Coronavirus underscores need for healing America’s racial divisions [sfchronicle.com]

Mai Le 4/16/208:39 AM

By Shawn Ginwright, April 14, 2020

The reports of racial disparities among COVID-19 victims should not surprise us. African Americans and Latinos have typically experienced disproportionate exposure to a range of health issues.

For example, African Americans are twice as likely to die of heart disease as their white counterparts. Consider that Latinos are 50% more likely than whites to die of diabetes or liver disease. These issues are not determined by biology, but by a history of policies that exclude, inflict harm and make it more difficult to stay healthy.

In communities of color, trauma and crisis are commonplace, and as result, many African American and Latino families have learned to work and live in persistently traumatic and stressful environments. Let me say that again: persistent traumatic stress environment (PTSE), not post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

There is an important distinction. First, PTSE focuses on the root causes of health disparities, like food insecurity, lack of housing and medical care. PTSD diagnoses only a “disorder” resulting from a past experience. African American and Latino communities often experience greater stress, anxiety, and depression because of the lack of safety, economic opportunities and basic housing.

Persistent stress has a negative impact on learning, healthy behavior and mental health. Public health officials also have concluded that your ZIP code is a greater predictor of life expectancy than your biology. Where you live directly affects your health from exposure to air pollution, access to parks, fresh foods and medical care.

These conditions in black and brown neighborhoods create the “underlying” health conditions that make COVID-19 so deadly.

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