The country’s pervasive health inequities were evidenced by a tragic tally of 74,402 excess deaths, on average, among Black people compared with white people each year between 2016 and 2018, according to an analysis of all-cause mortality rates in the 30 largest U.S. cities. Health equity initiatives in the U.S. See how organizations across the country are working to center health equity and name racism as a barrier to equity in their COVID-19 responses. But rates vary widely. In Chicago, for example, racial inequities in mortality rates resulted 3,804 excess Black deaths annually, compared to just six excess deaths a year in El Paso, Texas.