In my last column, I did two things. First, I cautioned citizens and politicians alike not to be ostriches, not to opt out of engaging the important issues of the day because that “only enables the crazies to subvert the Constitution, neuter the rule of law and poison the news.” And second, I highlighted a massive study that showed child poverty had greatly decreased in the US during the last quarter century, due mainly to the federal government’s child safety net, programs such as TANF, SNAP, SSI, and the national school lunch program. That the nation’s child safety net has worked is certainly good news, news that would be missed were one’s head in the sand.
And then I asked why we need a child safety net in the first place. “What is it about American culture and our economic system that requires such a safety net?”
One way to engage that question is found in an article by reporter, Isabelle Taft, in Mississippi Today, September 29, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2020 Mississippi had the second highest infant mortality rate in the nation. Nationally, an average of 5.42 infants per 1000 live births died in their first year, but in Mississippi that number was 7.59. The year before, Mississippi had led the nation with an infant mortality rate of 8.71 (also missed, were one’s head in the sand).
Ms. Taft continued: analyzed by race, in 2020, the state health department reported that the mortality rate for White infants was 5.7 (only a little higher than the national average of 5.42); but for Black infants the mortality rate was 11.8. As Ms. Taft put it in her article, “In 2019, 322 babies died before their first birthday in the state. Nearly 60%, or 185, were Black, though Black infants accounted for just 43% of births.”
Taft also reported that, according to the state health department, the leading causes of infant deaths in Mississippi are “premature birth and pregnancy or delivery complications as well as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).” In turn, premature births are linked to chronic conditions such as mothers’ high blood pressure and diabetes.
Proper prenatal and postnatal care plus treatment for high blood pressure and diabetes are readily available in Mississippi. Physicians know what to do. So why does this tragic inequality persist in Mississippi? Whose problem is it? Addressing these questions requires a wide angle look at our history.
First there‘s the Declaration of Independence and that oft-quoted passage enumerating our “unalienable rights, . . . life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The next sentence however tells the tale: “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.”
The current political leadership in Jackson often acts as if they live in a different state. Too often, too many legislators look away from this persistent racial disparity in infant mortality, choosing instead to pose for their constituents, selfie-like, with such high profile, hot button issues as critical race theory and tax cuts.
Mississippi, however, is the only game in town for them, and that’s where their attention needs to be. Mississippi problems cry out for attention. For example, thirty-six percent of the population is Black. Many longtime Black residents are likely descendants of slaves once owned by the ancestors of many longtime White residents. Slavery plus 90 years of Jim Crow laws (after Reconstruction and until 1965) have undeniable negative effects today—on both Black and White citizens.
Chiefly responsible for those “negative effects” was Mississippi’s failure to create a quality public education system for all, including those former enslaved persons-- followed closely by the state shutting those former enslaved persons out of the political process.
Second, there’s the Constitution, created “in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
I believe that Justice is dis-established by such glaring differences in mortality rates between Black and White infants. I believe it is a blight on “the general Welfare” that such a disparity is tolerated.
Surely our elected representatives desire a healthier state, one where it is safer to be a Black infant. Some do care, thankfully, but most look away, drawn like moths to the warmth of applause, the repose of apathy and the approval of colleagues and donors.
So, whose problem is it? Who’s responsible? What is it about Mississippi culture and Mississippi’s economic system that requires a child safety net? Why is that safety net so weak?
Dr. Conville is a professor of communication studies (ret.) and long-time resident of Hattiesburg. He can be reached at rlconville@yahoo.com
