African-Americans, Latinos, and the economically disadvantaged experience poorer healthcare access and lower quality of care than white-Americans. The phrase ‘economically disadvantaged’ refers to the thousands of poverty-stricken individuals who are most vulnerable to the millions of infectious diseases and illnesses each year. Poverty and poor health are undoubtedly linked. Overcrowded, poor living conditions makes someone more susceptible to airborne diseases and respiratory infections such as pneumonia (Roberts). Untreated, pneumonia is a severe and life-threatening illness. With the decreasing presence of health care providers in low-income neighborhoods, systemic infections such as pneumonia are much more difficult to get properly treated, if treated at all. African-Americans have a poverty rate of 24 percent (Alliance to End Hunger). The combination of low incomes, abiding in poor urban areas, and belonging to the minority population limits the quality of care that African-Americans receive. In fact, they are also more likely to be uninsured. The barriers that African-Americans face due to poverty when accessing healthcare results in higher rates of mortality, a consequence of conditions that would have been successfully treated had it been white-Americans.

One barrier that exists that prevents African-Americans from receiving proper health care access are economically disadvantaged living areas which contain “food deserts”. The term “food desert” was coined to describe the lack of healthy and nutritious food sources in the community. These poor, urban areas also have a lack of clinical access. Reputable hospitals and care centers are rarely spotted in such communities. As a result of food deserts and health care facility deficiencies, African Americans who live in poverty have less dietary patterns and tend to eat more genetically modified foods, or GMOs, which is strongly associated with various ailments such as kidney disease and liver disease. Genetically modifying is the genetic engineering of foods, along with social engineering through feeding the American people food that has been unnaturally ripened with color additives and other chemicals to preserve the food (Farrakhan). Although studies on humans have never been done due to ethical issues, there are hundreds of studies that examine the effects of genetically modified foods on laboratory animals. A study posted in the International Journal of Science, reported that rats fed a diet containing a GMO potato suffered problems with kidney and liver functions. The study stated that the rats developed enlarged livers, which is often a sign of toxicity. Years of work have demonstrated that rodent responses to drugs, chemicals, and foods can predict human responses. Therefore, the high prevalence rate of kidney and liver disease for African Americans is contributed to by the consumption of GMO foods in “food deserts” filled with fast food restaurants and grocery stores that debilitates the overall health of the African American community.

The quality of healthcare that African Americans receive is rapidly declining. According to a 2014 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, one of the largest philanthropies dedicated to health in the US, African Americans experience 30 to 40 percents poor health outcomes than white Americans. The rate of improvement in healthcare across the US has been incredibly slow for African Americans as seen in the treatment of common conditions such as diabetes, breast cancer, and heart failure. Compared to white Americans, African Americans are given more risky and life-threatening treatment because doctors typically have no regard for black lives. For example, African American patients with diabetes are 10 times more likely to undergo limb amputation. These same variations can be seen in the treatment of breast cancer where the death rate for African American women is 50 percent higher than that of white American women. This mortality rate is due to the fact that on average, black women undergo more radical breast cancer surgeries which are often fatal. This same pattern of inequity also emerges among heart complications. Not only do 25 percent of African Americans have high blood pressures compared to white Americans, but they are also 10 percent less likely to be screened for high cholesterol, consequently resulting in higher rates of heart failure (Roberts). These health disparities not only lead to increased deaths due to illnesses among the African American community, but also shortened life spans.

The health outcomes of African Americans aren’t solely affected by the substantial health disparities that exist within the United States, for they’re also deeply influenced by the population’s level of education. Education is similar to the domino effect, creating more opportunities for better health. With a good education comes better jobs, with better jobs comes higher incomes, and with higher incomes comes more resources for good health. Higher levels of education are associated with a longer life and an increased likelihood of understanding basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Knowing the difference between a harmless headache from the number one symptom of diabetes is detrimental to the health of any individual. Nationwide, African Americans have a 69 percent rate of graduating high school compared to the 89 percent for white-Americans. With their inadequate education plus the inequalities which occur in healthcare, the mortality rate resulting from chronic diseases obtained by African Americans are elevated.

In conclusion, with race and ethnicity defining the quality of healthcare, African Americans are put at a high risk of dying from common conditions, which could have arguably been prevented, making health disparities against African Americans the true silent killer. For African Americans, health inequalities are the result of both past and current discrimination throughout the United States. Due to discrimination and limited educational opportunities, most African Americans work low-pay jobs and live in poor, urban areas. These communities lack grocery stores with fresh foods but instead have readily available fast foods with high salt and GMO content. African Americans are sicker than white Americans and are dying at a significantly higher rate. This indisputable fact is proved by the increased mortality rate of blacks when being treated for common conditions such as diabetes, breast cancer, and heart failure. To improve the community and overall health surrounding African American, an increase in the number of minority workers are needed. Another factor that can help positively affect many blacks is the passing of appropriate state and federal laws that eliminate discriminatory practices in healthcare. Unless specifically addressed, inequality in healthcare will remain unchecked and African Americans will continue to die at disproportionate rates.