Airs Sunday, October 4, 2020, at 6 p.m. As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, it’s exposed health disparities between blacks and whites. African-Americans are three times more likely to become infected from the virus and twice as likely to die. In the midst of the epidemic, the death of George Floyd has reignited debates about racial inequities within the criminal justice system. And, political analysts are already expressing fear that certain voting practices will discourage minority participation in November’s critical election.
So, how is Louisiana addressing health inequities in its battle against the coronavirus? How is it confronting racial disparities when enforcing the law? And, what barriers to voting exist for people of color in the state and can they be overcome? Louisiana Public Square looks for answers on “Dialogue on Disparity.”
Our panelists are:
Segment One: Health Disparities
Sandra Chaisson Brown, DNS, APRN, FNP-BC; Co-Chair COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force
Keith Ferdinand, M.D., Tulane School of Medicine
President Reynold Verret, Ph.D., Xavier University
Segment Two: Criminal Justice
Deputy Chief Darrell Basco, Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police
Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge; Chair of the Police Training, Screening and De-Escalation Task Force
Alanah Odoms Hebert, Executive Director, ACLU of Louisiana
Loren Lampert, Louisiana District Attorneys Association
Segment Three: Voting Access
Alanah Odoms Hebert, Executive Director, ACLU of Louisiana
Sen. Barry Milligan, R-Shreveport; Vice Chair of Senate & Governmental Affairs Committee
Albert Samuels, Ph.D., Southern University Political Science Department
Beth Courtney, LPB CEO, and Natasha Williams, LPB news reporter, host.
