Health Disparities...“Nothing New”

Health Disparities and Inequalities Among African Americans is "Nothing New"
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​In America, whether deemed an epidemic or pandemic, the color of one’s skin (race) remains a preexisting condition, be it the influenza pandemic of 1918 (Spanish flu), or coronavirus a.k.a. COVID-19 present day (over a century later).

Photo of nine African American nurses who worked at the Camp Sherman Base Hospital in Ohio during World War I. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers. Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries

incredulous at it may seem, over the past couple weeks, many of us have witnessed and/or heard all-to-familiar scenes play out across various media outlets from multiple political and public health leaders expressing ‘shock and awe’ as to why black communities are impacted so greatly in times like these.
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​For those of us in the trenches so-to-speak, this is not new, this is not unprecedented and from the viewpoint of many, one can presume, race and ethnicity have been, and will continue to be, enormous factors in determining what kind of medical treatment someone will receive when ill, and more importantly, whether access to quality care will be the same. 

National, as well state, local and even tribal, public health departments rarely, in their work postures, reflect the populations served. Until these discerning trends are addressed at the very basic levels, health inequities and disparities will continue business as usual.

More links for in-depth reading perspective:
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​https://theundefeated.com/features/in-1918-and-2020-race-colors-americas-response-to-epidemics/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/04/11/coronavirus-black-america-racism/
Washington State COVID-19 Cases and African Americans
https://www.propublica.org/article/early-data-shows-african-americans-have-contracted-and-died-of-coronavirus-at-an-alarming-rate
https://news.yahoo.com/oprah-stresses-seriousness-coronavirus-black-132900107.html?soc_src=yahooapp

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