As the novel coronavirus tightens its grip across the U.S., it is cutting a particularly devastating swath through an already vulnerable population — Black Americans.
Democratic lawmakers and community leaders in cities hard-hit by the pandemic have been sounding the alarm over what they see as a disturbing trend of the virus killing African-Americans at a higher rate, along with a lack of overall information about the race of victims as the nation’s death toll mounts.
Among the cities where Black residents have been hard-hit: New York, Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago and Milwaukee. “Everywhere we look, the coronavirus is devastating our communities,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP.