America’s Black Community is Hurting Right Now

By the diaTribe team

Not all people with diabetes are affected equally – diaTribe recommits to helping underserved populations and shares resources for supporting minority health

At diaTribe, we focus on helping people with diabetes, pre-diabetes, and obesity, and on understanding how systems in the US and across the world interact with the disease. Since we investigate and report on many aspects of diabetes, we have come to recognize the many shortcomings in our social structures and justice system that tragically result in a health system that doesn’t treat all people with diabetes equally.

Unfortunately, the facts are that diabetes overwhelmingly affects people of color: rates of diabetes are higher, health outcomes are more severe, and the financial burden of the condition is more significant in these underserved populations. This is not health equity. This is not acceptable.

COVID-19 has had a significant and inequitable impact on the black community. Over the past several days, we have watched protests develop all over the country. For many, the senseless death of an innocent black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis was a tipping point. After following so many other senseless deaths – Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and countless others both known and unknown – people are heartbroken and angry.

It is a tipping point for us, too. We, at diaTribe, are committed to helping minorities and underserved populations lead healthier and happier lives. We are committed to allocating resources that empower Black and Brown people to take care of their diabetes. We will advocate for change in this nation’s health systems – to elevate the health of marginalized populations in a fight for health justice.

There are many organizations supporting Black people and other minorities across America, through protest, rebuilding, and other means. As part of our commitment, we want to support the people and organizations that are working to enact systematic change to improve health care for people of color in this country. Please join our team in supporting change. Here are a few organizations focused on Black and minority health that can use our help – today and every day:

• Black Women’s Health Imperative – BWHI is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the 21 million Black women and girls in the United States – physically, emotionally, and financially.

• Black AIDS Institute – The BAI is a Black think and do tank in the United States. powered by two decades of work  to end the Black HIV epidemic and led by people who represent the issues they serve.

• North Star Health Collective – The NSHC includes healthcare professionals and community organizers working in alliance with other organizations to create safe and healthy events in Minnesota and beyond, with an emphasis on harm reduction.

• 100 Black Men of America, Inc. – The 100 Black Men of America, Inc. is recognized as the nation's top African American-led mentoring organization

• National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. – The NCBW's mission is to advocate on behalf of women of color through national and local actions which promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education, and economic empowerment.

• The Movement for Black Lives – The M4BL is an ecosystem of individuals and organizations creating a shared vision and policy agenda to win rights, recognition, and resources for black people with a focus on making it possinble for eveyone to live healthy, fruitful lives.

The current protests and the demands for justice are warranted and long-overdue. While all of us look for movement toward more stability – because that is what is best for the health of our communities – we are working to ensure that we do not return to the old “normal.” We hope instead that these protests help us prioritize and invest in our community more meaningfully, deliberately, and intentionally.

Please join us and others working to help all people with diabetes, and especially those who are most disproportionately affected.  To join our conversation, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.