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Scholars And Scientists: Reparations Would Increase The Life Expectancy Of Black Americans

Scholars And Scientists: Reparations Would Increase The Life Expectancy Of Black Americans

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Photo by Zack Jarosz, Pexels

Reparations advocates have long explained that reparations will bring many positive changes for Black America. And that reparations go beyond wealth building. Scholars and scientists seem to agree that reparations would not only improve the lives of the recipients but also increase the life expectancy of Black Americans.

Life expectancy for Black people is only 71.8 years compared to 77.6 years for white people. Life expectancy was even lower for Black males at only 68 years.

It would seem like an evident conclusion that having more wealth in the community would bring about better healthcare options, better nutritional options, among other health-related issues. And this would lead Black Americans to live healthier lives and result in longer lives.

A new study backs this up. Researchers analyzed data from 33,501 U.S. adults aged 50 and older between April 1992 and July 2019. According to the researchers, reparation payments of $828,055 per household would eliminate the current wealth gap, thus increasing the life span of Black middle-aged and older adults and decreasing the Black-white survivor gap from 4 years to 1.4 years.

The study is “Association Between Racial Wealth Inequities and Racial Disparities in Longevity Among US Adults and Role of Reparations Payments, 1992 to 2018” by Dr. Kathryn E. W. Himmelstein, Jourdyn A. Lawrence, Ph.D., and Jaquelyn L. Jahn, Ph.D. It was published on Nov. 7 by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Wealth may improve health through stable access to health care, housing, food, and education while offering protection from chronic stress associated with economic uncertainty,” the researchers said in the study.

The slave history of Black American have had ramifications that are felt on many levels even today, experts say.

“In addition to the generational trauma that has been passed down, racism is baked in the fabric of every American system, including housing, education, healthcare and the workplace,” Forbes reported.

Reparations would could help repair this diseased legacy. The study lays out how this would happen. Structural racism has played a role in Black-white life expectancy gap, the study pointed out. The study also noted that the effect of a lump sum reparation payment would positively impact the life expectancy of Black Americans but reparations by themselves will not correct structural racism.

Photo by Zack Jarosz, Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/monochrome-photo-of-man-wearing-white-dress-shirt-2024901/