Dying in the City of Blues 1-84

          Following reading the first few chapters of Dying in the City of Blues, the concept of bio-politics and a similar idea involving the effect of religion and superstition on health, stood out most prominently to me.

          Throughout Wailoo's book, he discusses the city government's responsiveness in lacking African-American healthcare. Although there was the emergence of Black hospitals, clinics, etc., they were segregated and often the admittance of a Negro in a White hospital was forbidden. The viewed prejudice that Blacks were ignorant and inferior, also did not aid in the city's physicians paying direct attention to their healthcare needs, and diseases such as Sickle-Cell Anemia were being wrongly diagnosed because of the lack of interest for the African-American community. Memphis citizens as well, were weary of the Black title, they argued that their diseases posed a threat to the city yet they were unconcerned with aiding them to fix this larger issue. The high infant mortality rate was another problem that was left blamed for African-American unintelligence, but was only being addressed when it affected the city's economy. Overall, the city government and physicians, payed little attention to the Sickle-Cell disease affecting the Black community, until it struck disaster for Memphis's economy and political standing.

          Another issue that I saw vaguely portrayed in the book, was the impact religion and superstitious beliefs had on African-Americans' health decisions. Wailoo mentions that "For black Americans, the church assumed a central role in the organization of civic life and exercised a sweeping influence over matters of public health and individual hygiene" (31). He writes of the church's change in taking communion, from a shared glass to individual cups, that showed the church body as well, was assuming this idea of diseased African-Americans. Nevertheless, the Back community had developed differing tactics of healthcare such as "working magic to heal ailments, tying charmed pouches around the necks of babies to ward off disease...."(31). Wailoo also noted their methods of magic doctors, that used various natural elements to heal diseased African-Americans. This type of religious and superstitious dependency on health could be due to the respected faith and belief system of the Black community, or a method of comfort for the sick when they were not receiving adequate attention to their diseases and treatments from the city.