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COVID-19: Legacies of Structural Racism

The response to COVID-19 has varied across the country and across the globe. By now the especially devastating toll on black Americans has been well documented with death rates disturbingly and disproportionately higher than whites.

The city of St. Louis made national headlines when its first 12 recorded deaths from COVID-19 were black. The peak of the first wave of cases expected to hit around the same day this episode is being released, which is why we wanted to better understand how the outbreak is touching the lives of black St. Louisans.

In this episode a doctor, a mayor, and a nurse share their stories about how COVID-19 is affecting black residents in the St. Louis region and how they're working to make sure everyone in our town can stand a chance against the deadly virus.

Jia Lian Yang holds both a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary. She is the co-founder of the St. Louis-based Who Raised You? podcast, which explores culture and family with a focus on stories from people of color. The show won the Arts & Education Council of St. Louis’ 2018 stARTup competition. And this year, St. Louis Magazine’s editors named it the best local podcast.
Lauren Brown holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri where she also studied Social Justice. Lauren joined St. Louis Public Radio in June 2019 as an associate producer for the We Live Here podcast. In March 2020 she became the co-host and producer for We Live Here.