HJNO Nov/Dec 2020

48 NOV / DEC 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS for over 100 years, and although there are many nuanced definitions, racism typical- ly identifies two groups: those bestowed some level of superiority over another group that is identified as inferior and be- comes the recipient of discriminatory or prejudicial behavior; it can be made spe- cific to an individual or to a group. Once racism is institutionalized, it no longer needs individual intent to be carried out, and those identified as inferior do not have equal and fair access to that which is as- sumed by the group established as supe- rior. The fact that institutional racism is real can be borne out by observing and acknowledging such occurrences as the COLUMN MENTAL HEALTH I have not had to have “the talk” that parents of Children of Color do about the “danger” society sometimes brands on a young black man, nor have I had the need to tell my son that he has to be twice as good as his classmates—that being good is not good enough. Nor have I had to say that life for him will require extra effort and that he may be a target of hate be- cause of the color of his skin. But it sad- dens and angers me that so many parents have to say these words to their children, who when they grow up will have to repeat these words to their children. As if “the talk” wasn’t hard enough, the current impact of the disproportionate loss of lives due to COVID-19 and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, followed by the demonstrations for equal- ity and the Black Lives Matter movement, are just recent examples of the additional heaviness that falls on Children andAdults of Color. How they internalize and cope with these events and the ongoing insults of discrimination should be a matter of great concern and warrant attention by health and mental health professionals, educators, legislators and the community at large. America, our families, our citizens and communities cannot be whole when we ignore the stress, especially lately, on our Communities of Color. The negative influence of racial discrim- ination has been described in the literature RACISM’S PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLL ON PEOPLE OF COLOR