This Nationwide Heatwave is Hitting Black Folks The Hardest…Because Racism

The country is grappling with a devastating heat wave that has reached historic highs this summer. For example, California’s Death Valley reached a temperature of 127 degrees on Friday (July 5). If the temperature there crosses 130 degrees, it will break the record for hottest temperature ever “reliably measured on earth,” according to the Scientific American.

In addition, big cities like New York are also trying to find reprieve from the heat as the temperatures have constantly been over 90 degrees. In NYC, it has been statistically proven that Black residents die from heat-related ailments at twice the rate of their white counterparts. Environmental racism is to blame—and Black folks should be outraged by it.

This disturbing trend can be traced back to the discriminatory housing practice that began in the 1930s called “redlining,” in which the government used race as a means to determine how much a neighborhood is worth investing in. Redlining also led to Black folks being denied mortgages and living in neighborhoods that didn’t have the resources they desperately needed.

In addition, this practice has had effects that have lasted decades. A look back at redlining maps from the 1930s and New York City’s heat vulnerability maps from the state’s health department shows shocking similarities between how certain communities were categorized and where people are most likely die from heat.

According to a 2023 health report from Maricopa County, Arizona, Black people comprised 11 percent of heat related deaths even though they account for just 6.8 percent of the county population. Almost 30 years ago, a heat wave in Chicago killed over 700 people — with the majority of the victims being poor and Black.

Two years ago, Boston University did a study of over 100 cities including Hartford, Conn. and San Jose, Calif. Their findings were that air conditioning was less accessible in places with more Black and brown residents. What these neighborhoods need are more trees and green spaces, as well as rooftops being covered with plants.

Experts believe that these heat waves will keep getting worse—and that people of color will continue to suffer the most unless something drastically changes.