In May, the Biden Administration officially ended the public health emergency, which was declared when the COVID-19 pandemic began over three years ago. While the idea of putting COVID-19 behind us may provide some relief, we must recognize the long-term pandemic-related effects that our communities continue to experience. At the start of the pandemic, some thought it would be the “great equalizer,” meaning it would be an equal threat to all people. In reality, the COVID-19 pandemic proved to have the opposite effect, exacerbating existing inequities in our society and hitting certain communities much harder than others.
COVID-19’s Impact on Black Communities
Systemic racism is at the root of so many problems we, as a society, are still working to overcome. While COVID-19 has certainly taken a toll on the whole world, its impact has not been equal. Existing inequities and systems of oppression have resulted in Black Americans bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s lasting effects. Expand the drop-down sections below to learn some of the ways that Black communities have been impacted when it comes to physical health, mental health, and access to resources.
IMPACT ON PHYSICAL HEALTH (click to expand/collapse)
- Black youth and families disproportionately experienced significantly higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
- Black Americans were over twice as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and more likely to die from COVID-19 when compared to white Americans, despite being only 13 percent of the population.
- Black youth were also twice as likely to lose a caregiver compared to white children.
IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH (click to expand/collapse)
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Americans also experienced racial trauma related to racialized police violence, such as the murder of George Floyd. These experiences have exacerbated the mental health crisis, which was brewing before the pandemic.
- Since the 2000s, the suicide rate among Black youth has been increasing faster than any other racial or ethnic group. The pandemic significantly increased Black youths’ reports of anxiety and depression.
- Perceived (and actual) racial discrimination in COVID-19 testing and treatment has been linked to numerous adverse mental health outcomes, including greater self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, as well as greater clinical diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, and major depressive disorder.
IMPACT ON ACCESS TO RESOURCES (click to expand/collapse)
- Because of the systematic under-resourcing of Black communities, there are few accessible, affordable, and high-quality mental health supports and services available to support Black youth and families.
- Black youth were more likely to have inadequate access to technology and experience loss of instruction when remote learning was the norm, resulting in significant losses in learning.
- One third of Black families with children experienced three or more simultaneous economic and health-related adversities during the pandemic, such as unemployment, financial instability, and food insecurity.
Furthering Fair Housing in a Post-Pandemic World
So, how does all of this connect to housing? Whether we’re talking about systemic racism, health disparities, or access to resources, all forms of inequity are inextricably linked to housing. Systemic racism is woven into virtually every facet of our society, and we cannot achieve fair housing without acknowledging and addressing that fact. Historically discriminatory policies, like redlining, have created racial disparities, segregation, and inequities that are still impacting our communities today.
In terms of health disparities, a person’s housing has a major impact on their health outcomes. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, people living in formerly redlined neighborhoods were already at increased risk of health issues like preterm birth, cancer, tuberculosis, and maternal depression. The location of a person’s home could also be exposing them to harmful environmental hazards, such as air pollution, which can trigger asthma and other health conditions. With the emergence of COVID-19, existing health disparities combined with the new threat of severe illness meant Black Americans were facing significant physical and mental health challenges.
A person’s access to resources — or lack thereof — is also directly related to where they live. Whether we are looking at access to grocery stores, transportation, jobs, a stable internet connection, healthcare, or educational opportunities, majority-Black communities are severely under-resourced. The pandemic made this glaringly obvious, as residents of under-resourced communities faced challenges that folks living in well-resourced neighborhoods did not experience — or at least not to the same degree. As schools and workplaces across the country moved online, inadequate access to technology in formerly redlined neighborhoods caused disparities in educational outcomes and the ability to work remotely.
When the pandemic hit an already inequitable and deeply segregated society, the issues facing Black Americans only worsened. Now, it is up to us to work toward building a society that supports, uplifts, and values all people. As we navigate this post-pandemic world, we must continue working to further fair housing, in order to achieve the equitable future we long for.