In Maryland, the Montgomery County Council has introduced a resolution deeming racism a public health crisis.
In an interview with Cheddar, councilmember Will Jawando says disparities the black community faces are staggering. Recent social uprisings might have lit the flame under Jawando to introduce the resolution but the issue of racial inequality goes back hundreds of years, he said.
"Racism is the direct result, for 401 years, we've been either property or legally discriminated against for most of that time," Jawando told Cheddar.
In Montgomery County, systemic racism is not limited to just over-assertive and sometimes lethal policing of the black community, he said. It's also running rampant in the healthcare system. As COVID-19 continues to ravage communities of color nationwide, 18 percent of the black population in his county makes up a quarter of the deaths related to the virus.
For Jawando, racism in the Washington DC suburb is simply a reflection of society on a smaller scale.
"If you look at maternal health and childbirth, black women die at three times the rate," he said. "When they come in with problems, often doctors — look at Serena Williams — don't believe that they're sick."
Introducing the resolution, which he expects to pass next week, is a first step for curing the public health crisis in his county, Jawando said, but he hopes the measure is eventually recognized on both the state and federal levels. He also supports other methods of combating racism including the growing call to defund police departments nationwide.
"We shouldn't have stats driven by policing," he explained. "De-escalation, that should be rewarded just as much as we reward arrests and tickets."
Police said they knocked and announced themselves for a minute or more before bursting into Breonna Taylor’s apartment, but her boyfriend said he did not hear officers identify themselves, according to Kentucky grand jury recordings released Friday.
White House chief economist Joe LaVorgna joined Cheddar to discuss the economy's current standing.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The Democratic presidential nominee and his wife were tested earlier in the day after news of President Donald Trump's infection.
Actress Dasha Polanco joined Cheddar to discuss a voting initiative and partnership with Knorr.
Georgia Senate candidate, Matt Lieberman, joined Cheddar to discuss the mounting calls from fellow Democrats to drop out of the race and his commitment to advancing to a potential Senate runoff.
The White House is backing a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit and is dangling the possibility of a COVID-19 relief bill with a price tag above $1.5 trillion in last-ditch, pre-election negotiations.
One topic the 2020 presidential candidates were able to cover in the first debate was manufacturing. Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher joined Cheddar to discuss whether the statements were true for his state.
A Kentucky judge has delayed until Friday the release of secret grand jury proceedings in Breonna Taylor’s killing by police.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) joined Cheddar to discuss the first Presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden. Menendez called the event a disgrace largely in part because of the president's incessant attacks on Biden during his responses.
