The government has tried to see that the suffering of the obese blacks come to an end. It has done this by trying to pass legislation acknowledging the equal rights of all the citizens. The government has tried to emphasize on the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It declared that all the people born in the United States became citizens of the country regardless of their complexion, race or any other previous condition (health included) that would have suggested otherwise (RamonGil-Garcia, 150). The emphasis of this act passed to law has been paid keen attention to by the government. Mostly since the reign of President Obama who tried to bring equality back to the nation. Prior, there were a lot of mistreatment cases, murder and torture cases on the obese blacks. They felt betrayed since the courts would not put to concern the happenings of such cases. The perpetrators would end up being freed by the courts with no action taken against them. Things have changed in the modern day America. President Daniel Tatum in a letter to Spelman College in Atlanta says that "Spelman has an opportunity to change the health trajectory of our students and, through their influence, the communities from which they come." (Ripley, 48) The law does not tolerate the mistreatment or even the slightest level of discrimination. If it happens and reported, the culprit of the occurrence ends up incurring either a huge fine or a jail term. Thus the government efforts have been a positive step towards equality.
How the Media Plays a Role
The media is one of the most important platforms in the modern day society. Almost every issue that arises and requires attention, the media steps up and address it. For the case to do with the obese of the blacks, the media has been very vocal. Starting from providing the statistics claiming that most of the obese population people are of the blacks more than the whites. Women take the large part of the black people with obese then followed up by the children. The media has gone ahead to bring people on the broadcast to elaborate on the issue of obesity and why it has affected the black people specifically. There has been education to the black from nutrition specialists on how to avoid catching the health problem. The media has claimed that most of the black people who are affected by obesity tend to persist in their problem and their generations. It is because they are not well equipped with the knowledge of knowing how to handle the problem. Others lack options on the meals that they can partake to control their problem. The media has called upon the government to be of help to this people so that the rate of obesity can reduce in the country.
The Progress of the Minority Group
The black obese situation is not like it were in the past. The blacks have tried to engage in a campaign to enhance a gradual decrease of those obese patients. It has been done through some initiative, from both the government and individual efforts. One of those people who tried to make some personal responsibilities was the first lady of the country, Michelle Obama. She had focus on fighting childhood obesity, and she started a campaign called “let’s move.” (Wojcicki and Melvin, 1457) There has been a fight over the society where women are being discouraged of finding solace in the name of “full-figured, curvy, chubby” and other terms which tend to make obese sound better. The words make nothing better. In fact, they inflict more pain later on when the condition of the body deteriorates. Jones, a woman who underwent surgery due to the obese problem, tells the other women "We have to get ourselves out of being conditioned to think that using soft words, so we don't hurt peoples' feelings is doing them any favor."
The women who have already undergone the challenge of obesity and recovered and those who are mindful of the issue can receive the attribution of the progress made in the health of the obese blacks. The current numbers have not yet shown a considerable drop in statistics. Looking at the efforts being made by the blacks in the society, it is evident that with time things will change. It has been a kind of revolution that the blacks are taking away from obesity. It will not be wrong to say that obesity was colonizing the black people, and mostly the women. The turn taken seems to lead in the right direction though. The success might not yet be there, having four out of every five black women being obese. With the organizations and the efforts of every individual, the victory is not far off coming.
The Future of the Black Obese
The future of the black obese is showing some sign of brightness. With the mentioned endeavors by organizations, personal efforts by different people in the society, and the policies by the government. The black obese have a place they can cling their hope. There is an expected gradual slowdown in the rate of contacting obesity for the newborn kids and the non-obese people in the society today.
It will be hard for the black obese to gain equality in the social backgrounds. Not many people will accept to associate with the black obese. From the beginning where the blacks at large have not been accepted into the society of the whites, it will even be harder to take the black obese as equal to the whites. The scale at which the black obese are criticized even by their black fellows shows how ill their conditions are unwanted. Thus, it will be hard to achieve the prospective of equality.
Works Cited
Mirzoeff, Nicholas. "INTRODUCTION The multiple viewpoint: diasporic visual cultures." Diaspora and Visual Culture. Routledge, 2014. 15-32.
Ogden, Cynthia L., and Margaret D. Carroll. "Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity among adults: United States, trends 1960–1962 through 2007–2008." National Center for Health Statistics 6.1 (2010): 1-6.
RamonGil-Garcia, J. "Civil Rights Act of 1866." Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties: Revised and Expanded Edition, [4 volumes] (2017): 150.
Ripley, Amanda. "The case against high-school sports." The Atlantic
(2013): 47-53.
Wojcicki, Janet M., and Melvin B. Heyman. "Let's move—childhood obesity prevention from pregnancy and infancy onward." New England Journal of Medicine 362.16 (2010): 1457- 1459.
