YWCA USA Racism is a Public Health Crisis Policy Statement

As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recognized, racism is a public health crisis—an ongoing emergency or crisis event that significantly impacts the health, physical safety, and economic survival of millions of people of color throughout the United States. Centuries of racism have created deep inequities in housing, income, healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, food access, and other social determinants of health. These factors are interrelated and have a profound negative impact on the long-term physical and mental health of millions of people of color.