Racism Is a Public Health Crisis
Cities and counties are finally declaring racism a tangible threat to health. Here’s why that’s critical.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is one of the most racially segregated metropolitan areas in the country. Black people make up 40% of the city’s population, but decades of redlining and restrictive zoning pushed nearly all of Milwaukee’s Black residents into the city’s north side and kept them there. Decades of segregation and lack of opportunity have wreaked havoc on many communities: One particular north side zip code — 53206 — is often called the most incarcerated zip code in the nation, where 62% of all men have been imprisoned in an adult correctional facility before the age of 34. Data also shows that four out of five Black children in Wisconsin live in poverty, and most of them live in Milwaukee county.
In May, Milwaukee County became the first local government in the United States to attempt to rectify racial inequality by passing a resolution declaring that systemic racism is a public health crisis. Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele says the proclamation makes it “a legal requirement now to make decisions based on addressing and eliminating race disparities,” and that he plans to prioritize the needs of Milwaukee’s Black community in future hiring and procurement policies and budgets.
