College campuses are a microcosm of racial strife happening across the nation. From 2018 to 2021, the Southern Poverty Law Center identified 1,341 incidents of white supremacist pamphleteering on college campuses. The Anti-Defamation League recorded around 630 incidents of white supremacist propaganda being distributed on campuses in 2019.
Black students at predominantly white institutions report everything from instances of thinly veiled racism, homophobia, and sexism to outright racial hostility and intimidation.
Experiencing such incidents has consequences that go well beyond feeling uncomfortable. A growing body of research has documented the detrimental health effects of both interpersonal and structural racism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that centuries of racism have had a profound and negative impact on the mental and physical health of people of color. The American Public Health Association calls racism a barrier to health equity and a social determinant of health akin to housing, education, and employment.
Racist incidents can take a toll on students’ overall health and well-being, undermine their self-confidence, and affect academic performance, said Dr. Annelle Primm, senior medical director for the Steve Fund, a nonprofit focused on supporting the mental health of young people of color.
“These kinds of feelings go hand in hand with students at predominantly white institutions, where they may feel isolated or like they don’t belong,” she said. “The experiences are associated with issues such as depression, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating or sleeping.”
Read more at NorthCarolinaHealthNews.org.
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