Lamenting Racism in the time of COVID-19
In the last week, I’ve experienced the suffocating weight of racism that’s being exposed by our global pandemic.
I learned of a number of friends who recently lost loved ones, family members, or church members due to COVID-19. All of them were black.
At a Walmart just miles from my home, San Leandro police shot and killed Steve Demarco Taylor, a 33 year old black man who was struggling with mental illness. Meanwhile, white protesters armed with assault rifles and other weapons, freely defied stay at home orders, endangering the safety of themselves and others without any consequence.
I learned from friends who are connected to members of the Navajo nation that an alarming number of tribe members are getting infected by COVID-19, and that it was several “revivals” put on by churches in early March that helped spread disease in the Western Navajo nation.
Several of my close Asian American friends experienced acts of hatred- being called racial slurs while out on walks with their children or while shopping for groceries- even in the “progressive Bay Area.”
My soul is heavy. I am grieving. But mostly, I feel angry that we are not only facing the emotional, physical, relational, and financial consequences of this virus, but that it is exposing the vastly different life experiences that exist at the intersection of race, class, and immigration status.
We are seeing the ugliness of white supremacy play out in:
- Disparate infection rates and deaths due to COVID-19: All throughout the country, we are seeing infection and death rates that are disproportionately high for black and Latinx communities. The NY Times reported that coronavirus is twice as deadly for these minorities than white counterparts. In both Chicago and Louisana, black patients account for 70% of coronavirus deaths, even though they make up a third of the population. In San Francisco, the highest number of infections is in the Mission district, and the Latinx community makes up 25% of covid patients even though they are only 15% of the overall population. Though the reasons for this are complex, it is undeniable that our nation’s long history of white supremacy has impacted the well being of black and brown communities, and that an unequal access to wealth, income, housing, education, information, and health care based on race plays a significant role.
- The drastic exposure of Anti-Asian sentiment and hatred: The stress of this pandemic is already overwhelming for most, but many Asian Americans are experiencing a compounded stress that includes the fear of being threatened, harassed, and even assaulted due to one’s race or ethnicity while in public. There have been over 1,100 reported incidents of hate against Asian Americans in the last month, many more unreported. This pandemic is exposing the deep fallacies of the model minority narrative, and the very real othering of Asian Americans that has always existed in our country.
- Disproportionate economic impacts: A recent report by KFF (Kaiser Family foundation) details some of the major issues causing greater health and economic consequences for communities of color. This report notes that a disproportionate number of black and Latinx folks are employed in service industries or jobs that cannot be converted to telework, which puts them at greater risk of job loss, loss of income, and exposure to disease if maintaining one’s job. Moreover, there is a disproportionate number of low-wage workers and people living below the poverty line who are black, Latinx, and Native. Knowing that there are huge disparities in wealth, based on historic privilege held by white communities, also means black and brown communities do not have the financial safety net that others have, such as savings, property ownership, or family resources.
- Access to governmental funding and assistance: As people begin receiving stimulus checks and grants begin to roll in for those applying to Payroll Protection Programs, we are learning that many small business owners are unable to access large swaths of the funds that are going to chain businesses like Ruth’s Chris and Shake Shack and that the Families First Act left out tens of millions of people, including DACA recipients, TSP holders, U-visa holders (survivors of crime), undocumented people, and many green card holders. We also know that the CARES Act does not include those who pay taxes via an IITN, that Dreamers are being excluded from college relief funds, and that even some U.S. citizens are not qualifying for stimulus checks if they are married to somebody who is not a U.S. citizen. Significant governmental assistance funds are not being distributed to immigrant communities.
- Access to mental health treatment: Due to the police killing of Steve Taylor last week, the reality of mental health disparities has been heavy on my heart. Knowing that there are so many poor, communities of color that could never afford private therapists, treatment, or resources needed to care for one’s holistic health, we must acknowledge that the neglect of mental health for communities of color eventually costs lives. These disparities also lead to a disproportionate number of communities of color being incarcerated, and puts them at greater risk of harm.
- Risks posed by detention and incarceration: In the last few weeks, we have heard reports of massive outbreaks of COVID-19 in various jails, prisons, and immigration detention facilities. 73% of inmates at an Ohio state prison tested positive. At least 29 detainees in an ICE facility- Otay Mesa Detention Center- have tested positive. Over 1200 inmates and 800 employees at Rikers Island state prison have tested positive, and have nowhere to go. Many have already documented the longstanding disproportionate rates of incarceration for black and brown communities, yet when you combine these inequities with the reality of jails and prisons being breeding grounds for infection, we are sentencing many to death and sickness. Recent research done in partnership with the ACLU projects that incarceration-related outbreaks could end up claiming up to 100,000 lives and make up nearly half of covid related deaths.
All of these realities are staggering.
They are heartbreaking.
They are angering.
They are evil.
This virus, which many have claimed to be the “great equalizer” is clearly not equal at all. It is instead exposing the longstanding sickness of white supremacy that has plagued our nation since its inception. It is highlighting ways that our country’s economic, political, and social systems have always placed greater costs and harm on bodies of color. The amount of suffering, hardship, and loss this virus is causing, compounded with the impact of racism upon already marginalized communities, should be lamented by all of us.
In times like these and in the face of these realities, I have no platitudes to offer. No promises of resolution. No ideas of what to do or how to “fix” these inequities. I feel overwhelmed. I feel unable to jump quickly to imagining the world “after” all this, when the world before and during it are so rife with evil and injustice.
As N.T. Wright says in a recent essay:
“It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain — and to lament instead. As the Spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell.
So I choose to lament.
I choose to grieve.
I choose to confront the evil being exposed by this pandemic and say, “This is not right. This is not how things should be. How long, Oh Lord?”
How long?
If you’d like to redistribute your stimulus funds, here are a few organizations you may want to consider:
-Support the work of Community Ready Corps, as they work for black self-determination and covid readiness in the black community, primarily in Oakland
-Contribute to relief funds to the Northern Navajo Tribe members, who are facing a massive health crisis
-Contribute to the Migrant Emergency Fund, which is helping provide a safety net to migrant families in the Bay Area who are facing crisis and cannot access many governmental resources
