Black Americans need to be prioritized to stop further inequalities

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic shed a stark light on the legacy of racism in the United States. Ongoing focus has primarily centered on health disparities between white Americans and Black Americans in particular – and rightly so. Black (and Latino) Americans were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with Black citizens being three times more likely to get infected with the virus than white Americans.1 Black and Latino patients were also dying at higher rates than white patients.2 In fact, the pandemic shaved off three years of the average life expectancy of Black men, compared to eight-tenths of a year for white men.3

The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on non-white communities is a direct health outcome of embedded structural racism. Black Americans are more likely than White Americans to be employed in essential customer-facing fields and unable to work safely from home; work-from-home jobs are generally white-collar positions requiring higher education, another structural barrier. After work, non-white Americans are more likely to be boxed in overcrowded zip codes due to redlining, exposed to and exposing others. Despite the risks, there are few alternatives. The existing racial wealth gap limits the monetary padding afforded to Black and Latino Americans, compared to white counterparts. Black Americans were already economically vulnerable going into the pandemic, with only 40 percent of Black households saying they could canvass $3,000 in emergency funds from family and friends compared to 72 percent of white households.4 The past year has exacerbated the racial wealth gap, with a higher proportion of Black families dipping into their retirement funds to pay for food and housing compared to white families.4 Black Americans were also more likely to be laid-off during the pandemic and less likely to get hired back, intensifying economic disparities.5 Without proper intervention, the pandemic will compound an already racialized economic structure for generations to come. To address and rectify systemic economic racism and prevent further generational inequities, universal basic income (UBI) measures must be implemented in the United States.