“They Eat What They Eat, I Eat What I Eat”: Examining the Perspectives and Experiences of African Americans Who Adopt Plant-Based Diets

2020 ◽  
pp. 155982762090885
Author(s):  
Marian Botchway ◽  
Gabrielle M. Turner-McGrievy ◽  
Anthony Crimarco ◽  
Mary J. Wilson ◽  
Marty Davey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vegan Diet ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Negative Comments ◽  
And Coping

Adopting a plant-rich or plant-based diet is one of the major recommendations for addressing obesity, overweight, and related health conditions in the United States. Currently, research on African Americans’ food choices in the context of plant-based diets is limited. The primary aim of this study was to understand food-related experiences and perceptions of African Americans who were participating in the Nutritious Eating with Soul (NEW Soul) study, a culturally tailored dietary intervention focused on increasing the consumption of plant-based foods. The roles of gender and ethnicity were also examined to identify how eating patterns were chosen or maintained. Twenty-one African American adults in South Carolina, who were randomly assigned to either a vegan diet (n = 11) or a low-fat omnivorous diet (n = 10) in the NEW Soul study, completed one-on-one, qualitative interviews. Emerging themes included awareness, being in control, and identity. The study revealed that access to social support and coping strategies for addressing negative comments about plant-based food choices may be important components to include in future nutrition interventions focused on African Americans.

scholarly journals Housing Insecurity and the Emotional and Physical Health of African Americans

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 335-336
Author(s):  
Aarti Bhat ◽  
August Jenkins ◽  
David Almeida
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chronic Health Conditions ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Chronic Health ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Housing insecurity—or limited and/or unreliable access to quality housing— is a potent on-going stressor that can adversely impact individual well-being. This study extends previous research by investigating the impact of housing insecurity on both the emotional and physical health of aging African American adults using the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher oversample of African Americans collected from 2012-2013 (N = 508; M age = 43.02; 57% women). Participants reported on their negative affect, number of chronic health conditions experienced in the last year, and experiences of housing insecurity since the 2008 recession (e.g., homelessness, threatened with foreclosure or eviction, lost home). Negative affect and chronic conditions, respectively, were regressed on housing insecurity, and the potential moderating effect of age was tested. Results showed that housing insecurity was associated with more negative affect (B = 0.05, SE = 0.03, p = .002) and chronic health conditions (B = 0.26, SE = 0.03, p < .001). Additionally, the association between housing insecurity and negative affect was moderated by age (B = -0.11, SE = 0.00, p = .019), such that the effect of housing insecurity on negative affect was stronger for younger adults than for older adults. These results suggest that experiences of insecure housing leave African American adults vulnerable to compromised emotional and physical health, however, the negative effects of housing insecurity may attenuate with age.

scholarly journals Neighborhood Social Predictors of Weight-related Measures in Underserved African-Americans in the PATH Trial

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler McDaniel ◽  
Dawn K. Wilson ◽  
Sandra M. Coulon ◽  
Gregory A. Hand ◽  
E. Rebekah Siceloff
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multiple Regression Model ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Social Predictors ◽  
African American Adults

<p class="Default"> </p><p>African Americans have the highest rate of obesity in the United States relative to other ethnic minority groups. Bioecologi­cal factors including neighborhood social and physical environmental variables may be important predictors of weight-related measures specifically body mass index (BMI) in African American adults. Baseline data from the Positive Action for Today’s Health (PATH) trial were collected from 417 African American adults. Overall a multiple regression model for BMI was significant, showing positive associations with average daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (B =-.21, <em>P</em>&lt;.01) and neighbor­hood social interaction (B =-.13, <em>P</em>&lt;.01). Consistent with previous literature, results show that neighborhood social interac­tion was associated with healthier BMI, highlighting it as a potential critical factor for future interventions in underserved, African American communities. <em>Ethn Dis. </em>2015; 25(4):405-412; doi:10.18865/ed.25.4.405</p>

scholarly journals Association of Active Coping to Unfair Treatment with Perceived Stress and Depressive Symptoms in African Americans: MH-GRID Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayomide Ojebuoboh ◽  
Amparo Gonzalez-Feliciano ◽  
Kristen Brown ◽  
Rumana Khan ◽  
Ruihua Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Minority Health ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coping Mechanism ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
African American Adults ◽  
Unfair Treatment

