DeWine: Racism Is A Public Health Crisis

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) called racism a public health crisis Thursday,  on the release of a report from a task force that invesitgated how COVID-19 is hitting people of color disproportionately.

The minority health strike force identified dozens of waysto address disparities when it comes to health issues for people of color, known as social determinants of health. 

DeWine is using the report as a jumping off point to challenge all parts of Ohio’s state government to fix the disparities.

"We have an obligation to look at these racial disparities and say 'that's not right.' We have to do everything within our power to deal with this," DeWine said, calling for changes in the state’s higher education, foster care, environmental protection policies and more.

State House Democratic Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron), a member of the strike force, said the report took too long to be released and it should have been delivered with more urgency.

“Task forces to reopen businesses met and issued reports within days of their creation. Democrats called for that same sense of urgency when it came to the health and lives of Black Ohioans who have seen the worst effects of coronavirus since the outset of this pandemic," Sykes said in a written statement. "For thousands of Black workers and Black families, it’s too little, too late—the damage is done. The governor and his team moved quickly to address some issues but not the ones that dealt with Black and Brown lives.”

DeWine said he is creating the Governor's Equity Advisory Board to keep this conversation going and create a permanent group tasked with addressing Ohio’s racial disparities.

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