The Lacks Family

Health care in the African American community has been a controversial topic in America since the 19th century, emerging from racism on blacks in the United States since colonial times. Along with substandard treatment in hospitals, health care disparities between African Americans and the predominant white population in America are truly alarming, as 21% of blacks are uninsured, compared to the white majority in America, which only have 13% that are uninsured. More disadvantaged persons should be the most likely to be provided health care however, this is clearly not the case, as seen in Henrietta’s family. Day states that “If she was so important, why can’t we get health insurance?”, and given the ailments not only afflicting the Lacks family,
For families like the Lacks’ who live in impoverished communities, lack of income leads to food deserts, a setting with the continual purchase of high, energy-dense fast foods in light of the inaccessibility to proper nutrition, and while often disregarding symptoms of diabetes and heart disease that result from this high-caloric diet, they are “less likely to visit a doctor and get routine screenings” and “less likely to be referred to specialists.” Consequently, African Americans are twenty times more likely than whites to be diagnosed with heart failure (New England Journal of Medicine), and 69% of black men and 82% of black women are considered obese in America (State of Obesity), nearly 1.5 times that of white men and women. Along with the lack of proper nutrition comes twice as much fast-food advertising in black children compared to white children and