““There is no question that the COVID-19 outbreak is having a more significant effect on marginalized and poorer communities, particularly communities of color,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive, tells Metro Times. “While COVID-19 can infect anyone regardless of race or class, African Americans have historically been more likely to have higher rates of chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer in the United States. We know that people with these underlying medical conditions are more likely to become severely ill from COVID-19.”<br><br>Decades of economic inequality and systemic racism in Michigan have trapped a disproportionate number of Black people in poverty. And studies show that cities with concentrations of impoverished people are susceptible to higher infection and fatality rates. Many lower-income people rely on public transit, live in large apartment buildings, and work at jobs without paid sick days. At service industry jobs, employees often can’t work remotely and are in close contact with the public.<br><br>Another symptom of poverty is chronic illnesses due to unequal access to medical care.”

• By Hands Up Dont Shoot

"“There is no question that the COVID-19 outbreak is having a more significant effect on marginalized and poorer communities, particularly communities of color," Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan's chief medical executive, tells Metro Times. "While COVID-19 can infect anyone regardless of race or class, African Americans have historically been more likely to have higher rates of chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer in the United States. We know that people with these underlying medical conditions are more likely to become severely ill from COVID-19."

Decades of economic inequality and systemic racism in Michigan have trapped a disproportionate number of Black people in poverty. And studies show that cities with concentrations of impoverished people are susceptible to higher infection and fatality rates. Many lower-income people rely on public transit, live in large apartment buildings, and work at jobs without paid sick days. At service industry jobs, employees often can't work remotely and are in close contact with the public.

Another symptom of poverty is chronic illnesses due to unequal access to medical care."

Black people make up 12% of Michigan's population — and at least 40% of its coronavirus deaths

The coronavirus is infecting and killing an alarming proportion of Black residents in Michigan. Black people make up 12% of Michigan's population. But of the...

“The coronavirus entered Milwaukee from a white, affluent suburb. Then it took root in the city’s black community and erupted.<br><br>As of Friday morning, African Americans made up almost half of Milwaukee County’s 945 cases and 81% of its 27 deaths in a county whose population is 26% black. Milwaukee is one of the few places in the United States that is tracking the racial breakdown of people who have been infected by the novel coronavirus, offering a glimpse at the disproportionate destruction it is inflicting on black communities nationwide.<br><br>In Michigan, where the state’s population is 14% black, African Americans made up 35% of cases and 40% of deaths as of Friday morning. Detroit, where a majority of residents are black, has emerged as a hot spot with a high death toll. As has New Orleans. Louisiana has not published case breakdowns by race, but 40% of the state’s deaths have happened in Orleans Parish, where the majority of residents are black.<br><br>Illinois and North Carolina are two of the few areas publishing statistics on COVID-19 cases by race, and their data shows a disproportionate number of African Americans were infected.”

• By Hands Up Dont Shoot

"The coronavirus entered Milwaukee from a white, affluent suburb. Then it took root in the city’s black community and erupted.

As of Friday morning, African Americans made up almost half of Milwaukee County’s 945 cases and 81% of its 27 deaths in a county whose population is 26% black. Milwaukee is one of the few places in the United States that is tracking the racial breakdown of people who have been infected by the novel coronavirus, offering a glimpse at the disproportionate destruction it is inflicting on black communities nationwide.

In Michigan, where the state’s population is 14% black, African Americans made up 35% of cases and 40% of deaths as of Friday morning. Detroit, where a majority of residents are black, has emerged as a hot spot with a high death toll. As has New Orleans. Louisiana has not published case breakdowns by race, but 40% of the state’s deaths have happened in Orleans Parish, where the majority of residents are black.

Illinois and North Carolina are two of the few areas publishing statistics on COVID-19 cases by race, and their data shows a disproportionate number of African Americans were infected."

Early Data Shows African Americans Have Contracted and Died of Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate — ProPublica

No, the coronavirus is not an “equalizer.” Black people are being infected and dying at higher rates. Here’s what Milwaukee is doing about it — and why governments need to start releasing data on the race of COVID-19 patients.

New York. Milwaukee. St. Louis…This is the national trend. Not only are black people being hit hardest, poor blacks make up a large percentage of ‘essential workers’ risking their lives for as little as minimum wage in some cases.

• By Hands Up Dont Shoot

New York. Milwaukee. St. Louis...This is the national trend. Not only are black people being hit hardest, poor blacks make up a large percentage of 'essential workers' risking their lives for as little as minimum wage in some cases.

New Map Shows COVID-19 Is Hitting People of Color Hardest

A map from New York City’s Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development shows it’s the low-income, outer-borough communities that are bearing the brunt of the pandemic