Redirecting Police Funds, Questioning Legal Fees For City Employees On Council Agenda

Racism As A Public Health Crisis
New Haven:

Monday’s legislative packet is a proposed resolution from Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, Jr. that calls on the city to recognize racism as a public health crisis.

RESOLUTION DECLARING RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS IN THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN
WHEREAS: Racism is a social system with multiple dimensions: individual racism that is interpersonal and/or internalized or systemic racism that is institutional or structural, and is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks; and
WHEREAS: race is a social construct with no biological basis; and
WHEREAS: racism and racial discrimination threaten human development because of the obstacles which they pose to the fulfillment to basic human rights to survival, security, development, and social participation; and
WHEREAS: racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance have been shown to be attitudes and behaviors that are learned; and
WHEReAS: racism has been shown to have negative cognitive, behavioral, affective, and relational effects on both child and adult victims nationally and globally, historically, and contemporarily; and
WHEREAS: racism unfairly disadvantages specific individuals and communities, while unfairly giving advantages to other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources; and
WHEREAS: racism is a root cause of poverty and constricts economic mobility; and
WHEREAS: racism causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, employment, and criminal justice, and is itself a social determinant of health; and
WHEREAS: racism has been shown to increase anxiety, depression, and is linked to a host of medical complications in ethnic minority individuals; and
WHEREAS: racism and segregation have exacerbated a health divide resulting in people of color in Connecticut bearing a disproportionate burden of illness and mortality including COVID-19 infection and death, heart disease, diabetes, and infant mortality; and
WHEREAS: COVID-19 is just the latest example where minority populations are disproportionately harmed; and
WHEREAS: Black, Native American, Asian and Latino residents are more likely to experience poor health outcomes as a consequence of inequities in economic stability, education, physical environment, food, and access to health care and these inequities are, themselves, a result of racism;
WHEREAS: studies have linked racism to worse health outcomes; and
WHEREAS: the collective prosperity and wellbeing of New Haven depends upon equitable access to opportunity for every resident regardless of the color of their skin.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the New Haven Board of Alders denounces racism in all its forms and declares racism as a public health crisis.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Alders:
(1) Assert that racism is a public health crisis affecting our city and all of Connecticut; (2)Work to progress as an equity and justice-oriented organization, by continuing to identify specific activities to enhance diversity and to ensure anti-racism principles across our leadership, staffing and contracting; (3) Promote equity through all policies approved by the Board of Alders and enhance educational efforts aimed at understanding, addressing and dismantling racism and how it affects the delivery of human and social services, economic development and public safety; (4) Improve the quality of the data our city collects and the analysis of that data, as it is not enough to assume that an initiative is producing its intended outcome, qualitative and quantitative data should be used to assess inequities in impact and continuously improve; (5) Continue to advocate locally for relevant policies that improve health in communities of color, and support local, state, regional, and federal initiatives that advance efforts to dismantle systemic racism; (6) Further work to solidify alliances and partnerships with other organizations that are confronting racism and encourage other local, state, regional, and national entities to recognize racism as a public health crisis; (7) Support community efforts to amplify issues of racism and engage actively and authentically with communities of color wherever they live; and (8) Identify clear goals and objectives, including periodic reports to the Board of Alders, to assess progress and capitalize on opportunities to further advance racial equity.