Mayor Miro Weinberger Statement on the passage of Joint Resolution Relating to Racism as Public Health Emergency
Yesterday, the Vermont State Senate (29-1) joined the Vermont House (135-8) in declaring racism a public health emergency by adopting joint resolution JRH 6. Mayor Miro Weinberger made the following statement:
“This is an action I fully endorse, and last July the City of Burlington along with over 30 community partners from across Chittenden County made the same declaration. I commend the leadership of the Vermont legislature and welcome their partnership in committing to ‘coordinating work and participating in ongoing action, grounded in science and data, to eliminate race-based health disparities and eradicate systemic racism,’
“The coronavirus has laid bare a terrible and longstanding truth: as a result of deeply embedded, structural racism, Black and brown Americans experience far worse health outcomes than their white neighbors do. In this pandemic, Black and brown Americans are getting infected with the virus at three times the rate of whites, and, with adjustments for age, are dying at even more disparate rates. While Vermont has much lower infection rates – and much higher vaccination rates - than other states, the same race-based disparities exist here too.
“The necessity of ending these disparities in health outcomes did not begin, nor will it end, with the covid-19 pandemic.
“Deep and structural racism has shaped the systems of our nation and community for far too long. Here in Burlington, we have shown that while battling multiple and simultaneous crises Vermonters can forge remarkable progress on even our toughest challenges. With this resolution, we can take collective action to eliminate systemic racism and its attendant stark disparities in health outcomes.”
###
