Black History Month 2022

Black History Month Essay February 2022

Black Health and Wellness

This year's theme for Black History Month, "Black Health and Wellness", takes a look at how American healthcare has often underserved the African-American community.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has recently shown, a widespread disparity of access to quality healthcare negatively impacted outcomes for blacks and other minorities.

For African-Americans, the root of the problem goes deep, and back centuries.

Beginning with slavery and, later, a lack of economic opportunity, often put medical care out of reach for many African-Americans.

Even in good economic times, during the Jim Crow era "Whites Only" hospitals were commonplace throughout the South. Black medical facilities were often understaffed, underfunded, or non-existent. This stark reality gave credence to the saying: “When white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia.” 

Black folk remedies helped pick up the slack. They sometimes called for rituals and incantations, harking back to its African roots, and often involved many plant-based curatives. These included garlic for high blood pressure, and aloe vera for skin injuries -- nature's answers to maintaining wellness that have since been validated by modern medicine.

It was only well into the 20th century when the US government threatened to withhold Medicare payments to 'Whites Only" medical institutions. And, almost overnight, hospitals became desegregated. The year was 1964 -- when the passage of the Civil Rights Act finally gave Black America a better shot at institutional health care.

More than 40 years later, following years of negotiations with the health insurance industry, the Affordable Care Act was eventually passed by the Obama administration that gave better access to medical care for Americans of every color.

Today, (almost unbelievably for a rich industrialized nation), the US continues to lag woefully behind the rest of the world in providing affordable medical care for most of its citizens. And African-Americans, other minorities, and especially the poor, continue to remain the most vulnerable.

Live links in blue throughout this document provide online research for students’ consideration.

Black History Month Essay February 2022

Black Health and Wellness

ELIGIBILITY: Students must be currently enrolled in at least 6 hours at San Antonio College, with a 2.0 GPA.

INSTRUCTIONS/REQUIREMENTS: Develop a perspective in a research-based essay or white paper which discuses part of the above subject (your choice).

The final submitted document must demonstrate ALL the following features:

• Cover sheet: full name, Banner ID, last 4 digits of SSN, current phone number, ACES e- mail address (that you check frequently), and a current home address.
• MLA manuscript style and documentation; double-spaced throughout, 12-point type
• Edited English
• Minimum 850 words in length
• 5 or more sources*
• Creative title
• DO NOT include author or team name/title in header.

Please be as specific as possible in providing examples. Formal conventions such as introduction, body, conclusion – although necessary – should take on less importance than good organization, clarity, essay structure, and examples in your essay. Answer the prompt you develop to the best of your ability.

Opinion of the contest document author(s) is not sought, but assertions and dialogue from both professional and media sources based on research, science, ethics, and truth is required to support the discussion written.

All parenthetical and Works Cited page citations must reflect Modern Language Association (MLA) ninth edition style. Handouts on the new version of MLA documentation are available for free at the SAC Writing Center SAC : About SAC : College Offices : Writing Center : Resources | Alamo Colleges [click on MLA Ninth edition] or by accessing this link,  https://style.mla.org/ and navigating via the menu to examples. 

*[library databases or other library resources (which include – but are not limited to – newspaper articles, interviews (audio and or film), any sort of testimony such as oral history by individuals directly involved, court cases, police reports, and magazines). For example, should your submission include family stories, or other such material, be sure to conduct interviews, watch reunion videos, or interview people in person or by Zoom, including them in your Works Cited.]

The Black History Month Committee PREFERS participants

1. arrange for at least ONE tutoring session at the SAC Writing Center prior to turning in the essay (make an appointment); OR
2. seek the assistance of one of our librarians through an individualized library session here http://sacguide.libguides.com/bookalib to ensure high-quality research is the foundation of the submission;
3. Submit as a word file (.doc or. docx) to Jane Focht-Hansen ( jfocht-hansen@alamo.edu )
4. by 5 pm Saturday February 19, 2022

Black History Month Essay February 2022

Black Health and Wellness

OPTION ONE: Write a minimum 850-word essay, with at least 5 sources, MLA 9th edition manuscript and documentation style, responding to the above executive summary. For example, a writer may compare the reasons why Black people were not part of the 1918 influenza pandemic analyses, specific to racism, segregation, and poverty with similar patterns emerging during the Age of Covid-19.  Maternal health is an area in which African-American women have often been left behind – similar patterns appear in this national and state-wide oversight.

