The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills

“Though Black Chicagoans represented only a third of our city’s population, they accounted for no less than 72 percent of our COVID-19 deaths. However, as breathtaking as that data was, it was far from surprising. It followed the early community spread in Black-majority neighborhoods, which had higher rates of underlying conditions and were historically disinvested and underserved.”

Former Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot comments on the significant racial disparities in health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing how systemic inequities can exacerbate the impact of a health crisis on marginalized communities. The disproportionate number of deaths among Black Chicagoans, despite their smaller population share, underscores the Environmental and Social Determinants of Health Disparities. This situation reflects how historical disinvestment and persistent under-resourcing in Black-majority neighborhoods contribute to higher rates of underlying conditions, making these communities more susceptible to severe outcomes in public health emergencies.

“We all die. But tens of thousands of Americans die too early. These early deaths are not random events. These deaths strike particular individuals who live in particular American neighborhoods.”

Ansell starts the Preface with these sentences. Ansell uses a universal truth for the sentence “We all die” juxtaposed to the specific situation expressed in the sentence “But tens of thousands of Americans die too early.” This juxtaposition emphasizes the specificity of the situation in the case of the Americans affected by poverty. The repetition of the word “particular” in “particular individuals” and “particular American neighborhoods” emphasizes the targeted nature of these deaths, suggesting a non-random pattern influenced by socio-economic and geographical factors.