- Levine, 66, made the controversial statement while speaking in a video aimed at raising health awareness in Black communities during Black History Month
- The transgender Biden official stated: ‘Climate change is having a disproportionate effect on the physical and mental health of Black communities’
- The video has since gone viral on X, formerly Twitter, as social media users criticized the federal official for making wild claims about climate change.
Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine has claimed that climate change is “disproportionately affecting” the mental and physical well-being of Black Americans.
Levine, 66, made the controversial statement while speaking in a video aimed at raising health awareness in Black communities during Black History Month.
The transgender Biden official stated, “Climate change is having a disproportionate effect on the physical and mental health of Black communities.”
Levine continued, “Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to live in residential neighborhoods that increase their susceptibility to climate-related health problems.”
The video has since gone viral on X, formerly Twitter, as social media users criticized the federal official for making wild claims about climate change.
Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine has claimed that climate change is having ‘disproportionate effects’ on the mental and physical well-being of Black Americans
One user incorporated a laugh soundtrack into the video, highlighting the similarity between reality and an old Saturday Night Live sketch.
They wrote: ‘The ‘leaders’ in charge are not serious people, our country is above satire. The rest of the world is indeed laughing at us.’
Another person refuted Levine’s statement, saying, “I grew up and worked in predominantly black communities. NEVER have I heard a black person express concern about climate change.”
The video was viewed more than 40,000 times on Friday evening, but only collected 58 likes.
Many expressed their disbelief in response to the video, with one person saying: ‘I wish this was satire. It’s real,” and another adds, “The world is laughing at us.”
One person wrote: ‘This is a summary of everything happening in America right now. Good Lord.’
Levine is the nation’s highest-ranking openly transgender federal official and was named a four-star admiral of the public health agency.
She wore her admiral’s uniform in the video collaboration with the Office of Minority Health for the initiative titled “Advancing Better Health Through Better Understanding for Black Communities.”
Levine, who transitioned in 2011, has also produced statistics to support her claim that environmental problems disproportionately affect Black Americans.
“65 percent of Black Americans say they are concerned about the impacts of climate change,” she said.
“We are working with providers and community leaders to identify innovative approaches that empower communities to address health impacts associated with climate change,” Levine added.
Levine has sparked controversy several times when she supported offering gender-affirming care to minors.
Levine is the nation’s highest-ranking openly transgender federal official and was named a four-star admiral of the public health agency
She praised a gender-affirming care clinic in Alaska last August, claiming the treatment it provided was “life-saving medical care.”
The Alaska-based company she praised promotes the idea that children should learn that doctors “assign” gender to babies by making a “guess” — while also promoting the use of “gender-inclusive biology.”
Teachers and educators should talk to children “without assuming that there are only two genders and that everyone within a given gender is the same.”
Instead of using the word ‘mother’ in these conversations, they recommend using terms such as ‘egg producer’ or ‘transporter’.
The transgender assistant secretary also said last year that children can go through ‘the wrong puberty’.
“The treatment options for gender-affirming care for transgender youth are truly evidence-based,” says Levine.
She was asked about the possibility of preventing transgender youth from seeking body modification treatment until at least age 18.
Levine has previously said that so-called gender-affirming care for minors has the “strongest support” from the Biden administration.