Wealth Equals Health
In the video, "In Sickness and in Wealth," the narrator asks us, the audience to contemplate a question: Is inequality making us sick? Throughout the video this point is clearly examined as the studies that were conducted in Louisville, and the data reveal one significant factor:an individual's death rate correlates with his/her economic status. The social gradients in regards to health show that education is a way to move upstream in the grand scheme of society. However, not everyone will get this opportunity especially if you're Black or Hispanic. Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I never weighed the idea that where a person lives and that his/her education level will indicate his/her death expectancy due to the resources that are or are not accessible. A sad reality is that the more education and money that you have, the more or less stress you will have. Therefore, simply put:Wealth=Health. So, yes, inequality is making us, people of color, sick.
As argued in the video, America needs to embrace the all-in approach as it pushes us to finally address the adverse childhood conditions and the structural inequalities that make some communities more susceptible to disease than others. This is the ultimate "vaccine." This is one way to mend the harrowing statistics that clearly show that poverty, lack of resources, lack of education, and the community you reside in can and will determine your life expectancy.
Likewise in the article, When Blackness is a Pre-existing Condition, the author states, "Racism should count as a pre-existing condition." Why? African- Americans have spent centuries and histories of being marginalized and the structural barriers like institutionalized discrimination have been and still are making them sick long before COVID 19. Therefore, these communities must be empowered to afford "good health".
In their reading, Thinking about Racial Disparities in COVID 19 Impacts Through a Science-Informed, Early Childhood Lens, Shonoff and Williams indicated that "Every person's health is intertwined with the health of everyone else." The irony: the COVID 19 data shows that higher rates of exposure to the virus have been those who provide "essential" services, but are they really "essential" in America's eyes? COVID 19 hit the world like a hurricane ravaging lives, homes and communities. It did its job figuratively speaking with 201,266 deaths of which African- Americans and Latinos were affected the most. It's no secret that minorities have pre-existing societal conditions like crowded living spaces, food and housing insecurity, wealth and educational gaps which puts them at a higher risk for contracting the virus. So, how dare the President of the U.S. and others who make up the hegemonic class deny the facts? This virus has highlighted and magnified what is already evident: "Far too many people are disposable" as Miranda Green mentioned in her article, Coronavirus Strikes Latino Families Near California's Saltan Sea.
Now, evidence shows that the coronavirus is preying upon children. Yet another example of racial disparities. As of yesterday, the numbers show that coronavirus is killing Hispanics, Blacks and Native American youth at an alarming higher rate than their white counterparts. To be exact, "More than 75 percent have been Hispanic, Black and American Indian children, even though they represent 41 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention", solidifying what we all should see and acknowledge:structural barriers do exist and are greatly affecting people of color.
So, when I hear, "We are ALL in this together!" I can't help but to think, "Are we really though?"
Hi Renee! I love that you labeled equality as the "ultimate vaccine." What a great way to put it. Per the CDC Covid associated hospitalizations are highest among Hispanics and African Americans.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this graph...https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/images/COVIDNET-hospitalizations-Age-Race-Ethnicity-Sep17-1200x675.gif
So being a person of color is really a preexisting condition? As Crenshaw states in her article, "This isn't the time to chart the course of the pandemic's suffering along the coordinates of race, gender, or other characteristics, they will say." Really? This is absolutely the time to talk about disparities...This is absolutely the time to discuss why minorities are being affected harder than whites. Back in the spring when Covid hit, there were articles about trailers in New York piled with dead bodies in them. Ethel Freeman became the symbol of our government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina.... and to me, this picture is symbolic of how our society has failed our most vulnerable citizens with Covid.... I can't process that this happened/happens in the United States of America.
https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/benjamin-norman-new-york-coronavirus-temporary-morgue-1.jpg?w=1349&quality=85
Should we manufacture a vaccine to prevent racism? Would this hypothetical vaccine prevent the comorbities that put minorities at high risk for complications of Covid or other illnesses? The color of someones skin or the the district one lives in should not be a direct link to their life expectancy.... Now is the time to talk about disparities.... because this is not just a health pandemic.... this is , "A social crisis. And a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis." (https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/we-are-all-together-human-rights-and-covid-19-response-and)
Hi Nicole- Thank You for sharing that graph with me. It definitely was informative yet it makes me sick to my stomach. As an African American educator in Providence, the COVID-19 data is chilling. The video this week and all of the articles that we read truly show that yes, people of color automatically have pre-exisiting conditions. I love your question. If we seriously take a moment to ponder your question: How would this country change if there was a vaccine to prevent racism?
