Lafayette City Council OKs resolution declaring racism a public health crisis

Noe Padilla, Lafayette Journal & Courier
·6 min read
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LAFAYETTE, Ind. — At Monday's meeting, Lafayette City Council approved a resolution declaring racism as a public health crisis in the City of Lafayette.

The resolution, which was prepared by the City of Lafayette’s Human Relations Commission, addresses several societal aspects reportedly affecting minority communities more than white residents.

The resolution addresses how social and material factors can influence a person’s health, which includes employment, housing, education, health care, public safety and food access – known to have a life-long health impact.

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“I think when you look at what public health is, you’re talking about the well-being of the entire community. And your community is not going to be healthy if there are people within your community that don’t have the resources or access to the resources that everyone else has. And I think when you look at the statistics, if you go through the statistics within the resolution, they very strongly support that,” said Stephen Smith, chair of the City of Lafayette’s Human Relations Commission.

The resolution referred to several statistics gathered by the YWCA of Greater Lafayette to help illustrate the need for this resolution.

  • In Tippecanoe County, 11.5% of Black and 19% of Latinx residents do not have health insurance coverage, as compared to 9.3% of White residents

  • In Tippecanoe County, the median infant mortality rate is 14.6 per 1,000 Black, Multiracial and Latinx births compared to 6.1% of White births

  • In Tippecanoe County, the average median household income is $28,191 for Black households compared to $56,684 for non-Latinx White households

  • In Tippecanoe County, 40.4% of Black and 19.5% of Latinx residents live in poverty compared to 15.6% of White residents

  • In Tippecanoe County, 9.4% of Latinx and 11.07% of Black residents 25 or older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, as compared to 22.6% of white residents

  • In Tippecanoe County, among people employed full-time in Tippecanoe County the employment rate for White citizens is 63.9% compared to the 44.3% for Asian American and Pacific Islander citizens

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In hopes of addressing many of the issues highlighted within the resolution, the council made the commitment to address and/or examine seven aspects dealing with racism within Lafayette:

  • Section 1. That this Council declares racism to be a public health crisis in the City of Lafayette, Indiana that affects all members of our community and deserves action from all levels of government and civil society.

  • Section 2. That the City commits to frank and open discussions on issues of race, racial disparities, and inequalities.

  • Section 3. That the City and all its Departments will address racial inequalities by investing, as much as possible, in disadvantaged neighborhoods and those neighborhoods whose residents suffer most from racial disparities.

  • Section 4. That the City will review current policies and procedures for the express purpose of eradicating implicit and explicit racial bias.

  • Section 5. That the City should immediately access all available tools to eliminate disparities based on race, place, or identity across key indicators of success, including health, education, criminal justice, the environment, employment and the economy.

  • Section 6. The City will create a plan to collect data regarding racial disparities in department staffing, contracting, and all additional extensions of the City government with the purpose of incorporating racial equity into the analysis of governmental action.

  • Section 7. That the City will collaborate with additional key stakeholders within the community to assist them in incorporating the above-listed practices into their businesses

After the votes were placed, Perry E. Brown, representing District 3 and president of the council, said such a focus was a long time coming.

“I’m here to tell you that it (racism) makes me sick. It grinds on you each and every day of your life. When you wake up and you got to deal with this sorta thing. And it’s about time that society needs to acknowledge that it has an effect on the way people live. It has an effect on their bodies, because, like I said, it grinds on you,” said Brown.

The City of Lafayette’s Human Relations Commission started working on this resolution after the murder of George Floyd killed by a Minneapolis police officer while in custody. His death sparked protests and awareness drives across the country.

“I think this initial conversation came about, really after George Floyd and with the protest that were taking place within our community. Our human relations commission started to bring up that question. About what can we do, what can be done, what are other communities thinking about doing in order to bring about some actionable change,” said Smith.

“It feels great to have this pass, but this is just a step in the process. There are many things that need to be done in terms of creating, some of those next steps and actions to ensure that this is more than just a declaration. More than we just say there’s a problem, we’re going to do something about it.”

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said he was happy to see that the resolution had passed and mentioned how the city has been proactive in regards to addressing these issues.

Last year, the City of Lafayette and the YWCA of Greater Lafayette partnered to hire Floyd Keith as the senior director for race and social justice at YWCA Greater Lafayette.

Keith is perhaps best well-known for the NCAA-BCA “Achieving Coaching Excellence Program,” which he started.

Keith has played a significate role in regards to making this resolution a reality, said Roswarski.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction. I’m really glad to see the human relations commissions to get involved at this level and to start to take some of these steps,” he said.

“The city is doing a lot with the racial justice coordinator that we're splitting with the YWCA. And I think this ties in very well to the training modules that are being put together when you look at hiring equality and those types of things,”

“I think this is a good step to bring the community along and to help look at those issues, overcome those barriers and find out what else we need to do.”

Before the end of the meeting, Mayor Roswarski mentioned that his West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County counter-parts were planning on approving a similar resolution

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette City Council declares racism a public health crisis