title
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ITEM 19-4285
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING RACISM AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS DECLARING RACISM AND RACIAL INEQUALITIES A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Public Health Awareness raises awareness of the relationship between the health of individuals and the health of their communities; and
WHEREAS, African Americans comprise 1.3 million of Cook County's total population, the largest in any County, and Latin Americans comprise a comparable percentage of Cook County's population; and
WHEREAS, race is a social construction with no biological basis; and
WHEREAS, studies link racism to negative health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, areas falling under the public health category include healthy communities, violence prevention, rural health, technology, public health, climate change, and global health; and
WHEREAS, the promotion of healthy communities directly relates to the health of individuals, and encourages expanding public health support networks to decrease racial disparities in health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, communities of color are disproportionally impacted by social detriments to health, such as: increased exposure to lead; poor air quality; lack of safe places to walk, bike, run, live, and inadequate health education; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is the 2nd largest County in the United States, with health disparities among its racial populations, and
WHEREAS, racism is a social system with multiple dimensions, including individual racism and systemic racism; and
WHEREAS, individual racism is internalized or interpersonal, which may manifest in microaggressions against others based on race; and
WHEREAS, systemic racism is an institutional or structural system based on structuring opportunity and assigning value through the social interpretation of one's race; and
WHEREAS, systemic racism unfairly disadvantages individuals, businesses, and communities while simultaneously depleting the strength of society through the...
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