RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney spoke out against comments made by Virginia's health chief regarding the role of racism in public health. The mayor called the remarks "a threat to the public health of our Commonwealth."
State Health Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Health, Dr. Colin Greene, was referenced in a Washington Post article this weekrejecting racism as a public health crisis and questioning the link between racism and health disparities.
The Post reported Dr. Greene, who was appointed to the position by Governor Glenn Youngkin, wanted to "create an investigative unit within the department of health to “start fresh” on, for example, reasons for high rates of Black maternal and infant mortality."
The article went on to report that Greene believed the phrase "gun violence" to be a Democratic talking point and the word "racism" as politically charged.
Mayor Stoney, who declared racism a public health crisis in June 2021, said Greene's comments were "offensive" and "severely out-of-touch."
"Especially when, on average, 1,065 people die by guns per year in Virginia. Moreover, according to the CDC, firearms are the leading cause of death for children nationally, and in Virginia Black people are eight times (8X) more likely than white people to die by gun homicide. EIGHT TIMES," Stoney wrote in a statement.
Stoney said the impact of racism on public health disparities among people of color is scientific fact.
"Hiding from these realities doesn’t make them go away. Dr. Greene needs to stop being a coward and do something about them. Virginia families are counting on him to do better," Stoney said.
During a Thursday press conference, CBS 6 asked officials with the Richmond-Henrico Health District if Greene's stance would have any impact on the health district's work to address racial inequities in health.
Nurse Manager for Richmond-Henrico Health, Amy Popovich, could not say whether the local health district has received direction from the state level on initiatives related to race.
However, Popovich did emphasize the values of the local health district which clashed with comments made by Greene.
"At Richmond-Henrico Health District, we acknowledge that structural and interpersonal racism contributes to health disparities, and we will continue to work to address that," Popovich said.
Reporter Tyler Layne has also sent questions to Dr. Greene's office and is awaiting responses.
Governor Youngkin's Office shared the following response with CBS6:
I am outraged that right now in Virginia a black mother is three times more likely to die from child birth and that hasn’t materially improved in a generation. We all must be laser-focused on closing the maternal health gaps. Our administration must have a common, unifying objective to deliver measurable results on behalf of women and especially those in communities of color where this substantial gap exists. We need to ensure we are addressing factors, including access to medical services and screening, prenatal care, nutrition, and counseling—which play important roles in a mother and child’s health. I was disappointed to hear that Dr. Greene did not effectively communicate our mission. Virginians must share the common objective to close maternal health gaps, reduce health disparities, and deliver on behalf of all women in the Commonwealth.
Watch Tyler's reports ahead on CBS 6 News starting at 5 p.m.
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