Top Sacramento County health official resigns, officials say – KCRA Sacramento

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BACK TO YOU. TEO: THANKS, DIRK. SACRAMENTO COUNTY HEALTH CHIEF DOCTOR PETER BEILENSON IS ISSUING AN APOLOGY. HE USED A SLUR TO DESCRIBE MEMBERS OF THE EAST ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY DURING A BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING YESTERDA THE DOCTOR WAS SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF A MEASURE TO DECLARE RACISM A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY. >> THIS IS A MAJOR AREA OF INTEREST FROM PUBLIC HEALTH IN GENERAL, AND IT’S A CRUCIAL THING WE’RE DOING TO ADDRESS TH ISSUES OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND BROWN AND YELLOW FOLKS IN OUR COUNTRY, AS WELL AS THE WHITE FOLKS. TEO: HE USED A SLUR THAT HAS BEEN USED TO DEHUMANIZE EAST ASIAN PEOPLE, AND HIS USE OF THAT TERM ANGERED MANY IN THE COMMUNITY. THE DOCTOR SPOKE WITH KCRA’S EDIE LAMBERT AND APOLOGIZED. >> I WAS IN THE MIDST OF LUMPING TOGETHER A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS, BROWN PEOPLE, YELLOW PEOPLE, WHITE PEOPLE, AND DID NOT REALIZE AT THE TIME THAT WAS AN INSENSITIVE COMMENT. I HAVE SINCE REALIZED THAT, AND OBVIOUSLY WILL NOT USE THAT COMMENT AGAIN. EDIE: I GUESS IT SURPRISED ME, THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NEW INFORMATION TO YOU THAT TH WORD — >> IT’S NOT NEW INFORMATION THAT IT’S USED, SHOULD NOT BE USED. THAT IS SOMETHING I HAVE KNOWN QUITE WELL. I WAS LITERALLY ON THE SPOT. I WAS RUNNING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE, AGAIN, WHITE, YELLOW, BROWN, ET CETERA, INAPPROPRIATELY LUMPED IN THAT YELLOW TERM. I REALIZE THAT’S AN ISSUE IN TERMS OF EVERYTHING BACK TO THE RAILROAD TIMES AND 1850’S, AS WELL AS MORE RECENTLY IN TERMS OF THE MANZANAR AND OTHER CAMPS, AND A WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS. AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN MY 30 YEARS OF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIAL, AND I WOULD CERTAINLY NOT USE THAT TERM IN THE FUTURE. TEO: DR. BEILENSON SAID THE POINT HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT WE NEED TO FIGHT SYSTEMIC RACISM AND INEQUITIES IN OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. THE BOARD DID VOTE TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION, WHICH REQUIRES THE COUNTY TO ELIMINATE ANY POLICIES