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A Deadly Trio: How A PANDEMIC American Overdoses, In 2019, there were more than 7,300 deaths from opiod overdoses among African-Americans, according to a collection of data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Community African and Disparities are affecting THE

A CDC study from the same year reported a steady increase in the rates of opioid over- doses in the African - American community. Because the numbers of deaths from overdos- es continue to plague white, suburban communities at a higher volume, the narrative for discussing solutions surrounding the epidemic centers around providing aid to these majority communities. These solutions have often overlooked the needs and struggles of Black communities, especially those of low-income areas, that are suffering from steadily increasing rates. In the wake of the coro- navirus pandemic, disparities in treatment among this minority community have been greatly exposed, along with inequalities in treatment quality and options for ur- ban and low-income areas regarding addiction and mental health treatment. During the coronavirus pandemic, the CDC has record- ed a 20 percent surge in fatal drug overdoses across the nation. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed Philadelphia’s drug overdose data and found a surge of more than 50 percent among the city’s Black pop- ulation, whereas the rate of deaths among white residents remained constant and even declined in some months. In the pre-pandemic times, researchers were finding over- dose rates among Black people rising faster than those among white people.

During the scope of the overall drug epidemic, another plague surrounding opioids has been rising within the African-African community. Fentanyl was first introduced in the 1960s as an anesthetic or pain medication. Its use scaled as other pain medications also emerged onto the market. During the 1990s, the increasing severity of the prescription drug crisis did not primarily affect African Americans. This was due partly to racism in the health- care system regarding doctors’ approach to treating pain among Black patients. Thus, it was clear African-Amer- icans did not have the same issue with the epidemic as white people in suburban areas. However, during that time and through the present day, crack cocaine has been the consistent drug of choice for users within the Black community. In 2015, the illicit drug market began using fentanyl and manufacturing it overseas. Dealers began wedding cocaine and fentanyl, and that marked the start of an explosion of overdose deaths among African Ameri- cans from these drugs. As inequalities in healthcare systems contributed to a drug crisis that varied from African-American users to white users during the 90s, these same disparities have accounted for a lack of preventative and responsive care and treatment among the minority community. They have continued through systemic biases that remain present in current systems. A 2019 study by the