Abstract Background: Unfair treatment such as discrimination and racism contribute to depression and perceived stress in African Americans. Although studies have examined how responding to such treatment is associated with ameliorating depressive symptoms and levels of perceived stress, most do not focus on African Americans. The purpose of this study is to assess how talking to others in response to unfair treatment is associated with self-reported depressive symptoms and perceived stress levels in African Americans.Methods: A sample from the 2010-2013 Minority Health Genomics and Translational Research Bio-Repository Database was used and consisted of 376 African American adults aged 30-55 years old residing in the southern region of the United States. Linear regression models were used to assess the association between talking to others following unfair treatment, compared to keeping it to oneself, on self-reported depressive symptoms and perceived stress. The predictor variable was based on the question “If you have been treated unfairly, do you usually talk to people about it or keep it to yourself?” Results: Talking to someone after being treated unfairly was inversely associated with perceived stress (B: -3.62, SE: 1.14, p ≤ 0.05) and depressive symptoms (a: -3.62, SE: 1.14, p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: African Americans who talked to others in response to unfair treatment had lower depressive symptoms and perceived stress than those who kept it to themselves. More outreach to African Americans regarding the importance of talk in response to exposure to unfair treatment is needed as a potential coping mechanism.

scholarly journals Social Support, Coping Behaviors, and Resilience Among African Americans During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 198-198
Author(s):  
Sung Park
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coping Behaviors ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Multiple Health

Abstract Enduring structural inequalities in the United States by race have only become more apparent during COVID-19, as African Americans experienced significant health and economic challenges that far exceeded those observed among other racial and ethnic groups. Relying on multiple nationally representative surveys, this study examines the diversity of ways in which middle-aged and older African Americans’ managed the stress and pressures associated with the pandemic. I summarize the inequities faced by African Americans before and during COVID-19, as well as trends in the utilization of social support, coping behaviors, and degree of resilience. Furthermore, this study investigates the relationship between social support and coping strategies to multiple health outcomes over time. When appropriate, comparisons to other racial and ethnic groups are made. This research underscores the importance of considering social relationships and modifiable coping behaviors when studying African American aging and well-being during times of crisis.

AME Church

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jualynne Elizabeth Dodson
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
African Americans ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methodist Episcopal ◽  
Free People Of Color ◽  
Ame Church ◽  
The World ◽  
African Descendants ◽  
The Church

Organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the last decade of the 18th century by free African Americans, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is one of the oldest, centrally organized, Christian communions in the world founded and led by US African descendants. Independent-minded free Blacks chose separate Christian worship rather than suffer discriminating racist restrictions to their chosen worship practices. The entire number of African American members “walked out,” of Philadelphia’s white St. George Methodist Episcopal congregation, including the several women members. Richard Allen is the declared “iconic founder” of the denomination, though an original female member provided space for the earliest organizing meetings of what would become the AME Church. In 1816 the Pennsylvania court authorized the emerging group’s legal social status as a denomination. Earlier, a large congregation of African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, had joined the evolving AME Church, and the denomination continued to grow and expand for more than 200 years, almost equal the age of the United States of America itself. In the first half of the 19th century, a considerable number of AME congregations served as way-stations for self-liberated enslaved persons on the Underground Railroad, and the Church participated in conversations with and about “African Colonization of Free People of Color.” The denomination declined colonization and kept “African” in its name. During the US Civil War, as the Northern military freed Confederate territories, AME Church leaders were allowed to accept recently freed African descendants into the denomination. This brought into the Church the largest numbers of new members and resources ever seen. Currently, there are some 2,510,000 AME members; 3,817 pastors, and 7,000 congregations, and the denomination has belonged to the World Council of Churches since that body organized in 1948. The AME Church is an integral and essential component of US society and has a presence in nineteen African nations, in many countries of the Caribbean islands, and in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Guyana in South America. For more than two centuries, it has published hymnals, Sunday School literature, newspapers, periodical journals, histories of individuals, places and events, a wide variety of local memorabilia, and much more. The keeping of AME records has continued throughout its history and can serve as a great reservoir for future scholarship.

Self-Reported Experiences of Racial Discrimination Among African Americans in Upstate New York

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-500
Author(s):  
Amina P. Alio ◽  
Cindi A. Lewis ◽  
Heather Elder ◽  
Wade Norwood ◽  
Kingdom Mufhandu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The United States ◽  
Upstate New York ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Health And Well Being

Racial discrimination in the United States continues to adversely affect health outcomes to the detriment of African Americans. To assess the experiences of residents of a metropolitan community with high rates of racial health disparities in upstate New York, we conducted a survey to measure the primary reasons for discrimination and their experiences with daily and lifetime discrimination, reactions to these experiences, and coping mechanisms. Of the 739 individuals who completed the survey in 2012, 71.5% self-reported as Black or African American. This article focuses on the experiences of Blacks or African Americans, among whom 76.2% reported having experienced racial discrimination at some point in their life. Respondents with higher levels of education and higher income were more likely to report experiencing racial discrimination at work, while for those with a high school education or less it was on the street or public spaces. The burden of these experiences affected individuals by making life more difficult and interfering with a productive life. In light of the known impact of racial discrimination on individual and population health and well-being, it is crucial that efforts to address social and health disparities take into account the high rates of experiences of racism.

“Dixie Carmen”: War, Race, and Identity in Oscar Hammerstein's Carmen Jones (1943)

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNEGRET FAUSER
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
African American ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
African Americans ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pearl Harbor ◽  
World War ◽  
Porgy And Bess ◽  
Night Club

AbstractIn December 1943, an all–African American cast starred in the Broadway premiere of Carmen Jones, Oscar Hammerstein II's adaptation of Georges Bizet's Carmen. When Hammerstein began work on Carmen Jones a month after Pearl Harbor, in January 1942, Porgy and Bess was just being revived. Hammerstein's 1942 version of Carmen, set in a Southern town and among African Americans, shows the influence of the revised version of Porgy and Bess, with Catfish Row echoed in a cigarette factory in South Carolina and the Hoity Toity night club. It took Hammerstein more than eighteen months to find a producer, and when the show opened by the end of 1943, the setting in a parachute factory and urban Chicago reflected new priorities brought on by wartime changes. Commercially one of the most successful musical plays on Broadway during its run of 503 performances, Carmen Jones offers a window on the changing issues of culture, class, and race in the United States during World War II. New archival evidence reveals that these topics were part of the work's genesis and production as much as of its reception. This article contextualizes Carmen Jones by focusing on the complex issues of war, race, and identity in the United States in 1942 and 1943.

scholarly journals Culture, Depression, and Coping Mechanisms among African Americans

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. p102
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Armstrong-Mensah ◽  
Rebekah Bills ◽  
Lizbeth Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
African Americans ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Dynamic Force ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Health It ◽  
And Coping

Culture is a dynamic force that significantly affects health. It comprises beliefs, norms and values, and determines how populations view certain things. In the area of mental health, it determines whether one will seek help or not, the type of help they will seek, the type of support system they will have, and how they will cope with mental illness. There are six racial groups in the United States, each with its unique sub-culture. Belonging to the African American racial group, African Americans have their perceptions about mental illness, stigma, treatment and care, as well as preferred coping mechanisms. This paper discusses the effects culture has on depression among African Americans. It also examines the coping mechanisms this population employs to deal with depression, and proposes strategies for addressing their mental health issues.

Black Muslimness Mobilized

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Youssef J. Carter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Religious Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black Atlantic ◽  
West African ◽  
Religious Leader ◽  
American Muslims ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Sufi Order

The Mustafawi Tariqa is a transnational Sufi Order that was initiated in 1966 by the late Cheikh Mustafa Gueye Haydara (d. 1989) in Thiès, Senegal. Yet, only since 1994 has this specific Sufi network reached westward across the water, bringing American Muslims—many of whom are converts—into the larger network. In the United States, the majority of students who have entered the Tariqa and have declared allegiance (bayah) to Shaykh Arona Rashid Faye Al-Faqir are African-Americans who have inserted themselves religiously, culturally, and pedagogically into a West African Sufi tradition which emphasizes religious study and the practice of dhikr (remembrance of God). Shaykh Arona Faye is a Senegalese religious leader who relocated to the southeastern region of the United States from West Africa to spread the religion of Islam and expose American Muslims to the rich West African tradition of spiritual purification and Islamic piety. At the same time, many of those who are African-American members of this tradition have made it a point to travel to Senegal themselves to strengthen transatlantic ties with West African compatriots and visit sacred burial sites in the small city of Thiès. I examine how two sites of pilgrimage for the Mustafawi—Moncks Corner, South Carolina and Thiès, Senegal—play a part in the infrastructure of Black Atlantic Sufi network. Moncks Corner is the central site in which access to the Tariqa’s most charismatic living shaykh, Shaykh Arona Faye, has worked for the past two decades teaching and mentoring those on the Path. On the other hand, Thiès is the location where the Tariqa’s founder is buried and travelers visit the town in order to pay homage to his memory. I show how these sites catalyze mobility and operate as spaces of spiritual refuge for visitors in both local and regional contexts by looking at how a local zawiyah produces movement in relation to a broader tariqa. By looking at pilgrimage and knowledge transmission, I argue that the manner in which esoteric approaches to spiritual care and the embodiment of higher Islamic ethics via the West African Sufi methodology of the Mustafawi informs the manner in which Muslims of varying African descent inhabit a broader diasporic identification of “Black Muslimness.”

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