US health system treats Black lives differently

+ US women soccer players are still paid less than the men US Edition - Today's top story: How racism in US health system hinders care and costs lives of African Americans [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 June 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Experts often cite factors like poverty, poor diet and stress for the fact that Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates. Yet the U.S. health care system itself shares the blame, write IUPUI scholars Tamika Zapolski and Ukamaka Oruche. African Americans face bias from providers, experience longer wait times for appointments than white people and tend to lack clinics in their own neighborhoods, which results in missed or canceled sessions. The root cause, they explain, is [racism in the distribution of health care](. Also today: - [Cancer drugs could help fight COVID-19]( - [Should domestic extremists be labeled ‘terrorists’?]( - [How big corporations affect the air you breathe]( Lynne Anderson Senior Health + Medicine Editor Mortality rates for COVID-19 are two to three times higher for African Americans than whites. Getty Images/EyeEm/Robin Gentry [How racism in US health system hinders care and costs lives of African Americans]( Tamika C.B. Zapolski, Indiana University; Ukamaka M. Oruche, Indiana University COVID-19 has again demonstrated the health inequities that exist between African Americans and whites. Health + Medicine - [Coronavirus and cancer hijack the same parts in human cells to spread – and our team identified existing cancer drugs that could fight COVID-19]( Nevan Krogan, University of California, San Francisco Kinases are cellular control switches. When they malfunction, they can cause cancer. The coronavirus hijacks these kinases to replicate, and cancer drugs that target them could fight COVID-19. Politics + Society - [Money talks: Big business, political strategy and corporate involvement in US state politics]( Richard A. Devine, American University; Michael Holmes, Florida State University Millions of dollars are spent every election by corporations that want to influence state regulations and policies, and that's likely to continue in the upcoming election. - [The ‘domestic terrorist’ designation won’t stop extremism]( Arie Perliger, University of Massachusetts Lowell Legally designating domestic extremist groups as terrorist organizations – as some in the US advocate now – will have limited benefits, if any at all. Environment + Energy - [Fast food is comforting, but in low-income areas it crowds out fresher options]( Catherine Keske, University of California, Merced Fast-food restaurants can be comforting places, but when they saturate communities, they crowd out healthy food sources and leave residents less nourished. Economy + Business - [As professional sports come back, members of the US women’s soccer team are still paid less than the men’s]( Julie Manning Magid, IUPUI A scholar explains why the players are having so much trouble with their equal pay claim. Education - [In this era of protest over racism, will colleges embrace Black student activists?]( Ted Thornhill, Florida Gulf Coast University A 2018 study found that Black activist students were less likely to get a response to their college inquiries. A sociologist discusses whether the protests of 2020 will do anything to change that. Most read on site - [Coronavirus responses highlight how humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don’t fit their worldview]( Adrian Bardon, Wake Forest University Whether in situations relating to scientific consensus, economic history or current political events, denialism has its roots in what psychologists call 'motivated reasoning.' - [The unique harm of sexual abuse in the black community]( Jennifer M. Gómez, Wayne State University Sexual abuse has unique effects on people who are members of the same minority group, research suggests. An expert who has studied the issue in detail explains the added issue of cultural betrayal. - [American slavery: Separating fact from myth]( Daina Ramey Berry, University of Texas at Austin On Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the ending of slavery in the US, a historian dispels myths about the 'peculiar institution' of slavery. You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111