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Race and Health Disparities: Epigenetics

 

Photo credit: Geralt | Pixabay

 

Introduction

 

The following resources explore how people’s health is impacted by epigenetic racial trauma across generations.

 

Conversation Stations

 

These are the images used in artistic physical displays. They are survey questions and conversation starters that are topically and thematically organized. They demonstrate how Jesus is relevant to each topic or theme. You can also just view the images on your device. If you would like, see all our Conversation Stations; below are the ones that relate to the topic of Race.

Whose Justice? (and instructions and Christian Restorative Justice Study Guide)

Whose Justice? for Harvard Law School

Is a Good Friend Hard to Find? (and instructions and conversation tree)

What Can We Do About Evil? (and instructions and conversation tree) and smaller version and brochure version

Que Podemos Hacer Sobre La Maldad? for the Asociacion Dominicana de Estudiantes Evangelico, 2014

Does the Good Outweigh the Bad? (and instructions)

Race What's the Problem? (and instructions) and brochure version

Is God a Liberator or an Oppressor? (and instructions) 

 
 

Other Resources on Health Disparities and Epigenetics

 

Shannon Sullivan, Inheriting Racist Disparities in Health: Epigenetics and the Transgenerational Effects of White Racism. Critical Philosophy of Race, 2013.

Dan Hurley, Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes. Discover Magazine, Jun 11, 2013.

Janeen Interlandi, The Toxins That Affected Your Great-Grandparents Could Be In Your Genes. Smithsonian Magazine, Dec 2013.

Richard Gray, Phobias May Be Memories Passed Down in Genes From Ancestors. Telegraph UK, Dec 1, 2013.

Janell Ross, Epigenetics: The Controversial Science Behind Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. The Atlantic, Mar 20, 2014.

Emma Innes, How the Trauma of Life Is Passed Down in SPERM, Affecting the Mental Health of Future Generations. Daily Mail UK, Apr 23, 2014.

Christopher Bergland, Social Disadvantage Creates Genetic Wear and Tear. Psychology Today, Apr 15, 2014.

Michaeleen Doucleff, Mom's Diet Right Before Pregnancy Can Alter Baby's Genes. NPR, Apr 29, 2014.

Judith Shulevitz, The Science of Suffering: Kids Are Inheriting Their Parents' Trauma.  Can Science Stop It? New Republic, Nov 16, 2014.

Sound Medicine, Childhood Trauma Leads to Brains Wired for Fear. Sound Medicine News, Feb 3, 2015.

Allison Eck, Stress from Poverty Decreases Child Brain Sizes - Even at Birth. PBS, Mar 31, 2015.

Trace Dominguez, How Poverty Changes Your Brain. Test Tube video, Apr 22, 2015.

Larry Wallack and Rachael Banks, Video: Epigenetics and Equity: The Health and Social Impacts of Racism and Inequality. Berkeley Studies Media Group, May 15, 2015.

Debra Kain, Researchers Find Missing Link Between Brain and Immune System. Neuroscience News, Jun 1, 2015.

Alma Carten, How Slavery’s Legacy Affects the Mental Health of Black Americans. New Republic, Jul 27, 2015.

Helen Thomson, Study of Holocaust Survivors Finds Trauma Passed on to Children's Genes. The Guardian, Aug 21, 2015.

Big Think Editors, Why Black Mental Health Is Different From White Mental Health. Big Think, Aug 26, 2015.

Carl Zimmer, Parents May Pass Down More Than Just Genes, Study Suggests. New York Times, Dec 3, 2015.

Mark Wolynn, It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are. Science & Nonduality, Apr 28, 2016.  review of his book

Rignam Wangkhang, Can Trauma Be Passed from Parent to Child? Ozy, Jul 7, 2016.

Donna Jackson Nakazawa, Childhood Trauma Leads to Lifelong Chronic Illness - So Why Isn't the Medical Community Helping Patients? ACES Too High News, Aug 10, 2016.

Michael Alison Chandler, This Doctor Pioneered a Way to Treat Stress in Children, a Startling Source of Future Disease. Washington Post, Oct 6, 2016.

Tara Garcia Mathewson, How Poverty Changes the Brain. The Atlantic, Apr 19, 2017.

 
 

Race and Health Disparities: Topics:

The section on Race and Health Disparities spotlight four aspects of how racism impacts people’s health and health-related experiences: (1) Epigenetic Inheritance highlights trauma across generations; (2) Environment and Health features disparities because of social systems like public housing, environmental pollution, etc.; (3) Medical Treatment discusses disparities by health care providers; and (4) Health Systems shows how racial attitudes and perceptions contribute to resistance to improving health care systems.

 
 

Race: Topics:

This section on Race contains the following: Slavery examines the intersections of religious beliefs and slavery, both in the U.S. and elsewhere during colonialism. Land and Housing explores Native American land seizure, white supremacy in housing, and gentrification. Banks and Finance spotlights racial discrimination in access to capital. Criminal Justice highlights historical racism not only in disparities but practices like convict-leasing, lynching, and hate crimes. Employment lists forms of discrimination in the workplace, hiring, labor unionizing and participation. Eugenics traces the history of eugenics in white American and elsewhere. Schooling examines disparities in the educational system and racial impacts of funding and administration. Politics and Power examines the use of race in political campaigns, the procedural justice wrongs such as voting rights denied and gerrymandering, substantive justice wrongs like education, health, and welfare, and racial fascism in the U.S. Immigration examines the moral, economic, and political challenges of immigration, along with the political manipulation of immigration as an issue. Child Development highlights racial implications in emotional development and psychological awareness. Health Disparities examines the significance of race on epigenetic factors, environmental factors, medical treatment, and health care politics. Beauty examines how race impacts notions of beauty and professionalism. Race is part of our critique of the political Right and Left in the U.S.

 
 

Church and Empire: Topics:

The following topics are also listed under the “Church and Empire” section of our website. They are offered here to remind us what Christian faith was like prior to colonialism, and in resistance to colonialism, to show that Christianity is not “a white man’s religion.”