RichmondMag, September 17, 2020: Redlining Health
The study looks at maps compiled in the 1930s by the federal government that discriminated against Blacks in housing and other services, and how areas redlined at that time continue to experience higher rates of poverty and chronic diseases including diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure as well as lower life expectancy. Such factors place residents of these communities at a greater risk of more severe COVID-19 infections and death.
The higher rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths in communities of color have been well documented, but this study gives us a deeper understanding of why,” says Jesse Van Tol, chief executive officer of the Washington, D.C.-based coalition. “Historical structural racism created economic and health disparities we see today. That’s an old problem, but the pandemic should be a wake-up call.”
