YOUNGSTOWN — City council has declared racism a public health crisis.

A resolution unanimously approved Friday states that racism “causes persistent discrimination in housing, education, employment.” It notes that studies support the theory that stress caused by racism “exacerbates chronic and pre-existing health conditions.”

As an example, the death rate for blacks from COVID-19 in Ohio is 2.4 times greater than in the “majority community,” the resolution reads.

Prior to the vote, Guy Burney, director of Youngstown’s Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, quoted from an article from the Vera Institute of Justice regarding the criminal justice system.

“The racial disparities that exist at each and every juncture of the justice system are significant and indisputable,” Burney said, quoting from the institute’s executive director, Nicholas Turner.

“But the reasons behind these disparities are complex and demand deeper understanding. They are rooted in a history of oppression and discriminatory decision-making that has deliberately targeted black people; in a false and deceptive narrative of criminality; in implicit as well as conscious bias; in the legacy of structural racism and segregation. We believe that we must reckon with the deep body of evidence of bias that has caused black communities to become over-incarcerated, over-policed, impoverished and burdened with generational suffering.”

Burney then related a story of when his father, a pastor, prepared to buy a house in the 1990s.

A white pastor who was a friend “called my dad and said, ‘Before you call for a house, let me know the house you are calling about and I will make the phone call for you — because if you call, you won’t get the same deal or treatment that I’ll get.’

“That was the first time sitting at the table that I heard it in that manner. This man, our friend, still our friend to this day, understood that systemic racism was in play, even in our home.

“So this resolution will allow our city to commit time and resources to building a city of equality, fairness and unity, and I am all for it,” he said.

After the resolution was approved 7-0, Councilman Julius Oliver said it’s “really important that we get to know each other. I think that racism really starts in ignorance, and ignorance produces an anger.”

He said movies such as “Gone with the Wind” were put together as propaganda pieces to demonize the black community. “So aside from that, we all need to get down to the root of real history, especially when it comes to black people knowing the kingdoms we come from, knowing the great empires we ran, knowing we taught other nations about astrology and math and language.”

He said if everyone knew about “our true history, I think everybody would have more respect for the black community … So if we educate ourselves about each other and get to know each other, I think that will produce a love for each other.”

Council member Basia Adamczak mentioned all of the attention racial injustice has gotten in recent months and said, “Our voices did that, so I think it’s smart to continue just educating everyone and having people sit back and reflect.

“I can say as a white American, I may never be able perhaps to directly empathize but I can definitely sympathize. I can offer my voice to help what is occuring. I think we need to continue educating people because some people simply don’t know. It’s unintentional ignorance.”