Coronavirus in the United States exacerbates racial inequality

Audio 4:11

By: Dominique Baillard Follow

In the United States, riots over the death of George Floyd, an African-American killed by Minneapolis police, broke out in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. The Covid-19 revealed health and economic segregation and amplified the economic inequalities between blacks and whites.

Publicity

In total, 23% of the fatal cases of Covid-19 occurred in the black American community while it represents only 13% of the population. The black community has been hit more severely by the pandemic because it is economically more disadvantaged than the rest of the American population. In the United States, economic disparities and racial affiliation are intimately linked, so skin color has proven to be a risk factor for coronavirus. Black Americans, like Hispanics, were more contaminated than whites first because they occupy the most exposed jobs, in services, trade, catering, personal care, where human contact are the most common. Because they also suffer more from the ailments very often linked to extreme poverty such as diabetes, asthma or obesity, which worsen the morbidity of the disease. Finally, being less well insured than the white majority, they found it more difficult to access care.

This health crisis is also a devastating economic crisis for this community

It is part of American history: at each economic crisis, unemployment penalizes black Americans twice as much as whites, a fact valid in the 1930s as in 2008. But this time, it is a little different. In April, the unemployment rate for blacks was 16.7% (18.9% among Hispanics), and that of whites was 14.2%. The gap is smaller than in previous crises, because they occupy the so-called essential jobs. An uncomfortable situation: this makes them more vulnerable to illness, and very few of them have had the luxury of choosing between their health or their job, working is often a matter of survival for their family. Very few had savings to deal with this crisis. The median black household has on average wealth equivalent to 10% of that of a white family. And the previous crisis, known as the subprime crisis, a real estate crisis, capped half of the heritage of the black community, most of its members had not yet recovered their level before 2008 when the pandemic.

Will the economic crisis reinforce economic and racial disparities?

It's possible. The crisis generally worsens racial segregation. This is the finding made after all the recessions that have known the United States. Because black people are more affected, among other things by unemployment, and because they recover less well. For various reasons. In terms of employment, the scarcity of supply tends to accentuate discrimination in hiring. At the entrepreneur level, the fate of African-Americans is more uncertain than that of whites, because they struggle to access loans guaranteed by the state. 38% of the requests currently made in support of small businesses have been accepted, but this rate drops to 12% for requests from Blacks and Hispanics. Among other things, because their businesses, most of which have no employees, are less known to the banks acting as intermediaries, but also because they were already fragile. The New York Federal Reserve estimates that 58% of them are in danger. Black entrepreneurship could disappear with the Covid-19.

IN SHORT

The Chinese economy is recovering faster than expected . To everyone's surprise, the PMI index from the Markit Institute, which tracks industry order books, rose again above the 50 mark in May, which means that activity is once again expanding. Analysts were betting on a figure still below 50.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange rebounds this morning . Reassured by the fact that Donald Trump has not added sanctions against China to his threat to end the privileged status governing trade relations with the former British colony.

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• Society
• United States
• Coronavirus