Cleveland Racism Public Health Crisis: Can $400k Heal the Gap?
By Darius Spearman (africanelements)
Support African Elements at patreon.com/africanelements and hear recent news in a single playlist. Additionally, you can gain early access to ad-free video content.
The Cleveland City Council took a major step toward addressing long-term inequality on March 11, 2026. The council members voted to approve an additional $400,000 for a special coalition. This group is known as the Racism as a Public Health Crisis Coalition or RAPHC-C (clevelandohio.gov, signalcleveland.org). The funding aims to support a massive effort to fix racial disparities that have existed for over a century. A new report from this group shows deep problems in how people live and how they are treated by the law (signalcleveland.org).
This decision is part of a larger movement that began several years ago. In 2020, the city passed Resolution 296-2020. This document officially declared that racism is a public health crisis (communitysolutions.com). Councilman Blaine Griffin led this effort. He argued that things like high lead poisoning rates and infant deaths among Black families are the results of bad policies (wkyc.com). The new funding will help the coalition move from making plans to taking real action. The group wants to change the very structure of the city to make it fair for everyone (signalcleveland.org).
The Long Shadow of Redlining
The health and housing problems in Cleveland today did not happen by accident. They started with maps drawn in the 1930s. The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation created “residential security maps” for the city in 1939 (ncrc.org). These maps used red ink to mark neighborhoods where Black people lived as “hazardous” for loans. This practice became known as redlining. Neighborhoods like Hough, Glenville, and Central were cut off from bank loans and investment for decades (freshwatercleveland.com, uwm.edu). This prevented Black families from building wealth through homeownership (ncrc.org).
During the Great Migration, the Black population in Cleveland grew quickly. It jumped from 35,000 in 1920 to 147,000 by 1945 (wikipedia.org). However, Black residents could not move into many white neighborhoods. Property deeds often included restrictive covenants. These were legal clauses that blocked the sale of homes to Black people (fiveable.me). These “invisible walls” forced a growing population into small, overcrowded areas on the East Side (uwm.edu). This overcrowding caused housing to fall apart and allowed health problems to spread (ncrc.org).
The 23-Year Life Expectancy Gap
Source: City of Cleveland Health Data (communitysolutions.com, vcu.edu)
White Flight and Economic Decline
As Black families moved into the city, many white residents began to leave for the suburbs. This process is called white flight. It was fueled by government policies that made it easy for white families to get mortgages in new suburban developments (fiveable.me). This move caused the tax base of the city to shrink. When the wealthiest residents left, the city had less money for schools and services (cfjj.org). This economic shift left the urban core with a high concentration of poverty (uwm.edu).
This decline in tax revenue created a difficult cycle for Cleveland. Property values in Black neighborhoods stayed low because of the lack of demand from white buyers (fiveable.me). This meant the city could not easily fund high-quality public safety or repairs for old buildings. These cycles of economic exploitation mirror issues seen in other communities across the globe. Today, Black homeowners in Cleveland are 10 percent more likely than white owners to spend a large portion of their income on housing (communitysolutions.com).
The High Cost of Living While Black
The constant stress of dealing with racism has a physical effect on the human body. Scientists call this “weathering.” This theory suggests that chronic stress causes the body to age faster (harvardmagazine.com). For Black residents in Cleveland, this stress comes from many places. It includes poor housing, lack of healthy food, and unfair treatment by police (vcu.edu). This stress triggers hormones like cortisol. Over time, these hormones damage the heart and other organs (henryford.com).
Weathering explains why some health problems are worse for Black families even when they have money. For example, Black mothers often face more health risks than white mothers of the same age (henryford.com). This biological toll contributes to the massive life expectancy gap in the city. Residents in the wealthy Shaker Heights area live to be about 88 years old (vcu.edu). However, in the Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood, people live to be only 65 (communitysolutions.com). This is a difference of 23 years within a two-mile radius.
Infant Mortality Rates (per 1,000 births)
Source: First Year Cleveland Report (communitysolutions.com)
The Infant Mortality Crisis
One of the most painful signs of the public health crisis is the infant mortality rate. In Cleveland, Black babies die at a rate nearly three times higher than white babies (communitysolutions.com). As of 2023, the rate for Black infants was 19.3 deaths per 1,000 births (communitysolutions.com). This gap has actually grown wider in some parts of the city since the 1950s. Medical experts point to several reasons for this tragedy. They include environmental toxins and the lack of prenatal care in certain zip codes (henryford.com).
Environmental problems like lead paint are still a major threat. Children on the East Side suffer from lead poisoning at much higher rates than the rest of the city (communitysolutions.com). This is a direct result of old, neglected housing that was redlined years ago (ncrc.org). Also, many Black mothers report “medical gaslighting.” This happens when doctors dismiss their pain or symptoms (henryford.com). Similar systemic hurdles are discussed in post-colonial studies regarding the way institutions view marginalized groups.
