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DamagedHells t1_j4p75x1 wrote

Reply to comment by kungfoojesus in New study shows: Black Adults Experienced Early Signs of Brain Aging Faster Than Other Ethnic Minority Groups by PaulHasselbaink

Pollution is the unifier. You're more likely to have elevated lead in your blood if you're black than if you're poor. Social class absolutely doesn't explain many of these disparities

https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/study-finds-exposure-air-pollution-higher-people-color-regardless-region-or-income

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miss_anthro_p t1_j4rpk0x wrote

Social class and institutional racism does help explain that. Because of historical limitations on where Black people could live, aka redlining, many black neighborhoods were in industrialized areas with polluting factories and/or became dumping grounds for waste materials that upper classes didn't want to see or come in contact with. Water systems where black people live were also less likely to be upgraded because they were not a priority. This means higher lead levels, higher diesel fumes, higher ground ozone and other air pollutants and this resulted in higher asthma rates etc.

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DamagedHells t1_j4vt86m wrote

I'm not saying institutional racism doesn't help explain that, I'm saying class does not because poor white people still don't suffer the same levels of pollution as non poor black people.

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miss_anthro_p t1_j4wnh3a wrote

I understood what you meant. But in the United states race is also a factor in class determination insomuch as a poor White person will still self identify and often be externally confirmed as being of a higher class than a Black person in the same income bracket. This is why, in many cases, affirmative action policies target non-whites in particular regardless of income. Black people, regardless of income, experience the impact of this social stratification on a daily basis. It affects their social mobility, income, and health outcomes.

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