With politicians, public health experts and epidemiologists announcing that the United States is at the beginning of ending the AIDS epidemic and that we will soon usher in an AIDS-free generation of youths, each World AIDS Day, on Dec. 1, takes on increasingly special significance, especially for African Americans. Because the nation’s HIV/AIDS epidemic is…

The death of 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo this January brought attention to autism spectrum disorders among communities of color and the awareness of the need to protect autistic children from wandering, eloping or “bolting” from safe spaces. One of few children of color whose search—when he went missing from school—prompted mainstream media attention, Avonte brought a brown face to ASD. “In general,…

Editor’s note: This is part 1 of the four-part series Keeping Black Men Healthy, in honor of National Minority Health Month. Read part 2 here. If you notice that you and your male sexual partner have started butting heads as bedtime draws near, it may be because he’s struggling to perform sexually but doesn’t want you…

Last week a 40-year-old man who was infected with the Ebola virus flew to Lagos, Nigeria, from Liberia, stopping over in Ghana and changing planes in Togo—coming into contact with countless people along the way. This man, whose sister had died from Ebola, began exhibiting symptoms aboard the flight to Nigeria, was hospitalized after landing…

Every year the equivalent of an airplaneful of women wind up dying when their minimally invasive surgery to remove fibroids or their uterus accidentally spreads undiagnosed uterine cancer. Many of those women are black, yet few of them fully understand the risks. A growing body of evidence suggests that many women should steer clear of…

On Thursday the Minnesota Vikings’ star running back, Adrian Peterson, was indicted (pdf) on charges of “injury to a child” for striking his 4-year-old son with a tree branch—what many African Americans would call a whipping with a “switch.” CBS Houston reports that the boy’s pediatrician reported his injuries to police; TMZ has published photos that it…

Last week’s preacher scandal has enough intrigue and heat for a ShondaLand soap or reality show. But once you get past all the drama in the Rev. Juan D. McFarland’s Montgomery, Ala., church, it’s clear that many of us still have some important lessons to learn about sexually transmitted diseases. If you’re not already up…

When I worked with Mo’ne Davis to write her new book, Mo’ne Davis: Remember My Name: My Story From First Pitch to Game Changer, I met a 13-year-old who epitomizes the benefits of girls’ involvement in sports. Of course, I already knew about Mo’ne’s women’s-history-making Little League pitching performances, when she struck out scores of…

Add it to the list of slavery and Jim Crow’s legacies: the tendency to look after other people’s well-being at the expense of ourselves. But 150 years after the “peculiar institution’s” end, many black women tend to their jobs, their children and their partners—even their hair—before taking care of their own health. The tragic consequence…