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Empirical evidence has shown that individuals from minority ethnic communities have been at an increased risk of COVID-19 infections and adverse clinical outcomes including hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and mortality. The COVID-19 vaccine has been heralded as key in ending the global pandemic. However, evidence suggests that although minority ethnic communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, vaccine delivery to these communities has been poor. A barrier to the vaccine uptake has been health information. Health information is an important variable in the health decision-making process. Lack of or wrong health information has serious implications. Health information leads to better understanding of personal health and appropriate utilization of health services and consequently improves an individual's health outcomes. This study sought to explore the health information seeking practices among participants from a Black ethnic minority community in the UK. This study interviewed six Black Africans from the UK. The study explored and highlighted the thoughts, perceptions, and experiences of the participants while health information seeking. This study found challenges in health information access, assumptions about health information and feelings of being dismissed, and an information void. Participants acknowledge that there is a lot that could be done to improve their health information experiences. Targeted health information and measures such as cultural sensitivity and competency could be important in improving health information seeking, not just for Black Africans but all ethnic minorities in the UK., (© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)

Aim: To examine the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on mental health, depicting the evolution and patterns of anxiety symptoms and the application of the Bowenian family therapy to understand the interrelatedness and long‐standing impact of intergenerational trauma in African American families. This article highlights interventions that increase awareness of and promotes physical and mental health for African American populations. Design: Discursive Paper. Method: Searching literature published between 2012 and 2022 in PubMed, SCOPUS, EBSCO Host and Google Scholar, we explored factors associated with systemic racism and generational anxiety. Discussion: Evidence‐based literature supports the application of the Bowenian family therapy theoretical framework to understand the intergenerational impact of systemic racism and to address the transmission of anxiety symptoms in African American populations. Conclusion: Culturally appropriate interventions are needed to decrease anxiety symptoms in an attempt to heal intergenerational trauma and to improve family dynamics in African American populations. Impact to Nursing Practice: Nurses play an integral role in providing holistic quality patient‐centred care for African American populations who have experienced racial trauma. It is critical for nurses to implement culturally responsive and racially informed care with patients that focuses on self‐awareness, health promotion, prevention and healing in efforts to address racial trauma. Application of Bowenian family therapy can aid in the reduction of both intergenerational transmission of racial trauma and generational anxiety. No Patient or Public Contribution: There was no patient or public involvement in the design or drafting of this discursive paper. The authors reviewed the literature to develop a discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine factors that influence intrapartum health outcomes among Black childbearing persons, including cisgender women, transmasculine and gender‐diverse birthing persons. Background: Black childbearing persons are three to four times (243%) more likely to die while giving birth than any other racial/ethnic group. Black birthing persons are not just dying from complications but also from inequitable care from healthcare providers compared to their white counterparts. Design: Discursive paper. Method: Searching national literature published between 2010 and 2021 in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase and SCOPUS, we explored factors associated with poor intrapartum health outcomes among Black childbearing persons. Discussion Several studies have ruled out social determinants of health as sufficient causative factors for poor intrapartum health outcomes among Black birthing persons. Recent research has shown that discrimination by race heavily influences whether a birthing person dies while childbearing. Conclusions: There is a historical context for obstetric medicine that includes harmful stereotypes, implicit bias and racism, all having a negative impact on intrapartum health outcomes. The existing health disparity among this population is endemic and requires close attention. Impact on Nursing Practice: Nurses and other healthcare professionals must understand their role in establishing unbiased care that promotes respect for diversity, equity and inclusion. No Patient or Public Contribution: There was no patient or public involvement in the design or drafting of this discursive paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Schwartz equation is the most widely used serum creatinine (SCr)-based formula to estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in children of European descent, but whether this applies to African children is unclear., Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 513 apparently healthy African children aged 6 to 16 years were randomly recruited in school area of Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). SCr was measured using calibrated enzymatic method. SCr was normalized using Q-values designed for European descent children, due to the absence of Q-values for African children. Commonly used eGFR equations were applied in this population., Results: Normalization of SCr using Q-values for European descent children was effective in this cohort. The majority of African children (93.4%) have normalized SCr (SCr/Q) values within the reference interval (0.67-1.33) of children of European descent. The bedside-Schwartz equation was associated with significant age and sex dependency. However, the FAS-Age formula showed no sex and age dependency. The new CKiDU25 equation did not show a significant sex dependency. The recently introduced EKFC and LMR18 equations also showed no age and sex dependency, although the distribution of eGFR-values was not symmetrical. On the other hand, the FAS-Height and the Schwartz-Lyon equations showed significant sex dependency but no age dependency., Conclusions: The reference interval for SCr designed for European descent children can be applied to African children. Of all the equations studied, FAS-Age performed best and is most suitable because no height measurements are required. Establishment of specific Q-values for the widespread Jaffe-measured creatinine in Africa can further broaden applicability., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Pediatric Nephrology Association.)

