Masks for the People coronavirus fundraiser to help black and brown communities
Written by Site Hub on April 15, 2020
On Monday, April 6, Masks for the People began its humanitarian campaign to raise $1 million to provide free information, hand sanitizers, testing kits and masks to the most vulnerable people in black and brown communities in urban and rural areas throughout the United States, especially the elderly and prisoners. The event was promoted by social/political comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell and activist Pastor Michael McBride and featured a diverse group of speakers and special guests, including Alicia Garza, Steve Kerr, Erica Campbell, and Phillip Agnew.
Many communities of color have been the hardest hit by the pandemic. In Michigan, for example, 41 percent of the people who have died to-date were African American even though African Americans make up only 14 percent of the state’s total population. In Louisiana, African Americans represent 32 percent of the population and, yet, also 70 percent of those who have passed away from COVID-19 complications. High death rates are believed to be directly associated with inequality and racial bias: People of color are more likely to have chronic conditions and receive insufficient care and testing.
As Bell told CNN: “People are very aware overall that they can’t trust the federal government to tell them what is going on. We’re relying on activists and leaders already in the black community, people who the people in the community already trust.”
“It is a moral challenge we’re facing now,” explained McBride, “because we have our loved ones who are incarcerated, in prisons, and they are being left to die… The problem is not just race. It is racism.”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/us/coronavirus-african-americans-masks-new-day/index.html
https://www.kqed.org/arts/13878136/w-kamau-bell-kicks-off-masks-for-the-people-fundraiser
