Black Press News Digest: Jail Time Corrodes Health of Black Males

Health care in America's prisons is grossly under funded, according to a study published in BlackNews.com. This prevents inmates from receiving adequate health care. The report notes that this has an especially adverse effect on black men who now make up nearly 50 percent of America's prison population. The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons conducted the study.

Black Maryland Senate Candidate Raises Eyebrows

Black America Web staff writer Monica Lewis reports that some blacks were angered when it was revealed that one of Maryland GOP Senate candidate Michael Steele’s fundraisers is Floyd Brown. Brown was the architect of the race-baiting Willie Horton ad that some credit as tipping the 1988 presidential election to George Bush Sr. Steele downplayed the flap and saw nothing wrong with having Brown and other ultra conservative political operatives shake the campaign money tree for him.

Older Black Men Have Fewer Social Contacts

A Duke University study found that Black men over age 60 have a dwindling number of social contacts, the North Star Review reports. This has serious health implications. It means that these men have fewer opportunities to discuss problems and issues with their age peers. This could lead to increased mental and physical impairment.

Black Leaders Call for Gas Boycott

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have called for a national boycott of British Petroleum says BlackNews.Com. They charge the company with price gouging and racially discriminatory hiring practices. Jackson has picketed several BP stations in Oakland and Los Angeles. BP says that it prices its products according to prevailing market rates and that a substantial percent of its employees are minorities.

Black Leaders Blast Megachurches

Black Voices.com reports that Al Sharpton and a group of black ministers have knocked black megachurch leaders for cavorting with ultra-conservatives in hammering gay marriage and gay rights and their obsessive pursuit of wealth. The pursuit of the gospel of wealth and gay marriage bash, they say, prevents them from saying and doing more to help the black poor. It has also severely blunted the black church's historic role as a catalyst for social change.

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