Racism may not be a disease, exactly. But a growing body of research finds that it has lasting physical and mental effects on its victims.
Physicist and social justice crusader Albert Einstein once referred to American racism as a "disease of white people." He was speaking metaphorically, but a host of research in recent years has shown that racism, like a disease, can harm the physical health of both its victims and its perpetrators. Now, the results of a national survey find that children who experience racism appear to be at higher risk of anxiety and depression, and tend to have poorer health in general.