Salt Lake City Signs Resolution Declaring ‘Racism’ a ‘Public Health Crisis’

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall doesn’t want to be outdone by the Lori Lightfoots or Gretchen Whitmers of the world so she has declared “racism” a “public health crisis.” Mendenhall and seven members of the city council have signed a joint resolution declaring racism a public health crisis.

“We are publicly acknowledging the existence of a grave inequity many in our community have long experienced” the Tuesday press release from the Mayor’s office reads. “A resolution to declare racism a public health crisis was initially proposed to the City by a group of community leaders who are in or working toward health-related careers, and it was reviewed and approved by both the City’s Human Rights Coalition and the Commission on Racial Equity in Policing.”

“This is an important declaration for us to make as a city” Mendenhall was quoted in the press release. “Not only are we publicly acknowledging the existence of a grave inequity that many in our community have known and experienced for so long, but we are also committing ourselves to the creation of policies and ordinances that are anti-racist.”

Here’s how the press release attempts to explain the connection between racism and health:

Racism directly impacts access to numerous everyday resources, including education, housing, employment, and healthcare. The cascading effects are known to result in negative outcomes for physical and mental health.

Over the course of the pandemic, the impacts of racism on public health and the heavier burden on the City’s communities of color have been well documented.

At the height of the pandemic, odds of infection were three times more likely in Glendale and two times more likely in Rose Park, where there are high percentages of Latino and nonwhite residents.

Additionally, Latino communities account for 14.2% of Utah’s population, but 40% of the state’s COVID-19 cases, and American Indian and Alaskan Native communities in Utah had a case fatality rate that is roughly three times higher than the state average.