Background: Although aging and being of African descent are well-known risk factors for masked uncontrolled hypertension (MUCH), data on MUCH among elderly black sub-Saharan Africans (BSSA) are limited. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the determinants of MUCH in younger individuals differ from those in the elderly., Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with MUCH in both elderly and younger BSSA individuals., Methods: In this study, 168 patients with treated hypertension were assessed for medical history, clinical examination, fundoscopy, echocardiography, and laboratory data. All patients underwent ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring for 24 h. MUCH was diagnosed if the average 24-h mean BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg, the daytime mean BP ≥ 135/85 mmHg, and/or the nighttime mean BP ≥ 120/70 mmHg, despite controlled clinic BP (≤ 140/90 mmHg). Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess independent factors associated with MUCH, including elderly and younger adults separately. P-values < 0.05 were used to indicate statistical significance., Results: Of the 168 patients aged 53.6 ± 11.6 years, 92 (54.8%) were men, with a sex ratio of 1.2, and, 66 (39%) were aged ≥ 60 years. The proportion of patients with MUCH (27.4% for all patients) was significantly higher (p = 0.002) among elderly patients than among younger patients (45.5% vs. 15.7%). Diabetes mellitus (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27-4.46; p = 0.043), anemia (aOR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.07-5.81; p = 0.043), hypertensive retinopathy (aOR, 4.50; 95% CI, 1.57-5.4; p = 0.043), and left ventricular hypertrophy (aOR, 4.48; 95% CI, 2.26-8.35; p = 0.043) were independently associated with MUCH in the elderly. In younger individuals, male gender (aOR, 2.16; 95% CI, (1.33-4.80); p = 0.029), obesity (aOR, 3.02; 95% CI, (1.26-5.32); p = 0.001), and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) (aOR, 3.08; 95% CI, (2.14-6.24); p = 0.019) were independently associated with MUCH were independently associated with MUCH., Conclusion: MUCH is more prevalent among elderly than among younger BSSA individuals. Determinants of MUCH vary by age. MUCH prevention and management strategies should be age-specific., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Concurrent testing of numerous genes for hereditary breast cancer (BC) is available but can result in management difficulties. We evaluated use of an expanded BC gene panel in women of diverse South African ancestries and assessed use of African genomic data to reclassify variants of uncertain significance (VUS). A total of 331 women of White, Black African, or Mixed Ancestry with BC had a 9-gene panel test, with an additional 75 genes tested in those without a pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variant. The proportion of VUS reclassified using ClinGen gene-specific allele frequency (AF) thresholds or an AF > 0.001 in nonguidelines genes in African genomic data was determined. The 9-gene panel identified 58 P/LP variants, but only two of the P/LP variants detected using the 75-gene panel were in confirmed BC genes, resulting in a total of 60 (18.1%) in all participants. P/LP variant prevalence was similar across ancestry groups, but VUS prevalence was higher in Black African and Mixed Ancestry than in White participants. In total, 611 VUS were detected, representing 324 distinct variants. 10.8% (9/83) of VUS met ClinGen AF thresholds in genomic data while 10.8% (26/240) in nonguideline genes had an AF > 0.001. Overall, 27.0% of VUS occurrences could potentially be reclassified using African genomic data. Thus, expanding the gene panel yielded few clinically actionable variants but many VUS, particularly in participants of Black African and Mixed Ancestry. However, use of African genomic data has the potential to reclassify a significant proportion of VUS., (© 2024 The Author(s). Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Placing Papers: The American Literary Archive Market (University of Massachusetts Press, 2020) discussed the post–World War II trade in authors’ papers. One finding of Placing Papers was how well Black writers did on the market as measured by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) rank of their papers’ housing institutions and the frequency with which Black authors were paid for their materials. However, this boon for Black writers only occurred once colleges and universities sought to improve the diversity of their holdings. In this update to Placing Papers, the author expands her data set to include more authors of color to verify her original findings for Black writers and determine the comparative success of Latino authors. The study determined that while Black writers indeed do just as well or better than white authors on the archive market, Latino writers remain understudied and undercollected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ethnic and gender differences in plasma lipid composition have been widely reported among the general population, but there are scarce data on athletes., Aim: To assess ethnic and gender differences in lipid profile across a large cohort of Olympic athletes practicing different sport disciplines METHODS: We enrolled 1165 Olympic athletes divided into power, endurance, and mixed disciplines according to European Society of Cardiology classification. Sixty-two (5.3%) were Afro-Caribbean. Body composition and fat mass percentage were measured. Blood samples were collected and lipid profile was investigated., Results: Compared to Caucasians, Afro-Caribbeans had better lipid profile characterized by lower LDL (90 ± 25 mg/dL vs. 97.1 ± 26.2 mg/dL, p = 0.032) lower LDL/HDL ratio (1.39 ± 0.5 vs. 1.58 ± 0.6, p = 0.012), lower non-HDL-cholesterol (102.5 ± 27.4 mg/dL vs. 111.5 ± 28.5 mg/dL, p = 0.015) and lower TC/HDL (2.59 ± 0.6 vs. 2.82 ± 0.7, p = 0.010). Female Afro-Caribbeans showed lower TG/HDL ratio (p = 0.045) and TC/HDL ratio (p = 0.028), due to higher HDL (p = 0.005) compared to male Afro-Caribbeans. In Caucasian athletes, females showed even more evident differences with lower TC, LDL, and higher HDL with subsequent lower ratios compared to men. Moreover, endurance Caucasian athletes had lower LDL (p = 0.003) and TG (p = 0.017) plasmatic levels and higher HDL levels compared to non-endurance Caucasian athletes (p< 0.0001) CONCLUSIONS: Ethnicity and gender have a significant influence on plasmatic lipid balance in elite athletes and Afro-Caribbeans have favorable lipid profiles compared to Caucasians. Moreover, endurance sports, particularly in Caucasian athletes, are associated with better lipid profile compared to other type of sports., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

"Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape" by Lisa M. Anderson is a book that examines the portrayal of Black women on television throughout history. Anderson, an associate professor of women and gender studies, builds on her previous work to explore the complex and evolving representations of Black women in media. Using a semiotic approach and drawing on the work of Black feminist scholars, Anderson analyzes specific television shows and personalities from the 1950s to the present. The book goes beyond simplistic judgments and aims to understand the historical and cultural contexts in which these representations exist, as well as the agency of Black women in shaping them. It is a valuable resource for scholars in cultural, media, and television studies. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Black patients are at a higher risk of experiencing less safe and lower quality care during pregnancy and childbirth, compared to their White counterparts. Behaviors that healthcare professionals engage in that can facilitate or hinder high-quality care for this population are underexplored. We sought to explore Black patients' experiences with healthcare professionals during and after pregnancy, as a needs assessment to inform the development of training for healthcare professionals., Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews of Black patients who were in their third trimester of pregnancy or within 18 months of giving birth. Questions focused on experiences with healthcare professionals during pregnancy-related healthcare, including quality of care and discrimination. Thematic analysis was conducted using a combined deductive-inductive approach. Findings were considered in the context of the Institute of Medicine's Six Domains of Quality (equitable, patient-centered, timely, safe, effective, efficient)., Results: We interviewed 8 participants who received care from various clinics and institutions. Over half (62%) described experiencing discrimination or microaggressions during their pregnancy-related healthcare. Participants most commonly reflected upon experiences within the patient-centered care domain, regarding whether care was in alignment with their preferences, positive and negative interpersonal interactions, and varied experiences with patient education/shared decision-making., Conclusions: Black patients commonly report experiencing discrimination from healthcare professionals during pregnancy-related healthcare. Reducing microaggressions and improving patient-centered care is a key focus for healthcare professionals who serve this group. Training needs include addressing implicit bias, educating on common microaggressions, improving communication, and promoting an inclusive workplace., (© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)

The Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Services medico-legal mortuary perform postmortem examinations on all cases of unnatural deaths in the greater Johannesburg metropolitan area, in South Africa. Unidentified decedents can comprise up to 10.0% of the total number of annual admissions at this medico-legal mortuary. To address the identification of the deceased, the Human Decedent Identification Unit (ID Unit) was created to perform secondary examinations for identification purposes. The aim of this study was to report on the identification methods and success rate of the ID Unit. Over a period of 31 months (January 2018-July 2020), unidentified decedents comprised 8.1% (n = 693) of all cases at the Johannesburg mortuary. The ID Unit processed 385 (55.6%) unidentified individuals during this period, who were mostly adult (100%), Black (94.5%), males (91.7%). DNA samples were successfully collected from most cases in the form of hair (96.4%; n = 371), blood (92.2%; n = 355), and nail samples (90.1%; n = 347). Fingerprints retrieved in 65.5% of cases (n = 252). Ultimately, 87 persons (22.6%) were positively identified. Fingerprinting was the most successful method of identification (98.9% of cases; n = 86). One positive identification was facilitated through DNA analysis. The nationalities of the positively identified decedents were from South Africa (52.9%; n = 46), Zimbabwe (5.7%), Uganda (1.1%), Mozambique (1.1%), Malawi (1.1%), South Sudan (1.1%), and undisclosed in 36.8% of cases. Through the collaborative efforts of all the agencies involved, the impact of the work of this ID Unit is vast-not only for South African authorities but most importantly for the decedents and their families., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

"Race and Radio: Pioneering Black Broadcasters in New Orleans" by Bala James Baptist is a book that explores the emergence and evolution of Black radio culture in the American South, specifically in New Orleans. The author examines the interactions between white business owners, pioneering Black disc jockeys, and the African American community, highlighting their contributions to the promotion of Black radio in postwar American society. The book also discusses the role of Black radio personalities in the Civil Rights Movement and the growth of Black-owned radio stations. Based on primary sources, the book provides valuable insights into the transformation of radio culture in New Orleans and its impact on racial equality. [Extracted from the article]

Black women in the United States experience a higher maternal mortality rate compared to other racial groups. The maternal mortality rate among non‐Hispanic Black women is 3.5 times that of non‐Hispanic White women and is higher in the South compared to other regions. The majority of pregnancy‐related deaths in Black women are deemed to be preventable. Healthy People 2030 directs healthcare providers to advance health equity through societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and healthcare disparities. The Southern Nursing Research Society has put forward this position paper to provide recommendations to improve maternal health equity among Black women. Recommendations for nurses, multidisciplinary healthcare providers, policymakers, and researchers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to explore the experiences of perceived prejudices faced in England by Black African mental health nurses. Purposive sampling was used to identify five nurses from sub-Saharan Africa. They were interviewed using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings were reported under two superordinate themes: Judging a book by its cover and opportunities. The findings showed that Black African nurses experience deep-rooted discrimination and marginalisation. Aside from that, because of their ethnicity and the fact that they speak English as a second language, they face discrimination and have difficulty achieving leadership roles. These findings provide key stakeholders, such as nursing trade unions and professional associations, as well as NHS employers, with the opportunity to act to counter hegemony in the NHS and recognise that discriminatory and racially related barriers hinder Black African nurses from reaching their full professional potential., (© 2021 The Authors. Nursing Inquiry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aims: Little research has examined factors underlying COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy or refusal in Black and Asian individuals in England, among whom hesitancy tends to be higher than in the general population. This qualitative study aimed to gain an understanding of factors affecting hesitancy in Black and Asian individuals in England, to help address concerns about having the vaccine., Method: Ninety-five participants (51 women, 42 men, 2 other; 58% were aged between 30 and 49) recruited via a market recruitment agency, local Healthwatch networks, and using a snowballing method, participated in four activities on an online engagement platform, sharing their attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, and factors shaping their beliefs and concerns, over 5 weeks from April to March 2021., Results: Inductive thematic analysis revealed five themes: (1) a variety of views on the COVID-19 vaccine, (2) targeted messaging for Black and Asian people as counterproductive, (3) confusion over the purpose of the vaccine roll-out, (4) hesitancy to take the vaccine, and (5) local networks as a trusted source of information., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that respecting individuals' agency, transparency of information provided, and the independence of the bodies providing this information are important. Instead of targeted messaging, local networks should be used in campaigns to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Black and Asian individuals., (© 2022. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.)

