NAACP to US government: Do more for Black communities hit hardest by coronavirus
Early studies have cast a spotlight on the disparate impact of COVID-19 on African-American and minority communities in the U.S. Now, a number of Black-led organizations are putting pressure on the federal government to do something about it.
The National African-American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN, Inc.,) in partnership with the NAACP and the Council on Black Health, is calling for decisive action in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected at least 790,000 Americans and killed more than 42,000 as of April 21, according to Johns Hopkins University.
African-Americans have been hit especially hard by the virus, accounting for over 30 percent of those who have died from the coronavirus despite comprising just 13 percent of the population in the areas covered, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. Cities including Detroit and New Orleans have seen similar trends with Black residents accounting for a concerning percentage COVID-19-related deaths.
In a letter to Congress, the NAATPN, NAACP and several other organizations detail key steps the government should take in addressing COVID-19 racial disparities, including mobile testing for underserved communities, COBRA health coverage for furloughed workers and a “credible strategy” to slow the spread of the virus in African-American communities.
Delmonte Jefferson, executive director for NAATPN, Inc., said the outbreak has only exposed longstanding health inequities in America. Through its work, the organization works to “facilitate the implementation and promotion of comprehensive policies, community-led programs and culturally competent public health campaigns that benefit African Americans,” according to its website.
“It’s exposing these health inequities that were already in our system and in our government,” Jefferson told McClatchy News, pointing to years of discrimination in housing, employment, education and healthcare. “So all these things are just practices that this country has done — unjust practices — that have really promoted health inequities has opposed to health equity.”
Jefferson argued the disparities are also rooted in “segregation, that comes from systemic racial oppression .. that causes and exacerbates pandemics. And in this particular case, that’s exactly what’s happening with COVID-19.”
Other short-term solutions include free onsite healthcare in communities hit hard by the virus; the distribution of data on race/ethnicity and location of COVID-19 incidences, hospitalization and deaths; and direct resources to organizations that are representative of the populations most affected by the disease, according to the groups’ letter.
“Increasingly, the data on COVID-19 underscore why our organizations exist and are joining forces at this time,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “Now more than ever, Black people are paying the price for our short- and long-term policy failures through compromised health and an early demise. Enough is enough.”
Other organizations supporting the call to action include the 100 Black Men of America, Inc., Data for Black Lives and the National Patient Advocate Foundation, among others.
In all, more than 20 organizations have signed the letter asking the government to do more in helping communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
The group isn’t only focused on short-term solutions, however. Their proposed long-term solutions include universal health care, greater investment in U.S. healthcare workers and systems, and a higher federal minimum wage. Jefferson said disparities in education and the U.S. penal system also need to be addressed.
“You’ve got to look at how do you mitigate what’s going on now, but also look at your long-term,” said Jefferson. “How do you put other things in place so that this doesn’t happen again. So that you address health inequity once, and for all.”
The organizations’ letter was sent every member of Congress, Jefferson told McClatchy, with leaders scheduled to meet with lawmakers sometime next week.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 12:27 PM with the headline "NAACP to US government: Do more for Black communities hit hardest by coronavirus."