The Face of Inequity
Here are some examples of inequities faced by black and brown people.
Black and Latino Americans are being hit hardest by this economic crisis because of the structural and institutional racism that preceded it.
Black and Hispanic or Latino Americans still represented the higher share of job losses with unemployment rates of 9.2 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, compared with 5.7 percent for their white counterparts. More so, the Latino employment level is still 7.2 percent below its pre-pandemic mark—comparable to the 7 percent deficit for Black Americans but notably below the 5.2 percent drop experienced by their white counterparts. While racial and ethnic wealth and earnings gaps existed prior to the pandemic, the fact that job losses have fallen disproportionately on communities of color means that these gaps have widened massively.
Blacks and Latinos are the most discriminated group.
In a study conducted by Rutgers University, 22% of Hispanic/Latino workers reported experiencing workplace discrimination, compared to only 6% of whites.
Working in discriminatory conditions often leads to depression, lack of self-confidence, bitterness, and withdrawal from work.
In total, 55.8 percent of the reported hate crime incidents, according to the FBI, were motivated by bias against race, ethnicity or ancestry.
Four-in-five Latinos are U.S. citizens, but many don’t feel safe and fear being deported.
Many of the problems faced among black and brown populations are systemic, crossing almost every aspect of life. For example, the disparities surrounding access to and the quality of health care received by black and brown people is not equal to the access and quality of health care received by white people; black and brown people experience homelessness at higher rates than whites, largely due to long-standing historical and structural racism, disparate access to credit and homeownership, and the consistent devaluation of homes in black neighborhoods makes it extremely difficult to build equity and accumulate wealth through homeownership; a black person is five times more likely to be stopped without just cause than a white person, 65% of black adults have felt targeted because of their race and approximately 35% of Latino and Asian adults have felt targeted because of race.
What I’ve listed doesn’t even scratch the surface as to what black and brown people face on a daily basis. Add to this the short and long term impact on a family’s life and wellbeing including, but not limited to the mental, emotional, physical, financial and social issues faced daily, it is clear that it takes all sectors working in collaboration together to address the systematic oppression faced by black and brown people in Hamilton County.
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