Post by Tanya Wilkinson
“We are in the same storm, not in the same boat.”
— Poet Damian Barr
The pandemic is a storm and we all feel its impact. At the same time, white Americans are in a much safer boat than are communities of color. This is true in terms of health; true in regard to who lives and who dies. It is also true in terms of economic impact, now and for the foreseeable future.
The virus has disproportionately affected Blacks and Latinos, who each have hospitalization rates 4.5 times that of non-Hispanic whites, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the CDC website states:
“Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put some members of racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting COVID-19 or experiencing severe illness, regardless of age. Among some racial and ethnic minority groups, including non-Hispanic black persons, Hispanics and Latinos, and American Indians/Alaska Natives, evidence points to higher rates of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 than among non-Hispanic white persons. As of June 12, 2020, age-adjusted hospitalization rates are highest among non- Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native and non-Hispanic black persons, followed by Hispanic or Latino persons.”
People of Color suffer disproportionately from the pre-existing conditions that make a viral infection more dangerous, such as diabetes, heart disease and pulmonary disease. Poverty, resulting in poor diet, long term stress and a lack of health insurance is probably the primary reason for this disparity. It has also been well documented that People of Color have greater difficulty in accessing health care than do white Americans, and when they are able to receive care, it is less adequate. As a consequence, serious conditions go untreated or are poorly treated, creating an increased vulnerability to coronavirus infections.
Communities of color are also overrepresented among essential workers, who are generally unable to work from home and more likely to come into contact with the virus. In addition, regular use of public transportation, more common among those communities, is associated with a higher rate of infection, according to studies reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Airlift-funded groups, such as Organize Florida, are organizing on a local level to help vulnerable communities manage the risks: “As COVID-19 continues to take its toll, we must protect our local communities as they confront and attempt to mitigate its impacts, especially healthcare workers and vulnerable populations.”
A powerful example of this kind of effort took place in Michigan where 70 grassroots organizations, including Airlift-funded groups Michigan Liberation and Detroit Action, worked together to make demands of the local and state government officials to implement various measures to control the virus and help communities of color. They worked together with the Michigan statewide racial equity task force headed up by the Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist, to find resources to direct to communities of color in Michigan.
Organizers throughout the country are, like most Americans, trying to address the immediate threat the pandemic presents to the well being of their communities. For example, Organize Florida joined a coalition of groups focused on housing justice in the context of COVID-19, and they have been successful in their efforts to extend the ban on evictions in their state, a short-term necessity. Down Home North Carolina, another Airlift supported organization, has made similar successful efforts in regard to evictions. Short-term actions such as this are vital while, at the same time, the long-term economic consequences of the pandemic are growing and will continue to grow.
“The novel coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated income inequality, experts say, stretching the racial wealth gap in the United States and making the richest wealthier while leaving many of the poorest without jobs. As the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the U.S., it brought with it an unprecedented financial crisis and unemployment rates at their highest levels since the Great Depression, especially among Black, Hispanic and Asian workers (16.8%, 17.6% and 15% in May compared to 12.4% for whites).”
Dimitri Papadimitriou, President of the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, and former Greek Minister of Economy and Development, told ABC News:
“The pandemic crisis will widen the already worrisome levels of income, racial, and gender inequality in the U.S. This engenders... a vicious circle at work: not only will the pandemic and its fallout worsen inequality; inequality will exacerbate the spread of the virus, not to mention undermine any ensuing economic recovery efforts."
As the financial crisis evolves, Airlift supports groups like Detroit Action in providing important survival services for immediate problems, such as free monthly unemployment insurance law clinics. At the same time, Detroit Actions’s overarching mission — “Fighting for economic and social justice for working class Detroiters” — is central to the long-term response that will be necessary to confront worsening inequality during and after the pandemic.
Organize Florida has framed what is necessary:
“The response must center and support marginalized communities who are already feeling the devastating economic impact of this pandemic, especially workers who are earning low wages and are one paycheck away from crisis, including individuals with disabilities and other special needs. The current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is not just a public health emergency, it's an economic crisis, and both will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable among us.”
They, and many other Airlift supported grassroots organizers, have taken on this vital effort.