Introduction: Race and ethnicity along with social determinants of health have been identified as risk factors for COVID-19. The purpose of this clinical paper is to provide an overview of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA), present COVID-19 epidemiological data on five racial–ethnic groups, identify culturally congruent health care strategies for each group, and provide directions for practice and research. Method : NCEMNA collaborated to provide a clinical paper that addresses information about COVID-19 and culturally congruent health care in five racial–ethnic groups. Results : Every organization presented common themes across the different groups and unique perspectives that each group is faced with during this challenge. Discussion : This article provides an introduction to the issues that minority groups are facing. It is imperative that data are collected to determine the extent of the impact of COVID-19 in diverse communities in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I argue for a reconceptualization of undocumentedness, the experience of being undocumented, from an experience that is simply a result of the modern immigration regime to an experience that is a result of interlocking systems of oppression and resistance to them that has shaped Blackness and the vision for black liberation. I make this argument by defining and tracing the trope of the papers—the use of legal and extralegal documents to examine and document African Americans' and other people of African descent's relationship to the nation-state—in the slave narrative and the neo-slave narrative. I offer a close readings of slave narratives, including Sojourner Truth's The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850) and Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself , and neo-slave narratives, including Toni Morrison's A Mercy (2008) and Gayl Jones's Mosquito (1999), to illustrate the significance of the undocumented immigrant in African American literature and demonstrate that writers of African American literature have been thinking intensely about undocumentedness, although not in the way undocumentedness is typically understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is rare to see practising nurses from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds publishing articles in professional journals. In our experience most nurses who publish scholarly papers are undertaking postgraduate studies or are in research roles, and are of white heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep evolutionary history of African populations, since the emergence of modern humans more than 300,000 years ago, has resulted in high genetic diversity and considerable population structure. Selected genetic variants have increased in frequency due to environmental adaptation, but recent exposures to novel pathogens and changes in lifestyle render some of them with properties leading to present health liabilities. The unique discoverability potential from African genomic studies promises invaluable contributions to understanding the genomic and molecular basis of health and disease. Globally, African populations are understudied, and precision medicine approaches are largely based on data from European and Asian-ancestry populations, which limits the transferability of findings to the continent of Africa. Africa needs innovative precision medicine solutions based on African data that use knowledge and implementation strategies aligned to its climatic, cultural, economic and genomic diversity.

One is that Whitfield does not provide a map of the Maritimes, or even a proper definition, of where and what the Maritimes are. I Biographical Dictionary of Enslaved Black People in the Maritimes i by Dr. Harvey Amani Whitfield, Professor of Black North American history at the University of Calgary, is a superlative book that sheds light on and gives acknowledgment to those enslaved in the Maritimes across the 18 SP th sp and 19 SP th sp centuries. [Extracted from the article]

In I Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History i , editors Michele A. Johnson and Funké Aladejebi have brought together 23 writers to produce a masterful and richly colored tapestry of Black Canadian history. Section two, "Constructing Blackness across Borders and Boundaries", sheds light on Blackness and the identity formation process of African North Americans vis-à-vis the US-Canada border. Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History: Edited by Michele A. Johnson and Funké Aladejebi, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2022, 632 pp., CAN $34.95 (paper), ISBN: 978-1-4875-2917-8. [Extracted from the article]

Disparities continue to pose major challenges in various aspects of science. One such aspect is editorial board composition, which has been shown to exhibit racial and geographical disparities. However, the literature on this subject lacks longitudinal studies quantifying the degree to which the racial composition of editors reflects that of scientists. Other aspects that may exhibit racial disparities include the time spent between the submission and acceptance of a manuscript and the number of citations a paper receives relative to textually similar papers, but these have not been studied to date. To fill this gap, we compile a dataset of 1,000,000 papers published between 2001 and 2020 by six publishers, while identifying the handling editor of each paper. Using this dataset, we show that most countries in Asia, Africa, and South America (where the majority of the population is ethnically non-White) have fewer editors than would be expected based on their share of authorship. Focusing on US-based scientists reveals Black as the most underrepresented race. In terms of acceptance delay, we find, again, that papers from Asia, Africa, and South America spend more time compared to other papers published in the same journal and the same year. Regression analysis of US-based papers reveals that Black authors suffer from the greatest delay. Finally, by analyzing citation rates of US-based papers, we find that Black and Hispanic scientists receive significantly fewer citations compared to White ones doing similar research. Taken together, these findings highlight significant challenges facing non-White scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the 30-day emergency department (ED) return rate between patients given a Take Home Medication pack (THM) versus a standard paper prescription (SPP) prior to discharge. Methods: This was an observational, prospective cohort study in an urban, university-affiliated, level I trauma center. Patients were identified through daily pharmacy reports. Consecutive adult patients discharged from the ED with either a THM or equivalent SPP were included. For each patient, baseline characteristics including age, gender, primary care provider (PCP), primary language, ethnicity, marital status, and insurance status were recorded from the electronic medical record (EMR). Review of the EMR was used to determine whether patients returned to the ED within 30 days and whether the return visit was for all-causes or for the same complaint targeted by the THM or SPP from the index visit. Similarly, visits to other providers in the health system within 30 days were recorded. Results: A total of 711 patients were included in the study, with 268 receiving a THM and 443 receiving a SPP. In comparison with the SPP group, the THM group was more likely to have an all-cause return (Relative Risk [RR] = 1.7, P < .01). Variables associated with increased odds of returning to the ED within 30 days included study group (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR]: 1.7), male gender (aOR: 1.6), African American ethnicity (aOR: 3.0), public insurance (aOR: 3.3), and institutional financial assistance (aOR: 5.0). The difference between study groups for index visit complaint-specific returns was not significant. Conclusions: Patients receiving a THM demonstrated a higher all-cause return rate than patients receiving a SPP. A randomized study is needed evaluating the effect of THM on return ED visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although racial disparities in breast cancer (BC) mortality have been well documented in the United States, little is known about the impact of coexisting cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other clinical factors on Black-White survival disparities after the diagnosis of BC. This study examined the associations of race, CVD, and clinical factors at diagnosis with the hazard of BC and CVD-related mortality among patients with BC identified from the Maryland Cancer Registry., Methods: A total of 36,088 women (25,181 Whites and 10,907 Blacks) diagnosed with incident invasive BC between 2007 and 2017 were included. Subdistribution hazard ratios (sdHRs) for CVD-related and BC mortality were estimated with Fine and Gray regression models, which accounted for the influence of competing events., Results: After a median follow-up of 5.8 years, 8019 deaths occurred; 3896 were BC deaths, and 1167 deaths were CVD-related. Black women had a higher hazard of BC mortality (sdHR, 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55-1.77) and CVD mortality (sdHR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.17-1.51) in comparison with White women. Associations with CVD mortality were significantly stronger among Black women aged 50 to 59 years (sdHR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.84-4.44; P for interaction < .001). Among Black women with CVD, the hazard of BC death was 41% higher in comparison with White women. By treatment, a significant association with CVD mortality was observed only among Black women undergoing surgery and radiation (sdHR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.22-2.13)., Conclusions: Clinicians should consider the impact of younger age, preexisting CVD, and BC treatments among Black patients. Early identification of those at risk for worse survival may improve surveillance and outcomes., (© 2021 American Cancer Society.)

