The National Urban League’s 2020 State of Black America® report, “Unmasked,” explores the various ways that the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the face of racism in America – particularly within our economy, our health care institutions, and our justice systems.

The expansion of health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, which coincided with a decade-long economic expansion, partially masked the health care and economic disparities festering just beneath the surface.

This year’s contributors of essays include:

• Attorney Benjamin Crump
• Criminal justice reform advocate and political commentator Van Jones
• Dr. Lisa Cooper, Director of John Hopkins Center for Health Equity
• Brett Schafer and David Levine of the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy
• Lawrence Norden and Gowri Ramachandran of the Brennan Center for Justice
• A’shanti F. Gholar,  President of Emerge and Founder of the Brown Girls Guide to Politics
• Dr. Kristen E. Broady, Dean, College of Business at Dillard University and Barron Hilton Endowed Professor of Financial Economics
• Funke Aderonmu, Policy Analyst with the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Economic Security & Opportunity Initiative
• Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund
• Linda Goler Blount, President & CEO, Black Women’s Health Imperative
• Nia Eshu Martin-Robinson, Director of Black Leadership and Engagement, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

The August 13 release of the report will be marked with a dynamic virtual series premiering at 2pm Eastern Time on StateOfBlackAmerica.org,  featuring some of the nation’s most important thought-leaders and influencers including:

• Racial justice activist Tamika Mallory
• Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
• Sadiqa Reynolds, President, Louisville Urban League
• Author Michael Eric Dyson
• Activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham
• Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
• Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot