Health Disparities in the Black Community: Past & Present

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Black Mental Health Matters:

You’re probably aware that the United States healthcare system is letting down many Black Americans. Today, Danielle looks at the historic reasons for distrust of medical establishment in the Black community as well as why these huge health disparities still exist.

Special thanks to our Historian Harry Brisson and Archivists Rachel Brice, Jafra D. Thomas, and Alex Hackman on Patreon! Join them at

Created and Hosted by Danielle Bainbridge
Produced by Complexly for PBS Digital Studios
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Origin of Everything is a show about the undertold histories and cultural dialogues that make up our collective story. From the food we eat, to the trivia and fun facts we can’t seem to get out of our heads, to the social issues we can’t stop debating, everything around us has a history. Origin of Everything is here to explore it all. We like to think that no topic is too small or too challenging to get started.

WORKS CITED:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Racial and Ethnic Disparities Continue in Pregnancy-Related Deaths.” September 5, 2019. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Eberhardt, Jennifer. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do. New York: Viking, 2019.

Flanders-Stephans. “Alarming Racial Differences in Maternal Mortality.” The Journal of Perinatal Education. 2000 Spring: 9 (2): 50-51.

Goody, Maria “Black Medicare Patients with COVID-19 Nearly 4 Times as Likely to End Up in Hospital.” NPR. June 22, 2020.

Gourdine, Michelle A. “Racial Health Disparities in America.” African American Studies, Current Affairs, Health and Medicine, reprinted in Yale University Press Blog. June 29, 2020. .

Johns Hopkins Medicine. “The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks.”

Kashef, Ziba. “Study Finds Racial Disparities in Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.” Yale News. August 20, 2018. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Mahon, Suzanne. “The Story of Henrietta Lacks Sheds Light on Ethical Considerations in Genetic Testing.” Oncology Nursing Society. April 28, 2017. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Noguchi, Yuki. “‘Bear Our Pain’: The Plea for More Black Mental Health Workers.” “Morning Edition,’ NPR. June 25, 2020.

Novoa, Cristina and Jamila Taylor. “Exploring African Americans’ High Maternal and Infant Death Rates.” Center for American Progress. February 1, 2018. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Rabin, Roni Caryn. “Huge Racial Disparities Found in Deaths Linked to Pregnancy.” The New York Times. May 7, 2019. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Roberts, Dorothy E. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, And The Meaning Of Liberty. New York: Pantheon Books, 1997.

Sabin, Janice A. “How We Fail Black Patients in Pain.” Association of American Medical Colleges. January 6, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010.

Thomas, Karen Kruse. Deluxe Jim Crow: Civil Rights and American Health Policy, 1935-1954. (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2011).

Wyatt, Ronald. “Pain and Ethnicity.” American Medical Association Journal of Ethics. May 2013. Accessed September 5, 2020.

Zarafsky, Marc. “Why African American Communities are being Hit Hard by COVID-19.” American Medical Association. May 13, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2020.

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