密歇根新闻广播 帮助解决种族差异的三件事

 

COVID-19 doesn't discriminate¹ by race, and yet black people in the U.S are dying at an alarmingly higher rate than others.

Things are no different here in Michigan, where black people make up less than 14% of the population, but account for 40% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths so far.

Demographic information about COVID infections and deaths is not available from most counties yet, but the numbers in Michigan and elsewhere still indicate an alarming trend.

There are lots of systemic reasons for these disparities, but this story focuses on three: healthcare, affordable² healthy food, and clean drinking water.

Rashawn Ray, a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., said these deeply rooted social inequities are showing up through the COVID-19 crisis.

“COVID-19 is an equal opportunity disease. The problem is that our U.S. healthcare system is not,” Ray said.

Ray has written multiple articles for Brookings about what racialized data can say about the current pandemic. He said, among other things, universal healthcare would go a long way in helping³ black communities survive an event like the coronavirus pandemic.

“So that people get treated before they get deathly sick, and instead can get treated when they initially⁴ get ill,” he said.

One thing that could help head off health problems is better access to healthy food.

Omari Barksdale, an artist and activist⁵ in Detroit who recently lost his sister to COVID-19, said many of the city’s black residents live in food deserts – where healthy food is either non-existent or unaffordable, " which forces many family members to purchase dollar-menu meals from fast food restaurants, which contributes to the health disparities."

About 40% of black people in Michigan struggle with obesity⁶, according to a report from the United Health Foundation. That’s a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes⁷ – which is one of the underlying⁸ conditions associated with poor outcomes for people who contract COVID-19.

An even more basic hurdle⁹ in Detroit is water access. The city has shut off water service to 141,000 Detroit homes since 2014.

Monica Lewis-Patrick is the president and CEO of We the People of Detroit – a nonprofit that informs and mobilizes community members to improve quality of life in the city. She said Detroit has had a real problem on its hands for a while now.

“So this is a problem of enormous proportion prior to a pandemic, but in the middle of a pandemic it becomes even more so,” Lewis-Patrick said.

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department – or DWSD – started shutting off water to homes because people weren’t paying their water bills. But the city and state have agreed to stop water shutoffs during this pandemic.

City officials say fewer than 100 homes in the city still don’t have water, and they’re working to get those households restored.

Lewis-Patrick said after this pandemic is over, creating a water affordability¹⁰ plan – one where people would pay rates based on their income – for Detroit should be a simple choice, but it’s not.

“You are dealing¹¹ with, many times, policy makers¹² and people that are leading on decisions that have no idea and cannot even fathom¹³ some of the conditions and circumstances that people are living in,” she said.

Detroit officials say an income-based plan for water rates would be illegal. That’s an interpretation¹⁴ disputed by water rights activists¹⁵ – and it’s not likely to get settled immediately.

But it’s an issue that could get attention from a new state task force. Lieutenant¹⁶ Governor Garlin Gilchrist is heading up the Cornavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities. He says it will do more than look at the causes for the disparities we’re seeing.

“We also want to lay the foundation for program and policy solutions that will address these disparities wherever they present themselves,” Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist said the task force can’t fix all of the social inequities that have led to the disparities in COVID-19 deaths, but it could put Michigan’s most marginalized people in a better position to weather the next storm.

1 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

10 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

14 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。