African Americans

black hands hold a sign reading, "My skin shouldnt be a death sentence" during a rally against racism.

The impact of racism on African Americans’ health

June 8, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

The impact of racism on African Americans’ health - North Carolina Health News

Researchers and medical professionals have identified racism not only as a social problem, but also a health risk.

By Liora Engel-Smith and Melba Newsome Braxton Winston became a symbol of the Charlotte resistance during the September 2016 protests over the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott when he stripped off his shirt to use as a mask against tear gas and stood face face-to-face with police, clenched fist raised in defiance. Winston has […]

Gov. Cooper walks to a podium with flags in the background. He's at a coronavirus (COVID-19) briefing.

Coronavirus Today – April 21 – New pandemic plans soon, salute a lab worker, nursing home, prison outbreaks

April 21, 2020 by Editor

Coronavirus Today – April 21 – New pandemic plans soon, salute a lab worker, nursing home, prison outbreaks - North Carolina Health News

With a little more than a week left for stay-at-home order, plans are being finalized for what’s next.

By North Carolina Health News staff Stay tuned: More orders coming Gov. Roy Cooper will give North Carolinians a better idea later this week about what happens after April 29, when the current stay-at-home order expires. The governor just issued an executive order that makes people who are temporarily out of a job and a […]

young Latino physician examines an older African American woman patient.

Yes, COVID-19 does discriminate

April 8, 2020 by Melba Newsome

Yes, COVID-19 does discriminate - North Carolina Health News

State and local data show that African Americans across the state are bearing a disproportionate impact of the coronavirus.

By Melba Newsome Mecklenburg County district court Judge Donnie Hoover and his wife Josephine have shared almost everything since the couple met in high school more than 50 years ago. Unfortunately, the lifelong sweethearts now also share a COVID-19 diagnosis. When Josephine was hospitalized on March 16, Judge Hoover immediately went into self-quarantine while awaiting […]

An African-American man stands on a stage where he talks about his wife's death. Maternal health was the topic of a meeting in Raleigh last week.

#ListenToBlackWomen: Maternal and infant health care advocates tell North Carolina

December 10, 2019 by Anne Blythe

#ListenToBlackWomen: Maternal and infant health care advocates tell North Carolina - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina looks for ways to close prominent racial disparity gaps in infant mortality and maternal health rates.

By Anne Blythe The harrowing anecdotes have become all too familiar. Tennis icon Serena Williams shared details of her traumatic postnatal health scare in a Vogue cover story in early 2018. Superstar Beyonce revealed particulars from her exceedingly difficult pregnancy and near-death experience during the emergency C-section birth of her twins in the same magazine […]

Farmers market in Charlotte, NC, this one doesn't accept SNAP

It’s no SNAP getting fresh produce to those who need it

July 16, 2019 by Yen Duong

It’s no SNAP getting fresh produce to those who need it - North Carolina Health News

Right now, only two of Mecklenburg County’s 18 farmers markets accept SNAP. The city of Charlotte and the county are trying to change that.

By Yen Duong In 1941, Norman and David Simpson’s grandfather started selling produce from the family farm off the back of his truck at a nondescript Charlotte corner. By 1978, their father was there, just outside the central business district of Uptown, every Tuesday and Friday. By the time Norman and David took over the […]

a doctor in a darkened room examines xrays of breast tissue to look for cancer.

Black women more likely to die of breast cancer – especially in the South

May 22, 2019 by Pew Trusts

Black women more likely to die of breast cancer – especially in the South - North Carolina Health News

Treatment advances have improved breast cancer survival rates among all U.S. women, but the disparity between white and black women has grown, especially in the Southeast.

By Max Blau Stateline When Felicia Mahone was 27, she felt her breast and found a mass. Breast cancer had killed nearly all the women in her family — her mother, two aunts and two cousins. Her doctor, though, downplayed the lump, assuring her everything would be all right. For months, Mahone resumed her busy […]

Normal blood cells (left) and the blood cells in Sickle cell disease, which do not flow through the circulatory system smoothly.

More African-American Blood Donors Needed for Sickle-cell, Other Treatments

June 18, 2018 by Thomas Goldsmith

More African-American Blood Donors Needed for Sickle-cell, Other Treatments - North Carolina Health News

Speakers at a Red Cross “blood diversity summit” urged increased donations by African Americans, who have historically given at far lower rates than whites.

By Thomas Goldsmith The need for increasing blood donations by African Americans grew into a cause for Sherry Johnson as she saw sickle cell disease threaten the health and lives of her daughters Jordan, Krista and Brianna. Then, in December, Jordan, 14, died of complications from the disease, a genetic blood disorder which disproportionately affects […]

NC Infant Mortality Rate Remains Stubbornly High

October 21, 2016 by Rose Hoban

NC Infant Mortality Rate Remains Stubbornly High - North Carolina Health News

After reaching an historic low rate in 2013, the data show more babies are dying in their first year. By Rose Hoban After years of continual improvement in the health and birth outcomes for newborns in North Carolina, the rate of babies who died in their first year of life has inched upwards for the […]

NC’s Rural Landfills Have Long History of Conflict

September 19, 2016 by Thomas Goldsmith

NC’s Rural Landfills Have Long History of Conflict - North Carolina Health News

A local Wake County battle over a landfill has a familiar ring; that’s because the similar battles over landfills have played out around North Carolina for decades. By Thomas Goldsmith UPDATE: The Wake County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Monday to refuse Shotwell Landfill’s request to expand the amount of waste it accepts annually and […]

Cone Hospital Apologizes for Segregation Case

September 16, 2016 by Thomas Goldsmith

Cone Hospital Apologizes for Segregation Case - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina doctor gets long-delayed apology, honors for service that led to integration of U.S. Hospitals By Thomas Goldsmith In an extraordinary recognition of past wrongs and changing times, Alvin Blount received an apology and honors from Cone Health on Thursday for the hospital’s past practice of excluding African-American physicians such as Blount, as well […]

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