Dissent from white ethnic hostility to blacks, as well as American segregation, was expressed in the pages of left-wing newspapers. Slovak Rovnosť ľudu and Polish Głos Ludowy ("People's Voice") demanded "nothing less than full freedom" for blacks, urging readers to embrace anti-lynching campaigns and the FEPC. Anti-integration housing riots were, to Głos Ludowy, manifestations of American fascism. The paper argued anti-black rioters were given "a skull-dugging support from certain sections of the Polish press." The Communist Slovak paper, Rovnosť ľudu ("People's Equality") likewise condemned white mobs attacking black war workers seeking to enter Detroit's Sojourner Truth Housing Project, and as early as 1937 letter writers to the paper "Condemned Prejudice Against Black Workers." The same year the paper denounced discriminatory lending practices at the Home Owners Loan Corporation, a prescient exposé of the racially skewed provision of social benefits. After the war both papers declared lynching of black veterans and racial segregation were American-style Hitlerism. Both papers' commitment to the wartime interracial Popular Front dissented from the more dominant embrace of whiteness. Głos Ludowy long continued its advocacy of racial equality. Extensive coverage was granted to civil-rights campaigns, while every white terrorist attack on activists was unequivocally denounced. The paper called the murder of Florida's NAACP leader "a shame and blot upon America" that had "the earmarks of genocide." "A burning concept of equality for the colored races" was articulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on contemporary youth organizing has documented psychological benefits associated with participation and some evidence of local political impact. But how do local organizing campaigns transform into regional or national movements? This is a practical question facing youth organizers and one that calls for attention from researchers. In this article, we draw on 3 years of ethnographic fieldwork with South Africa's Equal Education (EE) to analyze collective action frames that enabled EE youth to assert legitimacy and construct shared aims across locales. Our findings focus on how youth constructed historical continuity frames that lent them legitimacy as upholders of the South African freedom struggle and flexible problem frames that linked young people's local struggles, such as inadequate sanitation or broken windows at their schools, to a national policy agenda. We discuss connections to other youth movements and implications for the interdisciplinary youth organizing field., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Digital racism and the online experiences of Black people have been foregrounded in vital contemporary research, particularly Black scholarship and critical race and digital studies. As digital developments occur rapidly there is a need for work which theorizes recent expressions of digital anti-Blackness, including since increased marketing industry interest in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020. This paper explores digital racism related to online (re)presentations of Black people and associated racist marketplace logics, digital practices, and (re)mediations of Blackness in the service of brands. Focusing on computer-generated imagery (CGI) racialized online influencers, the spectacularization of Black pain and lives, digital marketing approaches, and digital Blackface, this work contextualizes anti-Black digital racism by reflecting on its connection to centuries of white supremacy and often under-investigated racial capitalism. Overall, this work examines the shape-shifting nature of anti-Black digital racism and commercial components of it which are impacted by intersecting oppressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Debate about the cause of IQ score gaps between Black and White populations has persisted within genetics, anthropology, and psychology. Recently, authors claimed polygenic scores provide evidence that a significant portion of differences in cognitive performance between Black and White populations are caused by genetic differences due to natural selection, the "hereditarian hypothesis." This study aims to show conceptual and methodological flaws of past studies supporting the hereditarian hypothesis., Materials and Methods: Polygenic scores for educational attainment were constructed for African and European samples of the 1000 Genomes Project. Evidence for selection was evaluated using an excess variance test. Education associated variants were further evaluated for signals of selection by testing for excess genetic differentiation (F st ). Expected mean difference in IQ for populations was calculated under a neutral evolutionary scenario and contrasted to hereditarian claims., Results: Tests for selection using polygenic scores failed to find evidence of natural selection when the less biased within-family GWAS effect sizes were used. Tests for selection using F st values did not find evidence of natural selection. Expected mean difference in IQ was substantially smaller than postulated by hereditarians, even under unrealistic assumptions that overestimate genetic contribution., Conclusion: Given these results, hereditarian claims are not supported in the least. Cognitive performance does not appear to have been under diversifying selection in Europeans and Africans. In the absence of diversifying selection, the best case estimate for genetic contributions to group differences in cognitive performance is substantially smaller than hereditarians claim and is consistent with genetic differences contributing little to the Black-White gap., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This paper examines anti-Black racism in the Ontario public school system. Using the West-Hill Catholic Elementary School (a pseudonym) as a case study, it foregrounds the selective application of punishments inflicted upon Black students, including those often motivated by racist perceptions on the part of teachers, principals, and School Boards. Using the theories of biological determinism1 and the culture of poverty2 as conceptual frameworks, this paper investigates the factors to which school authorities attribute violent behavior on the part of Black students. This paper provides recommendations aimed at mitigating anti-Black racism in the Ontario public school system. Plain Language Summary: Selective Punishment in the Ontario Public School System This paper examines serial cases of anti-Black racism, in particular incidents involving selective punishment within the Ontario public school system under the pretext of discouraging violent behaviour. Using the arrest of a four-year-old Black student at the West-Hill Catholic Elementary School, allegedly for violent behaviour, as a case study, in addition to data from the Toronto District School Board, the paper examines the theory of biological determinism, which is often used to represent Black students as intrinsically prone to violence. Also investigated is the culture of poverty hypothesis that attributes such behaviour on the part of Black students to environmental factors, such as family structure, upbringing and ethics. Drawing on academic publications, this paper argues that race plays a central role in determining who gets rewarded in the Ontario public school system and who gets punished for displaying behaviour construed, by school authorities, as a threat to the school environment. Black racism, in its many modalities, remains an enduring problem, one that requires a broad range of correctives, including changes to teacher education programs, professional development for teachers and school administrators, and the recruitment of Black parents as allies. It would also require non-racist policies to address knee-jerk reactions that have transformed some public schools in Ontario into bootcamps where 'refractory' students are punished with a view to discouraging their classmates from displaying conduct deemed to contravene established regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes critical race theory (CRT) to identify inequalities perpetuated by racialized epistemicide, the race-based discriminatory destruction of knowledge, through the loss of cultural heritage and the limitation of access to accurate narratives. We introduce the term reparative storytelling as a way to describe work centering oral and performance-based ways of knowing and remembering that establish the evidence needed for dignity, healing, and justice. By discussing the history of library services to the Black community in Huntsville, Alabama, this paper explains how racism and urban renewal perpetuated racialized epistemic injustice by destroying cultural heritage and narratives of marginalized communities. We demonstrate strategies and tools that can be used to unsilence library history and give people access to their past by using counternarratives for reparative storytelling. We believe that the archive combined with digital visualization, humanities, and storytelling tools can help us correct historical narratives by honoring neglected voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses systems psychodynamic concepts to develop theory about the persistence of racial inequality in U.S. organizations and to inform an approach for disrupting it. We treat White men as the dominant group and Black people as the archetypal subordinate group in U.S. society. In our theory, work contexts that conflate merit with idealized images of White masculinity provoke unconscious distress in White men who aspire to meet those ideals. An unconscious, multilevel defense system, comprising projective identification at the individual level bolstered by a social defense at the organization level, keeps this distress at bay. This system diverts attention away from the real culprit—work contexts that threaten White men's self-worth—by contriving and making credible a substitute problem—a shortage of "qualified" Black people. At the same time, the social defense fuels the very work contexts that pose threats to White men in the first place. The upshot is the persistence of racial inequality. We offer guidance on how to disrupt these dynamics by building mutually reinforcing holding environments where organization members can engage in intrapsychic and intergroup reparative work. We conclude by offering theoretical contributions to the literatures on race, organizational inequality, systems psychodynamics, and masculinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Despite a long history of discrimination and persisting racial disparities in smoking prevalence, little research exists on the relationship between discrimination and smoking in South Africa. METHODS: This analysis examined chronic (day-to-day) and acute (lifetime) experiences of racial and non-racial (eg, age, gender or physical appearance) discrimination and smoking status among respondents to the South Africa Stress and Health study. Logistic regression models were constructed using SAS-Callable SUDAAN. RESULTS: Both chronic racial discrimination (RR=1.45, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.85) and chronic non-racial discrimination (RR=1.69, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.08) predicted a higher risk of smoking, but neither type of acute discrimination did. Total (sum of racial and non-racial) chronic discrimination (RR=1.46, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.78) and total acute discrimination (RR=1.28, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.60) predicted a higher risk of current smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Racial and non-racial discrimination may be related to South African adults' smoking behaviour, but this relationship likely varies by the timing and frequency of these experiences. Future research should use longitudinal data to identify the temporal ordering of the relationships studied, include areas outside of South Africa to increase generalisability and consider the implications of these findings for smoking cessation approaches in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Describe tobacco companies' marketing strategies targeting low socioeconomic status (SES) females in the USA. METHODS: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. RESULTS: Tobacco companies focused marketing on low SES women starting in the late 1970s, including military wives, low-income inner-city minority women, 'discount-susceptible' older female smokers and less-educated young white women. Strategies included distributing discount coupons with food stamps to reach the very poor, discount offers at point-of-sale and via direct mail to keep cigarette prices low, developing new brands for low SES females and promoting luxury images to low SES African-American women. More recently, companies integrated promotional strategies targeting low-income women into marketing plans for established brands. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco companies used numerous marketing strategies to reach low SES females in the USA for at least four decades. Strategies to counteract marketing to low SES women could include (1) counteracting price discounts and direct mail coupons that reduce the price of tobacco products, (2) instituting restrictions on point-of-sale advertising and retail display and (3) creating counteradvertising that builds resistance to psychosocial targeting of low SES women. To achieve health equity, tobacco control efforts are needed to counteract the influence of tobacco industry marketing to low-income women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural practices in the African continent have been thought to impact negatively on body donation. Thus, most African countries continue to rely on unclaimed bodies for dissection programs, or bequests from the white population. The latter situation is dominant in South African medical schools. Since South Africa is multi-cultural with nine main ethnic groups of the Black African population, it is important to seek the reasons behind lack of participation in body donation. This report represents a move in this direction with its qualitative study of the cultural practices of the Zulu ethnic group in the province of KwaZulu-Natal from the perspective of a variety of participants, with emphasis on their treatment of the human body after death. Four themes emerged from interviews: (1) Death is not the end; (2) Effect of belief in ancestors; (3) Significance of rituals and customs carried out on human tissue; and (4) Burial as the only method of body disposal. Each of these themes is discussed in relation to the likelihood of body donation being seen by Zulus as an acceptable practice. It is concluded that this is unlikely, on account of the need to preserve the linkage between the physical human body and the spirit of the deceased person, and the perceived ongoing relationship between the spirit of the dead and the living. In view of these conclusions, a number of options are canvassed about the manner in which anatomists in KwaZulu-Natal might obtain bodies for dissection. These possibilities have implications for anatomists working in comparable cultural contexts., (© 2020 American Association of Anatomists.)

