Congressman Elijah E. Cummings Proudly Representing Maryland's 7th District

(5/13/00 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)

We want our children to know their grandparents

by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings

Last month in Washington, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) sponsored a health "brain trust" to address the diseases that are killing African Americans, Hispanic Americans and other minorities. We die from heart disease and stroke -- and from cancer, diabetes and AIDS -- in numbers far larger than our proportionate representation in society.

"We want our children to know their grandparents," the flyer for our conference proclaimed. As I read those words, I thought of my own family's experience.  I thought about the love and guidance that were taken from me before I was even born.

My mother, Ruth Cummings, speaks with affection about our maternal grandparents, Willie and Gussie Cochran of Manning, South Carolina. When she recalls them, though, Mother's voice reveals a deep, life-long sadness.

Hers is the loss and longing of a woman wounded in childhood by the heart attack that killed her mother. Mother's pain was compounded 9 weeks later when her father also died, leaving her orphaned at the age of 14.

Both of Mother's parents died before they reached 40 years of age. "In those times," Mother recalls, "people considered themselves lucky if they reached 50."

This country has the most advanced medical science in the world, but for too many Americans of color, life has not changed for the better since my mother's youth.

For example, we have a cancer death rate about 35 percent higher than that of whites; and we suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease. We have higher rates of hypertension and are less likely to undergo treatment to control our high blood pressure. The prevalence of diabetes in African Americans is approximately 70 percent higher than in whites.

Nearly 24 percent of African American adults are uninsured (compared with 14 percent of white adults), and nearly 4 out of 10 African American adults report that they do not have a regular doctor.

How can America allow so many people of color to sicken and die when this country has the means and ability to save their lives? The CBC again asserted this compelling challenge about our health and our morality as a nation last March when our Health Chair, Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Marie Christian-Christensen, presented the CBC Health Budget to the Congress.

"Our communities are at great risk," declared Del. Christian-Christensen, who is a medical doctor. "The elimination of health disparities in African American communities and other communities of color is one of the most important challenges facing this country."

Building upon the Clinton Administration's goal of eliminating racially-based health disparities by 2010, the CBC has demanded an expanded national commitment to reducing the disparate suffering and death of people of color. In addition to a broader HIV/AIDS initiative, the Caucus is seeking expansion of community-based health programs and increased Healthy Start funding to reduce infant mortality.

With my CBC colleagues, I am co-sponsoring proposed bills by Congressmen Bennie G. Thompson and Jessie L. Jackson, Jr., that would increase federal funding for expanded research into the causes of racially-based health disparities. I am also co-sponsoring Delegate Christian-Christensen's bill (H.R. 1960) that would require managed care organizations to utilize doctors within our communities -- doctors who better understand our medical needs.

The Congressional Black Caucus will continue to demand a national health policy that values human life over profit. Where our health is concerned, however, even more effective government action will not protect us without a renewed mobilization for preventative health.

We cannot successfully demand that others value our lives more than we value ourselves.  That is why I strongly support Legacy 2000 and similar community-based health initiatives.  Increased attention to our own health (including healthier diets, exercise, and reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption) remains our primary defense against the deadly perils we face.

Each of us owes a duty to ourselves, our families and generations yet unborn to live a healthier life -- and to encourage others to do so as well. By living up to that duty, we assure that our children's children will know their grandparents' love.

-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.

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