In January 2021, assistant professor of sociology and urban studies Angela Simms published the article “COVID-19, Black Jurisdictions, and Budget Constraints: How Fiscal Footing Shapes Fighting the Virus” in Volume 44 of the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Using data from her previous fieldwork in Prince George’s County (PGC), Maryland — the U.S. county with the highest concentration of middle-class African Americans — Simms determines that PGC’s fragile fiscal state before the global COVID-19 outbreak means it experiences harsher pandemic-driven consequences than its two neighboring counties with significantly smaller Black populations. Simms uses this case study to analyze how layers of racial disadvantage compound across time, region, and level of social organization.