Racism as Health Risk for African-American Males: Correlations Between Hypertension and Skin Color

Racism has dominated the social fabric of American society since its founding. African-American males have been the focal point for various forms of racism given their perception as threatening. Exacerbated by media images the threatening perceptions of African-American males result in racist victimization during encounters with law enforcement agencies for otherwise law abiding citizens. Based upon the constant prevalence of racism in public life African-American males suffer from abnormally high blood pressure. The result is a health risk manifested by a correlation between skin color and hypertension. Social scientists are all but unaware of this phenomenon. Solution to the problem will require more informed research and the elimination of racism in total.