05/08/2020
"The letter goes on to ask DOJ to investigate, among other things, an uneven distribution of testing sites and inadequate protection for essential workers, who are disproportionately people of color.
“Primarily people who are getting it, dying from it, are in the very communities that they just sent out to work without protection,” Williams said. “These are intentional decisions that were made by local executives in the state.”
The group hopes the DOJ will expedite an investigation and offer subsequent policy recommendations ahead of a possible “second wave” of coronavirus cases that the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said could happen this fall and winter.
“We need some systems in place, so we’re hoping there’s a preliminary finding and then a longer-term finding,” said Adams.
Access to testing is also an issue local lawmakers hope the DOJ will help address. In mid-April, the New York Post reported that most residents living in zip codes with the highest per capita testing rates in New York City were whiter and wealthier. And in Detroit, where blacks make up 78.6% of the population, city councilmember Mary Sheffield told BuzzFeed News there have been reports that some residents did not have access to testing."
Nearly three dozen local lawmakers are sending a letter asking DOJ to look at possible civil rights violations in how governments have responded to the coronavirus.
