Open any medical journal, and the message is the same: Black people are largely unhealthy. We have the highest rates of obesity, hypertension, and heart disease in the nation. These studies mention how food plays a part in each of these illnesses, but they frequently leave out one important factor.
Structural racism has ensured that many in the Black community live in low-income areas with high levels of unemployment. This snowballs into the perfect environment for food insecurity. Nearly 20% of Black people live in food-insecure households.
Food deserts, areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food, are often found in predominantly Black areas. Our neighborhoods are filled with convenience stores and fast food restaurants.
We often travel over a mile or more to find a grocery store. This means the food many of us consume is inherently unhealthy and leads to the devastating illnesses many in our community face.
And the more political redlining and redistricting happen, the worse it gets.
We don’t have to let these intentional anti-Black policies eat us alive, however. Self advocacy and pushing for change in our communities can seem small, but starting small can still lead to massive movements of change.