Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

A woman laughs as she puts her hand on the shoulder of another woman.
In this Aug. 24, 2018 photo, LaTosha Brown, right, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, laughs with Mable Spears-Starks, President and CEO of MACE, Mississippi Action for Community Education, aboard a bus tour in the Mississippi Delta. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Coronavirus

Black activists and officials see a major threat in South’s plans to reopen

A coalition of mostly Black female activists is asking public health officials to extend their stay-at-home orders.

Errin Haines

Editor-at-large

Errin Haines portrait

Published

2020-04-28 18:04
6:04
April 28, 2020
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

This story was co-published with The Washington Post.

As Southern governors are reopening the region this week, Black activists are joining with local and federal lawmakers to sound the alarm about what they see as a looming threat to the Black Belt.

They say the mostly White, male Republicans — who were reluctant to close their states but are now eager to reopen — are effectively issuing a “death sentence” for millions of Black Americans who have been disproportionately impacted both economically and medically by the novel coronavirus.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“He’s willing to risk us at any cost,” said Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who announced a reopening of the state beginning last Friday, with plans to officially let the state’s stay-at-home order expire on Thursday.

“It’s clear that he does not give a d— about the citizens of this state and that he feels like some folks are disposable. The first thing that came to my mind was: These people are trying to kill us,” said Brown, an Alabama native who lives in Georgia.

Public health officials have said reopening states to commerce and freer movement comes with risks, particularly without robust testing and contact tracing.

A coalition of mostly Black female activists led by Black Voters Matter, the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative, the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Highlander Research and Education Center launched a petition to the governors of Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida, pleading with them to extend their stay-at-home orders.

Reopening now “especially for cash-poor communities and communities of color, is irresponsible and a death sentence for many of us,” they wrote.

The groups are also calling on the states to create safety plans for essential workers — who are disproportionately minorities and female — before reopening, to report coronavirus data by race and county, to increase unemployment support and to expand Medicaid.

“Our neighbors, relatives, members of our faith communities and co-workers are being put in an impossible position that prioritizes profit over people,” the petition reads.

Despite being only 13 percent of the U.S. population, African Americans make up 30 percent of the deaths from the pandemic. The crisis is not only one of public health but also of economics, as Black unemployment is historically at least double that of Whites and minorities work the majority of low-wage, front-line jobs and are the least likely to be able to work from home.

Florida, Alabama and Tennessee are also set to lift their stay-at-home orders Thursday. Mississippi began its reopening process Monday. North Carolina’s order was set to expire on April 29 but Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper extended the state’s order until May 8. Louisiana’s Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, on Monday extended the state’s stay-at-home order from Thursday to May 15.

Trump met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the White House on Tuesday, where the two discussed their respective responses to the crisis. DeSantis — who was one of the last governors to issue a stay-at-home order — defended his approach as “tailored” and “measured.” DeSantis has not provided details of how he plans to proceed.

Southern states were among the last to issue stay-at-home orders, with most shuttering the first week of April — days after much of the country closed schools, businesses, churches and public spaces.

Nearly 6 in 10 Black Americans live in the South, the largest region in the country and home to half of the 10 most populous states for African Americans: Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Three of the four cities with the highest percentage of African Americans are southern, including Jackson, Miss., Miami Gardens, Fla., and Birmingham, Ala. — where nearly 80 percent of all residents are Black.

Some Southern governors have continued to stick to their decisions, including Kemp, who clashed with Donald Trump after the president publicly admonished Kemp for opening his state too early.

The overwhelming majority of the country has not been tested for coronavirus, and the South appears to have among the lowest rates in the country. Without widespread testing, Americans — particularly the ones dying most from the disease — lack an accurate picture of the threat, said Camara Jones, an epidemiologist and family physician whose work focuses on the impacts of racism on the nation’s health.

“We’re blinding ourselves to how many infections there are,” Jones said.

Black lawmakers, including much of the Congressional Black Caucus and Black mayors in cities with large Black populations such as Atlanta, Jackson, Miss., Albany, Ga., and New Orleans have also been outspoken about the need for increased testing and economic support.

Among the most vocal has been Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who has been active on social media and in interviews about urging residents of the Georgia capital to stay at home. Her stance drew racist backlash last week when Bottoms received an anonymous text calling her the n-word.

“I was not elected mayor to be a coward,” Bottoms told The Washington Post during a virtual event Tuesday. “I do think there’s something larger at play. But the facts are the facts, and the data is the data. It is impacting African American communities at a higher rate, and Atlanta has a very diverse population with many of the underlying conditions we’ve talked about.”

The activists are also working to hold regular community briefings to inform African Americans of the ongoing threat to the pandemic and to issue guidance for how they can protect themselves from the virus and find economic resources to help those unable to work during the crisis.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Their concerns echo Black organizations around the country that have led similar efforts in recent weeks, from Higher Heights, a Black women’s political action group, to Black Entertainment Television and OWN, the cable network run by Oprah Winfrey.

“It’s not that we don’t want to work,” said Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, who expressed concern that workers would be pressured to return to their jobs even if they felt unsafe.

“We’re literally putting people in a position where they have to choose between putting food on their table or putting themselves and their families at risk,” Henderson said.

A native of Tennessee, Henderson said she and her fellow activists will continue to push state governments on their demands, but in the meantime, they will do what they must to protect the vulnerable — many of whom with faces like hers.

“We have to both target these governors and we have to build networks of mutual aid where people are getting the things that they need,” she said. “We can do that and keep our people safe. There is no neutrality on this one.”

Jones agreed.

“As we are struggling to take care of ourselves, we need to continue to hold their feet to the fire,” she said. “We are part of the society, even if we may not have voted for them, we are their charge. We’re trying to save our own lives, but it’s their responsibility, too.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

From the Collection

Pandemic Within a Pandemic

Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
  • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

    Orion Rummler · November 23
  • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

    Mariel Padilla · September 22
  • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

    Candice Norwood · August 17

Up Next

Kyana Hopkins-Thomas and her children

Coronavirus

This West Philly high school teacher struggles to reconnect with her students

The pandemic is exacerbating long-existing inequities in all areas of society across the city and the country, but perhaps nowhere more acutely than in education.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram