Spirituality among African Americans

This chapter assesses the importance of spirituality among African Americans. More specifically, it examines the extent to which respondents in a large, multiyear national survey view themselves as a “spiritual person.” Four sets of comparative analysis are offered: (1) racial differences among black and white members of various evangelical Protestant traditions, (2) racial differences among black and white members of various mainline Protestant and Catholic traditions, (3) denominational differences specifically among African Americans, and (4) racial differences among blacks and whites who view themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” The findings reveal significant interracial and intraracial differences in how spirituality shapes one’s personal identity. Because organized religion has historically been so central to African American community life, the implications for the growth in noninstitutional spirituality are considered.

Factorial Validity and Invariance of an Adolescent Depression Symptom Screening Tool

Context: Depression is among the most common mental health disorder in youth, results in significant impairment, and is associated with a higher risk of suicide. Screening is essential but assessment tools may not be appropriate across races or do not account for the complex interrelatedness of various demographics including gender, socio-economic status and race. Objectives: (1) To determine the factor structure of the Patient Health Questionnaire-Adolescent (PHQ-A) for measuring depression in a group of adolescent athletes; and (2) to determine measurement invariance between Blacks and Whites on the PHQ-A. Design: Retrospective cohort design. Setting: Data obtained from a secure database collected at a free, comprehensive, mass pre-participation physical exam (PPE) event hosted by a large health care system. Participants: Participants included 683 high school athletes (Black n=416; White n=267). Independent variables included somatic and affective factors contributing to the construct of depression measured by the PHQ-A and participant race (Black and White). Main Outcome Measures : (1) Factors upon which the construct of depression is measured and (2) measurement invariance between Blacks and Whites. Results: A two-factor model, including affective and somatic components, was specified and exhibited an adequate fit to the data (CFI> .90). All items exhibited moderate to high squared multiple correlation values (R2 = .10–.65), suggesting that these items resonated relatively well with participants. The two-factor model demonstrated noninvariance Black and White participants (RMSEA = .06-.08). Conclusions: Overall, the structure of the PHQ-A is supported by a two-factor model in adolescent athletes, measuring both affective and somatic symptoms of depression. A two factor PHQ-A structure is not fully invariant for the adolescents sampled across participant groups, implying that the model functions differently between Blacks and Whites sampled.

Survival of Black and White Patients With Stage IV Small Cell Lung Cancer

BackgroundSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) is associated with aggressive biology and limited treatment options, making this disease a historical challenge. The influence of race and socioeconomic status on the survival of stage IV SCLC remains mostly unknown. Our study is designed to investigate the clinical survival outcomes in Black and White patients with stage IV SCLC and study the demographic, socioeconomic, clinical features, and treatment patterns of the disease and their impact on survival in Blacks and Whites.Methods and ResultsStage IV SCLC cases from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) diagnosed between 2004 and 2014 were obtained. The follow-up endpoint is defined as death or the date of the last contact. Patients were divided into two groups by white and black. Features including demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, treatments and survival outcomes in Blacks and Whites were collected. Mortality hazard ratios of Blacks and Whites stage IV SCLC patients were analyzed. Survival of stage IV SCLC Black and White patients was also analyzed. Adjusted hazard ratios were analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression models. Patients’ median follow-up time was 8.18 (2.37-15.84) months. Overall survival at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months were 52.4%, 25.7%, 13.2% and 7.9% in Blacks in compared to 51.0%, 23.6%, 11.5% and 6.9% in Whites. White patients had significantly higher socioeconomic status than Black patients. By contrast, Blacks were found associated with younger age at diagnosis, a significantly higher chance of receiving radiation therapy and treatments at an academic/research program. Compared to Whites, Blacks had a 9% decreased risk of death.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that Blacks have significant socioeconomic disadvantages compared to Whites. However, despite these unfavorable factors, survival for Blacks was significantly improved compared to Whites after covariable adjustment. This may be due to Blacks with Stage IV SCLC having a higher chance of receiving radiation therapy and treatments at an academic/research program. Identifying and removing the barriers to obtaining treatments at academic/research programs or improving the management in non-academic centers could improve the overall survival of stage IV SCLC.

Entrepreneurship and Labor Absorption: Blacks and Whites in Northern U.S. Cities During the Great Depression

An extensive literature on newly developing societies shows that the urban economy's entrepreneurial sector can absorb a sizable share of persons who are unemployed and searching for work. Surprisingly, however, little research on the United States has examined entrepreneurship's labor absorption capacity. The present study fills this gap by analyzing Blacks and Whites in northern U.S. cities during the Great Depression, a time of widespread joblessness, particularly among Blacks. The results suggest that, if not for Blacks’ uniquely severe resource deprivation, Black entrepreneurship could have absorbed a large number of jobless Blacks. Labor absorption estimates, calculated with 1940 Census data, indicate that one-third of the Black-White unemployment difference is attributable to racial inequality of entrepreneurial outcomes. This historical evidence advances social-scientific understanding of racial inequality during the Great Depression and informs a longstanding debate about the merits of promoting Black business ownership as a strategy for improving Blacks’ labor market prospects.

