Ideastream Public Media has been exploring how Black women in Cleveland are impacted, being in a city that was ranked the lowest among major U. S. cities for Black women in the areas of income, health and education by researchers in Pittsburgh. Award-winning journalist, Betty Halliburton, continues the discussion started in our groundbreaking podcast Living for We with a new three-part video series, Black Women: Hope, Health, Healing.
In part three of the series, we explore the physical and mental aspects of healing, as well as the connection between intergenerational trauma and how it has manifested different illnesses in Black women. We also address systemic racism and social determinants of health that serve as roadblocks for Black women in getting the help they need to be healthy. We also explore the roles that the Black church, faith, forgiveness and even having a clinic therapist on staff plays in the healing process. Additionally, why are many women of color utilizing holistic practices and therapy as a way to heal? We explore how the healing process comes in many forms and how Black women have endured it and triumphed.
In part two of the series, Halliburton continues the examination of issues affecting the health and well-being of Black women in Cleveland. She speaks with several Black women facing physical and mental health challenges.
Cardiovascular disease and stroke are the number one killers of Black women in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association. African American women are also 110% more likely to have serious morbidity from the birthing process, according to Dr. Jessica Whitley, an internal medicine and quality improvement specialist.
In part one, above, Halliburton interviews Black women from various backgrounds, ages and viewpoints and also shares her personal reflections. Among those featured are Airica Steed, the first Black woman and first nurse to serve as president and CEO of the MetroHealth System and the first Black female physician hired by the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Linda Bradley, an obstetrician and gynecologist and vice chair of the Clinic's Women's Health Institute. Haliburton explores why the average life expectancy for all people in the country is about 78 years old, but the average life expectancy for Black females is 74.
