Racial Inequities & COVIDHow has the relationship between Black communities and the healthcare industry facilitated mistrust surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic?
Miranda Dupre
and (School for Environmental and Sustainability - Environmental Justice)
Maxime Groen
(School for Environmental and Sustainability - Environmental Justice)
This case was inspired by the disparities surrounding the vaccination rollouts, which lead to questions of who had access and why/why not?
The authors would like to acknowledge that this is case reflects the experience of Black people in the healthcare industry in America and this is in no way all-encompassing, nor does it reflect the fact that many other groups also face these types of discrimination.
**Disclaimer: This case will contain statements and stories that may be triggering for some people. The intention is not to put these stories of pain on a platform, but to share these testimonies in order to contribute to the understanding and consequential dialogue that can happen towards healing and rematriation.
Trigger warnings: Abuse, Death, COVID-19, Racism, Childbirth, Pregnancy, Drug Use & Addiction, Slavery, Hospitalization
Learning objectives
- Provide a history of the medical field in the context of its discrimination and violence against Black bodies
- How these discriminations and biases continue to manifest in today's medical field
- How have these contributed specifically to the COVID-19 pandemic
- How do majority-Black communities create a healing environment for themselves outside of the Western medical environment