Because Covid-19 is a global disease, consider all regions where governments have not responded to the specific needs of the victims and survivors. What is missing, should be included in a global humanitarian platform to address disparities in access to and treatment of Black health and wellness? Remember, resources may include all materials available through the college or public library, as well as living history interviews. 

https://mlahandbookplus.org/books/book/5/chapter/56247/Introduction-to-Formatting-Your-Research-Project

OPTION TWO: A team of students (four is ideal) write a minimum 850-word white paper, with at least 5 sources, MLA 9th edition manuscript and documentation style, responding to the above executive summary comparing, for example, the reasons why Black people were not part of the 1918 influenza pandemic analyses, specific to racism, segregation, and poverty with similar patterns emerging during the Age of Covid-19. Other variations for the white paper could include analyzing 3 or more healthcare concerns specific to African-Americans (males/females/transgender in US, the southwest, Texas and the world) and which are affected by racism, segregation, and poverty in one of the wealthiest nations of the world.

Because Covid-19 is a global disease, consider all regions where governments have not responded to the specific needs of the victims and survivors. What is missing, should be included in a global humanitarian platform to address disparities in access to and treatment of Black health and wellness?

https://mlahandbookplus.org/books/book/5/chapter/56247/Introduction-to-Formatting-Your-Research-Project

Both these challenges are part of Technical Writing, especially for science and medical professions. Student Learning Outcomes for this contest are as follows:

SLO 1 – Students will be able to construct documents that demonstrate unity, organization, coherence, and development, and are grammatically correct.

SLO 2 – Students will be able to analyze and interpret literary works by applying principles of critical thinking, literary criticism, or theoretical engagement.

SLO 3 – Students will be able to produce researched documents that demonstrate the ability to locate a variety of credible sources, employ them effectively through quotations and paraphrases, integrate them smoothly into the writer’s own prose, and document them correctly using the style appropriate to the document.

Marketable Skills promoted by the contest:

1.The Writing Process--Developing and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and ethically to professional situations and audiences.

2. Writing in Context--Analyzing professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication and public discourse.
3. Research--Understanding and using various research methods to produce professional documents, including analyzing professional contexts, assessing and using information resources, and determining how various media and technologies affect and are affected by users and readers.
4. Technology--Developing strategies for using and adapting various communication technologies to manage projects and produce informative and usable professional documents.
5. Document Design--Learning to argue with visual data, understanding and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design of professional documents that meet multiple user and reader needs.

Black History Month Essay February 2022

Black Health and Wellness

http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/black-history-month.htm

https://whyy.org/segments/medicare-desegregation-health-care/

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/07/30/desegregation-the-hidden-legacy-of-medicare

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Patient-Protection-and-Affordable-Care-Act

https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/blackhistorymonth/folkmed

https://blackdoctor.org/moms-favorite-natural-remedies__trashed/

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/115/3/e297

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1554896/

https://www.natural-healing-for-all.com/old_home_remedies.html

https://sites.google.com/site/afroamericanhealth/home

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10876468/

https://www.monticello.org/sites/library/exhibits/lucymarks/medical/slavemedicine.html

https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=aas_theses

https://colliermuseums.com/news/african-american-folk-medicine

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12424129

https://tcf.org/content/report/racism-inequality-health-care-african-americans/?agreed=1

https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/glance-black-and-african-american-physicians-workforce

https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aahealth/index.html

https://www.ama-assn.org/about/ama-history/history-african-americans-and-organized-medicine

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-state-of-healthcare-in-the-united-states/racial-disparities-in-health-care/

https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=61

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5370590/

https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/african_american.pdf

https://www.endofound.org/the-disparities-in-healthcare-for-black-women

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/aframsurgeons/history.html

https://www.nlg.org/nlg-review/article/the-color-of-pain-blacks-and-the-u-s-health-care-system-can-the-affordable-care-act-help-to-heal-a-history-of-injustice-part-i/

https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/healthdisparities/africanamericans.html

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/29/black-texas-coronavirus-health-care-disparities/

https://www.texmed.org/TexasProblem/

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2019/06/12/336482/report-texas-ranks-last-in-u-s-in-access-and-affordability-to-health-care/

https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/blackhistorymonth/hospitals

https://www.rees-jonesfoundation.org/mental-health-access-in-texas

https://nursing.utexas.edu/news/healing-health-disparities-within-african-american-population

https://aawellnessproject.org/

https://www.stkate.edu/academics/healthcare-degrees/black-women-maternal-mortality

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/black-health.htm

https://www.austintexas.gov/department/maternal-infant-outreach-program

https://www.self.com/story/black-women-health-conditions

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/heq.2017.0045

Best healthcare in the world

Downloadable Scholarship Instructions

Lemon Zucchini Bread

*Lemon zest adds a touch of summer to this sweet zucchini bread!”

