Black, Indigenous and people of color disproportionately have an increased risk of cancer from environmental toxinsAccording to a new report by the National Minority Quality Forum and CEO Roundtable on Cancer, 56% of people living in the U.S. within three kilometers of carcinogenic sites are people of color. This environmental exposure places communities of color at an increased risk of cancer. “There is a real link and correlation between [cancer and] historical public policies like redlining, which consisted of discriminatory housing and lending practices that forced marginalized communities into specific zip codes that happened to be within close proximity of carcinogenic waste sites,” said Adjoa Kyerematen, the vice president of NMQF.
Prism's Lily Levine reports that the research focused on Flint, Michigan, the greater Houston area, and "Cancer Alley," the nickname given to an 85-mile stretch of land along the Mississippi River due to the area's abnormally high cancer rates.
Asian Americans with postpartum depression need better perinatal carePostpartum depression, or PPD, affects up to 30% of new parents worldwide. PPD is a serious and potentially life-threatening mental health condition that can occur during pregnancy or up to a year after birth. It's more than just "baby blues," writes Jia Jung in a story published by AsAmNews. Postpartum depression manifests as feelings of sadness, anxiety, fatigue, hopelessness, detachment, and impotence.
A recent study from Kaiser Permanente Southern California found that PPD has dramatically increased among Asian Americans (280%) over the last decade — the largest relative increase across both white and non-white groups in the U.S. Unfortunately, research has shown that Asian Americans are among the groups that are least likely to initiate postpartum treatment.
However, last August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Zurzuvae (zuranolone), the first oral medication used to treat postpartum depression in adults, but barriers to accessing the treatment remain.
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The women changing the face (and culture) of lowridingYou've seen this picture before. A candy-colored car glistening in the sun, cruising down busy avenues and around city parks, rolling "low and slow." The scene is iconic and "now so LA," writes Shirley Hawkins for palabra.
For several generations, men were usually the ones behind the wheel lowriding; they often owned the vehicle and the shops where the car would be customized. But today, lowriding (driving a customized car with a lower body) is attracting a new demographic — Latina and Black women are purchasing their own customized cars, free-wheeling and "hitting switches" on hydraulic systems (which enables the car to bounce).
palabra. recently spoke with Sandy Avila, a resident of Pasadena, California, who founded the Lady Lowrider Car Club in July 2021. Members of the club don’t just show up at car shows and start barbecues on weekends; they also work on community projects, such as organizing toy drives and mentoring foster kids. “Up until now, women have always been in the passenger seat, never in the driver seat,” says Avila.
Read about the women who are changing the face and culture of lowriding →
Meet the Game Changers
Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities
When former sales rep Jairus Morris realized he didn't have many friends who were into the latest water bottle fad — and that Black and Brown folks weren't the target audiences for many of these brands, the 33-year-old launched the first Black-owned insulated water bottle brand SUPLMNT