Black History Committee awards scholarships
By Delanda S . Johnson
The Henderson County Black History Committee each year honors high school seniors who will graduate from one of the seven county high schools .
In 2021 , due to COVID-19 the HCBHC did not have any of its scheduled events during which to give scholarship applications . For 2022 , the committee was still unable to hold any indoor events , however , applications were sent to all seven high schools in Henderson County and a total of 17 students will receive the scholarships .
The following are thoughts from the scholarship recipient ’ s essays with the theme “ Black Health and Wellness .”
Landry Hipp , Eustace
“ Mental illness has always been a controversial issue , but for the black community it has never been taken as seriously . According to Americanprogress . org 13.8 percent of African Americans reported having fair or poor mental health compared with 8.3 percent of non-Hispanic Whites . I believe that American Healthcare system should solve disparities between African Americans and whites for equal health opportunities for every citizen . As Americans we should strive to achieve racial equality by working directly with community members to solve problems , bringing people with different racial backgrounds together to talk about race , work to get more African Americans voted into office , and overall the health of African Americans should be brought up more often today .”
Natalie Tobin , LaPoynor
“ Racism is a grown-up disease and we must stop using our children to spread it ,” said Ruby Bridges . Racism has existed forever , but over the past 100 years , the world has grown to be more and more inclusive with the Civil Rights Movements and hard-working African American people . Black illness is treated much differently than other “ superior ” ethnicities , which in my opinion is very wrong . Studies show that diabetes is 60 percent more common in blacks than whites . African Americans are three times more likely to die of asthma that whites , COVID-19 is more negatively affecting blacks than whites , and black men are 50 percent more likely to get lung cancer than white men . Race and wellness should have nothing to do with one another when it comes down to taking care of the people in the world that matters to everyone . Everyone should have equal opportunities , equal care , and equal rights .”
16 | Greater Athens Magazine | June 2022