as a rule of thumb, in the lottery of life the odds are not good if you are black. It remains clear that historical and contemporary racism is a major factor in the startling disparities between ethnic groups. This is true even at the very beginning of life. In the richest country on earth infant mortality is at 4.8 per 1,000 births among the white population but 11.7 for black people – roughly equivalent to a middle-ranking nation such as Mexico.
