Black and African Americans
“Black and African Americans” is a phrase used to describe a diverse array of people. Racial and ethnic identities—and the language surrounding them—are continuously evolving, both generationally and through nuanced self-identification. Generally, the term Black denotes a racial identification, while African American refers to an ethnicity, specifically Americans with ancestry from one or more of the African continent’s Black racial groups. Historically, the term Black American referred to people of African descent with dark skin. In modern contexts, however, Black identity is not inherently tied to dark skin or specifically African descent. Black people may have light skin, or identify as Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous Australian, or Melanesian.
Since 1619, Black and African Americans have created, developed, engineered, built, written, composed, taught, researched, and led some of the most important foundations of U.S. history, culture, and technology. They have also been systematically exploited, excluded, and killed to further the unearned advantage of white Americans. From health disparities and wage gaps, to voter suppression, police brutality, redlining, environmental racism, and the adultification of Black children, Black lives have been consistently valued less by our society despite their immense contributions. Some of the most marginalized include disabled, LGBTQ+, and economically poor Black people.
In recent years, increasing momentum fueled by Black activism and the Black Lives Matter movement has pushed Black and African Americans to the forefront of social justice and advocacy. Even with the more direct spotlight, however, efforts often fall short of recognizing and addressing the compound effects of intersecting marginalizations, such as police violence against disabled Black people, inappropriate school discipline for Black girls, and fatal violence targeting transgender Black women. Black activism and allyship also remain controversial in many spaces and communities due to persisting stereotypes, discrimination, and anti-Black racism.
Achieving health equity and racial justice for Black and African Americans requires deeply uprooting racist systems that perpetuate their exploitation and abuse. Institutionalizing and operationalizing equity and justice throughout all leadership levels of all sectors will require organizations, allies, and systems to deeply center and follow the leadership of people with lived experience. Community-led processes, self-representation, and centering Black voices are a few effective tactics communities can leverage to advance equity and well-being for Black and African Americans.
Resources & Tools
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Taking Action to End Gun Violence: Our Top Tools, Resources, Stories, and Data
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Original
Brought to you by Community Commons
Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Health Care: A Scorecard of State Performance
Resource - Report
Brought to you by The Commonwealth Fund
Tracing the Legacy of Redlining: A New Method for Tracking the Origins of Housing Segregation
Resource - Report
Brought to you by NCRC
Why Do Black Americans Have Higher Prevalence of Hypertension?
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by American Heart Association
Black Voters Are More Concerned About Climate Change Than the National Average, With Implications for Policy and Messaging
Resource
Brought to you by Brookings Institution
Policing Is Killing Black Disabled People. Centering Intersectionality Is Critical to Reducing Harm.
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by Urban Institute
How Ancestral Trauma Informs Patients’ Health Decision Making
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
Life Expectancy by County, Race, and Ethnicity in the USA, 2000–19: A Systematic Analysis of Health Disparities
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Elsevier, Inc.
Black Americans Have a Clear Vision for Reducing Racism but Little Hope It Will Happen
Resource - Report
Brought to you by The Pew Charitable Trusts
Clinicians’ Racial Biases as Pathways to Iatrogenic Harms for Black People
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
Improving Philadelphia's Rental Regulatory and Housing Support Systems
Resource - Assessment
Brought to you by Health Impact Project
Published on 09/06/2022
Black Lives Matter: A Commentary on Racism and Public Health
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by APHA
Ending Student Criminalization and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by New York University
Personal Experiences of U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minorities in Today’s Difficult Times
Resource - Report
Brought to you by RWJF
Investing in the Frontlines: Why Trusting and Supporting Communities of Color Will Help Address Gun Violence
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Yale University
In Common Newsletter: An Introduction to Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) Change
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Brought to you by Community Commons
Published on 06/07/2023
Vaccinating Black Californians Through Faith Communities
Resource - Case Study
Brought to you by PHI
Minority Population Profiles
Resource - Website/webpage
Brought to you by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Guide to Racial Healing: The REPAIR Framework for Community-Institution Solidarity in Racial Healing
Resource - Guide/handbook
Brought to you by Build Healthy Places Network
Racial Discrimination as Race-Based Trauma, Coping Strategies and Dissociative Symptoms Among Emerging Adults
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by NLM
Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars
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Brought to you by NLM
The First Community Health Center in Mississippi: Communities Empowering Themselves
Resource - Journal Article
Racism and Felony Disenfranchisement: An Intertwined History
Resource - Report
Brought to you by Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law
Increasing School Connectedness for Girls: Restorative Justice as a Health Equity Resource
Resource - Policy Brief
Cause-Specific Mortality by County, Race, and Ethnicity in the USA, 2000–19: A Systematic Analysis of Health Disparities
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Brought to you by The Lancet
Population Care Management and Team-Based Approach To Reduce Racial Disparities Among African Americans/Blacks With Hypertension
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Kaiser Permanente
Neighborhood Context, Homeownership and Home Value: An Ecological Analysis of Implications for Health
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by MDPI
Black/African American Health in the United States: A Pathfinder to Resources
Resource
Brought to you by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Police-Recorded Crime and Disparities in Obesity and Blood Pressure Status in Chicago
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by American Heart Association
Engagement, Governance, Access, and Protection (EGAP): A Data Governance Framework for Health Data Collected from Black Communities
Resource - Report
Brought to you by Black Health Equity Working Group
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Assisted Reproductive Technology Outcomes in the United States
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Elsevier, Inc.
