Sen. May: Fight systemic racism in housing, healthcare, schools (Commentary)

It is heartening to see the widespread outpouring of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Our fellow citizens are turning out in suburban and rural areas, as well as in cities in Central New York and across America, to affirm that we can no longer tolerate racist practices that demean, oppress and terrorize people on the basis of race.

Here in Central New York, this offers a crucial opportunity for serious dialogue about some issues we have failed to address for a long time. Most importantly, we need to ask ourselves: Why is Syracuse among the worst cities in the country for racial segregation and concentrated poverty? Wouldn’t we all be better off if inequality, distrust, and both overt and covert racism were not dragging down our black and brown neighbors?