Across the country, the racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths have been stark. In Chicago, the disparity is staggering: 70 of the first 100 recorded victims of the virus in the city were African American. In “COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn’t Have To,” ProPublica Illinois examines this tragedy, interviewing victims’ loved ones, as well as medical experts and historians, to better understand the reasons behind their deaths.
The report also explains why their deaths cannot be dismissed as inevitable.
Join ProPublica Illinois Editor-in-Chief Louise Kiernan, reporters Duaa Eldeib and Akilah Johnson, and Dr. David Ansell, senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Center, for a live digital event on this issue. In a Zoom conversation, they will help bring clarity to a problem that is often oversimplified, highlighting factors that Chicago could have addressed to reduce the devastation — and that should be addressed in other communities facing similar racial disparities across the country. They’ll also answer your questions.
This event has ended.