Racism, Not Biology, Drives Black Health

For centuries, America blamed Black sickness on Black bodies. Doctors wrote that

Black people were naturally weaker, lazier, more “disease‑prone,” instead of admitting

what was really killing us: poverty, overwork, and segregation. By the early 1900s,

Black physicians had seen enough. They started building their own hospitals, medical schools,

and health campaigns—not because they wanted to be separate, but because white institutions refused

to treat Black patients or train Black doctors fairly. National Negro Health Week,

launched by Black leaders and later adopted by the U.S. Public Health Service, pushed everything

from clean water to prenatal care right through Black churches and newspapers. Fast‑forward: the