Higher morbidity and mortality in the African-American population is not caused by income, education, or lifestyle. Rather, these health deficits are the continuing legacy of slavery and segregation, and sustained even today by the impact of living in a racialized society and the chronic stress of racism. The situation is complicated by ineffective efforts to reduce racial health disparities. The ineffectiveness of policy making is related to the unmet needs of the White majority and the inability of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court to pass and enforce strong anti-discrimination laws. However, without such laws, people will continue dying while Black.

DYING WHILE BLACK IN AMERICA

Blacks are sicker than Whites and are dying at a disproportionately higher rate. Each year, 87,000 Black Americans die who would not die if they had the same death rates as White Americans. The death rate for Black Americans is 1,039 per 100,000 population. This is the equivalent of one jumbo jet filled with Black Americans crashing every day of every year. The death rate for White Americans is 797 per 100,000. Another way to think about the problem is not just the excess deaths of Black Americans, but the prevented deaths of White Americans. That is, White Americans avoid 500,000 deaths per year by having a lower death rate than Black Americans. The fragile condition of Black Americans is borne out by international health indicators such as life expectancy, maternal mortality, infant mortality, and low birth weight.