Blacks die sooner than whites. How many votes has this cost Democrats?
Research has shown that blacks are not dying in excess because of differences in genetic endowment or health behavior. Instead, health disparities reflect racial and class inequality and an accumulation of stressors, including segregation, discrimination, exposure to pollution and unequal access to health-care resources, to name a few.
These social determinants of health depend to a great extent on politics. Thus, the harsher physical and social environment that blacks face is the direct and indirect result of political decisions, past and present.
Ultimately, the authors point out a troubling feedback effect whereby premature deaths among blacks affect the balance of political power among blacks and whites in the United States. And given the differences between blacks and whites in their political agendas and policy views, excess black death rates weaken overall support for policies — such as antipoverty programs, public education and job training — that affect the social status (and, therefore, health status) of blacks and many non-blacks, too.
The tragic deaths of unarmed black men have again generated conversations about racial inequality in the United States. This paper shows us another way in which “black lives matter” — one that affects a key element of our representative democracy: the composition of the electorate. For this reason, excess mortality of blacks relative to whites has consequences not only for the health of blacks but also for the health of our democracy.
The article makes no mention of whites having a lower life expectancy than asians. Life expectancy correlates with IQ.
