“Brooklyn holds the largest pan-African population of anywhere in the nation—so what happens in Brooklyn is significant as we are the canaries in the coal mine as it pertains to how these issues may impact the rest of the communities of African descent across the country.” – Lurie Daniel-Favors, Esq.

Across the country, the coronavirus pandemic is taking a vastly disproportionate toll on communities of color—with Black communities among the hardest hit. Here in New York City, Latinx and Black residents are dying at twice the rate of whites. New York City is home to the largest population of Black residents in the country, and people of color make up almost 70% of Brooklyn’s population. Economic, social, and health inequities are rooted along racial lines due to historic and ongoing policies that maintain structural racism—and in Brooklyn, we are seeing critical nonprofits working hard to mitigate the heightened impact of COVID-19 on communities of color.

Your continued support is essential to help our fellow Brooklynites struggling in the midst of this public health crisis. 

In the video below, Heather McGhee, author of the forthcoming book The Sum of Us, and Lurie Daniel-Favors, Interim Executive Director and General Counsel at the Center for Law and Social Justice discuss the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, especially the Black community, including impacts on health outcomes, education, housing, domestic violence, small businesses, policing and violence, and the Census.

Heather is the former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, where she drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and became a regular contributor on shows like “Meet the Press” and “Real Time with Bill Maher.” She is also the Co-Chair of the board of Color of Change, which has an advocacy and resource platform to support Black people during this pandemic, theblackresponse.org. Heather is the inaugural Brooklyn Community Foundation Fair & Just Fellow. You can find her Ted Talk, entitled ‘What Racism Costs Everyone,’ here.

Lurie is an activist and attorney with a long-standing commitment to racial and social justice, and is currently the Interim Director and General Counsel of the Center for Law and Social Justice (CLSJ) at Medgar Evers College. Lurie has been at CLSJ since 2015, where her work has primarily focused on civic engagement including voting rights, Census, and redistricting, as well as educational equity. Lurie is also a contributing author to The Birth of a Nation: Nat Turner and the Making of a Movement.