Montgomery County Commissioners declare racism a public health crisis for the county

DAYTON — Montgomery County Board of Commissioners have passed a resolution declaring racism as a public health crisis during their regularly scheduled public meeting Tuesday afternoon.

The Board of Commissioners in a press release stated that Montgomery County identifies racism as a root cause of poverty, negative social determinants of health, and overall poor health outcomes. They asserted that racism causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, economic opportunity, infant mortality, employment, food access, and criminal justice.

“We want to make it explicitly clear that we are against racism and inequality in any form,” said Judy Dodge, Montgomery County Commission President.

“We are committed to taking action and investing our resources to help our community become more equitable. The passage of this resolution is only the beginning,” Dodge added.

The resolution passed aims to commit current and additional resources to help bridge the equity gap and make investments where they are needed most in the community.

The resolution outlines several commitments and actions such as addressing safe, affordable housing opportunities in the Black community and development of a new stand-alone “Career and Innovation Center” at the Westown Shopping Center on West Third Street in Dayton.

To read the full resolution visit the Clerk of the Commission’s page on their website.

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