Ideastream Public Media\u2019s health team is\u00a0connecting the dots<\/a>\u00a0on how\u00a0racism contributes to\u00a0poor health outcomes in the Cleveland area.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n In 2020, the city of Cleveland created a working group to address racial equity, on the heels of declaring that racism is a public health crisis. Now two years later, very little is known about the city\u2019s public-private task force. The Racism as a Public Health Crisis Coalition (RAPHC-C) has been operating behind closed doors, shielded from public view by city officials.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the very beginning when I joined this, there has never been a public component to this,\u201d said coalition chair Marsha Mockabee, the president and CEO of the Urban League of Cleveland, which serves as RAPHC-C\u2019s fiscal sponsor. \u201cAnd of course, when COVID hit, then that sort of really challenged the public piece.\u201d<\/p>\n That secrecy can be a problem because it erodes trust and prevents the coalition from benefiting from public input, said Nora Kelley, a Ward 17 resident and activist.<\/p>\n \u201cThere can be big blind spots,\u201d Kelley said. \u201cYou can also have a degree of groupthink, even with people that are committed, that are thoughtful. That iterative, broader base process is really critical to sort of rounding out a full understanding of what are really complicated, thorny social issues.\u201d<\/p>\n The resolution passed in 2020 that declared racism a public health crisis<\/a>, in Cleveland, also established a working group to promote racial equity.<\/p>\n The resolution tasked the group with engaging Cleveland citizens in racial justice work, drafting policies that prioritize the health of people of color, promoting equitable economic and workforce development and building alliances among local organizations fighting racism.<\/p>\n At that time City Council President Blaine Griffin, who was one of the resolution’s primary sponsors, called for visible change.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that we understand that we have this public-health crisis, we have to do something about it,\u201d Cleveland.com quoted Griffin<\/a> as saying during the council meeting that declared racism a public health crisis. \u201cWhatever we do, we have to make sure that the citizens of this city touch, feel, hear and see real change.<\/p>\n But two years later, little information is available about what specific steps Cleveland has taken to address the problems \u2013 and city and civic leaders are mum about what the coalition is planning and even when it meets.<\/p>\n Mockabee, who does not work for the city, was the only person contacted who would speak about the coalition’s progress. Neither Griffin nor Cleveland\u2019s Mayor Justin Bibb provided information about the coalition for this report.<\/p>\n Other media outlets have also been denied access to these meetings. Last year, a local television station asked if they could sit in on a racial equity meeting. Griffin reportedly<\/a> denied the request.<\/p>\n Ward 9 Council Member Kevin Conwell, who chairs council\u2019s Heath, Human Services and the Arts Committee, said in a phone call that he wasn\u2019t sure what the coalition had been up to but that his committee has a hearing scheduled with RAPHC-C leaders on May 9.<\/p>\n The stakes are high for many residents. In Cuyahoga County, Black people live six years less than white residents, on average and are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions like asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to data <\/a>from the Center for Community Solutions.<\/p>\n Racism is a threat to public health because it creates policies, practices and norms that unfairly disadvantage people based on the way they look or the color of their skin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> says. Those structures negatively affect the mental and physical health of millions of people across the country, and a growing body of research shows that centuries of racism affect whether people have access to social and economic benefits like housing, wealth and employment, which are key drivers of health inequities because they place people of color at greater risk for poor health outcomes, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n Reversing centuries of systemic racism and disinvestment in Cleveland\u2019s mostly Black communities is no small task, said Mockabee.<\/p>\n The coalition is a public-private partnership like First Year Cleveland, Mockabee said. Unlike First Year Cleveland, RAPHC-C does not seem to have a website or post information about itself, its work or its meetings online.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to build this plane and fly it at the same time,\u201d she said. \u201cWe really do kind of know what we’re supposed to be doing, and we’re going to fail forward. We’re going to not get it all right, but we really need to get the work moving.<\/p>\n Thus far, Mockabee said the coalition, which is made up of volunteers, has worked to create its structure and secure funding.