DPW Vice-Chair Calls Out Trump For Exacerbating Inequalities In Communities of Color

(WISCONSIN) — Donald Trump’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately harmed communities of color. Black Wisconsinites are seven times more likely to die from Coronavirus than white Wisconsinites, and while Black people only make up 7% of Wisconsin’s population, they make up 24% of the COVID-19 deaths.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Vice-Chair Felesia Martin released the following statement calling out Trump’s endangerment of communities of color:

“Trump’s failed COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the Black and brown communities across Wisconsin. People of color have disproportionately lost their lives to this virus, experienced unemployment at levels that far outpace the national average, and have had been virtually excluded from receiving resources made available during the pandemic.”

“And it’s no secret as to why: structural racism. The Trump administration has perpetuated deeply ingrained disparities within society that continue to marganizilize Black and brown people in our healthcare system, in access to affordable housing, and in the workplace. It’s why we take for granted the essential workers — who are disproportionately people of color — who are working in hospitals and medical centers, running our grocery stores, fixing our roads and doing every other job that is crucial to keeping our communities safe.

“What’s more is that all the gains Black and brown communities made under Obama and Biden in unemployment since the great recession were wiped out by Trump. Black and Hispanic unemployment is close to 20%, which is triple the Black unemployment and quadruple the Hispanic unemployment when Obama and Biden left office in January 2017. Even in the midst of a pandemic, Trump’s PPP program discriminated against people of color as they did not get the same access to adequate loans for their small businesses.

“Now, Trump is trying to strip millions of Wisconsinites of their health coverage as he continues his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. If successful, Trump’s efforts  could rip health care away from low and middle-income families in the middle of a pandemic.

“We know that Trump, who built his political base by pushing the disgusting and racist birther conspiracy theory about President Obama, has demonstrated that he is more concerned with name-calling on Twitter than he is with seeking racial equity. The choice could not be more clear between Trump and Joe Biden. Biden has a plan that will address systemic racism and advance racial economic equity in America, and as President of the United States he will build back better for our communities of color.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.