Race and Health

Latest California Healthline Stories

Black Hair Matters: How Going Natural Made Me Visible

How do we as Black people protect ourselves from racism? In our household, my decision to let my hair go natural forced my father and me to have a conversation about personal safety, the police and my desire to feel free. He viewed my permed hair and weave as a protective shield that increased my chances of making it home safely. But, in reality, my haircut — long or short — can’t protect me from racism.

Poor and Minority Children With Food Allergies Overlooked and in Danger

Having a child with a food allergy is terrifying for any parent, but for low-income families such allergies can be especially deadly. Food assistance programs and food pantries rarely take allergies into account. And access to specialists, support groups and lifesaving epinephrine can be hard to attain. This especially hurts low-income Black children, who have higher incidences of allergies to corn, wheat and soy than white kids.

‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care

One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?

Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable

The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium has increased access to coronavirus testing in the Philadelphia region, testing more than 10,000 people. The group’s mobile unit and pop-up testing sites also offer patients an opportunity to connect with African American health care providers.

‘You’re Going to Release Him When He Was Hurting Himself?’

Daniel Prude’s family knew he needed psychiatric care and tried to get it for him. Instead, his encounter with police hours after he was released from Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, proved fatal.