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s been messy, as all this kind of work always is,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has been really trying to develop your foundational documents, your policies and procedures about how you’re going to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n The group recently secured $325,000 in federal COVID-19 stimulus funds and a grant from JPMorgan Chase, said Mockabee. The coalition plans to use $200,000 to hire a project manager and has hired the ThirdSpace Action Lab<\/a>, a grassroots research, strategy and design cooperative located on the border between Cleveland\u2019s Glenville and Hough neighborhoods to further plan the coalition\u2019s future, she added.<\/p>\n RAPHC-C has already created a seven-month plan that will begin in May, according to Mockabee. It is not clear, what the plan includes, who drafted it, or whether ThirdSpace Action Lab was a part of the process. Mockabee declined to release the plan because she said Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and the city council have not yet signed off on it.<\/p>\n Mockabee said that the public will eventually be included in the group\u2019s work. The coalition is planning to bring on three \u201ccommunity organizations,\u201d including the Neighborhood Leadership Institute<\/a>, <\/u>by the end of May to help it develop a community engagement plan, she said.<\/p>\n “Absolutely in the plans that we make \u2014 which have not started yet \u2014 there will be a strategy to engage citizens in the racial justice work in those systems that are external,\u201d Mockabee said. \u201cBut [city council\u2019s resolution creating the coalition] doesn’t talk anything about the fact that the meetings are public.\u201d<\/p>\n Operating in secrecy can undermine efforts to address racism as a public health crisis, said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a Columbus-based government accountability advocacy group.<\/p>\n \u201cOperating in as transparent a fashion as possible is good public policy so that we can all start having uncomfortable conversations,\u201d Turcer said.<\/p>\n That transparency allows leaders and the public to identify and correct mistakes, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also know that this is hard work,\u201d Turcer added, \u201cand it’s important for the public to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n Public input and government transparency have long been points of contention<\/a> for many Cleveland residents and local politicians. Last year, city council approved public comment at its meetings, a given in many other cities<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We need to provide folks with the tools so that they can participate,\u201d Turcer said.<\/p>\n Turcer said it\u2019s not unusual that the group has taken two years to figure out the logistics of how it will operate, but she pointed to the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission<\/a>, which was killed by the state legislature<\/a> after it took too long to streamline the state\u2019s long and dated constitution.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think thoughtful planning about logistics is important,\u201d Turcer said. \u201cBut sometimes, what happens is you plan so long, you never actually get to the thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The coalition is made up of a steering committee and an executive committee. The steering committee comes up with ideas, and the executive committee modifies and votes on them, said Mockabee, who did not provide the names of steering committee members.<\/p>\n The executive committee is made up of the following individuals:<\/p>\n \u25cf Chair: Marsha Mockabee \u2013 President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland<\/p>\n \u25cf Blaine Griffin \u2013 Cleveland City Council President<\/p>\n \u25cf Frances Mills \u2013 Health Commissioner, Director of the Cleveland Office of Minority Health<\/p>\n \u25cf Lita-Marie Wills \u2013 Commissioner of Health Equity and Social Justice<\/p>\n \u25cf Danielle Sydnor \u2013 Outgoing President of the Cleveland branch of the NAACP<\/p>\n \u25cf Helen Forbes-Fields \u2013 Executive Vice President of Regional Initiatives and General Counsel at United Way of Greater Cleveland<\/p>\n \u25cf Jazmin Long \u2013 President and CEO of Birthing Beautiful Communities<\/p>\n \u25cf Katrice Cain \u2013 Interim Executive Director of First Year Cleveland<\/p>\n So far, most of the group\u2019s meetings have been spent creating its structure, Mockabee said. The coalition has identified five focus areas and assigned co-chairs to each. Different groups are now working to identify how to promote equity in each of the following areas:<\/p>\n \u25cf Health and public health<\/p>\n \u25cf Housing, environment and infrastructure<\/p>\n \u25cf Education<\/p>\n \u25cf Economic mobility, wealth creation and workforce development<\/p>\n \u25cf Criminal justice<\/p>\nCity leaders are mum on the group’s progress and deny media access<\/h2>\n
The volunteer coalition is still building its structure and recently secured financing<\/h2>\n
Will the public be included in creating the racial equity plan?<\/h2>\n
Who is involved:<\/h2>\n
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