Black Archives - Mediarabe

This Doctor Is Teaching Black Youth To Cope With Mental Health Issues

October 14, 2020

The COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus pandemic, has caused many Americans across the country to adapt to a new reality following the devastating economic fallout. According to the CDC, 40% of Americans have reported they were struggling with mental health issues since June, with 31% reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression. Young adults and teenagers have also been severely impacted, with many unsure about the future of their academic pursuits with school closures due to social distancing restrictions and a pivot to online learning.

To help with the transition, programs like Peer Health Exchange are working with young adults to help them learn to cope with their mental health issues. Angela Glymph, Ph.D., vice president of Programs and Strategic Learning of Peer Health Exchange, discusses why organizations like hers are so important especially during this time.

“I’ve been working with the organization [since] 2014,” says Glymph in an interview with

‘I’m a Black Doctor. I Feel the Weight of Representing My Community’

October 14, 2020

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A distinct memory I have from my childhood in Sacramento, California is overhearing my dad taking calls from worried parents. He has been practicing as a general pediatrician for 25 years and answers every call with patience and compassion that I deeply admire.

Savatheda Fynes standing in front of a building: Rebekah Fenton was a pediatrics resident at Seattle Children's hospital before taking her current position as adolescent medicine fellow in Chicago.

© Rebekah Fenton
Rebekah Fenton was a pediatrics resident at Seattle Children’s hospital before taking her current position as adolescent medicine fellow in Chicago.

As I grew older, my father started sharing some of his patients’ stories with me and I began to realize that I also wanted to work in medicine, but that I wanted to focus my career on working with teenagers.

However, as a Black girl growing up wanting to be a doctor, I became aware that I was the personification of my parents’ and communities’ dreams. At church or community events, I’d often hear, “your parents must be so proud.” And, of

Black voter motivation is at historically high level with health care being a priority

October 14, 2020

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DETROIT – We are just 20 days from Election Day and there has been a massive push from campaigns on all sides to get people to vote. Voter motivation is higher than ever among African Americans.

Wife and mother of three Autumn Evans said she’s already made up her mind on who she’s voting for.

READ: Is Michigan still in play in the 2020 presidential election?

“This election means everything to me and my family,” Evans said. “This election really made me cognizant of the fact that this country is not really protective of Black families.”

She said that’s why she is voting.

“Dismantling the racist systems, the prison pipeline, a lot of the housing inequality. Those are some of the most important issues to me,” Evans said.

In a recent poll for Local 4 and the Detroit News, pollster Richard Czuba was asked about what’s driving Black voters.

Rebel Wilson flaunts weight loss in black swimsuit on romantic getaway with Jacob Busch

October 14, 2020

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Rebel Wilson has been busy sharing loved-up beach snaps on Instagram while on a romantic getaway in Mexico with boyfriend Jacob Busch.

Now, paparazzi photos have emerged of the slimmed-down Pitch Perfect star in a black one piece, showcasing the full extent of her 20kg weight loss.

Stepping out on the beach in Cabo San Lucas in a chic bathing suit paired with a large hat and sunglasses, her millionaire boyfriend by her side, the 40-year-old actress looked incredible.

RELATED: Rebel Wilson nears weight loss goal: ‘Call me Fit Amy’

Meanwhile, 29-year-old Busch, who is rumoured to be worth more than $140 million, donned animal print board shorts and sunnies, his toned bod on display.

As documented on the star’s Instagram, the couple jetted to Mexico for a beach holiday over the weekend, with Rebel uploading a number of shirtless photos of Busch to her profile, gushing over her new

Black Communities Need Access to Healthy Food

October 13, 2020

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One person standing up for food justice can cause a domino effect.

Historically, oppression and systemic injustices have been a collective experience among Black people living in the United States.

The United States was built on indigenous land on the backs of Black people. This is not new information. Yet, this inherited trauma is still influencing our present-day lives.

Simply put, what’s required to be well and thrive aren’t available for all Black people.

Foods that are commonly associated with Black American culture are often unfairly deemed as unhealthy.

Today’s fast-food versions of fried chicken and cured meats are a distant cousin of the delicacies that were enjoyed on special occasions throughout the old agricultural south.

