Black children are more likely to have asthma. A lot comes down to where they live

By Kat Stafford | The Associated Press Photos by WONG MAYE-E and video by NOREEN NASIR Catherine Manson sorts through asthma medication for her children in Hartford, Conn., on May 25, 2022. (AP) – This story is part two of an AP series examining the health disparities experienced by Black Americans across a lifetime. HARTFORD, Conn. – Amid the balloons, cake and games at his best friend’s birthday party on a farm, 5-year-old Carter Manson clutched his small chest. “He just kept saying ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’’’ his mother, Catherine, recalled tearfully. “I picked him up and told him it was OK and to just breathe. Just breathe.” It was the first time Carter had an asthma attack in public, and the inhaler he sorely needed was in the family car. Catherine calmed her terrified son and ran to get the inhaler; only then was Carter able to breathe easily. “You say in your head as a parent that I’m going to be prepared next time,” Catherine, 39, said. “But anything can trigger them,” she said. Black children are more likely to have asthma than kids of any other race in America. They’re more likely to live near...