We Don ’t Fully Understand How Deadly the Coronavirus Has Been For Black Americans. That’s a Tragedy of Data

Black Americans are fighting against two distinct yet interlaced enemies this week: institutionalized racism and a pandemic that is disproportionately infecting and killing them.
The protests that have rocked cities from coast to coast over the past few days were, in the immediate sense, sparked by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man. And police brutality has been the central theme of the demonstrations. But the protests are also being fueled by the fact that black communities have been devastated by the deadly pathogen working its way across America.
While black people make up only about 13% of the United States’ population according to the U.S. Census Bureau, they account for 22% of COVID-19 deaths so far, according to the COVID Tracking Project (white people, who make up 77% of the U.S. population, account for only 47% of deaths). The disparities are even more stark in some specific states and cities where black people make up the largest share of the population. In Mississippi, black people represent 38% of the population, but account for 51% of deaths. In Louisiana, that ratio is 32/53%. And in Washington, D.C., it’s a staggering 45/75%.

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Source: TIME: Health - June 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Sanya Mansoor Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news