The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to declare racism a public health emergency and vowed“to allocate funding and other resources to “name, reverse, and repair the harm done” to people of color in the city.”
More from the Star Tribune:
The resolution was unanimously approved nearly two months after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by Minneapolis police while in custody in south Minneapolis. Days after his death, Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins called on the council to define racism as a public-health crisis.
During a committee meeting last week, Jenkins said Floyd’s killing, Black people’s vulnerability to coronavirus and racial gaps in homeownership are issues that have “been deeply agreed upon that at the core is racism.”
“How do we begin to address and end racism?” Jenkins asked. “I think the first step in that process is through naming that as an issue.”
The resolution, sponsored by Jenkins and Council Member Phillipe Cunningham, listed multiple ways the city would work to reduce the impact of racism on its residents.
Its racial advisory committee would review the city charter and other policies. It would “establish a long-term sustainable source” of funding to increase developmental programming for youth of color. It would also put together an annual report detailing the health of residents of color.
I mean, we are literally in the middle of a global pandemic, but sure, let’s make racism our top health emergency.
Full resolution here:
Minneapolis City Council Resolution Declaring Racism Public Health Emergency by Legal Insurrection on Scribd
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