African American health

Members of the Full Circle Everest team pose for a photo on Mount Rainier earlier this year. Next year, group members hope to become the first all-Black team to reach the top of Mount Everest.

A mountaineering group is aiming to be the 1st all-Black team to climb Mount Everest

7:00am October 09, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

The Full Circle Everest team will be scaling Everest next year in an attempt to make history. But it's not just about the climb. They also want to inspire Black people to explore the outdoors.

Evidence seized from a drug trafficking operation in central California in early 2020 included methamphetamine and fentanyl with a street value of $1.5 million, authorities said.

Methamphetamine Deaths Soar, Hitting Black And Native Americans Especially Hard

5:08pm September 22, 2021

by Brian Mann

Newly published U.S. data finds overdose deaths from methamphetamine use more than doubled in recent years. Use of the stimulant among Black Americans surged nearly tenfold.

New research shows racial disparities in opioid overdose rates, with the rate of deaths among Blacks growing faster than in other groups. The researchers are calling for expanding access to drug treatment and to education on how to prevent overdoses using

Black Opioid Deaths Increase Faster Than Whites, Spurring Calls For Treatment Equity

5:23pm September 10, 2021

by Marisa Peñaloza

Black communities face a growing share of overdoses, but addiction treatment resources and attention are still focused on white communities.

Dr. Kristamarie Collman, a family physician in Orlando, has been dispelling vaccine myths through social media. She's among a growing cohort of Black doctors trying to reach vaccine-hesitant members of their communities.

Health & Safety

'You Can't Treat If You Can't Empathize': Black Doctors Tackle Vaccine Hesitancy

5:00am January 19, 2021

by Pien Huang

Black vaccine hesitancy goes back to history of distrust of medicine, say doctors and researchers. To help, it's important to empower people with knowledge to make their own choices.

Some in the medical community now question the use of race in kidney care. They argue it could exacerbate health disparities.

Health & Safety

Is It Time For A Race Reckoning In Kidney Medicine?

10:10am December 28, 2020

by Maria Godoy

A movement sparked by medical students is pushing to eliminate the use of race to estimate kidney function, saying it reinforces racist thinking. Some argue the change could cause unintended harm.

African Americans and other underrepresented minorities make up only about 5% of the people in genetics research studies.

Neuroscience Has A Whiteness Problem. This Research Project Aims To Fix It

9:59pm September 24, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

People of African ancestry have been excluded from many studies of brain disorders. In Baltimore, scientists, doctors and community leaders are working to make neuroscience research more diverse.

Queue Listen Now

Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic's economic impact.

How The Pandemic Is Widening The Racial Wealth Gap

10:04am September 18, 2020

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The coronavirus has affected most Americans, but NPR's latest poll shows Black, Latino and Native American households are hardest hit by the financial impact of the crisis.

There are divides when it comes to who is doing well financially and who is struggling during this pandemic, a new poll finds.

Pandemic Financially Imperils Nearly Half Of American Households, Poll Finds

1:03pm September 10, 2020

by Yuki Noguchi

There are dividing lines when it comes to how families are weathering the pandemic: Those living in big cities, those making less than $100,000 a year, and Latino and Black families are faring worst.

The Jernigan-Noesi family, the Roper Nedd family, and the Ford family talk about the conversations they're having with their kids about racism, social justice, and having hope for the future.

'Change Can Happen': Black Families On Racism, Hope And Parenting

8:15am July 19, 2020

by Patti Neighmond

In wake of George Floyd's killing and the Black Lives Matter protests, conversations about race in America have a new urgency. Here's how Black parents are having 'the talk' with their children today.

In 2018, GirlTrek members gathered for a weekend retreat in Rocky Mountain National Park as part of their #StressProtest.

National

GirlTrek Uses Black Women's History To Encourage Walking As A Healing Tradition

10:21am June 16, 2020

by Allyson McCabe

As part of a 21-day series of walking meditations to honor black women freedom fighters, GirlTrek founders are tackling issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, voter suppression and police violence.