Health
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Celebrities Clearly Have Ample Access to COVID-19 Tests. What About Everyone Else?
Access to healthcare isn’t universal in this country, but access to the coronavirus certainly is. As I recently expressed when Idris Elba confirmed he had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus strain, realizing celebrities weren’t immune to contracting the virus was a sobering reminder. However, as we heard celebrity after…
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Wu-Tang Is for the Children…and Adults Who Need to Learn About Coronavirus Precautions
Wu-Tang is for the children, but who’s to say adults don’t need some guidance, too? Especially, when you consider the various ways in which people have been reacting to local social distancing mandates. As many across the world gear up for such social distancing in order to halt the further spreading of COVID-19, the disease…
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The Black Person's Guide to the Coronapocalypse
There is an old black saying that goes: “When white folks catch a cold, black people get pneumonia.” Now that white folks are catching the coronavirus, what will black folks get? Coronavirus Ultra? Heinekenfluenza? Stella Artoirthritis? While we may not worry about missing the St. Patrick’s day parade, shaking hands at CPAC or sharing a…
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Preparing for Outbreaks Like Coronavirus Is Always Difficult. For Marginalized Communities, It’s Crucial
In the last few days, there have been a number of shifts in the current COVID-19 outbreak that have put the world on even greater alert and made the declaration of a pandemic almost inevitable. At the time I write this, there have been more than 80,000 cases confirmed across the globe (pdf). Brazil has…
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An Open Letter to the (White) Men in Airport Restrooms Who Refuse to Wash Their Hands
Hey Thad. It is Thad, right? How did I know that was your name? Lucky guess, I guess. Anyway, I know you’re in a rush. We’re in Gate A and your flight to Austin boards in 22 minutes from Gate E, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport is arbitrarily and unnecessarily massive, so I’ll keep this…
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My Daughter Came Down With The Flu and I Learned All About My Family Medical History
The Washington, D.C. area has been hit particularly hard with the flu this season. At my daughter’s school, for instance, as many as 41 kids were out at one time. My boys’ school also felt like a ghost town on several separate days. All three of my children came down with the flu; my daughter…
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A Short Story of How a Black Yogi Made It Possible for Black Detroit to Namaste
DETROIT—Detroit is the blackest city in America. And in this black city exists a black-ass yoga studio where you can be your black-ass self. Amina Daniels, the owner and founder, works hard to keep it that way. Live Cycle Delight, located in Detroit’s gentrifying West Village neighborhood, has two spaces: one where the yoga classes…
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Rapper Diddy Gets Real on IG, Says He Went Through 'Dark Depression' in 2019
While Sean “Diddy” Combs the influencer posted pics of himself to Instagram celebrating the New Year by holding a glass of Ciroc, the “Imma keep it real” Sean posted a video discussing his battle with depression and implored his fans to “lift each other up” in 2020. On New Year’s Day, the fifty-year-old rapper posted…
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New Generation of Black-Led Co-ops Want to End Food Insecurity
“A lot of the neighborhoods in West Oakland had 20 to 30 liquor stores and an assortment of fast-food restaurants but no full-size grocery stores,” Jeneba Kilgore, a worker-owner at Mandela Grocery Cooperative recalled about her hometown 10 years ago. “You could barely find the stuff to make a salad within walking distance.” Briana Sidney,…
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Mo Money, Mo Problems: Life Expectancy Rates in the US Drop for the 3rd Consecutive Year
According to a new report, life expectancy rates in the United States have dropped for the third consecutive year. The report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and cites the escalation of suicide, drug overdoses, liver disease, and dozens of other causes as contributing factors, per the Washington Post: Despite spending…