George A. Jones: Black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at disproportionate rates. That does not need to be the case in DC.
We recently celebrated Emancipation Day in Washington, DC, the nation’s capital — also known as Chocolate City due to the strong and vibrant Black community that has lived, worked and shaped the culture of the city on both sides of the Anacostia River since DC’s founding. While more than 25,000 Black people settled here during and directly following the Civil War, as early as 1800 25% of DC’s residents were Black. By 1900, DC had the largest representation of African Americans of any city in the nation. For much of the 20th century, DC was not only the capital of our country but also the intellectual, cultural and political headquarters of Black America.
But as we celebrate all that encompasses our emancipation, we’re also in the midst of a pandemic that highlights once again the very real barriers faced by Black people across America because of institutional and structural racism and the legacy of slavery. Black people are contracting and dying from COVID-19 at disproportionately higher rates than white Americans. In Louisiana, African Americans account for 58% of all deaths; that number is 51% in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. In a DC that finds itself 46% Black and 37% non-Hispanic white, Black residents account for 79% of our COVID-related fatalities; they are also disproportionately represented in diagnosed cases, with nearly three times as many cases as white residents to date — and that’s accounting just for those who have had access to testing. As we approach 250 deaths and 4,500 known infections in DC with the numbers rising each day, the impact on the Black community in our city could be catastrophic.
Yet the inequality experienced in our city is not a shock. At Bread for the City, where I have served as CEO for 24 years and where we serve people living on low incomes, the vast majority of clients who come to us for service — including food, clothing, social services, legal representation and medical care — are Black Washingtonians. We can’t ignore the economic disparities we face in DC every day. And now, we can no longer ignore that these disparities include access to health care. Let me be clear: A meaningful response to this crisis needs to take race into consideration — not because the virus discriminates on the basis of race, but because people and systems do. Response from federal, state, and local programs must address racial injustices at all levels of society.
The average household income of those Bread for the City serves is around $10,000 annually. That equals just $27 a day for rent, transportation, food, utilities and all other living costs. It is nearly impossible to live on so little during the best of times, let alone during a pandemic when employment and other support services are in even less supply than usual.
Prior to COVID-19 taking hold, Black and brown communities already experienced a higher rate of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, lung disease, diabetes and heart disease. All of these conditions put us at a higher risk for COVID-related complications. We know the prevalence of these conditions is socially determined. Those who have reliable and consistent access to stable housing and nutritious food do not suffer at the same rate. Lack of access to vital services is a man-made problem. And there are man-made solutions, some of which I’ve detailed here.
Housing is health care. We see that now more than ever.
Another privilege denied disproportionally to Black people is the ability to work remotely to protect themselves, their families and their communities from the spread of COVID-19. According to the Economic Policy Institute, only 1 in 5 Black employees are able to telework. Those who are keeping America running right now — those on the front lines of this pandemic such as grocery store clerks, home health aides and warehouse employees — are more likely to be Black. What choice do these folks have but to show up for work? Having to make the crucial decision of risking your life while living paycheck to paycheck is largely falling on Black Americans.
How DC can move forward
Public officials at all levels of government need to account for the impacts of structural racism when determining the way forward during any crisis, but especially one that so strongly targets communities of color due to centuries of exacerbated health and economic disparities. We are surely not seeing that consideration at the federal level, but we have the chance here in DC to make that approach a reality.
We need testing to be made available indiscriminately across our city, especially in communities hardest hit by the pandemic. That includes Black communities in all eight wards, but especially east of the river. We’ve taken the step of providing testing — free of charge — to those with limited access to health care at Bread for the City. I call on our fellow clinics and hospitals serving the community across the city to do the same if they are able.
We also need to consider providing cash benefits directly to those who will be most impacted by this crisis. Study after study has substantiated the benefits of such programs, including universal basic income programs. Tax credits and deferred payments are not enough. People need real relief, and they need it now. Rent should be canceled. Businesses need to be incentivized not to lay off or fire workers.
Bread for the City has signed on with sister agencies across DC to support the creation of an “excluded workers fund” like the one launched this week in Montgomery County. Federal and local lawmakers alike have excluded some residents from relief support, including those who are undocumented or are part of an informal cash economy. According to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, our city is home to 25,000 to 30,000 undocumented residents. Those who are unable to apply for unemployment benefits need to be directly supported. The limited funding made available so far — $5 million from Events DC — is not adequate.
Housing needs to be first and last on any relief agenda — and not just during these immediate weeks of the crisis. We need to see a long-term plan from the DC Council to address the ongoing housing crisis that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Housing inequality means that Black Americans are less likely to own their homes than are their white counterparts, and that is no different in DC. That’s why it’s particularly important for Black Washingtonians that the city suspend rents.
DC needs to prioritize people, not corporations. Relief and aid should focus primarily on the individuals and families who are most in need. And those efforts must include measures that protect the political rights of all residents, but particularly those in vulnerable communities. Fortunately, DC has done this, by getting the word out about the availability of absentee ballots and requiring masks to be worn by those who vote in person.
We also need to know how this pandemic is impacting our diverse communities here in DC. When reporting on rates of infection and outcomes, accurate demographic data, including race, needs to be maintained. The level of access to testing by ward and population should also be more widely shared and discussed. It’s not enough to see the number of cases in wards 7 and 8 in our city’s daily briefings if we don’t know how many of those residents have actually been tested. Unfortunately, many residents east of the river were already living in a health provider desert.
While this moment of intense uncertainty is frankly scary for the Black community, we’ve seen an amazing grassroots effort to collectively demand action that is intentional and nuanced — and that takes structural racism and other intersectional considerations into account. The People’s Demands DC — a group that came together through the DC Mutual Aid Network — is asking every Washingtonian to take a survey to help develop a list of demands for our local government’s response. I hope you’ll join me in visiting thepeoplesdemandsdc.com to learn more and have your voice heard. We’ll need every one of us — every voice, every community — to be involved for us to see the other side of this crisis together.
The country has awakened to the reality that it is time to tackle historic and systemic racism head-on. It is the right time for the DC government and the rest of the DC community to lead the nation in undoing the systemic racism that causes health care and other socioeconomic disparities. As this virus continues to kill Black Washingtonians disproportionately in our city, we must all ask ourselves: If not now, when?
George A. Jones is the CEO of Bread for the City, a mission-driven direct services organization. A tireless advocate for ending poverty in DC, he was honored as the 2019 Cornelius R. “Neil” Alexander Humanitarian Award recipient by the DC Office of Human Rights.
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