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COVID-19 IS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE

Hundreds of years of structural racism is making Black and Brown communities more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Black and Brown people are more likely to be infected, less likely to be tested, less likely to be treated, and more likely to die from COVID-19.

“Time and again, a state or county releases racial data. Time and again, those numbers reveal a sizable racial disparity. Time and again, black Americans are overrepresented among the infected and dead. America’s newest infection seems to be mating with America’s original infection, reproducing not life, but death."

- Ibram X. Kendi, Founder and Executive Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center.

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TOTAL DONATIONS RAISED TO HELP WITH COVID-19 RELIEF: $1,004,535

HIGHLIGHTS

HOW IS STRUCTURAL RACISM CAUSING DISPROPORTIONATE OUTCOMES FOR BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE DURING THIS PANDEMIC?

HOUSING

Black and Brown people are less likely to own homes and are more likely to live in densely populated areas limiting their ability to practice social distancing.

EMPLOYMENT
Black and Brown people work service jobs at a much higher rate than white people. This leads to higher social interaction and increases their likelihood of being exposed to the virus.

TRANSPORTATION
Black and Brown people are less likely to own cars and more likely to use public transportation meaning exposure to more people in smaller areas.

MEDICAL RACISM
Black and Brown people are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to pay higher premiums for insurance before ever seeking treatment. When they seek treatment, they are likely to receive worse care and are less likely to be believed when describing their ailments. If there are medical shortages, like a limited number of ventilators, a white person may be more likely to receive treatment over their Black and Brown counterpart.

INCARCERATION

America’s prisons are disproportionately filled with Black and Brown people. The inhumane conditions have led to COVID-19 outbreaks. Many in the prison population are there because they had a parole infraction or are in pretrial detention due to lack of bail money. COVID-19 can be a death sentence to them.

COMORBIDITIES

Black and Brown people deal with higher rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and respiratory illnesses that exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19. This is due to them being more likely to live in poor, population-dense food deserts that may expose them to environmental harm which cause the underlying illnesses.

CITY/STATE/COUNTY DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY COVID-19

Due to the rapidly evolving nature of this pandemic we will update our data regularly.

NEW YORK CITY

In New York City, data shows that the communities hit hardest by the pandemic are the lower-income communities in the outer boroughs, where a higher percentage of the population is Black and Brown. Black people represent 22% of New York City’s population and 28% of the deaths from COVID-19. Brown people represent 29% of New York City’s population and 34% of its deaths from COVID-19.

CHICAGO

In Chicago, which is 30% Black, 70% of all coronavirus cases in the city and more than half of the state’s deaths are Black people.

LOUISIANA

In Louisiana, more than 70% of people killed by COVID-19 are Black, while only representing 32% of the population. The majority of those deaths are in New Orleans.

MICHIGAN

In Michigan, Black people account for 33% of COVID-19 cases and 41% of deaths.

ST. LOUIS

In St. Louis, MO, 100% of the deaths from COVID-19 are Black people.

MILWAUKEE

In Milwaukee County, which is 27% Black, 81% of deaths are Black people.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We've established The Know Your Rights Camp COVID-19 Relief Fund to help address the needs of Black and Brown communities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. Your charitable donation will help address...

FOOD

Food insecurity is already a crisis in the US. COVID-19 has only made this crisis worse. We will work with local restaurants, which have been hit hard by stay-at-home orders, to stimulate the economy by buying food and distributing to the community and essential workers.

SHELTER RELIEF

COVID-19 has caused immediate and severe devastation to people’s housing security. Over 22 million people have filed for unemployment and many more are facing this challenge without government assistance. We will partner with organizations to help cover essential living costs for those needing shelter relief.

EDUCATION

We cannot truly understand the disproportionate ways structural racism has exacerbated the COVID-19 outbreak in Black and Brown communities without proper information, data and research. We are using the COVID Tracking Project and The Antiracist Research & Policy Center's Racial Data Tracker to give the most up to date information on how COVID-19 is affecting Black and Brown communities.

PPE (PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT)

As the government imposes mandatory use of PPE’s like facemasks, Black and Brown people will need access to this protective equipment to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19 but also to avoid aggressive fines and policing. We will acquire PPEs and work with community partners to distribute them.

CRIMINALIZED & INCARCERATED POPULATIONS

Crowded conditions have already led to COVID-19 spreading viciously through prison populations. Many of those incarcerated are being held for minor charges or pretrial detention. They should not face a possible death sentence at the hands of COVID-19. We will work with partner organizations to pay bail, reduce prison populations, help stop the spread of coronavirus and save lives.

DONATION RECIPIENTS

Check back for the latest updates.

NUMBER OF CASES WORLDWIDE

72,221,634

CORONAVIRUS CASES

1,612,014

DEATHS

NUMBER OF CASES IN THE UNITED STATES

16,368,406

CORONAVIRUS CASES

302,141

DEATHS

Due to the rapidly evolving nature of this pandemic we will update our data regularly.

REFERENCES

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