This post was originally published on Word In Black.
By: Willy Blackmore
While it’s only May, the temperature at the southernmost point of the United States is already sailing past summer highs: Key West marked a record-high heat index of 115 this week, breaking the old record by 17 degrees.
It’s just the latest sign that the whole world is getting hot — last summer was the hottest in at least 2,000 years — and will continue to get hotter and hotter. In turn, that’s going to expose a lot more people to intense heat, which not only can cause a host of health problems but can also be deadly, too.
According to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, 23% of older adults around the world will experience extreme heat by 2050, up from 14% today. And older age, when people are more likely to have compounding health factors, is when high temperatures can be the most deadly. While this is a global trend, the heat will be hotter for some compared to others — and in the United States, it’s likely older Black people who will be at the greatest risk.
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The Word In Black Racial Equity Fund, a component fund of Local Media Foundation, supports the work of Black-owned and operated local news media by providing critical journalism resources for Word In Black, a collaborative effort of 10 legendary Black publishers.
Soon after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Local Media Foundation established the Fund, originally called the Fund for Black Journalism. In the months after launch, donations to the Fund provided resources for LMF and 10 of the nation’s leading Black-owned local news organizations — AFRO News, The Atlanta Voice, Dallas Weekly, Houston Defender, Michigan Chronicle, New York Amsterdam News, Sacramento Observer, Seattle Medium, St. Louis American, and Washington Informer — to establish Word In Black.
Word In Black is a digital startup unlike any other in the news media industry. It is the only national brand backed by legacy Black-owned news publishers, with strong histories and deep trust in their communities. Word In Black started small, with limited funding, and has grown quickly over the past few years.
The Word In Black Racial Equity Fund supports journalism projects focused on solutions to racial inequities. Funding generally supports journalists who work for Word In Black, as well as journalists working for the 10 publishers. The Fund currently covers costs of 10 Word In Black journalists: an education reporter, education data journalist, health reporter, health data journalist, newsletter editor, climate justice reporter, community and audience engagement manager, finance reporter, religion reporter and the managing editor. The 10 publishers work with the WIB team to localize the stories in their markets, as well as producing their own original reporting.