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."
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Aug. 9, 2019.
The Golden State's so-called "resistance" strategy, Alex Padilla said, is rooted in a three-pronged approach: legislation, legal challenges, and civil society organization.
President Trump traveled to El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday, two cities grieving after separate mass shootings killed at least 31 people over the weekend. The president, however, was greeted with large protests in both cities as residents and lawmakers expressed their anger over Trump’s divisive leadership and refusal to support stricter gun control measures.
The rule would be the latest move by the White House against Huawei. The Chinese tech giant was deemed to be a threat to U.S. national security in May and has since been a central component of the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
China has historically been one of U.S. farmers' largest buyers, making the sector a prime target for Beijing's retaliatory tariffs.
On this episode of 'Your Cheddar': how one entrepreneur leverages technology to build her brand and monetize her expertise, and the CEO and co-founder of Pillar joins the show to discuss how his platform helps others manage their student loan debt. Cheddar also hits the streets to ask New Yorkers how they would decide between easy money and spending quality time with their favorite celebrities.
President Trump is scheduled on Wednesday to visit El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, two cities still grieving after separate mass shootings killed at least 31 people over the weekend. The president’s visits, however, have created an atmosphere of angst and unease.
President Trump and the Republican party filed multiple lawsuits on Tuesday to block California’s recently implemented law that requires presidential hopefuls to release their tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary ballot.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Republican Rep. Peter King publicly called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a vote on a bipartisan background check legislation, just days after two back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton killed over 30 people.
Congressman Matt Gaetz told Cheddar Monday that a focus on mental health is the answer to stop domestic-based gun violence, not gun control or background checks.
