Milwaukee's declaration of racism as public health crisis helped inform COVID-19 response: Panel On Friday the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin hosted a panel discussion on racism as a public health crisis with local leaders and community advocates. and last updated 2021-04-23 23:21:30-04 MILWAUKEE â On Friday the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin hosted a panel discussion on racism as a public health crisis with local leaders and community advocates. One of the main points of the discussion centered on how a Milwaukee's 2019 declaration of racism as a public health crisis helped inform some of decision-making and outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.