Following the reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC, there is a high death rate of black people across all age brackets in recent times. Not only is racism a societal ill but a high profile health crisis. Black people are not only affected physically but also mentally. Overthinking and unhappiness are leading factors to clinical depression. Suicide rates are increasing by the day. Research has it that blacks are the most affected by most health conditions and illnesses. They are the majority in the hospitals, as patients receiving treatment.
“Our hue, the origin of all problems
An attraction to all shades of mistreatment
We were born this way
Born to suffer?
We live in pain and hunger with a desire for a change
Cast out into the darkness in search of light
Dreams have shattered, can they be pieced back together?
We live in fear of what comes next
Carrying the unhealthy burden to be laid off at the grave.”
The blacks wear off roaming the streets, in their protest for justice and equity and are exposed to all kinds of unhealthy conditions. Racism is not a recent issue but has existed as far back as in the 20th century after the first world war. Tension in the air as the blacks became victims of the brutality of the whites. This unfair treatment affects both the social and mental health which doesn’t differ from the general human health. We treat the results of racism and not the cause, it is high time we start treating and eliminating the causes of that illnesses-racism.
Racism is a societal ill or vice that should be treated with more attention and fervency because it has grown and developed into a public health crisis which is a call to action. Its victims experience psychological distress. The black children are much likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder and a study has shown that black women are liable to have pregnancy complications.
This issue has to be treated more severely because it’s gotten out of hand. The George Floyd death case had raised more attention to racism and got people out to the streets protesting against it. There are many accounts of blacks dying, some are on the sickbed with no one to pay their bills. An extreme rate of unemployment, poverty, toxic environment, inadequate housing, and low-quality medical attention are the grounds for the overall public health crisis.
Stress and aging
Research has it that after every racist encounter, the blacks are usually stressed physically and psychologically. Taking protest walks all round is strenuous and it weakens the limbs since you only exert a higher volume of energy to converse your message. The racist encounters come in diverse ways but all ways are health-damaging. The secret behind the shorter life span of the blacks is the stress accompanied by these encounters. Racism has spread its root all over that it is almost impossible to be uprooted. Many blacks who suffer any kind of racial act often go through depression, anxiety, or trauma of any sort. The aforementioned are notable effects of mental stress that comes from racial discrimination.
A socially toxic environ
Every individual deserves the peace of mind and fair treatment. The blacks are made to face injustice on different levels; leaving them worried about their needs and no solution in sight. Every ill-treatment administered is a killjoy and sadness slowly slips in. This is basic for the ultimate public health crisis suffered by the blacks. Even if their oppressors don’t kill them physically, they’ve done that mentally and socially and all roads might eventually lead to physical death.
Not only should banners or posters speak against racism. Let voices across all cardinal points echo fiercely against racism or racial discrimination. We are all humans and have equal rights.
“Like a walking dead, we move
Seeking freedom
Justice and fairness is the new slogan
What is life if we can’t live?
What is a breath if we can’t breathe its freshness?
We want to live again. “
