Racism And Racism

Racism imposes additional health issues on people of color because it is an unnecessary stressor in their every day lives. “African Americans die earlier and have higher rates than whites of many chronic diseases across the social gradient” (Unnatural Causes, 2008). Increased cortisol levels, which are caused by stress have been linked to high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and other health problems.

In America, a culture of sustained racism and sexism influences foreign policymakers, which results in colonialism and imperialism, the desecration of nations, and militancy. The authors of the articles, Michael L. Krenn and Laura McEnaney, with differing skill sets, provide evidence of racial and gendered bias in foreign policy. In “The Adaptable Power of Racism,” Krenn expertly examines the history of racism within foreign policy; how racism adapted in the face of religious and scientific challenges, and the overall effects of racist foreign policies.1 McEnaney, in “Gender Analysis and Foreign Relations,” provides a lackluster account of the application of gender analysis to foreign policy, specifically in relation to the policies of the Cold War and Spanish-American War.2 The history of racism and sexism in America provide a blueprint for foreign policymakers, where racist militancy and sexist excuses override basic human rights.

When compared to European Americans, minorities are at a higher risk to experience emotional and physical stress. According to a census, “The death rate for African Americans was generally higher than whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide” (Office of Minority Health). This census brings into light how African Americans are disproportionately impacted by such growing health concerns as compared to European whites. Based on a study performed by Kathleen Anderson discussed in the article, she found that racism causes greater stress in minorities leading to poorer mental and physical health (Silverstein). “Anderson found that 18.2 percent of black participants experienced emotional stress and 9.8 percent experienced physical stress. Comparatively, only 3.5 and 1.6 percent of whites experienced emotional and physical stress, respectively” (Silverstein). Even though European-American also have a sense of fear built in towards law enforcers, but it is nothing nearly comparable to the amount of fear that exists in minorities.

Studies have demonstrated that these feelings of frustration and anger as a result of experiencing racial microagressions are common among students of colors who attend colleges with a majority population that is white. The research suggests that Black college students experience race-related stress differently than general daily hassles associated with college. As a result Black students typically report higher levels of life events stress, like racial discrimination and financial stress,

Article Review 2 results stated that overall every day discrimination showed higher odds of any psychiatric disorder, anxiety, mood and more lifetime DSM- IV disorders. Furthermore it tends to agree with Article review one, in that, depression is a major factor for the older African American.

This can be problematic that can effect societal beliefs that can have a profound effect on how depression is diagnose due to racism. There is also a correlation on how Caucasian-Americans and African-Americans are treated differently when being diagnose with mental health disorders like depression. For example, Utsey, Chae, Brown, and Kelly (2002) found that for people of Color, cultural racism was related to lower levels of quality of life and that Blacks reported more experiences of individual and cultural race-related stress than other people of Color and had equal levels of institutional race-related stress. It is detrimental to address abnormalities of this of increase depression disorders due to racism against African-Americans because it can show correlations of socioeconomic status of African-Americans are placed into due to

In the interviews African Americans shared how on a daily basis they found themselves dealing with anxiety, fear, humiliation, shame, and stress.”(Thompson-Miller 3). Everyday with feeling all of these emotions is in no way how a life should be lived. “The ‘stress hormone’ cortisol is believed to create a domino effect that hard-wires pathways between the hippocampus and amygdala in a way that might create a vicious cycle by creating a brain that becomes predisposed to be in a constant state of fight-or-flight”.(Christopher Bergland 1). All of the other emotions combined also triggered a PTSD like syndrome called “segregation stress syndrome” .“segregation stress syndrome are similar to PTSD symptoms documented in psychiatric literature. However, “segregation stress syndrome” differs from PTSD because the traumatic experience was not a one-time occurrence; it was sustained, over time, in African American communities. In addition, the racial violence that occurred was a form of systematic chronic stress, the type that has been shown to have a detrimental impact on a person’s psychological well-being”. (Thompson-Miller

African Americans experience specific events of danger related to race that overwhelm the nervous system and require us to recover. These dangers may be real or perceived discrimination, threats of harm and injury, police incidents, and humiliating and shaming events. The aggressors may be black or white. These events stand out in our memory and have long-term impact on our perception of ourselves and our social environments. As mentioned in the previous discussion, some African Americans are stronger after recovering from these events, and others have long-term declines in their ability to cope with future stresses and threats.

This week article deals with keeping race in place with macroaggression’s and campus racial climate. Macroaggression can cause unnecessary stress to people of color. This article was written in 2002 were many people were still being affected by race and the way people perceive them to be like. The article states “We know that it causes stress, which has a great impact on the day to day lives of these students.” College is already stressful to the average college student therefore African Americans have twice the amount of stress on them to succeed.

According to Franklin et al., (2006) Race-related stress is an outcome of perceived that can cause emotional abuse and psychological trauma. The stress, emotional abuse, and

Today some people are more careful when they deal with African Americans. The justice system usually has biases with cases that contain an African American. In addition finding a job can be difficult for an African American. One thing that can contribute to the deterioration of relations and mental health is racial discrimination (Robert et al., 2003). Also, negative thought about African American make their lives worse and they often won’t get high paying jobs.

Once in post-secondary education there are many challenging factors that one has to overcome in order to receive a degree. Black students not only have to cope with the typical stressors of an average college student, but unique challenges as well. Black Students that attend a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) are presented with trials such as stress, sleep denervation, racism, and lack of academic and social support. Exposure to these challenges causes Black students to have an elevated risk of depression (Stransbury, Wimsatt, Simpson, & Martain, 2011). A Black student’s

Mental health issues can develop in an individual as a result of racial stereotyping. “According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Racial and ethnic minorities in the United States face a social and economic environment of inequality that includes greater exposure to racism which takes a toll on mental health”.

The sum effect of the continual violence against black Americans by the United States’ police, the efforts to blame the country’s first black president. The connection between racism and severe anxiety stresses the negative impact that discrimination has on society. Ultimately, racial battle is manifest by the diminished life spans by increasing suicide rates among black children and other indices of the toll that day-to-day life in a racist society takes on the emotional, physical and financial health of black and brown Americans.

This sole fact makes applying to jobs and attending job interviews stressful further leading to anxiety and panic attacks. When individuals who are well qualified for the position get turned down, they are faced with the pressures of meeting basic survival needs such as being able to afford healthy food and adequate housing (LaVeist & Isaac, 2013). For students, they are met teachers who continuously put them down mentally and find ways to prohibit their educational success. Instances such as these also contribute to mental health problems. While there are many details behind why African American individuals have a higher complicated health risk, it is no secret that survival in these communities in addition to surviving as a black individual is like playing a game of