The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) published a new resource guide that explores the equity implications of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized communities. The guide outlines ten key considerations, such as heightened racism and stigmatization, particularly towards Asian Americans; unclear access to testing kits; and the fact that certain populations are more likely to be impacted by the virus, including the uninsured, communities of color, and people experiencing homelessness and housing instability.
In the guide’s section on advocacy recommendations, the authors call for the elimination of homelessness and the enactment of policies to help low-income renters. The final section of the guide contains a host of promising emerging efforts, including how states and localities are halting evictions and foreclosures as part of their coronavirus responses.
“Because of the racial and economic inequities embedded in our country’s systems, the effects of the coronavirus could be compounded for Black, Brown, Asian, and indigenous communities, as well as other population groups,” says the NAACP website about the guide. “The NAACP has released this resource to guide officials responsible for addressing health, economic, and other impacts, in remediating some of the issues that are disproportionately affecting communities of color.”
The NAACP, a member of the Opportunity Starts at Home multisector affordable home campaign Steering Committee, is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most widely recognized civil rights organization.
Read the resource guide here.