Racial Context, Black Immigration, & the U.S. Black/White Health Disparity.

Read, Jen’nan Ghazal and Michael O. Emerson. 2019. Social Forces  84:183-201.

The large, persistent gap in health between Black and White Americans is an important consequence of racial inequality. However, health outcomes differ between U.S.-born Black Americans and Black immigrants to the U.S. In this study, Read and her colleague examine not only the health differences among White, U.S.-born Black, and Black immigrant Americans, but also the differences among Black immigrant groups based on region of origin.

Overall, Black immigrants experience better health than U.S.-born individuals—a well-documented advantage that tends to fade over time. However, by comparing immigrants from different regions, Read and her colleague find a more complex pattern: Black immigrants from majority White (Europe) regions had similar health to U.S.-born Blacks, while those from minority White (Africa, South America) and racially mixed (West Indies) regions had better health. These findings provide further evidence that the racism experienced by Black people in White-dominated societies directly harms their health.