Context crucial to understand local African American COVID-19 data

African Americans in Kalamazoo County make up a disproportionate number of COVID-19 victims, county health department data show. MLive’s coverage stated just that, and little more.

This is dangerously under-contextualized. Answering the “why?” is vital information, and necessary to develop good solutions, because the two are hand in hand.

Axios give a good breakdown of numbers that underscore inequality, including but not limited to race.

Dr. Rashawn Ray, a fellow at The Brookings Institution, blames “structural conditions that cause racial health disparities.” The legacy of racist housing regulations called redlining is a particular culprit, Ray writes. Read his analysis here.