Coronavirus in black community focus of talk
Annapolis to hold virtual town hall Thursday to gain feedback, give information
Annapolis is hosting a virtual town hall Thursday on how the new coronavirus has impacted the black community.
Mayor Gavin Buckley, Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, D-Ward 3, and Del. Shaneka Henson, D-Annapolis, are set to join the discussion at 4 p.m. Thursday on Facebook, YouTube and City of Annapolis TV.
The discussion will center on how COVID-19, the disease caused by the respiratory virus, has affected the black community in the city and serve as a chance for the city to get feedback on how to shape policy and continue to provide for marginalized communities during the pandemic.
“It’s going to be a lot of listening and getting ideas on what would help our community,” Buckley said. “There isn’t one big monolithic African American community but I would say most people are concerned about the more marginalized part of that population and what their experience has been like.”
The city has partnered with the Anne Arundel County Health Department to bring walk-up testing to the city at locations like Parole and Harbour House and Eastport Terrace as well as continuing to provide food to those who need it.
Such efforts must continue, Buckley said. “It’s OK to have a drive-thru testing site five miles away but that’s not going to help a person that doesn’t have a car.”
Henson said she plans to focus on three subjects: criminal justice, education and public housing.
“I feel like as a legislator it’s my job at this time, I am most useful in helping people access information and being a conduit for helping people understand what programs, what services, what resources are available,” she said.
Two ZIP codes in Anne Arundel County with some of the highest number of cases are within the Annapolis city limits, 21401 and 21403, which have 166 and 181 cases, respectively.
The county Health Department does not report demographic data broken down by ZIP code, however, the data does show 30% of all cases where race or ethnicity is known, and 26% of all deaths, are black.H
Anne Arundel County is about 15% black.
Prison populations have been especially hard-hit by the virus with 52 inmate cases and two deaths as of Tuesday, according to Maryland health department data. Making sure that population is taken care of is paramount, Henson said.
“We know that African Americans are 30% of our state’s population but 70% of the prison population,” Henson said. “Once you’re incarcerated, you lose that ability to provide for and care for yourself.”
Henson said she was also concerned about reports that thousands of Anne Arundel County students — mostly from Annapolis — have not yet logged onto their online learning system.
Her office has received calls from residents of public and subsidized housing in the city who report “subpar living conditions where people are living with mold in their unit
“At a time where we have asked everyone to stay at home so that we can stay safe I can’t help but think about the conditions of some people’s homes,” she said. “While people are asked to stay at home, we have to make a priority making sure we walk away from this with policies and budgets that reflect the necessary upgrades to people’s living conditions that’s going to make staying at home something that is not asking too much of everyone.”