HENRICO, V.A. – U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger will host a telephone town hall on Wednesday, June 10 with U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Virginia Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Dr. Janice Underwood, and VCU Massey Cancer Center Director Dr. Robert Winn to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on minority communities in Central Virginia and across the country. The live event will also be streamed via video on Spanberger’s website and Facebook page.

Current data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests racial and ethnic minority groups are suffering disproportionately from COVID-19. In the Henrico Health District alone, African Americans account for about 30 percent of the population but represent 42 percent of cases and 43 percent of deaths. During her interactive telephone town hall on Wednesday, Spanberger and her guests will deliver brief updates on this ongoing situation, and they will answer questions from Seventh District residents about the response to COVID-19 at the federal, state, and local levels.  

“The crippling health and economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis have been felt across Central Virginia. But in our communities of color, COVID-19’s spread has been particularly destructive,” said Spanberger. “Especially as we engage in critical conversations about the vast inequalities that persist across our Commonwealth and our country, we need to dive deeper into how we can address the systemic challenges that permeate our healthcare system. This telephone town hall will be an opportunity for our neighbors to hear directly from local experts about how we can build a strategy to combat this pandemic in the communities hardest hit, as well as to hear the unique perspective of Congresswoman Underwood — someone with a distinct background of fighting for America’s underserved and marginalized communities. I hope many Central Virginians will participate in this timely and much-needed conversation.”

WHO:          

U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger

U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14)

Virginia Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Dr. Janice Underwood

Dr. Robert Winn, Director, VCU Massey Cancer Center

WHEN: Wednesday, June 10, 5:00pm-6:00pm ET

DETAILS: To join the interactive telephone town hall, constituents should dial-in to 855-920-0555. To watch or listen live to the conversation, Central Virginians can go to /live or Spanberger’s Facebook page during the event.

Wednesday’s telephone town hall will be Spanberger’s sixth free, public telephone town hall since the COVID-19 pandemic began focused on the impacts of the virus on Central Virginia families, businesses, and seniors . Last week, she hosted a telephone town hall with experts from AARP Virginia and the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services to discuss the current challenges facing Central Virginia seniors and caregivers, as well as resources available to them as the COVID-19 crisis continues. Click here to listen to the full event.

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