DeleteHi Renee, your post evoked not only an emotional response, but made me think about this currently in our society. The greater picture is that our communities of color have been ravaged by more than just a pandemic or natural disasters. I think about the trailers you mentioned within the confines of New York's burrows and how many bodies of people of color sat in them. This was exacerbated by the film "In Sickness and In Wealth." You can see it here in Rhode Island. When the topic of re-redistricting schools within the state was brought up years ago, there was a public outcry. Racism is still prevalent in Rhode Island, but it's "geographical racism." I addressed this topic in my Ethnic Studies class, especially in the Armory District where many of my students at Central are getting pushed out because the neighborhood is undergoing a gentrification.
ReplyDeleteI loved teaching Ethnic Studies last year. However, as I looked out into the sea of beautiful faces of color, it dawned on me. Our students in the urban school don't need Ethnic Studies, urban ring and rural schools do. Racism is something that is taught. I will never forget the photos of Mrs. Freeman in New Orleans. She was a testament to the true ills of society today, but how many Mrs. Freeman's have there been since COVID.
What are we doing as a community to ensure something good will come out of this pandemic?
Carissa, You are so right. Our students do not need Ethnic Studies because they already know what it is like to be a person of color as they live it every day of their lives. That to me is the emotional part. When I watched the video, and the study about the monkeys and the the twins who were separated, it hit me hard. Our students are already faced with preexisiting conditions that will unfortunately determine their life expectancy. So, what are we doing to ensure that something good will come out this pandemic? I guess I would have to say that by educating and informing our students about the racial disparities that do exist, and what they are about against, then teachers like us can push all of our students to truly realize how important their education is. Plus, by sharing these articles that we have read and the video we watched this week, it could save their lives literally.
DeleteHi Renee,
ReplyDeleteThis is perfectly worded and I share your sentiments. Lately, I feel as though we're constantly hearing about how "we're all in this together"- whether it's coming from the commissioner, superintendent, or our lovely governor. We are not ALL in this together. Many people turn a blind eye, some claim to care (yet they don't offer solutions, nor do they engage in advocacy), and some people start off strong, but they tend to forget about the issues when they don't see immediate results. Obviously, we'll never create permanent change if we continue to go in circles.
Like you, I never associated wealth with death rates. After watching the video and reading the articles, I was shocked by several of the points that were made that had never occurred to me. I never realized that BIPOC basically develop pre-existing health conditions from the moment of conception. If we know that BIPOC are far more likely to become gravely ill from the virus, why is it acceptable to send them back to school when cases in Providence and Central Falls are too high? According to Governor Raimondo's plan, students would not go back to full in-person learning if the cases were too high in different cities and towns. We are over the limit in Providence. Why are all elementary school students back to full in-person? Why is it acceptable to send students to school when they are already at risk for severe complications from the virus? Furthermore, how is it acceptable to send our students into buildings that haven't even been cleared by the "walk through" team? I know you're not on Twitter, but I have been incredibly vocal about all of this. I'm upsetting many of our leaders and I have definitely ruffled a few feathers. Like I said to my administrators and "The Network", if we don't advocate for our students, why are we even here?! So, if I'm receiving backlash- are we REALLY all in this together?? It's odd that students in different districts, with much lower cases, are still doing distance learning. This is an equity issue. People who claim to care about the students are concerned about money and reputation.
Also, the articles discussed the trauma that has resulted from generations of racism. We know our students and we know how they learn. I have a sophomore who is petrified to be in school.
He wears a hoodie, mask, shield, and carries his own sanitizer around. He told me that he doesn't want to die like some of his family members did. Another student told me that she was on a ventilator for one month this summer. But, let's just jump right into the curriculum! It is incredibly upsetting that we are expected to use a curriculum that was intended for White suburbia (CollegeBoard) with FIDELITY. I choose to teach my students' grade level appropriate materials that can identify with. I wish that more teachers would do the same. We are setting them up for failure, because we all know how important those test scores are!
I could go on and on- but, I will stop here.
Hi Marissa- I commend you for sharing your thoughts on Twitter so that the world can see exactly how crazzzzy the world is especially for those who do not believe that systemic racism even exists. And yes, you are 100% correct. If we don't advocate for our students than who well. It's evident that the powers that be i.e. the Superintendent, Commissioner and The Network are only concerned with politics and money. This is so sad about your student. My heart goes out to him. And I agree. Test scores are just another way to keep our students down! So sad!!!
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