The Montgomery County Council introduced a resolution on Tuesday declaring racism a public health crisis.
At-large Council member Will Jawando led the effort to introduce the measure. He told his colleagues on the nine-member council, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We die in many ways.”
Jawando ticked off a number of barriers to health in communities of color, including lack of affordable health care, exposure to pollution as the result of environmental racism, and racist attitudes in the medical community.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that racism itself is a social determinant of health,” he added.
The coronavirus pandemic illustrates his point, he said: “In Montgomery County, black residents account for 1 in 4 of all COVID-19 deaths, despite only representing 19% of the population.”
District 2 Council member Craig Rice said African Americans aren’t the only ones who suffer poorer health outcomes as a result of racism; he described seeing how non-English speakers are dismissed and ridiculed for not being able to communicate fluently when seeking health services.
Rice shared a personal anecdote of a friend, who is black, about a doctor’s visit that involved a doctor whose demeanor was described as “condescending” and dismissive.
And Rice, who is African American, also shared that his two daughters used to tell him, “Nobody sees race anymore.” But recently, Rice said, “I haven’t heard that coming from them anymore. We’ve now broken the spirit of a generation who actually thought we were on the right track.”
The resolution being considered by the county council includes language that calls on the elected officials to consider racial equity in its decision-making process.
“This is the first in the many steps to acknowledge the wrongs that we put on our communities of color,” Rice said.
This isn’t the first time the Montgomery County Council has taken up the issue of race and equity. In March, the county’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Law went into effect. Starting in August, “equity impact notes” will be required on budget items.
District 4 Council member Nancy Navarro noted the relevance of the measure when she said, “Who would have thought that right now, in 2020, that we would be here, facing all of this?”
Council members agreed that continued action to achieve equity in a number of arenas, such as health, education, housing and public safety, will be an ongoing effort.
At-large Council member Evan Glass told his colleagues, “This stuff runs deep. Not only in other parts of the country, but we know it exists here, too.”
A vote on the resolution is expected next week.
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