New data from the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index shows that Black Americans recorded the sharpest decrease in “well-being” in this year’s Index.
This year’s Index shows that more than half of Black Americans (52%) could be classified as not thriving, or what the scale calls “struggling” or “suffering.” Why is this?
Tasha Gibson
First, although the Index goes back to 2008, the well-being of Black Americans is inextricably linked to events that occurred long before 2008.
The awareness that one’s ancestors were captured and carried on ships during the Middle Passage, forced to work in dehumanizing ways even after slavery was abolished, and lived through the Jim Crow era doesn’t go away. Those parts of our history may seem like ancient history, but they are present-day iterations of the same white supremacy that animated that history.
This is especially true when the president of the United States won’t explicitly denounce white supremacy or even the very real and active white supremacist groups in our country. White supremacy in all its forms can take a toll on a Black American’s well-being.
Second, the article mentions the killing of George Floyd, and yet it doesn’t mention the recurring violence against Black Americans by law enforcement.
In 2013, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a man ultimately acquitted. This series of events led to a hashtag, Black Lives Matter, started by three Black women who later founded a movement. Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks — among others — were all shot and killed by police officers. Seeing people who look like you and your family be killed by those called to help can negatively affect the way a Black American thinks about their life and their future.
Third, while the article describes the reality of how COVID-19 has impacted every American’s daily experiences, the pandemic has disproportionately impacted Black Americans.
“According to the CDC, Black Americans are dying at around two times the rate of white Americans.”
According to the CDC, Black Americans are dying at around two times the rate of white Americans. Dying. Twice as frequently.
There are real health disparities in our country. The high Black maternal mortality rate, the opioid epidemic in the Black community, the number of Black Americans who are uninsured — all these are major factors that should be considered. These are important because inequities in health care can affect a Black American’s sense of well-being.
What I see in this data from Gallup are all of the historical realities and lived experiences of Black people that are bound up with a person’s sense of well-being. But what I also see is a way to promote well-being.
Every single one of the seven so-called “I Am” statements attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John is related to life. If the verse doesn’t say life explicitly, it has something to do with life or what is necessary to live.
Two of those “I Am” statements show up in the same chapter. In John 10, there is an analogy about sheep and shepherds. First, Jesus speaks about the difference between the one who climbs over the sheep pen fence and the one who enters through the gate. He goes on to say that the sheep will follow the one who enters through the gate because they will recognize the voice. After the hearers do not understand, Jesus declares that he is the gate. Jesus calls himself the gate twice. The ones who came before him would only steal and kill and destroy. Instead, Jesus says he came “that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
“Abundant life, life to the full, means to live in a society that values Black lives as much as white lives.”
In a way, to have “life to the full” is to thrive. Abundant life, life to the full, means to live in a society that values Black lives as much as white lives. To have life to the full means that Black Americans are no longer perceived as any less than other lives. Black lives matter because Jesus came that we might all have life and have that life to the full.
All too often, Black lives haven’t mattered, as evidenced by our country’s history related to white supremacy, our present reality related to police brutality, the future specifically related to health disparities, and many other inequities. But Jesus’ gift is abundant life, in other words, a thriving life.
As followers of Christ, that full and thriving life is interdependent. We need one another to thrive. The Gallup data gives us a picture of who may be thriving and who may not be. But the Gospels can remind us of the source of that thriving.
It is tempting to think that living well is the result of where we live, what we do, who we are. But living well is not the same as well-being, and living well certainly doesn’t mean a person is thriving. For anything to thrive it must be connected to a source and to others.
Jesus is not only the gate, he is also the source, the true vine. So to live abundantly is to live and work to ensure that the lives that have been kept from thriving, in this case, Black lives, matter. To do so is to believe that the source of our thriving, and what he is doing and calling us to do, matters too.
Tasha Gibson serves as program coordinator for PASSPORT Camps in Birmingham, Ala. She holds a master of divinity degree from Duke Divinity School and a degree in radio, TV and film from Howard University.