Your Body Carries What History Left Behind
Somebody probably told you at some point to manage your stress. Maybe it was a doctor handing you a pamphlet. Maybe it was a well-meaning family member or a coworker who does yoga. Manage your stress. Get more sleep. Worry less. Take care of yourself. And you probably nodded. And then you got in the car and started thinking about the six things you had to do before the end of the week, and the bill that came in last Tuesday, and whether your mother’s blood pressure is under c
NIAAH Editors
3 days ago4 min read
Freedom Day Didn't Free Our Health
On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas heard the news. The Civil War was over. The Confederacy had fallen. And by order of the United States government, they were free. That moment became Juneteenth. Freedom Day. And it deserves every celebration we give it. The cookouts, the music, the red KoolAid, the gathering of families who once were not allowed to gather. The joy of that day is real, and it is right and it is ours. But we also have to tell the whole truth
NIAAH Editors
Jun 244 min read
The Wound Is Real. So Is the Danger
A decades-old betrayal. A present-day crisis. Both demand our attention. Let's start with the truth: Black people in America have been lied to, experimented on, and discarded by the medical establishment for as long as there has been a medical establishment. That is history. And history has a way of making the present complicated. Right now, two NYTimes stories are sitting side by side in the news, and together they capture exactly why so many of us feel pulled in two direc
NIAAH Editors
Jun 46 min read
