Vox
Inside this issue: For the June issue of The Highlight, Vox partners with Capital B to unveil decades of discrimination and ongoing bias against Black Americans.
For this month’s issue of The Highlight, Vox teamed up with the Black-led nonprofit newsroom Capital B to explore the insidious effects of discrimination on Black Americans. This Highlight issue was prompted by researchers at the University of Chicago, who compiled nearly 50 years’ worth of studies examining bias against Black people in almost every aspect of modern life.
While millions of Black Americans live and experience this daily, white Americans continue to question whether systemic racism exists. Vox asks the question: What happens to Black lives when you endure racist acts daily? What solutions exist? And what care can we provide?
“It is essential that we continue to delve into the complex interplay between discrimination and health. In partnership with Capital B, we sought to expose the profound toll it takes on individuals, families, communities, and American society as a whole. It was crucial for us to highlight how discrimination not only affects the present but also shapes the future of Black individuals, hindering their opportunities, limiting their potential, and perpetuating a cycle of injustice,” says editor-in-chief Swati Sharma. “Through this collaboration, we aimed to ignite empathy, foster understanding, and drive meaningful change.”
Contributors to the issue include Vox’s Sean Collins on how pervasive discrimination against Black people is in their daily lives; Marin Cogan on how car ownership for Black Americans is both necessary and tinged with systemic discrimination; Abby Ohlheiser on why and how algorithms discriminate; and Jonquilyn Hill in conversation with a policy expert about disparities in discipline education for Black students; and Capital B’s Margo Snipe on science validating the persistent and ubiquitous experiences of discrimination manifest as physical ailments for Black Americans; Akilah Wise on how discrimination affects the diagnosis, treatment, and research of fibroids; and Kenya Hunter in conversation with experts and on how to survive and thrive in the face of everyday discrimination.
The Highlight, in partnership with Apple News, is a dedicated home for the signature features, essays, and explainers that help our audience go beyond the headlines of the day to tackle the big ideas and issues that are changing our present and influencing our future.