I somewhat agree, but for maybe a different reason. I think racism probably is a major root cause, but think it's intellectually lazy because identifying it do

I somewhat agree, but for maybe a different reason. I think racism probably is a major root cause, but think it's intellectually lazy because identifying it doesn't help much. Racial disparities exist in virtually every important measure of health (and I only say "virtually" because I don't know them all off the top of my head). Genetics plays a part in some, but the root cause of many is the current or lingering effects of racism: families that never accrued much wealth, communities who had much worse professional prospects so education wasn't as valued, "bad" neighborhoods where towns invested less in public transportation or sanitation. A bunch of ways racism shapes communities. However, pointing out the racism root is only useful for long-term sociological planning. You also need to focus on the immediate causes. Systemic racism is actually a perfect example of this: even if a system becomes "race blind," the effect of past racism means non-white people are at a disadvantage.