The formidable conditions faced by low-income blacks in this rural area were not enough, by themselves, to elevate blood pressure. For that to happen, people had to be high in John Henryism beliefs; they had to care about succeeding enough to endure a struggle against difficult conditions. Race was a factor, too. Whites who lived under these conditions and were high in John Henryism did not show elevated blood pressure. It was high John Henryism pitched against the conditions of being poor and black in these rural, southern areas that raised blood pressure.
