White Supremacy is a Virus

The Real Epidemic

Starting at the upper left and moving clockwise we have a young mother, an activist looking to improve her skills, a father and nutritionist, an EMT, a running enthusiast, and a family man. Their names are Korryn Gaines, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Ahmed Aubrey, and George Floyd.

Covid-19 still rages and shows little signs of abating. We passed the hundred thousand count for fatalities in the US alone about a week or so ago. Temporary burials have had to be made as bodies of the dead overwhelm mortuaries and had to be contained in converted refrigerator trucks. The elderly and those with cardiovascular conditions appeared to be the most at risk until it became apparent that young seemingly healthy people were also dying.

The virus though does seem to discriminate. Black Americans including seemingly healthy young Black Americans are sickening and dying at a higher rate than really anyone else. So, what’s up? A virus can’t be racist. Why are our Black citizens dying so much faster than everyone else?

The answer lies with the pictures I chose at the opening of this piece. Those six women and men are just a few who have been overtly murdered by racism. They’re all very different. Some of them were physically fit, some of them were public servants, some worked with kids, but they all had several things in common.

1. They were beloved by their families.
2. They were Black.
3. They were killed for being Black.

None of these people died directly from Covid-19. In fact, Gaines, Castile, and Bland were murdered years…