Bill Text: VA HR227 | 2021 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Racism; recognizing as a public health crisis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-05 - Left in Rules [HR227 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2021-HR227-Prefiled.html
WHEREAS, as the site where the first enslaved African people arrived in what is now the United States, the epicenter of the American slave trade, and the former capital of the Confederacy, Virginia has a long and embedded history of racism, particularly against African Americans; and
WHEREAS, the American Public Health Association defines "racism" as a social system with multiple complex dimensions, including internalized or interpersonal individual racism and institutional or structural systemic racism, which unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities, unfairly advantages other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources; and
WHEREAS, systemic racism has manifested as a determinant to public health through persistent racial disparities in criminal justice, housing, education, health care, employment, worker protections, climate, food access, and technology; and
WHEREAS, more than 100 studies have linked racism to negative health outcomes, including research supporting that the cumulative experience of racism throughout one's life can induce chronic stress and chronic health conditions that may lead to otherwise preventable deaths; and
WHEREAS, many communities of color suffer from increased exposure to environmental hazards, poor air quality, lack of safe opportunities for recreation, lack of mental health services, and lack of educational and career prospects; and
WHEREAS, specifically, African American women are up to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women, African American men are more than twice as likely to be killed by police as white men, and the average life expectancy of African Americans is four years lower than the rest of the United States population; and
WHEREAS, racial health disparities have been on display during the COVID-19 pandemic, with African Americans more likely to be hospitalized by the virus and more than twice as likely to die from the virus as Caucasians; and
WHEREAS, the impact of systemic racism clearly rises to the definition of "crisis" proposed by epidemiologist Sandro Galea: "The problem must affect large numbers of people, it must threaten health over the long-term, and it must require the adoption of large-scale solutions"; and
WHEREAS, many local, regional, state, and national entities have recognized racism as a public health crisis; and
WHEREAS, Virginia is home to many ethnically and racially diverse communities that are subject to individual or systemic racism; and
WHEREAS, it is critical to engage with citizens, community partners, and stakeholders in the education, employment, housing, health care, and criminal justice fields to raise awareness of these issues and develop practical solutions; and
WHEREAS, there are numerous steps that Virginia can take to address systemic racism and its impact on public health, including:
1. Establish a committee or work group on Virginia's response to addressing racism as a public health crisis to ensure that statewide policy efforts are analyzed through an intersectional race equity lens and offer funding recommendations;
2. Require training for elected officials, staff members, and state employees on how to recognize and combat implicit biases;
3. Establish a glossary of terms and definitions concerning racism and health equity; and
4. Promote community engagement, actively engage all citizens on issues of racism, and provide tools to engage actively and authentically with communities of color; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That racism is a public health crisis in Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Department of Health so that the agency may be apprised of the sense of the Virginia House of Delegates in this matter.