American Heart Month and Black History Month

Posted by Carolyn Martin on February 8th, 2017 Posted in: Health Literacy, Health Observances

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Currently the Seattle Art Museum is hosting the exhibition, Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series. This celebrated exhibit, which brings all 60 of Lawrence’s paintings from this series together, is collectively owned by both The Phillips Collection and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It marks Lawrence’s 100th birthday who also held a tenured professor position at the University of Washington in 1971 and retired in 1986.

Lawrence’s iconic collection, utilizes both images and words to chronicle the exodus from the rural South to the industrialized North between the first and second World Wars. Many African Americans had little or nothing and continually faced violent racism and deplorable conditions as well as lacking the privileges and opportunities of Southern whites. However, the North did not always offer the promises given but for many, despite the hardships, found a better life. Lawrence himself, was one of those who migrated with his parents during World War I.

This powerful exhibit reminds us of the many human migrations in this country as well as across the globe. Some migrate because of natural disasters, violence, poverty, and many have migrated by force. Migrations have been occurring for as long as humans have existed and many of us today are migrants or immigrants ourselves. The social, economic, and historical effects of this recent migration of African Americans to the North is complex and still yet to be fully understood.

What we do know is that many African Americans still continue to experience significant health disparities. Heart disease is the number one cause of mortality in Americans in general but for African Americans the risk is higher. Stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, all remain top health concerns.  Life style factors and environmental factors are part of the complex make up of heart disease. Researchers are seeking what lies behind this high rate of disease for everyone. Access to health care, increasing awareness, creating healthier environments, breaking down barriers, creating opportunities, providing easily accessible authoritative information are all points that must be addressed. Consider taking steps towards reducing these disparities during American Heart Month through a variety of avenues such as your work, your interactions, a donation, volunteering, or participating in a clinical trial because everyone deserves good health and good lives.

Here are some resources to explore:

• A collection of information from the Office of Minority Health celebrating Black History: https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=13
• CDC’s health information focusing on African American Health:  https://www.cdc.gov/features/africanamericanhistory/
• African American Health from MedlinePlus:  https://medlineplus.gov/africanamericanhealth.html
• Heart Disease Prevention from MedlinePlus: https://medlineplus.gov/heartdiseasesprevention.html
• Kaiser Family Foundation addressing key questions regarding health disparities: http://kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-five-key-questions-and-answers/