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups shredded zucchini                                  ½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup white sugar                                                    ½ teaspoon baking soda

1 egg                                                                          ¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ cup vegetable oil                                                  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour                                      2 teaspoons lemon zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, beat together the zucchini, sugar, egg, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, stir in the cinnamon and lemon zest. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Crispy Over-Baked Chicken

Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning • ½ cup fat-free milk or buttermilk • 1½ tablespoons onion powder • 1½ tablespoons garlic powder • 2 teaspoons black pepper • 2 teaspoons dried hot pepper, crushed • 1 teaspoon ground ginger • 1 cup cornflakes, crushed or breadcrumbs • 8 pieces skinless chicken (4 breasts, 4 drumsticks) • ¼ teaspoon paprika • Nonstick cooking spray (use to coat baking pan)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 ºF. 2. Add ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning to milk. 3. Combine all other spices except paprika with cornflake crumbs (or breadcrumbs), and place in a plastic bag. 4. Wash chicken and pat dry. Dip chicken into milk, shake to remove excess liquid, then quickly shake chicken in a bag with seasoning and crumbs. 5. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 6. Remove from refrigerator and sprinkle lightly with paprika. 7. Coat baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly space chicken in pan. 8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until the meat can be easily pulled away from the bone with a fork. The drumsticks may require less baking time than the breasts. Crumbs will form a crispy “skin.” Do not turn chicken during baking.

Nutrition Information
Makes 6 servings Serving size: 1 /2 breast or 2 small drumsticks Each serving provides: Calories: 256 Total Fat: 5 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 34 mg Sodium: 286 mg Total Fiber: 1 g Protein: 30 g Carbohydrates: 22 g Potassium: 339 mg

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 2 cups macaroni • Nonstick cooking spray • ½ cup onions, chopped • ½ cup evaporated, fat-free milk • 1 medium egg, beaten • ¼ teaspoon black pepper • 10 oz. (1¼ cups) sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 ºF. 2. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Do not add salt to the cooking water. Drain and set aside. 3. Lightly coat a saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. 4. Add onions to saucepan and sauté for about 3 minutes. 5. In another bowl, combine macaroni, onions, and the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. 6. Lightly coat a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. 7. Transfer mixture into casserole dish. 8. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information

Makes 8 servings Serving size: 1 /2 cup Each serving provides: Calories: 200 Total Fat: 4 g Saturated Fat: 2 g Cholesterol: 34 mg Sodium: 120 mg Total Fiber: 1 g Protein: 11 g Carbohydrates: 29 g Potassium: 119 mg

Zucchini Balls Baked

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup raw zucchini
• 3 eggs
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 ¼ cup of Gluten Free Panko Crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
• ¾ cup of grated cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano cheese)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
• Wash zucchini and remove the ends, keep skin for extra fiber
• Finely dice the zucchini in small cubes of about 2 mm
• Place the small zucchini cubes into a mixing bowl and using a spoon, combine with eggs, garlic, gluten free Panko crumbs and cheese. Adjust salt and pepper regarding taste.
• It will form a moist batter that comes easily together. If too moist or stick too much to your hands, add slightly more crumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time until you can easily shape balls in your hands. You should not use more than 4 extra tablespoon of gluten free panko crumbs.
• Form golf size balls rolling batter into hands.
• Place each ball unto a greased cookie sheet. Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to rub on cookie sheet.
• Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

INGREDIENTS

1 15 oz can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained

1 fresh jalapeno pepper finely chopped1 11 oz can whole kernel corn, no salt added, drained

2 tomatoes, medium, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro, OR 1 teaspoon dried cilantro

¼   cup red onion diced

¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes squeezed)

1 teaspoon salt

1 avocado chopped

Slow Cooker Pork Neck Bones

This recipe for soul food style pork neck bones will give you tender, fall-of-the-bone meat that's flavorful, succulent and juicy. This is a don't miss dish, perfect for Sunday dinner and the slow cooker makes it so easy!

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time4 hours

Total Time4 hours 5 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 lbs pork neck bones
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp parsley flakes
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 large yellow onion chopped
• 2 cups water or chicken broth

Instructions

1. Clean the pork neck bones.
2. Drizzle the neck bones with the vegetable oil, and apple cider vinegar.
3. Season the neck bones with all of the seasonings, then place them in the slow cooker.
4. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, and stir. Make sure that all the neck bones are coated with the cornstarch.
5. Toss in the chopped onions.
6. Pour in the water or chicken broth.
7. Place the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on high for 4 hours.
8. Make sure that you periodically stir the neck bones (every hour).
9. Once done serve, and enjoy! XOXO

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter                              

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 cup of milk

4 cups of fresh peach

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Directions                                                                          

Step 1            Melt butter in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish

Step 2             Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).

Step 3            Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

Step 4            Bake at 375 for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/easy-peach-cobbler (video available)