(WISCONSIN) — Trump launched his political career by pushing the outrageous conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, the first Black president, was not born in the United States. It was merely a preview of what would come later. Trump announced his presidential campaign by railing against Mexican immigrants as “rapists”, and his tenure in the White House has been punctuated by praise for neo-Nazis in Charlottesville as “very fine people” and by violence against anti-racism protests in front of the White House.

Trump was handed a booming economy by the Obama-Biden administration, which included record low unemployment for people of color since the great recession. But Trump’s failed COVID-19 response destroyed that progress. Now, both African-American and Hispanic unemployment is nearly 20%, nearly triple the African American unemployment and quadruple the Hispanic unemployment when Obama and Biden left office in January 2017. The coronavirus itself has devastated communities of color, with Black Wisconsinites nearly three-times as likely to die from the pandemic.

After hundreds of millions of dollars in the first round of PPP funding went into the pockets of giant corporations, as well as Trump’s donors and golfing partners, the second round had a portion allocated for Black-owned businesses. However, these entrepreneurs still struggled to get the funds they needed to sustain their businesses.

“As communities of color continue to suffer under Trump’s failed leadership, he is using his time to push 1960s segregationist rallying cries, belittling protestors, and doing everything to distract from the lack of meaningful solutions from his administration,” Democratic party of Wisconsin spokesperson Philip Shulman said. “After pushing obscene birther conspiracy theories, Trump destroyed the livelihoods of millions of people of color with a failed coronavirus response. Trump has systematically sowed disunity with his racist policies and rhetoric. When we elect Joe Biden to be the next president, we know he will be a voice for everyone, and will work to empower those who have been harmed by systemic racism.”

TMJ4Closing the wealth and poverty gaps for African American communities
When it comes to wealth and poverty in Wisconsin, African Americans face enormous difficulties in both categories…A study by the Federal Reserve Board says the median net worth for white families is about $134,000. For African American families, it’s just $11,000…Layoffs can have a direct impact on poverty. In Milwaukee County, 33.6 percent of African Americans live in poverty. It’s more than three times higher than their white counterparts (10.8 percent in poverty).

Politico: Missing data veils coronavirus damage to minority communities
“There’s no doubt moving forward that our more marginalized communities will be affected the hardest by any spike that we see,” said Ben Weston, health director for Milwaukee County. “And there’s also no doubt that we’re going to see a spike.” That Wisconsin county, which declared racism a public health emergency last year, was one of the few to break down coronavirus data by race and ethnicity early on. Black people make up 27 percent of the population but 46 percent of the deaths. More recently, cases among the county’s Latino population have surpassed those among African Americans — Latinos now make up 35 percent of cases but 15 percent of the population.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Maps show ZIP codes with highest percentage of people at risk of severe complications from COVID-19
That variation has been seen in Milwaukee County, where the pandemic has disproportionately affected first African American communities and now Latino communities. In all, Milwaukee County has more seven ZIP codes where 35% or more of the adults are at severe risk of complications.

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