Good afternoon. Today's Axios AM Deep Dive is a top-to-bottom look at the collision of the two biggest stories in the world — systemic racial inequality and an ongoing pandemic.
Smart Brevity count: 1,437 words, or a 5-minute read.
Good afternoon. Today's Axios AM Deep Dive is a top-to-bottom look at the collision of the two biggest stories in the world — systemic racial inequality and an ongoing pandemic.
Smart Brevity count: 1,437 words, or a 5-minute read.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images
Christina Henderson — better known as Ms. Tina to the neighbors and volunteers who pass through the DC Dream Center — sees the statistics flash across her television about how the coronavirus is disproportionately hurting black people.
By the numbers: 75% of the people who have died from the coronavirus in D.C. were black. These deaths are disproportionately concentrated in the district’s poorest, blackest neighborhoods in Southeast D.C.
These disparities reflect a slew of other, older inequities. Behind the shocked tone of so many headlines is a set of social and policy problems that are pretty familiar to health experts and even more familiar to the people they hurt.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Just as the pandemic hit communities of color more severely, the economic fallout is uneven, too, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.
Why it matters: Recessions have historically been worse for black people than other groups — and the effects of the downturn will linger longer, even as the country recovers.
The big picture: Since the government began tracking black unemployment in 1972, it‘s remained roughly twice as high as the rate for white workers — no matter the state of the economy.
By the numbers: In May, the white unemployment rate fell 2 percentage points to 12.4% — a record monthly drop, per Reuters. For black people, the rate rose slightly to 16.8%. Asians also saw their unemployment rate jump to 15%.
What they're saying: The labor market is showing signs of recovery, but the economy is “leaving Black people behind again — this is true by gender & age," Olugbenga Ajilore, an economist at the Center for American Progress think tank, tweeted.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Stanton Sharpe/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
A complex public undertaking like the coronavirus response depends a lot on public trust. But a legacy of systemic racism across multiple institutions has eroded that trust in many minority communities, Axios' Bob Herman writes.
Health care has its own sordid history, from the Tuskegee Study to hospitals' patient-dumping practices to substandard care for black mothers and babies.
Between the lines: Researchers also have found that a negative experience with one institution, such as the police, often translates to distrust of another, such as health care.
The bottom line: Plans for successfully tracking and isolating to contain the spread of the virus cannot ignore the history of a health care system "that has never really valued [minorities] as a whole person," Hardeman said.
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
The inequalities in American health care extend right into the hospital: cash-strapped safety-net hospitals treat more people of color, while wealthier facilities treat more white patients, Bob writes.
Why it matters: Safety-net hospitals lack the money, equipment and other resources of their more affluent counterparts, which makes providing critical care more difficult and exacerbates disparities in health outcomes.
The big picture: A majority of patients who go to safety-net hospitals are black or Hispanic; 40% are either on Medicaid or uninsured.
The other side: Wealthy hospitals, including many prominent academic medical centers, are "far less likely to serve or treat black and low-income patients even though those patients may live in their backyards," said Arrianna Planey, an incoming health policy professor at the University of North Carolina.
The bottom line: Poor hospitals that treat minorities have had to rely on GoFundMe pages and beg for ventilators during the pandemic, while richer systems move ahead with new hospital construction plans.
Go deeper: The coronavirus is further dividing rich and poor hospitals
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The pandemic's economic collapse is making it harder for local leaders to address the inequalities in their cities — just as the unrest over police violence has magnified the need for change even further.
The big picture: Evening out some of these disparities requires money, and city budgets are shot, Axios' Kim Hart writes.
What's happening: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, the city's former police chief, said this week has been a "turning point in awareness" in her city.
Cincinnati is dipping into reserves, furloughing employees and facing cuts to city services to deal with an $80 million budget deficit, said Mayor John Cranley.
Reality check: Many cities are struggling to marshal the resources to help residents recover from recent health and economic blows, let alone support new levels of community reinvestment.
Screenshot: "Axios on HBO"
Robert Fullilove, an expert on public health at Columbia University, tells Axios' Dion Rabouin that racial disparities in health shouldn't surprise anyone because their causes are baked into multiple aspects of American society.
"In a society where the quality of your health depends on how much money you can spend to assure your health, why are we surprised that folks with little money are also folks who are most likely to become sick? And then COVID-19 comes along."
Watch the full interview Monday at 11 pm ET, on all HBO platforms.