On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot publicly declared racism a public health concern.
The announcement was made by Mayor Lightfoot at the MLK Exhibit Center in North Lawndale. She is urging all Chicagoans to work together to fix racial injustices caused by systemic racism, reported ABC Chicago.
“We can no longer allow racism our residents to rob the residents of the opportunity to live and lead full, healthy and happy lives and we are working closely with the Chicago Department of Public Health and community organizations to address these inequities once and for all,” Mayor Lightfoot said.
The statement follows the release of a study earlier this week by the Chicago Department of Public Health, which found that Black Chicagoans have a lower life expectancy rate. Blacks in the city lived an average of 71.4 years, while non-Blacks lived an average of 80.6 years. That gap is 9.2 years, but it can be significantly bigger depending on where you live.
According to the report, the causes are chronic diseases, homicides, infant mortality, HIV, flu, and other infections, and opiate overdoses.
This comes one year after the city of Chicago’s largest hospitals and clinics declared racism a public health concern, according to WGN.
