Racism is a serious PUBLIC HEALTH issue in the U.S. ( and let us not forget the rest of the world!)
I am relaying this article from another list for BPF interest.
Frank M. Tedesco Seoul, Korea
>Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 16:13:37 -0500
>Reply-To: Transcultural Psychology
> <TRANSCULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY at LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
>Sender: Transcultural Psychology
> <TRANSCULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY at LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
>From: John C Lindsay <jclind1 at SAC.UKY.EDU>
>Subject: DEATH BY DISCRIMINATION??
>Comments: To: lcbritmedlin at webtv.net, ASearcy513 at aol.com, AWARE
> <AWARESC at LSV.UKY.EDU>, MOBILIZE <MOBILIZE at LSV.UKY.EDU>,
> DIALOG ON RACIAL ISSUES AT UK <DIALOG at LSV.UKY.EDU>,
> edspd at u.washington.edu, uwmosaic at u.washington.edu,
> "The World Institute for Learning,
> Discussing & Evaluating Race Relations"
> <WILDER-L at MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
>To: TRANSCULTURAL-PSYCHOLOGY at LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU
>Death by Discrimination?
>
>Joe R. Feagin
>University of Florida
>
>The life expectancy for Americans who are born black is nearly seven years
>less than that for Americans born white. The evidence is increasing that much
>of this discrepancy results from the life-threatening effects of
>discrimination. Today the stress, physical illnesses, and other injuries
>associated with racism constitute a serious public health problem.
>
>"The stress does make a difference," said a black engineer in a focus group
>in a southeastern city. "I think it probably takes five years off your life,
>to tell you the truth, if you let it get to you." The major and minor slights
>of racism can accumulate to a very negative health impact.
>
>In the last two years I and my colleagues have conducted focus groups on
>discrimination's costs with African Americans in California, Michigan, and
>Florida. A common report from these African Americans is that bottling up
>stress and rage stemming from discrimination leads, from their considered
>perspective, to such health problems as stomach problems, chest pains,
>hypertension, and depression.
>
>Most black Americans with whom we talked indicated that these symptoms of
>severe stress do not happen "on weekends or after five o'clock." There was a
>consensus that much life-damaging stress comes from hostile work
environments.
>"You stuff that stuff inside, and it comes out in these kinds of ways,"
>commented a nurse in one of the southeastern groups. "That's why black women
>have a lot of fibroids. Because all of that pain gets stuffed inside." She
>added, "That's why black men . . . die so early."
>
>Severe and recurring headaches are one consequence of discrimination. "I
>would have this headache, and it would be for eight hours until I walked out
>the door and then it was like . . . a weight was lifted off," said a nurse in
>a midwestern group. "I was having severe headaches, and chest pains. . . . It
>would be times when I would almost be in the office hyperventilating,"
>commented a social services coordinator in the Southeast. "You begin to doubt
>yourself."
>
>Workplace stress contributes significantly to other serious problems. "I
>have never been a sickly type person, and I had never had any problems
with my
>stomach, but I actually did have to go to the doctor, and . . . they ran a
>test and he diagnosed it as gastrointestinal problems," said a telephone
>technician about the stress from discrimination at work. "I would actually
>have serious attacks, where I would really get, really feverish, high fever,
>and I would just get real, real sick. They'd just flat out let you know that
>they just didn't like black folks."
>
>Hypertension is another problem linked in part to racist incidents at work.
>"That's when I got high blood pressure," said a medical professional in the
>Midwest. She consulted a doctor, who told her to get another job. "I knew I
>had to have a job because I had children to take care of. But going through
>what I was going through wasn't really worth it because . . . it was constant
>intimidation, constant racism, but in a subtle way."
>
>Recent research by Harvard University's Nancy Krieger and Stephen Sidney
>examined stress and blood pressure for nearly two thousand black Americans.
>Those who gave accounts of facing discrimination on three or more of seven
>situational questions tended to have higher blood pressure than those who
>reported facing discrimination in one or two situations.
>
>Another major cost of racism is energy loss, which can be much more than an
>individual matter. "One of the things, though, that really has had an effect
>on my family personally was, me having [less] time to really spend with my
>son," reported a talented engineer. "As far as reading him stories, talking,
>working with him . . . . Some days I would come home and I would have such
>excruciating headaches and chest pains that I would just lay on the bed and
>put a cold compress on my head and just relax."
>
>The drain on personal strength caused by racism takes a toll on African
>Americans and other people of color in their lives outside the workplace. "I
>have withdrawn from some of the things I was involved with at church that
were
>very important to me, like dealing with the kids at church," commented a
>social services administrator. She added that "by the time I got home at the
>end of the day, I was just so tired, I didn't even feel like giving back
to my
>community."
>
>Successful men and women of color are important role models in communities
>but only if they have the energy to participate actively in churches and
other
>community organizations.
>
>Numerous focus group participants indicated that they told their families
>and friends about serious incidents of discrimination in employment. This
>spreads the knowledge and pain of discrimination through social networks and
>communities. In addition, this also provides the collective basis for an
>extensive set of creative coping strategies that are developed individually
>and collectively and passed from one generation to the next over centuries
>which enable African Americans not only to survive recurring racism at the
>hands of whites, many of whom are oblivious to their own racist behavior, but
>also to succeed in society even in the face of this often daunting
oppression.
>
>White racism has a negative impact on many people of color. Our findings on
>African Americans parallel those in studies of Latinos in several cities.
>Significantly, a Latino professor at UF recently told me, "I have done
>everything good academicians do. I have published quantities of quality
>research, have become a great teacher, been a good citizen. And, still, white
>colleagues not even close to my record make thousands of dollars more than I
>do. Knowing that whatever I do will earn no significant rewards demoralizes
>me. My biweekly paycheck is the insult responsible for my highblood
pressure."
>
>In recent years there has been much public discussion among whites,
>including policymakers and influential scholars, of a supposedly "declining
>significance of race" and of the "end of racism." Our data and recent
>revelations about racial environments at major companies like Texaco show
that
>racial discrimination targeting African Americans, as well as other people of
>color, is commonplace in all types of workplaces. The costs of discrimination
>for Americans of color are so serious as to constitute one of this nation's
>major public health problems.
>
>http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/multicultural/papers/joe.html>
"People who usually bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the
boot that kicks them."
--Eric Hoffer
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