In contemporary South Africa, racism, economic exclusion, and spatial segregation remain trenchant features of everyday life 25 years after the end of apartheid. In this article, I show how therapeutic practices by black South Africans in one of the country's largest townships address the ongoing legacies of this history. Rather than treat individual psyches, therapists' practices are oriented toward the relational space between generations, a political therapeutic driven by the affective force of the therapists' own history of struggle toward a different future for black youth, who continue to be marked by the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. In the process, I track how this political therapeutic confronts the normative demands of psychiatric knowledge. Overall, I argue that rather than solely focusing on the violence of care in clinical settings, we should interrogate political generation and embodied history as forms of expertise and their constitutive potentialities., (© 2019 by the American Anthropological Association.)

Objectives: Stable isotope values for historic period human remains from Elmina, Ghana, are compared to isotope data from 18th- and 19th-century North American sites as a test case for examining African origins and identifying first generation Africans in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States., Materials and Methods: Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope values were measured in skeletal remains. Values from the cosmopolitan port city of Elmina provide the first available reference data from Africa during this time period and region. These values serve as a proxy for West African groups in general which are statistically compared to Euro-Americans and African Americans., Results: Elmina carbon isotope values are relatively higher than those of North Americans, and African Americans show greater statistical similarity to West Africans. Elmina nitrogen isotope values are higher than those of North Americans. Elmina oxygen isotope values are notably higher than those in all Mid-Atlantic North American sites in this study., Discussion: Similarity in carbon isotope values between Elmina and African Americans suggests commonalities in food availability or food preferences between these groups. Elevated nitrogen isotope values in Elmina individuals support the documented reliance of the local population on marine dietary resources at this coastal port. While carbon and nitrogen isotopes provide insight into foodways, oxygen isotope data, sourced from drinking water, provide better geographical information. The higher oxygen values from Elmina not only differentiate this group from North American Mid-Atlantic sites, but also make it possible to identify outliers at these sites as potential recent arrivals from West Africa., (Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

Cardiac repolarization of black athletes has a distinctive pattern. During an episode of pericarditis, this pattern may evolve into a "pseudonormalized" electrocardiography (ECG). On resolution of the pericardial inflammation, the ECG may return to the normal variant for a black athlete, sounding the alarms of extended disease to the myocardium. Recognizing the normal variant for a black athlete will reduce the need for unnecessary further testing or treatments. The case is discussed in detail.

