Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently signed an executive order creating the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities. The governor has appointed Dr. Marijata Daniel-Echols, program officer at The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to serve on the task force along with other leaders from the health sector, academia, government and nonprofits.

The state shared in a press release that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color throughout our state. While African Americans represent 13.6% of Michigan’s population, they represent a staggering 40% of the deaths from COVID-19. The task force will act in an advisory capacity to the governor, study the causes of racial disparities in the impact of COVID-19 and recommend actions to immediately address such disparities and the historical and systemic inequities that underlie them. 

“It is with a great sense of responsibility that I serve on this task force – responsibility to advocate for the children, families and communities we serve, and to represent the strong commitment of philanthropy to work in partnership with public and private partners to address seemingly intractable challenges," Daniel-Echols said. "As the task force takes on the responsibility of meeting the immediate needs of our communities in this crisis and considers systemic changes that are needed to ensure all of us have a fair and just opportunity to be healthy, philanthropy plays an important role to support creative solutions and innovation.” 

Learn more about the task force.