{"id":25808,"date":"2020-06-09T16:58:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T23:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=25808"},"modified":"2020-06-09T17:10:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T00:10:29","slug":"committee-for-greater-la-illuminates-racist-structures-under-disparate-covid-10-impacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=25808","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCOMMITTEE FOR GREATER LA\u201d ILLUMINATES RACIST STRUCTURES UNDER DISPARATE COVID-10 IMPACTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEADERS OF PHILANTHROPY, POLICY, BUSINESS, LABOR PREVIEW DATA FROM FORTHCOMING REPORT TO LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, CA, June 09, 2020\u2014In a preview of a report to be released at the end of July, the research leaders of a newly announced committee drawn from the worlds of policy, philanthropy, academia, labor, business and community-based organizations presented key findings on the disparate impacts of the pandemic to the first meeting of the Los Angeles City Council’s\u00a0Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Recovery and Neighborhood Investment<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Committee for Greater LA<\/strong>\u00a0is a diverse group of Angelenos who share a vision that our region\u2019s response to the COVID pandemic can catalyze system change and dismantle the institutions and policies that have perpetuated institutional racism. Its forthcoming report will present the data and the policy recommendations to understand this moment and the way out of it, and will advance an agenda that aims to build a more equitable L.A. for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the people in our streets are calling us to look squarely at what the pandemic has exposed: America\u2019s systemic racism, and its effect on our communities,\u201d said\u00a0Miguel Santana<\/strong>, the chair of the Committee. \u201cThe policies and institutions that have oppressed, excluded and marginalized people of color for centuries are costing our health and our lives, and as we chart a path forward from this crisis, we must not look away.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an independent report to be completed in July supported by both the University of Southern California and the University of California-Los Angeles, the committee will recommend a data-driven advocacy agenda to address L.A.\u2019s structural challenges that reinforce disparities. Led by researchers\u00a0Manuel Pastor<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Gary Segura<\/strong>, the report will use data to define L.A.\u2019s structural breakdowns and offer a set of solutions to advance racial equity, increase accountability, and spark a broad civic conversation about L.A.\u2019s future.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe goals of our report are to center racial equity, to align delivery systems that are misaligned, and to promote a new civic conversation,\u201d said\u00a0Manuel Pastor<\/strong>, the director of the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE). \u201cThe coronavirus is like a wildfire that has found plenty of fuel in our communities: precarity of employment and economic and social status, lack of access to health care, disparities in education and more. It\u2019s laid bare our underlying illness\u2014 structural racism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot underestimate the profound danger of this moment,\u201d said\u00a0Gary Segura<\/strong>,\u00a0 Dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA. \u201cDuring the 2008 financial crisis, corporate investment firms swooped in to take advantage of a housing market in deep disarray, transferring massive wealth out of the hands of Black and Brown communities. Those actions set the state for a post-COVID \u2018eviction economy\u2019\u2014unless we see a policy response that rises to the level of the crisis and the volume of the demand for justice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The presentation included selections from the committee\u2019s research examining the structural inequalities that underlie life in Los Angeles. Research presentations have included and will include topics such as the disparate impact of federal pandemic relief,\u00a0 youth and educational inequities, family and child welfare, health and mental health, the housing and homelessness crises, community vulnerability and stresses and shocks to the economy and the job market. The committee has already reviewed findings from scholars at UCLA and USC as well as other policy and social science researchers, revealing stark figures including:<\/span><\/p>\n