Orange County NC Website
4 <br /> Whereas, the Centers of Disease Controls (CDC) has identified, "discrimination" as a social <br /> determinant of health, "which can be understood as a social stressor that has a physiological <br /> effect on individuals that can be compounded over time and can lead to long-term negative <br /> health outcomes"; and <br /> Whereas, the CDC has found that the health differences between racial and ethnic groups are <br /> often due to economic and social conditions such as where people live, learn, work and play as <br /> well as access to health contribute to the adverse health conditions that disproportionately <br /> impact diseases, such as COVID-19, have on the African American community as well as other <br /> communities of color; and <br /> Whereas, these social and economic conditions have their roots in structural discrimination, or <br /> "racial bias among interlocking institutions and across society, causing cumulative and <br /> compounding effects that systematically advantage white people and disadvantage people of <br /> color.112 <br /> Whereas, Orange County Public Health Director Quintana Stewart has declared, "Structural <br /> Racism as a Public Health Crisis in Orange County," stating it creates a "cycle of injustice <br /> against people of color leading to trauma which ultimately affects health." <br /> Now, therefore, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners do hereby resolve to do the <br /> following: <br /> 1. Publicly denounce the egregious actions or inactions of the police officers in <br /> Minneapolis that resulted in the death of George Floyd and stand with the North <br /> Carolina Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police Associations as they support Chief Medaria <br /> Arradondo's termination of the officers and their belief that law officers who violate <br /> laws or policy should be held accountable for their actions. <br /> 2. Commit to dismantling structural and institutional racism in Orange County <br /> government and throughout Orange County. We direct the Department of Human <br /> Rights and Relations to lead the One Orange Racial Equity Team in developing a <br /> Racial Equity Plan using the Government Alliance on Race and Equity Model and <br /> bring a first draft of the plan back to the Board in September 2020. The Plan should <br /> include: <br /> a. Building internal organizational infrastructure by inviting a diverse array of <br /> stakeholders to collaborate toward a shared vision of equity. <br /> b. Creating and implementing racial equity tools that mechanize the practice of <br /> considering racial impact when making and implementing policy. They should <br /> incorporate the following: <br /> i. Inclusion and Engagement— Promote racially inclusive collaboration <br /> and engagement; <br /> Jacob Bor, S.A. (July 28, 2018). Police Killings and their Spillover Effect on the Mental Health of Black <br /> Americans:A Populations-Based, Quasi-Experimental Study. The Lancet, Volume 392, Issue <br /> 10144, Page 302-310. <br /> 2 Advancing Racial Equity& Transforming Government A Resource Guide to Put Ideals Into Action, Government <br /> Alliance on race and Equity, p. 17. <br />