HLS 22RS-4446 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 202
BY REPRESENTATIVES NEWELL AND WILLARD
PUBLIC HEALTH: Declares racism a public health crisis and urges certain actions by the
governor and specific state entities
1 A RESOLUTION
2To declare racism a public health crisis and to request the governor to urge state departments
3 to continue reviewing policies and procedures concerning racial inequality, to
4 identify and eradicate implicit and explicit racial bias, and to develop policies and
5 procedures that build racial equity.
6 WHEREAS, public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of
7people and their communities; and
8 WHEREAS, the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Population Health Institute
9(UWPHI) defines racism as a social system with multiple dimensions; and
10 WHEREAS, according to the UWPHI, individual racism is internalized or
11interpersonal, and systemic racism is institutional, or structural, and is a system of
12structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how a
13person looks; and
14 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana, by definition, is facing racism individually and
15systematically; and
16 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Public Health Institute has declared racism to be a public
17health crisis in this state; and
18 WHEREAS, this system has placed specific individuals and communities at an unfair
19disadvantage while other individuals and communities have been unfairly placed in more
20advantageous positions; and
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HR NO. 202
1 WHEREAS, these unfair practices are a waste of human resources and essentially
2sap the strength of society as a whole; and
3 WHEREAS, a former assistant secretary of the Louisiana office of public health
4declared structural racism to be deadly to Hispanic and African American communities; and
5 WHEREAS, Louisiana's black residents are disproportionately impacted by chronic
6medical conditions, which include but are not limited to high blood pressure and diabetes,
7in comparison to the white residents of this state; and
8 WHEREAS, according to the 2020 federal decennial census, an estimated forty
9percent of Louisiana's population is racially and ethnically diverse; and
10 WHEREAS, Louisiana's racially and ethnically diverse population is more likely to
11be at risk for poor health outcomes due to racism; and
12 WHEREAS, New Orleans Metro News stated that seventy percent of deaths that
13resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic were African Americans who represent only thirty-
14two percent of the state's population, exacerbating health inequities in this state; and
15 WHEREAS, there is clear and extensive data confirming that racism negatively
16impacts the lives of people of color in Louisiana; and
17 WHEREAS, the battle against racism is not just a statewide crisis but a nationwide
18emergency; and
19 WHEREAS, the American Medical Association states that racism contributes to
20health inequities throughout the United States; and
21 WHEREAS, it has been proven that the social determinants of health, which are
22defined as the social and material factors that influence health, including but not limited to
23employment, wages, housing, education, health care, public safety, and food access, have
24a disproportionate impact on people of ethnically diverse backgrounds; and
25 WHEREAS, the American Public Health Association has expressed that racism is
26a driving force of the social determinants of health due to the resulting inequalities in several
27matters, including but not limited to housing, education, and employment; and
28 WHEREAS, combating the impacts of racism on public health requires action from
29all levels of government and civil society.
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HR NO. 202
1 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
2Legislature of Louisiana does hereby declare racism a public health crisis and request the
3governor to urge state departments to continue reviewing policies and procedures concerning
4racial inequality, to identify and eradicate implicit and explicit racial bias, and to develop
5policies and procedures that build racial equity.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature
7of Louisiana supports the establishment of a working group to expand the understanding of
8structural and institutional racism. The working group should explore how racism affects
9individual and population health and secure adequate resources to successfully address the
10aforementioned concerns.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature
12of Louisiana is committed to reviewing all portions of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of
131950 with a racially equitable lens in furtherance of achieving the intent of this Resolution.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
15governor and the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 202 Original 2022 Regular Session Newell
Declares racism a public health crisis and requests the governor to urge state departments
to continue reviewing policies and procedures concerning racial inequality, to identify and
eradicate implicit and explicit racial bias, and to develop policies and procedures that build
racial equity.
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