Physical Impact of Racism

Statistically, black males in America are at increased risk for just about every health problem known. African Americans have a shorter life expectancy than any other racial group in America except Native Americans, and black men fare even worse than black women. Some of it can be chalked up to poverty, the most powerful determinant of health, or to lifestyle factors. But even when all those factors are accounted for in studies, the gap stubbornly persists. Now researchers are beginning to examine discrimination itself. Racism, more than race, may be cutting black men down before their time.

It is possible, they believe, that the ill health and premature deaths can be laid — at least in part — at the feet of continuous assaults of discrimination, real or perceived. “We have always thought of race-based discrimination as producing a kind of attitude,” says Vickie Mays, (pictured above) psychologist and director of the UCLA Center on Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities. “Now we think we have sufficient information to say that it’s more than just affecting your attitude. A person experiences it, has a response, and the response brings about a physiological reaction.”