By Barrington Salmon and Hazel Trice Edney
Editor’s Note: The following article is the third of a four-part series, “The COVID Money Map: Where do we go from here?”. The series seeks to explore and document how billions of dollars in government money – earmarked for COVID relief – was actually spent in Seattle.
The COVID-19 global pandemic, beginning in March 2020, overwhelmed the U. S. medically, economically and socially from coast to coast. But there was something exacerbating the persistent effects of the pandemic.
As families locked in together at home, parents out of work and children out of school, it was the sounds of a dying George Floyd that underscored the pain and suffering of racism that had become more apparent during that season – particularly in communities of color.
Renton, Washington, a community of only 105,000 people – with 52 percent of its population being people of color – became a microcosm of that pain and suffering. This suburb, comprising a majority of people of color, was among cities across the United States that was forced to face the fact that racism was exacerbating the pains of the pandemic. And the murder of George Floyd under the knee of now imprisoned Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin illustrated the harsh reality of just how bad it had gotten.
“For almost a year, our nation has been trying to create a shared belief in equality and proof of accountability in the wake of the murder of George Floyd,” Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone said in a statement following the verdict that sent Chauvin to prison for more than 21 years. “Today’s guilty verdict on all counts against Derek Chauvin is an initial step in proving accountability in our justice system. While I support the court process and jury decision, I recognize there is still more work to be done to achieve a shared belief in equality.”
It turns out that as the pandemic persisted, the mayor, county and community leaders had to consider and interject that “shared belief in equality” when dolling out the federal dollars to assist people in distress during the pandemic. That distress was found to be shouldered disparately by people of color.
“The killing of George Floyd that captured the hearts and the minds of the whole nation, seeing the brutal murder of a Black man and to see it gruesomely develop and cumulatively develop” across the nation culminated in an even closer look at racism as a public health crisis, said Matías Valenzuela, PhD, director of the Office of Equity and Community Partnerships for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Around that time, we had a huge movement here locally. Many community organizations; including Black Lives Matter and other Black & Brown-led groups really began to clamor and really push us as Public Health and also as King County government more generally to make a specific declaration of racism as a public health crisis. This was a local movement and also part of a national movement…We had to integrate anti-racism into our Covid response.”
Renton, with its 8 percent Black, 14 percent Hispanic and 26 percent Asian populations, became a central focus in King County. Renton “joined a nationwide movement and local organizations to launch the ‘Hate Has No Home Here’ campaign’ that proclaimed locations free from hateful behavior,” said the city of Renton’s website – Rentonwa.gov.
On its own website, Rentonwa.gov, the city of Renton admitted its shortcomings:
“Studies have shown that residents from racial/ethnic groups, especially those who speak a language other than English at home, are typically less engaged in the civic process and in government and are less likely to access information and city services,” it states. “They are also at a higher risk of being disproportionately affected by disasters and are more susceptible to inequalities and discrimination. They also need to be more effectively engaged in efforts to promote common local government concerns such as crime prevention and emergency preparedness.”
Health officials could not ignore disparate COVID illnesses and deaths; but they could not ignore the larger picture either. Overall, Blacks in King County had a life expectancy that was 10 years earlier than Whites.
Renton’s Mayor Pavone said on the city’s website and in its newsletter that – mirroring the lives of millions around the nation – families in the city were significantly affected with many of them left jobless and unable to pay their rent, pay utility bills or buy food.
In May 2021, the King County City Council passed an $631 million emergency COVID budget, which was the largest supplemental budget in the history of King County at the time.
According to the City of Renton website and other official sources, Renton’s COVID fund distributions were as follows:
• Nine local agencies received $393,300 for rental assistance and $110,000 of food support.
• Using money from the CARES Act, the city earmarked more than $900,000 to help families make ends meet. The CARES Act is an acronym for The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress. It was signed into law by then President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020, in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic.
• Centro Rendu, Renton Salvation Army, and African Community Housing and Development each received $100,000.
• Mother Africa received $60,000 and the Multi-Service Center was awarded $83,300.
• REACH Meal Coalition and Margie Williams Helping Hands Food Bank each received $10,000.
• REACH Center of Hope got $60,000 and Sustainable Renton was awarded $30,000.
• An extra $401,178 in Community Development Block Grants Coronavirus money was distributed to three local agencies also to bolster families and individuals with critical help with food, utilities, and capital improvements, city officials said. They were the Renton Housing Authority ($250,000), St. Vincent de Paul/St. Anthony’s ($50,000) and Renton Salvation Army Food Bank ($101,178), city officials said on the official website.
• In July 2020, Renton city leaders directed almost $1.4 million of available CARES Act relief funds to small businesses affected by COVID-19.
• In all, $1,381,000 was disbursed through a small business relief grant program overseen by the Community & Economic Development office.
• These federal funds offered much-needed working capital to small, locally owned businesses, social service agencies and community organizations that met specific criteria. Businesses with up to five employees, (including the owner) was eligible to receive a maximum of $5,000.
• Businesses with 6-15 employees received $10,000 and companies that employed 16-25 employees received up to $15,000, Pavone said in a city news release.
• Meanwhile, city officials said the city dispensed more than $200,000 in COVID relief funds to 30 downtown businesses. Each received $7,500 each to compensate for losses and economic difficulties caused by COVID-19 from a $600,000 grant program authorized by the city council. The money comes from the city’s American Rescue Plan fund allocation from the federal government. Officials said the grant money helped compensate for interruptions to their businesses because of the pandemic; mandated closures; voluntary shutdowns to accommodate physical distancing; or the decline in customer demand.
Around the nation, cities like Renton inside counties like King, are working to figure out how to apply funds to abate the results of racism. But one thing is clear. There is much more work to be done. On that, officials all agree.
“We saw it very significantly play out. Specifically, we saw it play out here in King County,” Valenzuela said. He acknowledged it’s not over. “The closer walk with the community is at a new level. And I’m really happy to see that. … But we’re early on our journey here.”