Maanvi Singh wrote an article in the Guardian about cities, counties, and states declaring that racism is a public health emergency.
Examples include: Cleveland, Denver, and San Bernardino, along with several counties across the country. Ohio and Michigan are also preparing to do this. Lawmakers said the declaration is long overdue.
She describes the stark health disparities that are linked to racism: maternal mortality, infant mortality, lower birth weight in babies, heart disease, lung disease, strokes and more, and police shootings in which Blacks and other people of color are killed at higher rates than Whites. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates inequities: Blacks and Latinos are forced into front-line essential jobs because of an economy that has been built with systemic racism, and are more exposed to coronavirus because of the kinds of jobs they have.
She interviews several lawmakers and health advocates who all say that racism is affecting people’s health, and it is just as much of an emergency as COVID-19. The lawmakers say that declaring that racism is a public health emergency is long overdue.
Read the full article in the Guardian at this link.
View our Clean Air Conversation about air pollution and climate change impacts on vulnerable communities, with Rev. Dr. Durley, Rev. Malcom, Dr. Hollis, and Dr. Cobb.
