By Nijiama Smalls, The Black Girl’s Guide to Healing Emotional Wounds Relationships are complicated and marriage is even more complicated y’all. That is the best way I can describe them. The challenges arise mainly because most of us were not well prepared to be a partner. Premarital counseling (which is still necessary) tends to only […]
Category: Health
Posted inBUSINESS
Harp Vision: providing natural body care products to remedy chronic pain
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Husband and wife Tyron and April Harper suffered from chronic pain for years. Tyron Harper deals with fibromyalgia, a disorder that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says causes pain all over the body. April Harper has endometriosis—a condition in which tissue typically found in the […]
Posted inWord In Black
E-cigs are still flooding the U.S., addicting teens with higher nicotine doses
By Liz Szabo, Word in Black When the FDA first asserted the authority to regulate e-cigarettes in 2016, many people assumed the agency would quickly get rid of vapes with flavors like cotton candy, gummy bears, and Froot Loops that appeal to kids. Instead, the FDA allowed all e-cigarettes already on the market to stay […]
Posted inFood
The truth about watermelon: a look at the most controversial fruit in the Black community
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, water makes up 92 percent of a watermelon’s content. One of the most nourishing foods available, watermelon hydrates on a cellular level—meaning the trillions of cells contained in the body are effectively nourished. Experts maintain that you can “eat your water” […]
Posted inBaltimore News
New Song Academy students win $13,000 to address food deserts
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Four eighth-grade students from New Song Academy recently won big at the Philanthropy Tank Finals Event in Pikesville, Md. Aniya Ponton, Samahj Chestnut, Ryeona Watson and Logan Reynolds received $13,000 for their business pitch, an initiative to improve access to healthy food choices, called Bmore Fresh. The social […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
3M reaches $10.3 billion settlement over contamination of water systems with ‘forever chemicals’
By John Flesher, The Associated Press Chemical manufacturer 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a host of consumer products, the company said Thursday. The deal would compensate water providers for pollution with […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Recent events that indicate Earth’s climate has entered uncharted territory
By Isabella O’Malley, The Associated Press As a warming Earth simmered into worrisome new territory this week, scientists said the unofficial records being set for average planetary temperature were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming their environment. But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us […]
Posted inHealth
Maternal deaths in the US more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
By Laura Ungar Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic groups within […]
Posted inHealth
Maternal deaths in the US more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
By Laura Ungar Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic groups within […]
Posted inHealth
Most states have seen an increase in nursing licenses. So why are there still shortages?
by Lauren Liebhaber Canva A population’s health depends on and reflects the capacity of its health care system. The U.S. health care system is facing a shortage of doctors and nurses. As a result, almost 100 million Americans live in primary health care shortage areas where staffing doesn’t meet demand. A rapidly aging and ailing […]
Posted inHealth
Black women in the south at gravest risk from pregnancy
By Sarah Jane Tribble As maternal mortality skyrockets in the United States, a federal program created to improve rural maternity care has bypassed Black mothers, who are at the highest risk of complications and death related to pregnancy. The grant-funded initiative, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, began rolling out four years ago […]
Posted inHealth
In the birthing space: why Black men are needed now more than ever
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer, mscatliffe@afro.com Arsalaan Allgood is a self-defined natural birth advocate. When he witnessed the treatment his mother received while giving birth to his siblings in the hospital, he noticed the lack of nurture and care. “I didn’t feel like she was treated with much dignity, and it wasn’t a […]