Systemic Racism in America has been a social injustice for over 400 years. In today’s society, we would like to think that race and racism are that of the past. Unfortunately, that is not the reality that African Americans have continued to endure even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. Systemic Racism is intertwined into the fabric of the United States. The social, financial, and racial inequalities that African American’s experience to this day have not changed and can demonstrate the connection between two different time periods. The declining significance of race can be explained using the works of classical theorist Karl Marx and contemporary theorist William Julius Wilson.
Formulate one new comment of your own. It must be a logical and thoughtful response that synthesizes the comments of at least 3 classmates into one comment. Be sure to synthesize; do not simply reply to each of the 3 classmates.
Although there are many aspects to a healthy community that will ultimately lead to an improved population health, one must organize and prioritize based on individual community risk factors and exposures. Among the numerous factors, two key focal points for public health professionals are the environment as well as behaviors and lifestyles. A population’s environment can have both a positive and negative effect on the community, and the individual’s behavior and/or lifestyle can also serve as a determining factor in health outcomes.
Two major factors that determine a population’s health are behaviors/lifestyles as well as the environmental factors (CDC, 2016). Some influences are within a population’s control while others are dependent on legislators and other government officials to manage. Some individual behavior lifestyles that can lead to positive change are eating healthy, exercising regularly, and not smoking cigarettes (CDC, 2016). Although many look at this influence on health as individual’s responsibility, there is some external influence as well. As stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), behaviors and lifestyles are in part shaped by the environment which surrounds the population.
As a public health professional one target topic for the Mayor of the community would be cigarette use among middle school and high school students. Some concerning statistics have been presented in the state of Florida, and are sure to be present throughout the United States. According to the Florida Department of Health (2020), in 2019 10.3 percent of the aforementioned population have smoked cigarettes.
