As the nation is advised to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Americans rest under the choice of increased racial profiling and even death versus personal health and safety.
Patrice Palmer, who holds the identities of being Black, Queer, and Trans (non-binary), was on their way to the grocery store to pick up a few items. They saw a DIY video on YouTube about turning old shirts into face masks. They also recently shaved their head so some sort of covering for both is ideal during the COVID-19 pandemic. As they grabbed their coat and headed towards the door they caught a glimpse of themself in the mirror.
Nationwide, the use of face masks when using public facilities and accommodations had been highly recommended, however a problem would rear its head with the BLACK skin behind the mask. Yes, they are a nonbinary, Trans, masculine presenting person shopping with their head and face covered.
In essence, they resemble a young Black man or those who wear a burqa. They are NOT safe; some would say just use a mask. This pandemic caught the world off guard so having mask making materials was not something for which they were prepared. They don’t have access to anything that would cover their face to make them look LESS aggressive or unlike a thief.
“I’m putting myself at risk to not put myself at risk,” says Patrice.
These are the issues facing Black folk in a pandemic and also during these volatile times of social unrest. Covering your face and hands could end a black person’s life by the barrel of a gun. A foundational understanding of racism is necessary here. To some it seems simple, but to others (especially those with black skin) it’s anxiety inducing.
If you need basic home items, have money with which to purchase said items, and are not posing a threat other than apparently just being a Black person – you could still be at the mercy of a bullet and the latest victim of police violence or fearful white people.
With COVID-19 shutting down most of the world, poverty still rampant in Black communities, and opportunities at a standstill, some Black Americans are beyond worried at what a future for them will look like after this. Add that fear to the high-anxiety gained from watching news footage on COVID-19 related updates, and stories of Black men and women being murdered for the minutest infractions without the justice of the legal system to exonerate them and you have a special kind of trauma.
Hopefully you learn, at some point, as part of the Black experience, how to feign being non-threatening and that more often than not it doesn’t matter how well you perform but whether the audience (usually white people) believed your performance or had already decided not to.
The Washington Post recently reported on a police officer who followed young black men who wore masks while shopping, which has amplified fears among Black people of being profiled as criminals or gang members. Many worry that concerns of racial bias will discourage Black people from wearing masks to protect themselves and others, further increasing their exposure to a virus that is disproportionately infecting and killing them.
“I don’t feel safe wearing a handkerchief or something else that isn’t CLEARLY a protective mask covering my face to the store because I am a Black man living in this world. I want to stay alive but I also want to stay alive,” says Aaron Thomas via Twitter.
Not to mention you can’t get a haircut as those shops are still closed. Those who need laundromats are also at a disadvantage and you already appear slovenly and somewhat in despair because of your conditions prior to the pandemic. This was a stressful period for some in the Black community before COVID-19 even arrived.
As some states wrestle with loosening their COVID-19 related public guidelines such as social distancing, masks necessary for entry, the number of people in an establishment at a time, and whether to be open at all – the cabin fever is pushing folks to do inexplicable things – including murder with race as a possible culprit.
George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade. These are just the latest names to be added to a long list of unarmed Black people murdered in cold blood. In contrast, Derek Chauvin, Dylan Roof (who was even given food), Gregory and Travis McMichael, and James Reardon – ALL WHITE, were arrested without any injuries or fatalities. They live to be judged by the law whereas their Black victims don’t have that option.
“People keep saying, ‘We need to have a conversation about race,’” said the late Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison in a 2015 interview with the (U.K.) Telegraph.
“This is the conversation. I want to see a cop shoot a white unarmed teenager in the back,” said Ms. Morrison, who also has won the Pulitzer Prize for her work, which includes the bestsellers “Beloved” and “Song of Solomon.” “And I want to see a white man convicted for raping a black woman. Then when you ask me, ‘Is it over,’ I will say ‘yes.’”
The fact that this social unrest is happening at the saturation point of a worldwide pandemic is not lost on many, especially those in the Black community. “We’ve been cooped up for a couple of months, if not longer, so tensions are high and the fear tactics implored to keep us in line with health standards as we await tests and cures has everyone on edge,” says Mama Sandra Simmons.
The rush to return to how it was is literally killing Black people by way of the justice system, lack of healthcare options, and poor economic opportunities. ‘The way it was’ clearly wasn’t working and we have a unique opportunity to fix it and in the process truly provide freedom to an entire group of people.
The Black Community is extremely resolute through each protest and social campaign that enough is enough. You cannot keep ignoring Black lives. You will not keep ignoring Black Lives. Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter Too! And before you purse your lips to say but “All Lives Matter,” yes they should but when you say that in response to someone saying “Black Lives Matter,” you’re erasing Black Lives.
It’s important to ask yourself why you want so desperately to erase Black Lives in protection of All Lives.
The bloodshed, the senseless deaths, the families without their loved ones for no valid reason, the fact that unarmed Black Lives were taken without any regard, situation be damned, should be enough to fully enrage you.
You don’t need to be Black to be upset.
If you or someone you know is interested in participating in work around the protection of Black lives in the metropolitan Detroit area during this tumultuous period in history, contact Master Mind Media Detroit, Attention: Mr. Robert via email at info@mastermindmediadetroit.org.
Photo by Avi Waxman on Unsplash
