June 19 marks the annual observance of Juneteenth Independence Day, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1965, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was actually two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – but it took that long for those that were enslaved in Texas to receive the notice of their freedom.
Yet, while today is a day of celebration of African American history and heritage, we recognize that the struggle is far from over for Black communities. Racism continues to rear its ugly head in every aspect of American life. Income and housing inequality, police brutality, voter suppression, hate speech, political bigotry, and of particular importance to The Health Trust, health.
According to the CDC, African American adults are less likely to see a doctor due to high costs, lack of accessible care, or other barriers. Institutional racism means the health concerns of black patients are often taken less seriously than white patients, and serious health issues are often diagnosed later. The CDC reports that African Americans ages 18-49 are twice as likely to die from heart disease than whites, and African Americans ages 35-64 years are 50% more likely to have high blood pressure than whites. They are also more likely to suffer from conditions such as diabetes and strokes at an earlier age, as experiences of racism in healthcare often deter people of color from getting the preventative screenings needed to catch the warning signs of these issues.
These health inequalities are also pronounced in the black LGBTQ community. Black gay and bisexual men are more affected by HIV than any other group in the United States; in 2017, they accounted for 26% of total new HIV diagnoses and 37% of new diagnoses among all gay and bisexual men, according to the CDC. Queer women, and in particular black queer women, are less likely to have regular preventative care such as mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. Black transgender women experience profound health and wellness inequality. An estimated 44% of black transgender women are living with HIV. Transgender women of color are also disproportionately targeted in violent hate crimes and make up the majority of transgender murder victims.
The Health Trust operates under the belief that everyone in our community should have the opportunity to be healthy. A person’s income, race, sexual orientation, immigration status, language, age, or zip code should never act as a barrier to health. We work toward this end every day and commit to ending the silos that keep minority groups from accessing the care that they deserve, and building health equity in Silicon Valley and beyond.