Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley took to Facebook on Juneteenth to announce that she and Commissioner Irene Fernando planned to introduce a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis.
The resolution cites health scholars and states that Hennepin County—home to some of the starkest racial disparities in the nation— will advocate for relevant policies “that improve health in Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color.”
Commissioner Conley: There have been quite a number of counties across the country—we’re up to about a dozen now—who have been declaring racism a public health crisis in their respective counties.
Yet we have been seeing very little results in terms of the acknowledgment that systemic racism is something that is embedded within all of Hennepin County’s core functions.
Commissioner Conley: I think every once in a while folks should really watch Hennepin County Board meetings.