Among the charitable donations, one stood out to Rivers.

became one of the first cities in the country to adopt a declaration in 2019.“If racism as a public health crisis was truly operationalized, we would have more people graduating from high school. If it was truly operationalized, people could live to their full potential and not worry about being mistaken by a police officer for having a gun,” said Paine, who was the chief of staff at the city’s health department from late 2019 to March 2021. “And those aren’t changes you can speak to overnight.”

Wisconsin’s biggest city now has a, released in December, that wants to address racism as a public health crisis in various ways — from increasing voter registration to improving infant mortality rates, which are three times higher among Black infants than white infants.The plan also highlights the need to improve housing conditions, and one of the health department’s key priorities is addressing lead poisoning in older homes. Black children in Milwaukee are up to 2.7 times more likely to have elevated blood lead levels compared to other races, according to the community health improvement plan.

“When the built environment is essentially a poison in your families, you’re going to see health outcomes that affect that,” health department commissioner Dr. Michael Totoraitis said, giving an example that kids might be “deemed problematic at school because they were lead-poisoned and have permanent brain damage.”Deanna Branch’s 11-year old son, Aidan, got lead poisoning when he was a toddler. She pointed to the dilapidated housing that she and many Black Milwaukee residents have to live in.

“We have to work with what we have and do what we have to do to keep that place safe for our kids,” Branch said, adding, “rent is getting higher, but the upkeep of apartments isn’t changing at all.”

Longtime racial equity advocate Melody McCurtis said she’s interested in some parts of the plan — but is largely still skeptical.to its game in 2021 and Mexicans went crazy about them that same year, following the Central Bank’s initiative to print it on

. “That’s when the ‘axolotlmania’ thrived,” Cruz said.Axolotls scurry around during a media presentation before their release into the canals of Xochimilco, a borough of Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Axolotls scurry around during a media presentation before their release into the canals of Xochimilco, a borough of Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)All over Mexico, the peculiar, dragon-like amphibian can be spotted in