Health
From slavery to the present, African Americans continue to be assaulted emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. From the second that our babies are born they are more at risk for dying within their first year due to Black infant mortality. The genocidal racism of mass incarceration of African American men, women, and children including political prisoners, the educational devastation, nutricide and food deserts, the medical and pharmaceutical apartheid, brutal killings and treatments, environmental poisoning, media distortion, and historical political fraud are examples of the fact that African-Americans are most likely to be predisposed to more unhealthy lifestyles and less equipped emotionally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually to address and combat the daily bombardment of institutional racism stressors.
In the Good Food Revolution by Will Green, author of Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser explains that there is an epidemic of diet related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, strokes, and obesity in Black communities. He shared a recent study about Southern Californian’s predicted life expectancies by specific zip codes. Wealthy population living in Beverly Hills are more likely to live ten years longer than the poor residing in South Central Los Angeles. In further examining the concept of a person’s longevity according to his zip code, African Americans encounter consistent challenges throughout their lifetimes: limited access to affordable quality housing, wage sustainable employment for their families, quality education, nutritious food, clean safe neighborhoods. From these statistics, it can be concluded that African Americans are likely to be predisposed to more unhealthy lifestyles, and less equipped emotionally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually to address and combat the daily bombardment of institutional racism stressors. [Reference: Fatimah Adekola, Co-Chair, N’COBRA Philadelphia Chapter]
Reparatory Justice Outcomes & Impacts
a) The UN Working Group should support and urge the US to publicly apologize (written and verbally), with no disclaimers of liability, and collaborate with the designated negotiation group of Reparationists about financial compensation for the descendants of enslaved African Americans.
b) The UN Working Group should support and urge the U.S. to support and finance African- centered mental/behavioral health centers to address the emotional issues of African Americans.
c) The UN Working should support urge the US to support and facilitate education for African Descendants to become therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, and credentialed behavioral health professionals and workers.
d) The UN Working Group should support and urge the U.S. to facilitate free universal physical and mental healthcare centers. The healthcare centers must be accessible everywhere.
e) Scholarships and free educational training for medical doctors, psychologists, therapists, social workers, and all other fields of expertise needed to create healthy self- sufficient communities.
