`Death By Racism': Part of America's DNA from the start?

You don’t need to see the video of George Floyd, a police officer’s knee on his neck as he struggled for his dying breaths, to know that black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than are white people.

You don’t need to hear the racial statistics on COVID-19 to know that black people have been affected disproportionately -- the same is true of eight of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States.

“I think white people were spared the truth of what was happening so they could believe there was progress being made,” she said.

Ray said black people are often victims of over-policing.

He cited the incident last week involving a white woman in New York’s Central Park and a black birdwatcher who complained that her dog was not leashed.

But Ray said he could easily imagine a scenario where they believed the white woman, not the black man, and the situation deteriorated.

Pre-existing conditions in the black population have been cited, but Ray said those conditions often can be blamed on circumstances beyond their control -- poverty, environmental ills, a lack of green space for exercise and of decent grocery stores that offer healthy foods.

A study found that black people seeking testing or treatment for COVID-19 were six times more likely to be turned away than whites, Ray said?

He will continue to call out President Donald Trump: “Every time he opens his mouth, he spreads racism.” He has redoubled his efforts against voter suppression; by reducing black representation, he said, politicians are preventing blacks from gaining the power they need to turn the fatal, racist tide