Jamaal Bowman claims hearing the N-word causes heart disease, cancer and diabetes in black people

Former NYC Rep. Jamaal Bowman went off on an unhinged rant on CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip on Wednesday night, claiming that racism is the root cause of cancer, diabetes and heart disease among black Americans.

"The problem is we're not dealing with America's original sin," Bowman said, using the religious notion to indicate that prior to the nation's founding the North American continent was some kind of Eden or unsullied paradise. "And this disease of hate and racism towards black and brown people and sexism towards women and anti-LGBTQ sentiment, we are not dealing with that."

"Your colleagues in the Republican Party," Bowman went on, talking over his GOP colleague on the panel, "do not hold each other accountable when it comes to the racism that comes from the party on a consistent basis." He said, sawing the air and not listing examples.

"Where you are calm about this," Bowman went on, "I'm a black man in America. The reason why heart disease—listen to what I'm saying—the reason why heart disease and cancer and obesity and diabetes are bigger in the black community is because of the stress we carry from having to deal with being called the n-word directly or indirectly every day."

The n-word is prominent in rap music and entertainment and is most often used by black people to refer to themselves and their associates. When a white person is revealed to have used this word, even in the context of reading aloud classic American literature such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in a classroom setting, they are typically fired from their position, ostracized from polite society, and never heard from again.

"If your colleagues," Bowman went on, "would listen and try to learn and engage and grow and stop being so hateful, we could have a better country, but unfortunately we're still here." His white panelist said, "I feel your passion, and I understand where you're coming from, I really really do—" Bowman wouldn't hear it. He threw his head back and proclaimed we have cops beat black people to death and they're acquitted."

He listed Rodney King, whose beating after a high-speed chase in 1991 sparked riots in Los Angeles. The officers involved in his beating were convicted. King later died in 2012 due to drowning while intoxicated. Abner Louima, who was brutally beaten by officers following an arrest in Brooklyn in 1997, after which two officers were convicted.

Bowman listed Eric Garner, who died during an arrest on Staten Island in 2014. The officers involved in his case were not charged after the US Attorney Found there was no evidence to convict, but the city of New York paid out nearly $6 million to his family. Garner's daughter Erica became an activist in the BLM movement and died of a heart attack following pregnancy in 2017.

Bowman listed Trayvon Martin, who was not killed by a police officer but shot by a security guard in Florida, as well as "black cops in Memphis," who were convicted following the death of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop. George Zimmerman was acquitted in the killing of Martin.

The Health Department of the City of New York has emphasized a focus on outcomes, not opportunities, as a means of determining racial equity in health care, saying that "Racism prevents communities of color from accessing resources and opportunities, and negatively affects overall health and well-being. Centuries of racist policies and discriminatory practices create unfair, unnecessary and avoidable barriers to health for communities of color. To nurture and sustain healthy New Yorkers of all races and ethnicities, we must address racism and identify the root causes of unfair and unjust health outcomes."

Boman lost his congressional seat in New York's 16th District after being accused of antisemitism and plagiarism. He demanded $14 trillion in reparations for black Americans, saying "There were 246 years of free labor that produced trillions or hundreds of trillions of dollars for the US economy." He also pulled a fire alarm in the US House to prevent a vote from going forward.