Testing Positive for Discrimination
Uneven distribution of COVID-19 testing facilities reflects yet another divide among Chicago neighborhoods.
Armed with $286 million in federal funding, Illinois is expanding its COVID-19 testing efforts. In Chicago, there are currently 62 distinctly addressed testing facilities. One building houses two facilities and another facility is mobile. However, these facilities are not evenly dispersed throughout the city’s 77 community areas.
The interactive map above shows a clear lack of testing facilities in Chicago’s South Side. The southern-most facility, Christian Community Health Center at 9718 S Halsted St, is nearly 5 miles north of the city limits.
Black Chicagoans are dying from COVID-19 more than any other racial group. The lack of testing facilities in Black neighborhoods is a form of violence against those communities.
South Shore, which has the highest per capita COVID-19 death rate, has only a single testing facility for its 51,451 residents. Most of its neighboring community areas do not have any testing facilities.
The fact that Black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at three times the rate of white people is not a chance occurrence. It is the result of decades of disinvestment in Black communities fueled by institutional racism. By stripping Black communities of resources, American political leaders have ensured that they will not have the capacity to fight against this pandemic.
Every time a political figure depletes resources from a Black community, they are choosing to invest in systemic racism at the cost of Black lives.
