The COVID-19 Pandemic: Binding the Wounds of Racism with Health Inequity

The world has been ablaze with the onset of the Coronavirus, often referred to as the COVID-19 pandemic. While parts of the world have enacted measures to slow the rapid spread of the virus to a slow crawl; other parts of the world are drowning in a sea of sickness and suffering significant waves of death. If we take a closer look at the rate of infection and death in the United States – one may enter a state of deep despair. In the wake of a global pandemic and the issue of systemic racism causing a surge of unrest in the United States, we all now have a front row seat to a dynamic historical shift.

The COVID-19 pandemic has managed to elevate the pervasive racism and oppression in many of our systems such as policy, education, housing, employment, transportation, health care, criminal justice, built environment, and law enforcement – to name a few. Racism has suddenly emerged as a public health issue as many scholars study the connections between the COVID-19 pandemic and health disparities. The rise in COVID-19 infections and deaths correlate with a heightened objection to the police brutality devastating the streets of America. The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor reignited the flames of disdain for the racist nature of this country. For added context, Black Americans are 2.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than their White counterparts. Similarly, Black Americans are 2.5 times more likely than Whites to be killed by police. Holistically speaking, the stress of racism takes a toll on the physical and mental well-being of persons of color resulting in poor health outcomes among minority populations.

Racism birthed this nation and is the country’s original sin. The original sin of racism has ravaged the physical and mental health of communities of color for far too long. Again, racial injustice is corrosive and detrimental to the mind, body, and soul of a person. COVID-19 reminds us daily that economic disadvantage barely scratches the surface when discussing morbidity and mortality across health outcomes. However, race is an absolute indicator when exploring morbidity and mortality rates resulting from COVID-19. The health disparities that exist with the spread and treatment of COVID-19 are exacerbating what many health professionals have known for a while now – health and quality of life does not begin within the confines of the health care system.

Health disparities cause people to live sicker and subsequently die faster. As polarizing as this may sound, the overall health of an individual or community begins with the color of their skin. The structural systems of oppression that we currently examine with greater depth, were built to protect and value the livelihood of White Americans. Implicit biases dictate access to quality maternal and child health care. Racist housing policies place minorities in environments that are hazardous to their health and development. Poor neighborhoods are subjected to increases of community violence and over-policing.  Insufficient investments into the educational experience of children residing in largely minority neighborhoods facilitate the school to prison pipeline. This pipeline can lead to mass incarceration instead of providing equitable opportunities to pursue higher education and occupational success. Black students that become college graduates often struggle to secure jobs in their respective field of study due to biased or racially motivated hiring practices. When they are hired, the wages earned by Black professionals are generally lower than their fellow White counterparts – deepening the wealth gap between White families and Black families. While Black culture continues to prove itself resilient against many of these odds, these factors have the potential to stymie the generational advancement of Black families.

Public health practitioners have invested much time and research into the application of shared risk and protective factor approaches to the study of health outcomes among an individual or population. Social determinants of health are used as a barometer for intervention planning and treatment protocols. The exploration of Adverse Childhood Experiences provides a foundation for explaining positive and/or negative health outcomes that may be generational and systemic. Race continues to be one of the top factors dictating favorable or non-favorable health outcomes. I believe that it is time for us to shift our thinking a bit on this notion. Being a BIPOC should not automatically be correlated as a risk factor for every negative health behavior or life expectancy outcome explored in the healthcare system. Race is a social construct created on false ideologies for the assertion of power and control by a dominant group of people. The inherent oppression created by this social construct gave birth to racism, bearing the children of white supremacy and white privilege. Perhaps we need to shift our theoretical frameworks and public health approaches such that racism is observed as a root cause for the various inequities experienced by marginalized groups of color and allocate resources appropriately to address the root causes.

Race is a taught and learned ideology laced with implicit biases that are as a vast as the ocean’s depth. The wounds of racism have never really healed in this country. COVID-19 has forced us to slow down and tune into how the world is changing around us. COVID-19 has ripped off the bandages that have neatly protected the malignancies of racism, revealing the intertwined root causes of health disparities. Racism, poverty, and so many others are these intertwined root causes. Until we openly call out racism, we will continue to fall short as a nation. Until our polices are fashioned from an anti-racist lens, the gears will grind but not move toward any measurable progress. Until White Americans are ready to invest in equitable advantages that benefit BIPOC, we will remain in a state of perpetual regression as a nation.