The link between George Floyd’s death and COVID-19: Structural racism

The link between George Floyd’s death and COVID-19: Structural racism

George Floyd’s death highlights another epidemic - structural racism - which has long haunted Americans of color. Pervasive inequities have left Black and Hispanic Americans particularly vulnerable to the health and economic impacts of COVID-19.

Economic Disparity

The CDC explains that living conditions, work circumstances, underlying health conditions and less access to care all contribute to more prevalence of coronavirus in minority populations.  

Unlike workers who could stay home, or who lost jobs and were able to access unemployment insurance, Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to be essential workers, on the frontlines and most at risk of contact with the virus. The Economic Policy Institute has compared jobs most at risk with Black representation in those jobs: 

Black workers make up about one in nine workers overall; they represent 11.9% of the workforce. However, black workers make up about one in six of all front-line-industry workers. They are disproportionately represented in employment in grocery, convenience, and drug stores (14.2%); public transit (26.0%); trucking, warehouse, and postal service (18.2%); health care (17.5%); and child care and social services (19.3%). 

The pay in many front-line positions, such as retail clerks, is often minimum wage, without benefits of health insurance or sick leave. These are jobs that may not require higher education or even a high school degree. Thousands of pages of research shows that lack of investment in education and training in low-income neighborhoods of color impedes opportunity and leads to Black and Hispanics working in these low-wage jobs.

Other Conditions of Disparity

Living conditions that influence racially based health disparities include higher-density neighborhoods; overrepresentation in jails, prisons, and detention centers; and more exposure to pollution, resulting in underlying health problems. Jails and prisons have seen major outbreaks of coronavirus - including the four biggest known clusters of outbreaks in June. Measures to reduce crime have disproportionately affected Black communities, and have resulted in a substantially higher Black prison population. Pew Research Center finds that in 2017, Blacks represented 12% of the U.S. adult population but 33% of the sentenced prison population. Whites accounted for 64% of adults but 30% of prisoners. 

Underlying health problems are partially due to low-income neighborhoods of color often being located near industrial areas. An EPA study, released by the current administration, finds that people in poverty are exposed to more fine particulate matter in the air than others. According to a coverage in the Atlantic, the study’s authors explain that “results at national, state, and county scales all indicate that non-Whites tend to be burdened disproportionately to Whites.” Pollution from fine particulate matter exacerbates respiratory diseases such as asthma and is a known carcinogen, factors contributing to weakened health and increased vulnerability. 

Furthermore, as the CDC states, many members of racial and ethnic minorities live in neighborhoods that are further from grocery stores and medical facilities, making it more difficult to receive care if sick and stock up on supplies that would allow them to stay home. 

What Economic Developers Can Do Now

For those in the economic development profession, it is our duty and responsibility to work toward economic health for every member of our communities. IEDC is convening a committee to make recommendations for addressing racism and economic development to its board of directors.  

Locally, economic development practitioners must begin - or carry on - examining the ongoing impacts of structural racism and economic exclusion in their communities, and commit to working with organizations and communities of color to formulate strategies that will level the playing field and improve economic opportunities. While reflection and acknowledgement of recent events may be the appropriate first step, the goal must be to chart a path toward a more equitable future.