In my book, The Gladioli Are Invisible, I talk about the Haitian immigrants that I knew growing up. I would often hear the adults around me lament about the stress that they endured daily. Sometimes their worries were about their children, at other times it was about their spouses, jobs finances. But, most of the time it dealt with the lack that they experienced as immigrant Black men and women and the discrimination and the lack of resources that they were forced to live with constantly.
It struck me how almost every person of color in my community suffered from a similar disease. I didn’t realize why that was but, as I now have a better understanding of the root causes of these ailments. It seems that this was not a coincidence. Systemic racism has negative effects on ones physical and mental health.
Now, there are some who might dispute this. My response is, how could racism not be a contributing factor of physical and mental distress? It’s common sense for any educated person to know that racism causes stress. But, let’s take this perspective, I don’t think that I have to explain that it’s well documented that stress we experience from daily living causes all sorts of health issues from: sleep disorders, depression, heart disease, anxiety, high blood pressure, ulcers, digestive problems, diabetes. The list goes on and on. Well guess what, racism is a type of stress. And prolonged exposure to racism affects ones physical and mental health in very much the same way. In many cases, victims of prolonged racism also suffer from heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, digestive issues. Regarding ones mental health, the symptoms are similar: one might develop insomnia, anxiety, depression, alcohol and substance abuse.
Let’s take it a step further. With the following historical accounts of racism, which, by the way, are not generally taught in schools. What type of physical or mental response would you have? In each of these massacres Black men, women and children were killed by the thousands, their homes burned down, and their neighborhoods destroyed.
The Colfax Louisiana Massacre of 1873
Wilmington, North Carolina Massacre of 1878
The Atlanta Massacre of 1906
Elaine Arkansas Massacre of 1919
The Tulsa Race Massacre also known as Black Wall Street of 1921
Rosewood, Florida Massacre of 1923
Now, ask yourself this question. How would I feel if I saw a mob of gunmen marching into my neighborhood breaking into my home, killing my family members, friends and neighbors and burning down my home. Wouldn’t that bring on stress?
