Ohio Democrats declare racism a public health crisis

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Democratic Party executive committee on Saturday voted unanimously to declare racism as a public health crisis and to support voting rights and call for a safe, fair and accessible election this November.

"At this critical inflection point in our nation's history, African Americans are confronting two crises — the coronavirus pandemic and police violence — that are disproportionately impacting their community and bringing racial injustice to the forefront with peaceful demonstrations in cities and small towns in every state and around the globe," said David Pepper, Ohio Democratic Party chairman. "It's on all of us — not just our African-American leaders, friends and colleagues — to call out the public health crisis that is caused by and exacerbated by systemic racism."

This story was originally published June 7, 2020 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Ohio Democrats declare racism a public health crisis."