The Effects of Mid-life Stress Exposure on Black-White Differences in Cognitive Decline

Cognitive decline is a precursor to cognitive impairment and dementia. Recent research suggests that cognitive decline may begin earlier in the life course for Blacks and that Black-white disparities in cognitive function emerge in midlife. Disproportionate exposure to chronic and acute stressors during mid-life may explain Black-white differences in trajectories of cognitive function over time. In this study we use data from approximately 3,700 Black and white respondents age 51-64 from the Health and Retirement Study to examine race differences in cognitive decline and the role mid-life stress exposure play in these differences. Initial findings suggest that mid-life Blacks have lower levels of cognitive function, but their rates of cognitive decline do not differ significantly from mid-life whites. Financial strain and everyday experiences of discrimination are inversely associated with cognitive decline and only partially explain differences in cognitive decline between mid-life Blacks and whites.

Race, Violence, and the City: Chicago’s Black Urbanity in Contemporary American Film and Literature

In this article we look at three recent films–Native Son (2019, dir. Rashid Johnson, based on Richard Wright’s 1940 novel), Widows (2018, dir. Steve McQueen, based on a 1983 TV series), and The Hate U Give (2018, dir. George Tillman Jr., based on a book by Angie Thomas)–by Black directors that showcase the interactions between Blacks and whites in an American urban milieu. We argue that the setting of two of these films–Native Son and Widows–in Chicago, with The Hate U Give being set in a fictional urban setting bearing a strong resemblance to the Windy City, serves to articulate the continuing racial divisions of American cities in the twenty-first century. The three films show that the fossilization of the divide between Black and white districts inevitably leads to outbreaks of racial violence.

“The Foul Odors of Blacks”

This chapter covers the post-Reconstruction period and the Supreme Court’s rejection of laws to protect Blacks’ use of “public accommodations” on an equal basis with Whites, and the Court’s later upholding of Jim Crow laws that required segregation of Blacks and Whites. Congress had passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, barring discrimination against Blacks’ access to places such as restaurants, theaters, hotels, and railway coaches. Ruling in 1883 in five cases from Kansas, California, Tennessee, New York, and Missouri under the caption of Civil Rights Cases, the Court struck down the “public accommodations” provision, holding that “private” businesses could not be regulated without a showing of “state action” in their operation. This ruling drew a sharp dissent from Justice John Marshall Harlan, who argued that businesses serving the public are subject to regulation. The chapter also recounts violent White resistance to Black voting, with South Carolina senator “Pitchfork Ben” Tillman as leader of a White group known as Red Shirts in murdering Blacks. The chapter concludes with discussion of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1895, holding that Louisiana could provide “separate but equal” railway coaches for Blacks and Whites, over another solitary dissent by Justice Harlan, arguing the Constitution is “color-blind” and protects Blacks from state-imposed discrimination.

Slave Streets, Free Streets: Visualizing the Landscape of Early Baltimore

This article explores some of the possibilities and challenges of reconstructing the physical world of Early Republic Baltimore. Drawing on *Visualizing Early Baltimore*, a detailed visualization of Baltimore city following the war of 1812, "Slave Streets, Free Streets" asks readers to think about where the city's free blacks and enslaved workers lived and worked, and how space could be both integrated and segregated. Our research shows that blacks and whites lived in close proximity, but not necessarily in the same kinds of housing or on the same streets. Mapping also shows that the actual buying and selling of individuals, in the absence of a centralized market, took place all over the city, making it literally impossible for residents, both black and white, to avoid. This article illuminates the lives of ordinary people even as it acknowledges the limits of our ability to recreate the past.

HCBS Service Spending and Nursing Home Placement for Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Does Race Matter?

Objectives: We examined the extent to which home and community-based services (HCBS) spending affected the likelihood of nursing home (NH) placement among black and white HCBS users with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Methods: The study population included new HCBS users with ADRD between 2010 and 2013 ( N = 1,046,200). Results: We found that a one hundred dollar increase in monthly HCBS spending was associated with a 0.3 percentage points decrease in the NH placement rate among Whites, but a 0.3 percentage points increase in the NH placement rate among Blacks. The overall NH placement rate was 68.2% and 56.7% for Whites and Blacks, respectively. Discussion: A higher HCBS spending was associated with a decreased likelihood of NH placements for Whites but not for Blacks. It is important to understand how states’ HCBS expansion efforts influence Blacks and Whites with ADRD so that resources can be tailored to communities with different race-mix.

Malaria, Race, and Inequality: Evidence from the Early 1900s U.S. South

This study investigates the impact of malaria eradication programs on Black-white economic disparities in the early 1900s U.S. South. Malaria eradication was widespread and improved health across races. Yet, only white men experienced economic benefits. Using matched census records, we find that increased exposure to the program was associated with higher schooling attainment and income for whites but not for Blacks. Blacks exposed to malaria eradication were more likely to be farm laborers, and both Blacks and whites were more likely to migrate out of state. Our findings suggest that malaria eradication, a broadly applied intervention, widened racial gaps.