health
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COVID Death Toll in America Tops 500,000, Black Americans and Other Communities of Color Still Have Highest Rates of Loss
On Monday, the U.S. marked nearly a year since the ongoing coronavirus pandemic arrived on our shores by reaching a horrid milestone: 500,000 Americans dead from the virus. According to the New York Times, this surpasses the number of Americans who died in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. President…
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Massive Racial Disparity in Kentucky’s Vaccination Numbers Underscores the Enduring Power of Structural Racism
The racial inequities that have been brought into stark relief by the COVID-19 pandemic are again being made painfully apparent in the current phase of vaccine distribution. The vast disparity in the number of Black people and white people in Kentucky who have received vaccines—less than 19,000 for the former, according to WFPL, compared to…
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Number of New Daily COVID-19 Cases Decreasing; Biden Says He’ll Surpass Goal of 100 Million Vaccine Doses
There are some hopeful indications that the U.S. could be turning a corner in the devastating coronavirus pandemic, though the quickly spreading virus still poses a considerable threat. The most recent data release from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows that the average daily number of new COVID-19 infections has dropped below 100,000. According…
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Who Is Dr. Obeng? What You Need to Know About the Plastic Surgeon Who Un-Did Tessica Brown’s Hairdo
*Clears throat* Dear Reader, It seems the social media ton is abuzz over Lady Tessica Brown’s successful surgical procedure at the hand of Duke Dr. Obeng. As you may recall in our previous correspondence, the Ghanian-born plastic surgeon has garnered a reputation for reportedly being not only the first Black plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills…
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Does the NFL's Concussion Settlement Program Discriminate Against Black Players? Clinicians Who Apply the Protocols Seem to Think So
While the NFL maintains that race doesn’t factor into the eligibility requirements of its concussion settlement program, clinicians are coming forward with their concerns that the league’s recommended protocols do in fact discriminate against Black players. According to ABC News and ESPN, when former players file for compensation, they are required to undergo a battery…
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Missouri Man Dies After Being Denied Emergency Room Care 3 Times
A Missouri man died in a hospital parking lot after his third attempt to get emergency medical treatment, his wife says. According to St. Louis-area CBS affiliate News 4, Sadie Bell took her husband, David, to the emergency room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Peters the week of Jan. 8 after he complained of chest…
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All Boys Aren't Blue: George M. Johnson's Bestselling Memoir-Manifesto Becomes a Star-Studded Filmed Reading
Last year may not have brought an abundance of pleasures, but one of its standouts was George M. Johnson’s literary debut, All Boys Aren’t Blue. The Root 100 honoree’s “memoir-manifesto” not only became an instant bestseller and Amazon Best Book of the Year honoree but garnered a development deal with Gabrielle Union’s production company, soon…
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Truth Hurts: Here’s Your Friendly Reminder That Lizzo Can Do Whatever the Hell She Wants to Do With Her Body—and So Can You
“Your body is perfectly yours, even if it ain’t perfect to anybody else.” On Dec. 13, “Good as Hell” singer-songwriter Lizzo gave fans and followers a glimpse into what exactly she had been up to for the 10 days prior: a smoothie cleanse. In a series of videos posted on her Instagram story, Lizzo shared…