It’s Levels to the Shit: COVID-19 in the Black Community

A few days ago as I stood on the line to get into my local Shoprite supermarket, a lady in front of me sparked conversation. We had just witnessed this younger guy being rude to an elderly lady at the beginning of the line. He was trying to push his way into the supermarket first. The lady in front of me said “I guess it’s just survival of the fittest. Nobody cares about age or anything but at the end of the day COVID doesn’t discriminate.” As I shook my head in agreeance, I had to quickly stop myself. That last part wasn’t technically true. While COVID-19 may not discriminate on who it infects, it disproportionately affects the black community in large due to preexisting racial and economic inequalities in this country.

There are disparities between the size of the black population in the US compared to the percentage of black people who are infected or dying from the virus. The first case of COVID-19 was reported by the CDC on January 22, 2020. Initially the only demographic data that was being reported on the infected population was location, gender and age. Everyone knows that data analyst usually include racial and ethnic demographic breakdowns as well. It wasn’t until early April that the CDC and some of the states started reporting race and ethnicity numbers. Even then there was a disparity in reporting. Out of 50 states only a handful reported data and of those only some reported race exclusively, ethnicity exclusively or both. This inconsistency in reporting makes it hard to do an accurate comparison, but based on the sample size provided black people overall have disproportionately contracted and died from the coronavirus, yet we represent a smaller portion of the overall population. If you asked me, we didn’t need numbers to tell us that.

Anyone who is honest and has some common sense can put one and two together to realize COVID-19 is a serious threat in the black community. Most black communities are comprised in urban settings where resources such as money and healthcare are limited. We can all agree that the virus doesn’t pick and choose who it wants to infect but if you can’t practice social distancing because bills need to be paid or you have limited access to healthcare then you are more prone to catching and/or dying from COVID-19. A high number of black and brown people are employed in fields that are considered “essential,” thus they are exposed to the virus at higher rates. Who do you see stocking the shelves and behind the register when you go to the supermarket? Who do you see driving the buses and trains? Who do you see out and about delivering your mail? My answer is: I see mostly people who look like me. I have been fortunate to have the flexibility to work from home, but everyone isn’t that lucky. Black people are heavily on the front lines sacrificing themselves to make sure they can pay bills and put food on the table.

On top of that there is no secret that we have higher rates of health complications, such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, heart disease and COPD, which makes this situation a double whammy. Preexisting health conditions heighten the risk of death amongst those who catch Covid -19. Then there’s the issue with lack of insurance and compassionate healthcare access. According to the US Census report “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2018,” 9.7 percent of black people were uninsured compared to 5.4 percent of white people. I’m sure this gap has widened with the layoffs this pandemic has produced. Needless to say, with pre-existing health issues and lack of health insurance/access, it is clear that we are disproportionately affected by this pandemic. 

I love to include some positivity and solutions in my post but there are just none that will help us on a large scale in this moment. There are underling racial and economic inequalities that our country is built on and even though we have made tremendous strides over the years, we still have a long way to go. There are no realistic quick fixes for what we experience and what we are exposed to because there are always LEVELS TO THIS SHIT. America’s fucked up issues will always be an added layer of burden when it comes to crisis like the one we are currently facing. The best we can do is pray, be clean, stay home and take precautions when we have to go outside. The future is unclear but we will make it out of this.

Stay Informed – If you have BET or OWN check out some of the below specials:

COVID-19’s Deadly Impact on Black America

Black Women OWN the Conversation – COVID 19 Facts and Myths

A COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall

Saving Our Lives: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort Special