On Tuesday, Ohio state legislatures held a committee hearing on public health and whether or not Ohio should declare racism a public health crisis. One of the experts presenting and answering questions was Angela Dawson, the executive director of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health. Dawson was talking about how systemic racism was already present in our healthcare system before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dawson was explaining to the committee the connection between health outcomes in the Black community—for example, higher diabetes mortality rates—were already poorer than their white counterparts due to racial disparities. Dawson then tried to impart how these results along racial lines were now being manifested in the COVID-19 mortality rates seen in the Black community.
Republican State sen. Steve Huffman had a question. Huffman, an ER doctor, said that while he acknowledged that this might somewhat explain the higher mortality rates from COVID-19 in the Black community, he didn’t understand why there was a disproportionally higher percentage of total COVID-19 cases among Black Ohioans as well. “We know it’s twice as often, correct? Could it just be that African Americans—the colored population—do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear a mask? Or do not socially distance themselves? Could that just be maybe the explanation of why there’s a higher incidence?” Dawson kept her composure and explained that this theory Dr. Huffman was throwing out was not shared by any of the leading experts in the field.
Dawson then added: “Do all populations need to wash their hands? Absolutely, sir, but that is not where you are going to find the variance and the rationale for why these populations are more vulnerable.” Huffman issued an apology for his remarks later, saying: “Regrettably, I asked a question in an unintentionally awkward way that was perceived as hurtful and was exactly the opposite of what I meant. I was trying to focus on why COVID-19 affects people of color at a higher rate since we really do not know all the reasons.”
Watching Huffman ask the question, you don’t get the sense that he is grandstanding the way we often see politicians do when they are attempting to push their political talking point forward. Huffman may very well be sorry for how “unintentionally awkward” his question was, but as Democratic Rep. Stephanie Howse told reporters later on, Huffman’s awkwardness is in part one of the greatest hurdles being faced by Black folks looking for true equality in our country.
“He highlights what racism is from a systematic perspective. He’s a full legislator but beyond that, professionally, he’s a doctor. When we talk about the health disparities that happen because black folks aren’t believed when they’re actually hurt, they aren’t given the treatment that they need. Do you think that someone who acknowledges the ‘coloreds’ is going to give the love and care that people need when they come through those doors?” Howse was speaking to the many different prejudices and racist sentiments that permeate every aspect of our healthcare system, which leads to people of color—and specifically Black Americans—receiving less robust healthcare treatment than their white counterparts.
Democratic State Sen. Cecil Thomas from Cincinnati told the Dayton Daily News that people in the room cringed when Huffman asked the question. “He’s an example of why we have to have this discussion about racism and how it impacts people.”