The Link Between Structural Racism, High Blood Pressure, and Black People’s Health
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by American Heart Association
How Land Banks and Community Land Trusts Can Partner for Racial Justice
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by Nonprofit Quarterly
The Complex Intersection of Race and Rurality: The Detrimental Effects of Race-Neutral Rural Health Policies
Resource - Journal Article
11 Terms You Should Know to Better Understand Structural Racism
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by The Aspen Institute
How Can the Experiences of Black Women Living With HIV Inform Equitable and Respectful Reproductive Health Care Delivery?
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
District of Columbia B23-0882: Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2020
Resource - Report
Brought to you by Health Impact Project
Resource Guide: Operationalizing Anti-Racism, Social Justice, and Health Equity Principles through Performance Improvement
Resource - Guide/handbook
Brought to you by NNPHI
End the War on Black Health and Black Disabled People
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by M4BL
These Small Black-Owned Farms Are Growing Crops With the Climate in Mind
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by NPR
Dental Health Is Worse in Communities of Color
Resource - Report
Brought to you by The Pew Charitable Trusts
Understanding the Policing of Black, Disabled Bodies
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Center for American Progress
What It's Like to Be Black and Disabled in America
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by The Atlantic
In Seattle, Protests Over Racial Equity Turn to Land Ownership
Story - Written
Brought to you by Bloomberg L.P.
Published on 07/14/2020
Bearing the Burden: How racism-related stress hurts America’s black mothers and babies
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Brought to you by Community Commons
Published on 10/02/2018
The Forgotten History of Black Education in America
Story - Written
Brought to you by FC
Published on 02/15/2023
What It Looks Like to Reconnect Black Communities Torn Apart by Highways
Story - Written
Brought to you by Bloomberg L.P.
Keep Talking: Black Minds Matter – Psychological Costs of Racial Injustice
Story - Video
Brought to you by YouTube
Centering Black Voices: Interview with Radiah Shabazz
Story - Written
Brought to you by Community Commons
Trend Bending Policies for Advancing Racial Justice Part 1: Ending Police Violence
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Original
Brought to you by Community Commons
The Black History of Public Health: From Legacies of Racism and Resistance to Futures of Equity and Justice
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Original
Brought to you by Community Commons
“Stranger Fruit”: Black Mothers and the Fear of Police Brutality
Story - Written
Brought to you by The Marshall Project
Promoting Health Equity in Rural Communities
Story - Written
Brought to you by ChangeLab Solutions
Published on 12/13/2022
The Buffalo Shooting Is a Reminder That Millions Don’t Live Near a Grocery Store
Story - Written
Brought to you by NPR
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Story - Written
Brought to you by Nonprofit Quarterly
‘Model Minority’ Myth Again Used as a Racial Wedge Between Asians and Blacks
Story - Written
Brought to you by NPR
MRI Scans Reveal Disparate Impact of Poverty and Other ‘Toxic Stress’ on Brains of Black Children
Story - Written
Brought to you by STAT
4 Black Female Judges Use Their Courtrooms to Break the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Story - Written
Brought to you by Yes! Magazine
Data & Metrics
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