As the coronavirus pandemic continues to infect millions around the world and kill hundreds of thousands, we shouldn’t make the mistake of only considering the dangers of the microbiological world. This time is also revealing the plague within us with which we’ve infected others.
During the past decade, the imprisonment rate declined by 15% overall, with the imprisonment rate for blacks dropping by 28%, followed by Hispanics (21%) and whites (13%). Yet racial disparities remain noticeable.
When Traci Blackmon, the senior pastor for a predominantly black church in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, is finally able to open the doors for service again, one of her main concerns is the collective sorrow her congregation will experience.
While the coronavirus is an equal opportunity killer, the poor and people of color are disproportionately suffering and dying from COVID-19. These communities were least prepared to respond to the virus for reasons rooted in racism and inequality.
COVID-19 is killing black Americans with horrifying precision. Black Americans get the disease at a higher rate than white people do. When you account for age, black mortality is 3.57 times white mortality. Outrage is warranted. But outrage unaccompanied by analysis is a danger in