Our Pandemic Response Must Center Racial Justice
Authors: Bisola Falola & Brett Davidson,
Open Society Public Health Program, December 8 2020 - In November, during one of his daily press briefings, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, after praising some local leaders for enforcing social distancing restrictions, assigned blame for the rising number of COVID-19 cases elsewhere in the state. If you socially distanced and you wore a mask and you were smart, the governor said, none of this would be a problem. He continued: If you didn t eat the cheesecake, you wouldn t have a weight problem. Cuomo was widely - and rightly - criticized for fat shaming, but it is also highly concerning that the governor decided to blame individual behavior for the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, rather than focusing on the role played by more important social and structural factors. The truth is that the COVID-19 pandemic, which in the United States has disproportionately harmed communities of