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."
Gersh Kuntzman, deputy politics editor at Newsweek, discusses President Trump's remarks on the Parkland school shooting that left 17 students and faculty members dead. President Trump made headlines when he failed to even use the word "gun" in his speech following the massacre.
On today's episode of VF Hive Kristen Scholer and Jon Kelly discuss the shooting in Parkland, CNN's turmoil and the future of Trump's Chief-of-Staff.
Stories of heroism inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The mass shooting killed 17 people, and injured many others. Facebook is teaming up with organizations such as Lyft to make it easier to help people during a crisis. The Dow closes 300 points higher. McDonald's change its Happy Meal.
Amazon surpassed Microsoft in market cap. McDonald's is making its Happy Meals healthier. Washington D.C. reacts to the Florida high school massacre. Plus, we hear from an entrepreneur who started the first studio of its kind in the fitness industry.
Tackle the issue of mental health, that's what the president says he plans to do in the wake of a mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Congressman Darren Soto represents Florida's 9th district, roughly 200 miles from the site of the tragic high school shooting in Parkland, FL that left 17 dead. The congressman is calling for action in Washington after "another unspeakable tragedy."
Chris Whipple, Author of "The Gatekeepers" joins VF Hive to discuss his conversation with former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. It's been 6 months since he left Trump's side and his time in Washington, DC was certainly a wild one.
Congressman Joe Kennedy is a democrat who represents Massachusetts fourth district. His progressive policies and famous family name have thrust him into the spotlight after he gave the Democratic Party's official response to President Trump's State of the Union Address.
On today's episode of VF Hive Kristen Scholer and Jon Kelly discuss the Parkland, Fla. shooting, John Kelly's future and Evan Spiegel's redesign.
Ashley Kurth, a teacher at Stoneman Douglas High School, says nobody should have to go through the events that transpired Wednesday in Parkland, Florida. The registered Republican says Congress needs to deal with the problem of gun laws.
