Racism against black Chicago residents constitutes a public health crisis within the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared on Thursday.
Lightfoot said in a press conference that it is “way past time that as a city” made the declaration, which followed the publication of a Tuesday report by the Chicago Department of Public Health reporting the difference in life expectancy between black and non-black residents is 9.2 years.
“We’ve made undeniable progress in our city, and I’m standing here today as the first black woman and first LGBTQ mayor as a testament to that progress,” the mayor said. “But no one thinks that we’ve gone far enough, and in fact, we have not.”
Redlining, “racist public housing practices,” and poor access to healthcare are among a list of things responsible for the city’s legacy of systemic racism, according to Lightfoot.
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“Those historic practices still reverberate today. The result of these events and practices are the source of the great disparities we still see at this moment in health, wealth, and almost every other indicator of well-being,” she said. “At almost every single point in our city’s history, sadly, racism has taken a devastating toll on the health and well-being of our residents of color and particularly those who are black.”
The health department report titled “The State of Health for Blacks in Chicago” found that, on average, black residents live 71.4 years compared to non-black residents who live to be 80.6. It identified five primary factors contributing to the disparity: higher rates of chronic disease, death by homicide, infant mortality, HIV and other infections, and opioid overdose.
The State of Health for Blacks in Chicago is a stark reminder of the legacy of unacceptable inequities that continue to plague our city and country to this day. pic.twitter.com/mtrc9SYM4v
— Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) June 17, 2021
The homicide rate among black residents of Chicago was nearly nine times higher than non-black residents in 2017, the report found. It also identified higher rates of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes-related deaths in black residents.
The report’s authors — Blair Aikens, Dana Harper, Rachelle Paul-Brutus, Donna Scrutchins, and Yaa Simpson, who are all five black female doctors working within the health department — wrote the report aimed to “address the historical and present forms of racism, systematic exclusion, and sources of toxic stress that prevent Black Chicagoans from achieving health equity.”
“The inequities in health outcomes and root causes highlighted in this brief are glaring,” the authors concluded. “In order to address these health inequities, it is important to focus on and call out to the population most in need.”
City Alderman Raymond Lopez, a frequent critic of the mayor who Lightfoot once called “full of sh**,” roped in “wokeness” in slamming Lightfoot’s announcement.
“Don’t be fooled — this ‘declaration’ is NOT about racism,” Lopez wrote on Facebook Thursday. “It is about giving comfort to the ‘White Guilt’ crowd that she needs to support her as our city descends further into chaos. Otherwise, if she cannot continue to stoke their wokeness, they will abandon her immediately like every other demographic in Chicago.”
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Lopez has been especially outspoken about the city’s problem with violence, repeatedly demanding Lightfoot and the city do more to address the issue as shootings continue to kill and injure residents of all ages. During the June 4-6 weekend, five people were killed, and more than 50 others were shot, including an 11-year-old girl.
