Has the coronavirus made racism worse?
The virus has affected many sorts of people. The virus is something that has been killing and taking people’s lives day by day. It has become a part of our everyday lives. Things like wearing a mask and gloves have become the new safe way to be outside. The black community is suffering greatly. Black African people all over the world male or female, are afraid right now. We are so scared right now, that if we get the virus then they won’t get the right care from the hospitals. They have even experienced racism, during a crazy time like this. For this blog post I will be using two articles one from the Root.com and another one for the New York times website. Both articles, the root.com and New York times state and explain how black people are facing and fearing racism more than ever right now. The roots.com Article is written by several different authors, while the New York Times article is written by Derrick Taylor. The websites explain how African Americans are facing more hardships such as racism issues that are occurring and even how black males are afraid to wear masks.
In the first article the root.com, “Everything you ever wanted to know about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, from a black perspective.” Different authors explain all the issues that are happening right now in the black community. In the article, one author by the name of Zack Linly explains how a black woman was body slammed to the ground for not wearing a mask in Birmingham, Alabama. The cop was off duty when this occurred, the video shown is very heartbroken to watch. I believe that the problem could have been handled differently. Just because the young woman wasn’t wearing a mask doesn’t mean to body slam her. Maybe she didn’t have a mask on hand, it’s some many reasons why she didn’t have one. One conversation could have fixed all of this. This is a form of racism because in the video it shows white Americans walking around freely without a mask on. So why must a black woman get body slammed on the ground. What made her such a target? Another author from the same websites by the name of Anne Branigin explains how states and cities with high black populations are opening back up. Branigin state “local and state data… showed African American communities were getting hit much harder by the virus than white people.” If states with a high black population would have stayed closed, then the data wouldn’t be so high. I believe this is a form of racism because why would the government test to see if it is safe to gather back outside with high population black states? It’s basically a test, to see if it affects us the government doesn’t mind killing black Americans how just to receive data which is racism. Lastly, an author by the name of Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II explains how people shouldn’t blame black people for dying due to a virus. Barber states “Instead of focusing blame on communities who have been targeted and attacked, we need a moral revival to provide the support and resources that black communities deserve.” This quote goes to explain how people shouldn’t attack the community but instead help them. The author even states “The inconvenient truth is that black people are more vulnerable to this health crisis not because our community is weaker, but because we have been denied the resources that make any community strong.” This explains how racism has caused the community not to receive the right care they need to survive. All the examples given simply help to point out how people of color are suffering every day from racism even when so many other things are occurring in the world. I believe that these states shouldn’t be able to reopen. They are testing the states with high black populations. Think about it if they won’t even open up the white house for tours then why should they reopen a whole state.
In the second article, which is named “For Black Men, Fear That Masks Will Invite Racial Profiling” by Derrick Taylor. He explains how black males all across the world are afraid to wear masks in public because it could cause unwanted attention. Taylor stated, “I have a sense of anxiety wearing the mask…black men find themselves facing two concerns: the virus and those who see their covered faces as threatening.” The author states this to explain how black males are stressed out when they are seen in public, they have to either choose between being safe or feeling the sense that they are threatening. The author even states “when they leave their homes, black men have expressed concern that following the recommendation could expose them to racial profiling and harassment by the police.” This is another form of racism, because black African American males are overly concerned about how police could profile them for a crime just because they have on a mask. Black males believe they will experience racism and may run people off just because they have on a mask. Taylor states “did not feel safe wearing a handkerchief or anything else over his nose and mouth that… I want to stay alive, but I also want to stay alive.” I believe he stated this to explain how once again he is afraid to wear a mask in public. He basically explains how he wants to wear one to fight for his life but is afraid too because he wants to stay alive and not get killed for being racial profiled. This goes to show how black males already had a target on their back’s way before the coronavirus. Since the virus has started it has led to more racism issues for the community. Black people should be able to go out in public with masks on as a form of protection and not be judged by others. Why are black African Americans people receiving judgement simply for just trying to be safe just like everyone else.
In conclusion, both the articles explain different ways of racism with black African Americans and how the virus is affecting us. With everything going on we should try as a whole to help one another. We should try to build each other up during this time instead of causing race issues.
Work cited
Linly, Zack. “Video Shows Birmingham, Ala., Police Officer Body Slamming Black Woman to the Ground for Not Wearing a Mask.” Roots.com, May 3, 2020, Friday May 1, 2020 https://www.theroot.com/video-shows-birmingham-ala-police-officer-body-slamm-1843317125
Branigin, Anne. “Counties With High Proportion of Black People Made Up More Than Half of All Coronavirus Cases and Deaths, Study Finds.” Root.com, may, 7, 2020, Wednesday, may, 6, 2020 https://www.theroot.com/counties-with-high-proportion-of-black-people-made-up-m-1843295101
Branigin, Anne. “ More than 80% of Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 in Georgia Were Black, CDC Reports.” Root.com , May 3, 2020, Thursday, April, 30, 2020 https://www.theroot.com/more-than-80-of-patients-hospitalized-for-covid-19-in-1843176738
Taylor, Derrick. “For Black Men, Fear That Masks Will Invite Racial Profiling.” New York times, May 3, 2020, Tuesday, April, 14, 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/coronavirus-masks-racism-african-americans.html
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