Should racism be treated as a public health crisis?

Across the country, more than 80 city and county governments have declared racism a public health emergency. The overwhelming majority have come in the past two months, amid a widespread push to address systemic racism prompted by protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The specifics of the declarations vary from place to place, but they share the central vision that racism is the root cause of health disparities between white and Black Americans. The difference in health outcomes is stark. Black people have a...