Policing and the Pursuit of Transparency
The relationship between the Cleveland Division of Police and the Black community has been tense for decades. Historical events like the Hough Riots in 1966 and the Glenville Shootout in 1968 created deep wounds (freshwatercleveland.com, wikipedia.org). In 2015, the city entered a federal consent decree (justice.gov). This is a legal agreement with the Department of Justice to reform the police force. It followed an investigation that found a pattern of excessive force and civil rights violations (clecpc.org).
Recent reports show that there is still much work to do. A monitor report from late 2025 found that Black drivers are stopped four times more often than white drivers (clevescene.com, clevescene.com). Black people make up over 62 percent of traffic stops, even though they are only about 31 percent of the driving population (clevescene.com). This is why the RAPHC-C report calls for mandatory race-based data collection for police and courts (signalcleveland.org). They believe that making this data public will help expose hidden bias in the system (clevescene.com).
Traffic Stop Disparity (2025 Data)
Source: Federal Monitor Report (clevescene.com, clevescene.com)
The School-to-Prison Pipeline
The justice system disparity starts at a very young age. Black students in Cleveland are nearly twice as likely to be suspended or arrested at school compared to white students (cfjj.org). This trend is often called the school-to-prison pipeline. It happens when schools use police officers and zero-tolerance policies for minor behavior issues. Removing children from the classroom makes them more likely to fall behind and drop out (cfjj.org). This issue highlights racial inequality in schools that persists despite legal progress.
The task force report suggests that police officers should be removed from elementary school hallways (signalcleveland.org). Instead, the group wants the city to hire more counselors and social workers. These professionals can help children deal with trauma instead of punishing them. The goal is to move students toward mental health support and away from jail. This change is one of the 50 recommendations the coalition has presented to the city council (signalcleveland.org, signalcleveland.org).
Housing Loopholes and Out-of-State Investors
The housing crisis in Cleveland is made worse by people who do not even live in the state. Out-of-state investors often buy houses using anonymous companies called LLCs (signalcleveland.org). These investors buy homes cheaply and then neglect to fix them. Because the owners live far away, it is hard for the city to hold them responsible for code violations. These investors often outbid local families who want to buy their first home (freshwatercleveland.com). This reduces the number of people who own their own houses in Black neighborhoods.
The city has passed new laws to fight this. The “Residents First” legislation requires out-of-state owners to have a local person who is legally responsible for the property (signalcleveland.org). The coalition report also suggests closing loopholes that allow these investors to exploit renters (signalcleveland.org). These efforts are similar to similar efforts to study reparations and systemic change across the country. By making it harder for predatory investors, the city hopes to stabilize neighborhoods and improve health (signalcleveland.org).
Building a Coalition for Change
The RAPHC-C is not just a group of government officials. It is a partnership that includes over 20 different organizations (clevelandohio.gov). Members come from the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, the YWCA, and local hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic (statenews.org). These groups work together across five different “pillars,” including education and workforce mobility. This broad approach ensures that the “crisis” is addressed from every angle (clevelandohio.gov, statenews.org).
The new $400,000 will help keep this coalition running through late 2026. About $200,000 of that money is going to the Urban League to handle administrative tasks (signalcleveland.org). The funds will also help pay for a project manager to track the 50 recommendations. This funding serves as a bridge to move the coalition into a “watchdog” phase (signalcleveland.org). This means the group will monitor the city’s progress and keep pushing for the changes promised in the report.
Historical Progress and Present Realities
Cleveland has seen moments of great hope in the past. In 1967, the city elected Carl Stokes as its mayor. He was the first Black mayor of a major American city (wikipedia.org). He started the “Cleveland: NOW!” program to rebuild neighborhoods and provide social services. However, he faced strong opposition from the police department and federal agencies (wikipedia.org). His legacy reminds the current city council that symbolical wins are not enough without deep policy reform.
The work being done by the current task force is an attempt to finish what leaders like Stokes started. By framing racism as a public health crisis, the council acknowledges that these problems are embedded in the city’s history. They are not simply modern accidents. The 23-year life expectancy gap and the 3x higher infant mortality rate are predictable outcomes of 100 years of maps and laws (ncrc.org). The $400,000 investment is a down payment on a long journey toward healing (signalcleveland.org, signalcleveland.org).
A Treatment for a Century-Old Ailment
The additional funding for the task force is more than just a line in the city budget. It is an attempt to “unwind” a century of documented harm. The recommendations for mandatory race-based data collection address the systemic bias that has existed since the 1920s (clevescene.com). By collecting this data, the city can finally see the “hidden violence” that affects Black residents in the courts and on the streets (clecpc.org, clevescene.com).
Fixing these issues will require constant effort and attention. The city is still under the eye of a federal judge and the Department of Justice (justice.gov). With President Donald Trump in office, the role of the federal government in local police reform remains a key topic for observers. However, the coalition remains focused on its local mission. The goal is to ensure that every child born in Cleveland has the same chance to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their zip code (communitysolutions.com, signalcleveland.org).
About the Author
Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.