Objectives: Ancient DNA (aDNA) and standard osteological analyses applied to 11 skeletons at a late 17th to early 18th century farmstead site in Delaware to investigate the biological and social factors of settlement and slavery in colonial America., Materials and Methods: Osteological analysis and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing were conducted for all individuals and the resulting data contextualized with archaeological and documentary evidence., Results: Individuals of European and African descent were spatially separated in this colonial cemetery. The skeletal remains exhibited differences in osteological features and maternal genetic ancestry. A specific mtDNA haplotype appeared in a subset of the European-descended individuals suggesting they were maternally related. Individuals of African descent were not maternally related, and instead showed a diversity of haplotypes affiliated with present-day Western, Central, and Eastern regions of Africa., Discussion: Along with the bioarchaeological and documentary evidence, the aDNA findings contribute to our understanding of life on the colonial Delaware frontier. Evidence of maternal relatedness among European-descended individuals at the site demonstrates kin-based settlements in 17th century Delaware and provides preliminary identifications of individuals. The maternal genetic diversity of the individuals with African descent aligns with the routes of the trans-Atlantic slave trade but broadens our understanding of the ancestries of persons involved in it. Burial positioning, osteological pathology, and lack of maternal kinship among individuals of African descent provide tangible evidence for the emergence of racialized labor and society in Delaware during the late 17th century., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Despite disproportionate rates of mental ill-health compared with non-Indigenous populations, few programs have been tailored to the unique health, social, and cultural needs and preferences of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males. This paper describes the process of culturally adapting the US-based Young Black Men, Masculinities, and Mental Health (YBMen) Project to suit the needs, preferences, culture, and circumstances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males aged 16–25 years in the Northern Territory, Australia. YBMen is an evidence-based social media-based education and support program designed to promote mental health, expand understandings of gender and cultural identities, and enhance social support in college-aged Black men. Methods: Our adaptation followed an Extended Stages of Cultural Adaptation model. First, we established a rationale for adaptation that included assessing the appropriateness of YBMen's core components for the target population. We then investigated important and appropriate models to underpin the adapted program and conducted a non-linear, iterative process of gathering information from key sources, including young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males, to inform program curriculum and delivery. Results: To maintain program fidelity, we retained the core curriculum components of mental health, healthy masculinities, and social connection and kept the small cohort, private social media group delivery but developed two models: 'online only' (the original online delivery format) and 'hybrid in-person/online' (combining online delivery with weekly in-person group sessions). Adaptations made included using an overarching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing framework and socio-cultural strengths-based approach; inclusion of modules on health and wellbeing, positive Indigenous masculinities, and respectful relationships; use of Indigenous designs and colours; and prominent placement of images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male sportspeople, musicians, activists, and local role models. Conclusions: This process resulted in a culturally responsive mental health, masculinities, and social support health promotion program for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males. Next steps will involve pilot testing to investigate the adapted program's acceptability and feasibility and inform further refinement. Keywords: Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Indigenous, Australia, male, cultural adaptation, social media, mental health, masculinities, social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historians have examined vernacular duplex homes in Milwaukee's north side neighborhoods to write the history of the white working-class immigrants who settled this industrial metropolis during the early years of the twentieth century. African Americans moved into these neighborhoods in the later decades of the twentieth century. This paper explores how current Black residents construe the history of their neighborhood. To examine what such a historical narrative might look like, this paper presents three stories from a single city block: a twentieth century narrative of growth, a more recent story of decline, and a longer aspirational dream of a shared commons. Grounded in the material world that they observe around them, the current inhabitants assemble these diverse memories in anachronic ways, around multiple experiences of time such as nostalgia, a sense of disenfranchisement in the present moment, and an aspirational dream of a yet unrealized future. This ability to craft a complex narrative of place in a precarious world has emerged as a form of collective resistance against realities of racism, segregation, and urban disinvestment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As efforts to end the HIV epidemic accelerate there is emphasis on reaching those living with undiagnosed HIV infection. Newly diagnosed individuals face a number of psychosocial challenges, yet we know little about depressive symptoms in the weeks immediately following diagnosis and how disclosure, coping, and other factors may affect short and longer-term depressive symptoms. Purposively sampled Ugandan outpatients completed structured interviews immediately prior to testing for HIV, daily for 28 days after receiving their test results, and at 3 and 6 months post-test. The sample included a total of 244 participants: 20 who tested HIV positive at baseline and who provided 342 daily data points, and 224 who tested HIV negative at baseline and who provided 4388 daily data points. We used linear mixed effects modeling to examine changes in depressive symptom scores over the 28 day daily interview period and predictors of depressive symptom scores and changes over time. Results from the mixed modeling revealed that while those diagnosed with HIV showed initially high depressive symptoms following diagnosis, their symptoms decreased significantly and on average fell below the cutoff for possible depression approximately 15 days after diagnosis. Among those who tested HIV-negative, on average their depressive symptoms were below the cutoff for possible depression and did not change over time. Among those diagnosed with HIV, disclosure, especially to a partner, on a particular day was associated with higher depressive symptoms that day. However, those who disclosed to their partner during the 28 days after diagnosis had significantly lower depression scores by the end of the 28 days as well as lower depression scores 3 and 6 months after diagnosis than did those who did not disclose to their partner during the 28 days after diagnosis. Scoring higher on HIV-related stigma on a particular day was associated with higher depressive symptoms that day and engaging in positive coping on a particular day was associated with lower depressive symptoms that day. Positive coping also accelerated the decrease in depressive symptoms over time. These data underscore the importance of timely disclosure to partners and suggest that regular depression screening after diagnosis and provision of mental health services could improve HIV care engagement and treatment outcomes.

This paper discusses the pivotal role emotions can play in the higher prevalence of disease and mortality in Black populations in North America. There is a large body of research on the potentially harmful effect of negative emotions upon physical well-being. However, many scholars continue to interpret this link via a biological and reactive lens of emotion. By largely disentangling the embodiment of emotions from the traditional biological framework to which they are typically tied, we seek to analyze the nexus of race, emotion, and health through political, historical, and even ontological lenses. This analysis leverages Barrett's theory of constructed emotion to elucidate the tangible impact of emotion on physical well-being and, in conjunction with Afropessimist metatheory on race, the potential contribution to understanding premature mortality among Black populations in North America. Barrett's theory offers insight into how the persistent experience of negative emotions related to race can disrupt the delicate balance of an individual's body-budget. The detrimental impact of White supremacy's affective classifications and associated emotion concepts on Black populations is a stark reality, contributing significantly to daily health challenges faced by these communities in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that xenophobia in South Africa is a result of intersecting historical, economic, and socio-political factors specific to the South African nationalist project embarked upon after independence. It will show how a confluence of the aforementioned factors in the country have, for the most part, contributed to an environment which is fertile for xenophobia and its expression through physical violence, especially towards other black Africans. This argument is significant because xenophobia is usually viewed from a resource scarcity perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]