Coronavirus is attacking members of racial minority groups harder than it is attacking white folks. This deadly disparity comes not from biology or genetics but from our social pathology of long-standing discrimination and inequities in healthcare access and utilization, occupations, education, income, wealth, and housing.
The coronavirus racial disparity exists in South Dakota just like everywhere else. Here’s our state population’s racial breakdown:
…and here’s the racial breakdown of South Dakota’s positive coronavirus cases as of August 3:
We white folks make up just about 82% of South Dakota’s population but only 42% of the coronavirus cases. American Indians are 9% of our population but 16% of our covid-19 cases. There are three times as many Hispanics and five times as many Blacks and Asians getting coronavirus in South Dakota than we would expect from an equal-opportunity infection in our population.
So in a painful way, the two big news stories of this summer, the fight against coronavirus and the fight against racial equality go hand in hand. Everybody suffers from this pandemic, but as with biological and social ills alike, our red, brown, and black neighbors are suffering more than we beneficiaries of white privilege.
Hmm… maybe Governor Noem had better make sure the first truckload of Dr. Fauci’s Wonder Shots goes to Pine Ridge, Eagle Butte, and the largely minority workforce at our meatpacking plants. First shots should go to the folks at greatest risk, right?
538 has an article offering detailed stats and observations on how pandemic elections have fared thus far.
There Have Been 38 Statewide Elections During The Pandemic. Here’s How They Went.
https://flip.it/Uaa0gQ