Essay On African American Wellness

According to Webster, Wellness is the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health. Although, African-American are considered to be the minority in America we are a huge fraction of the diseased American population. African Americans are 60% more likely to contract diabetes; also African Americans are more likely to suffer kidney disease, resulting from diabetes. 3 million African American’s have diabetes; the more astonish fact is that a third of the people with diabetes are oblivious to the fact they have it. African American’s develop high blood pressure earlier in life than other Americans; 45% of black women have the affliction. HIV/Aids is predominant in the African American community; in fact half of the infected population

There has never been a leader of our people who went all-out to set up an economic plan for our people.” Elijah Muhammad, Message to the Black Man. I believe the state of wellness for blacks in America is disparaging is for two reasons. The first reason is African slaves were brought her to work and help build America. The purpose of slavery was free labor that would allow southern plantations to make profit. Mr. Marcus Garvey argued there was no-other purpose for Africans in America. Marcus felt there was no way for black to ever achieve real peace in a land that where they are the poorest group, the least influential group and one of the smallest groups. He realized however that some black minds had accepted the inferiority complex imposed on them by their slave masters; he calls these weak minded men vagabonds that cannot contribute to his cause. “I have no desire to take all black people back to Africa; there are blacks who are no good here and will likewise be no good there.” (Marcus Garvey 1920). In the early 20th century Mr. Garvey was rallying African Americans around a “Back to Africa movement”. Mr. Garvey claimed “Africa is for the Africans”. Mr. Garvey logic was that everyday another black child in America is born into systematic oppression. Being born into oppression can destroy the a person spiritual wellness before a person learn its importance. I believe spiritual

Simone Sneed grew up an African American child with mental illness. Simone claims that the doctors or psychologist were insensitive to her culture and traditions. “…The clinicians I worked with were also white - and as such - in all of their goodness and skill - were unable to take into account the emotional tension that I had developed from growing up as an outsider,” said Sneed. As a African American in America I naturally feel like an outsider unless I am amongst the people I grew up around or the members of my community. I am more comfortable expressing my problem to them because they watched me grow up and many other African Americans share the same stories. Unlike Sneed, I was not diagnosed with any disease or disorder. I personally do not remember being tested for mental health issues; it simply was not a concern in my household. Some adult African American do not get tested for mental health because they do not want other members of their community knowing their business and have too much pride to ask for help they believe the can do it all by themselves. Simone took the initiative of getting help for her disorders and she also made a health choice to adopt a holistic lifestyle. Her holistic lifestyle reinforces healthy eating, working out, making time for friends and a healthy level of conceit and self-encouragement. Ms. Sneed developed the tools to live independently and suppressed her mental and emotional