Home cooks of the past were creative and seasoned greens with the ends of cured meats or slow cooked the less desirable cuts because this is what they had access to.

It’s no accident

Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable

October 13, 2020

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Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center.

When the coronavirus arrived in Philadelphia in March, Dr. Ala Stanford hunkered down at home with her husband and kids. A pediatric surgeon with a private practice, she has staff privileges at a few suburban Philadelphia hospitals. For weeks, most of her usual procedures and patient visits were canceled. So she found herself, like a lot of people, spending the days in her pajamas, glued to the TV.

And then, at the beginning of April, she started seeing media reports indicating that Black people were contracting the coronavirus and dying from COVID-19 at greater rates than other demographic groups.

“It just hit me like, what is going on?” said Stanford.

At the same time, she started hearing from Black friends who couldn’t get tested because they didn’t have a doctor’s referral or didn’t meet the testing

Report shows lack of health care access in Black Belt

October 13, 2020

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By CAROLINE BECK, Alabama Daily News

a path with trees on the side of a road: Black Belt counties have less physical access to health care in Alabama.

© Provided by Birmingham WBRC
Black Belt counties have less physical access to health care in Alabama.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama’s Black Belt counties have less physical access to health care options and the state overall is suffering poor health outcomes, according to a recent report released by the University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center.

The EPC’s definition of the Black Belt includes 24 counties, and Monday’s report, “Health Care: A Key Challenge in Alabama’s Black Belt,” said 17 of them have fewer than the statewide average of 3.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people.

Four Black Belt counties, Lamar, Lowndes, Perry and Pickens, don’t have any hospitals.

“These data suggest that the Black Belt is largely underserved in terms of health care,” the report says. “Specifically, it indicates that Black Belt residents lack physical access to health care, i.e. the nearest hospital or

Public invited to address disparities among Black community in Washtenaw County

October 13, 2020

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PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI — Activists and public officials will gather to discuss disparities among the Black community in Washtenaw County.

Activists will focus on five key areas at the ” Getting Real About Race” event, including housing, employment, education, health care and the criminal justice system in the county. It will run from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Lillie Park, 4365 Platt Road in Ann Arbor. Anyone interested is encouraged to register online.

“It’s one thing to know there’s a problem but there’s a whole other element to put some solutions in place. In Washtenaw County, we’ve been protesting, we have people of all different races coming together. While marching is definitely a part of it, we wanted individuals to know there’s another layer of work that needs to be done,” said Trische Duckworth, founder and executive director of Survivors Speak, a nonprofit leading the event.

Policing is

Understanding Mortality Rates for Black Newborns

October 11, 2020

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Research published late this summer suggests that “newborn–physician racial concordance is associated with a significant improvement in mortality for Black infants,” i.e., when they received care from Black physicians.

Lead author Brad N. Greenwood, PhD, an associate professor at George Mason University School of Business, took time to answer questions about this research.

Did you determine why Black babies have a better chance of survival?

Greenwood: I want to emphasize how cautious we need to be about speculating about the “why” question because it is speculative. This is secondary data so nailing down the exact mechanism is difficult, even if we do see the effect get larger in some places — hospitals that deliver more Black newborns — and smaller in others — Black newborns without comorbidities. But there are several possible explanations:

We want to be careful not to pathologize Black newborns, but there is evidence that Black newborns

Why Black women face high rates of breast cancer

October 11, 2020

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This story originally ran on Today.com.

The day before she turned 30 and had planned to leave for a celebratory vacation, Sharonda Vincent felt a lump on her left breast while in the shower. She scheduled a last-minute appointment with a doctor at Planned Parenthood, who told her to enjoy her trip because she doubted it was cancerous.

After Vincent returned home to Philadelphia, the mother of one decided to see her primary care provider, just in case. This led to a series of tests, including a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy. In the summer of 2005, she was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer.

“I was numb, hurt, confused, upset, questioning God,” she told TODAY. “It was a complete shock.”

Vincent, now 45, has been cancer-free for 15 years, thanks to the surgery, chemo and radiation she underwent that summer. She’s among the millions of Black women who’ve survived breast