Four Westport Representative Town Meeting (RTM) members have signed a resolution stating that systemic racism is a public health crisis affecting Westport and the entire state.
The resolution sponsored by Sal Liccione, Lisa Newman, Mark Friedman and Harris Falk has been forwarded to RTM Moderator Velma Heller and will be taken up by the full legislative body at a future meeting.
The proposed resolution links racial disadvantages to poverty and bad health outcomes among minorities.
An excerpt reads:
“WHEREAS racism unfairly disadvantages specific individuals and communities, while unfairly giving advantages to other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources, and
WHEREAS racism is a root cause of poverty and constricts economic mobility; and
WHEREAS racism causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, employment, and criminal justice, and is itself a social determinant of health; and
WHEREAS racism and segregation have exacerbated a health divide resulting in people of color in Connecticut bearing a disproportionate burden of illness and mortality including COVID-19 infection and death, heart disease, diabetes, and infant mortality; and
WHEREAS Black, Native American, Asian and Latino residents are more likely to experience poor health outcomes as a consequence of inequities in economic stability, education, physical environment, food, and access to health care and these inequities are, themselves, a result of racism; and
WHEREAS more than 100 studies have linked racism to worse health outcomes; and
WHEREAS the collective prosperity and well-being of Westport depends upon equitable access to opportunity for every resident regardless of the color of their skin: and
WHEREAS in August 2005, recognizing the need to achieve and celebrate a more welcoming, multicultural community, the Town of Westport established the TEAM Westport Committee to advise Town officials; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Westport asserts that racism is a public health crisis affecting Westport and all of Connecticut;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Westport will work to progress as an equity and justice-oriented organization, by continuing to identify specific activities to enhance diversity and to ensure anti-racism principles across our leadership, staffing and contracting.”
