social and/or financial pressures that could deeply affect their …
According to a study done by the Office of Minority Health through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as adults, Black and African American males are 20 percent more likely to suffer from serious psychological distress than adult White males. It was also found that Black and African American males are more likely than White males to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness. According to the study, “Black/African Americans hold beliefs related …