To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Steve Potter, City Manager
Prepared By: Liz Habkirk, Deputy City Manager
TITLE:
Title
Affirming Discrimination and Systemic Racism as a Public Health Crisis
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution affirming that discrimination and systematic racism is a public health crisis that results in disparities in family stability, health and mental wellness, education, employment, economic development, public safety, criminal justice experience and housing.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020, sparked a heightened sense of national awareness regarding police brutality and excessive use of force, particularly against people of color. Other tragic events throughout the country have reinforced the need for communities and their leaders to actively affirm that Black lives matter and to denounce discrimination and systematic racism of all kinds, recognizing the negative consequences these actions and attitudes have on the health and vibrancy of a community.
Discrimination and systemic racism manifest in distinct ways across many social intersections, including race, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, disability, immigration status and age, and collectively reinforces the racial divides within the country and communities. A study issued in 2011 by PolicyLink and The California Endowment found that race "remains our deepest fissure, compounding disadvantage and perpetuating it across generations."
The adverse impacts of discrimination and racism on health are well-documented, and social determinants - the conditions in which an individual is born and in which they live, work, and recreate - are key drivers of health inequities. For generations, Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other people of color have faced vast disparities in job opportunities, income, health care, education and inherited family wealth. They are less likely to ...
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