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In Clamor to Reopen, Many Blacks Feel Their Safety Ignored

Associated Press

   BIRMINGHAM, ALA - Many African Americans watching protests calling for
   easing restrictions meant to slow the spread of the new coronavirus see
   them as one more example of how their health, their safety and their
   rights just don't seem to matter.
   To many, it seems that the people protesting -- who have been
   predominantly white -- are agitating for reopening because they won't
   be the ones to suffer the consequences. So far, the facts are proving
   them right: The consequences of keeping some businesses open have been
   falling disproportionately on the shoulders of black people and other
   marginalized groups.
   "There has always been a small, white ruling class that has been OK
   with seeing certain populations as disposable," said LaTosha Brown,
   founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, a power-building organization
   based in the South.
   The pandemic has highlighted -- and often deepened -- gaping
   inequalities in the United States and around the world.
   Black people are dying in disproportionate numbers from COVID-19 in the
   United States; people of color are especially exposed because they are
   more likely to hold many of the jobs that were deemed essential; and,
   as the reopening starts, they are likely to be among those whose
   workplaces open first. For instance, in New York City, the epicenter of
   the U.S. outbreak, black people make up just under 25% of the
   population, but more than 40% of public transit workers.

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