The pandemic, the police and politics

This is a pivotal time in America’s history. In 2020, the pandemic, the police and politics have converged to create a public health crisis the magnitude of which we’ve never experienced. Unfortunately, it is playing out in real time while the entire world watches.

The pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the racial disparities that have existed in the country’s health care system for as long as I can remember. A disproportionate number of Black people and other people of color have contracted COVID-19 and a disproportionate number have not survived. The associated pain and grief have exacted an emotional toll on those affected families.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office emphasizes that without good mental health, one cannot have good physical health and well being. This fact has never been more obvious to so many as it is today. He went further to define mental health as a person’s ability to function and to be productive in life; to adapt to changes in his/her environment; to cope with adversity; and to develop positive relationships with others

You might be asking, “What does mental health have to do with the coronavirus?” The Centers for Disease Control reports that African Americans and other people of color experience a disproportionate burden of illness and death. African Americans are also overrepresented in hospitalizations and their death rates are almost twice as high as those of whites.

These conditions created by the effects of poverty, poorly funded education systems, and inadequate health care are all attributable to systemic racism and contribute to marginalization of people of color. It creates chronic psychological distress that, unless personally experienced, is far too easy to question its relevance and existence. It impacts every aspect of a person’s well-being.

The police

In addition to the COVID-19 crisis, the other public health emergency is the longstanding system of racial bias by overzealous police. Black people have an unyielding burden of trying to safely and successfully maneuver in a world that has yet to fully recognize the psychological and mental distress of “living while black” — a world that does not recognize and appreciate their value.

The fear of simply going for a run, lying in bed, or sitting in a car can often end in death when a police officer enters the equation. Blacks and other people of color approach any police encounter with trepidation. They know that many police officers are wired to be suspicious and fearful of them. The worry that any police encounter can be deadly is an ever present state of mind for most

Black families.

This not only affects adults, but young Black children as well. They’ve lost too many fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and other loved ones to police violence. During the recent protests a special moment was caught on camera when a White police officer observes a little Black girl crying. He bends down to comfort her and she asks him, “Are you gonna shoot us?” Likely very surprised, the officer replies “We’re here to help you, not to hurt you.” If you are White, this type of fear is likely unimaginable in your world.

But, lest we forget, biased police officers are not the only problem. In the year 2020 it is unthinkable that Black people can still be hunted down like animals and killed for sport as was Ahmaud Arbery; shot to death while jogging because of the color of his skin.

Politics

Our country is unwell. The American democracy is failing. Daily systemic racial bias and injustice are impacting the physical and mental health of African Americans.

But, much like the alcoholic uncle who is in denial about his addiction, healing can only begin when we stand up and take responsibility for our failings and acknowledge the pain and hurt that it has caused.

Where will you be when the threat of the pandemic fades, the protests have ceased and the world is no longer watching? Will you be the responsible community leader who educates, motivates, and mobilizes the public to eradicate racism and racial injustice, or will you fade into the shadows and tell yourself that you are not a racist? Will you be the person to push for an anti-racist American agenda in all things?

In the 1960s, John Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, said, “Life is full of golden opportunities carefully disguised as irresolvable problems.”

So I ask all of my White friends and colleagues, “Is this your golden opportunity?”

Danita Johnson Hughes is the President & CEO of Edgewater Health.