As the United States’ coronavirus-induced lockdowns continue, sections of the American population are growing increasingly uneasy at the thought of having to hunker down for extended periods of time. This malcontent has manifested itself in the form of numerous anti-lockdown protests across the country. In fact, there were over 160 anti-lockdown protests last weekend alone. These demonstrations have skirted social distancing restrictions and compounded the struggles of the nation’s already overwhelmed healthcare system–all with the President’s seal of approval, blessing, and encouragement. Anti-lockdown protestors work tirelessly to undo the hard-earned gains of battle-weary medical professionals in combating the virus, arguing that the virus isn’t as deadly as what it’s being made out to be, and that lockdowns infringe upon their God-given and constitutionally-mandated liberties and freedoms.
Irrespective of the many unfounded conspiracy theories being bandied about by these groups, one critical observation of these protestors has emerged: that they are overwhelmingly White. Far-right, gun-toting, Trump-supporting, conspiracy theory-peddling, Confederate flag-waving White Americans proudly proclaim “Give me liberty or give me Covid-19” without a hint of irony or an acknowledgment of their White privilege.
Admittedly, some protestors cite an understandable need to return to work in order to pay their bills. 26 million people have already lost their jobs and only 80 million of 171 million eligible Americans have received their CARES act stimulus checks until this point.
However, this ignores the fact that protests have also taken place in wealthy and extremely White cities and suburbs, as well. Protests have been launched in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, two Southern California coastal cities in Orange County, where the median annual incomes are respectively $119,379 and $82,554, well above the national annual median income of $31,099. Such protestors likely do not have a pressing financial need to return to work. Their concerns center more around big government encroaching on the freedoms of a democratic society, which is one of the cornerstones of conservative, right-wing groups across the US. One of the primary drivers of such a mindset during a pandemic is the belief that the danger of the virus is being overstated. This very belief stems from White privilege.
The COVID-19 mortality rate among Black Americans is 2.7 times higher than among Whites. Although Black Americans make up just 13% of the population, they constitute 30% of all coronavirus patients in the US. Similarly, nearly one-third of the deaths from the virus have been of Black patients. In fact, Black coronavirus victims are “overrepresented compared to their proportion” in 17 of the 18 states that have shared data on the race of the victims.
These statistics hold true in states where African Americans form a negligible portion of the population, such as in Michigan and Missouri, as well as in states where they constitute a larger percentage of the state population, such as in Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana. These disproportionate figures remain consistent across big cities, such as St Louis, Chicago, New York, and New Orleans, and also smaller ones, such as Albany. Black Americans are also unequally represented in COVID-19 cases and deaths in areas where they constitute the majority of the population. For instance, in Shelby County, Tennessee, Black Americans account for 54% of the population, but 68% of COVID-19 cases, and 71% of deaths from the virus.
Moreover, these numbers are likely only understated. For instance, in Illinois, African Americans make up 38.1% of coronavirus deaths and 24.2% of confirmed cases, despite forming just 15% of the state’s population. However, only 13.2% of the people tested are Black. In Philadelphia, residents living in higher-income zip codes are tested up to six times more than those in poorer areas, a situation which is exacerbated by the fact that Black Americans are on average 70% more likely to “live in a zip code with a shortage of primary care physicians”. Given that there is a higher incidence rate of the coronavirus among Black Americans, a testing rate that is disproportionate with the state’s racial demographics likely indicates that the above-mentioned disparate statistics mask an even more troubling reality.
The reasons for these disparities are multifold. Minority and low-income communities are more prone to food insecurity, which in turn exposes them to obesity and diabetes. Heart disease and high blood pressure are more prevalent among Black Americans. In addition, years of state-sanctioned and “organic” segregation, alongside prejudiced housing policies has pushed many African Americans into “substandard and high-density housing”, where social distancing is much more of a challenge. They also live in areas with higher air pollution, with 70% of Black people living in counties where pollution levels exceed federal standards, thus making them more likely to be asthmatic and experience other respiratory illnesses. In fact, African Americans have a higher prevalence rate than the average American for eight of the top 13 causes of death in the country–heart disease, stroke, cancer, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV disease, kidney failure and homicide. These conditions make Black Americans uniquely vulnerable and susceptible to the coronavirus, thus explaining the higher incidence rate among their populations.
Even once they are tested, they often cannot expect to receive the same level of care as their White counterparts. This is often because the quality of medical facilities in their immediate neighborhoods are below par. However, the disproportionate level of care also holds true in better-equipped hospitals, where White patients receive better care than Black patients within the same facility.
Latinos, like Black Americans, are also subjected to systemic racism, are more susceptible to the coronavirus than the average population, and are disproportionately represented in the case count and death toll. Only 49% of Latinos have access to private healthcare, thereby reducing their access to higher-quality care and piling structural challenges on top of their existing genetic vulnerabilities.
If the economy were to open back up too early, even in phases, this would place already vulnerable populations in even graver danger of contracting and dying from the coronavirus. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, for instance, reports that only 19.7% of Black Americans and 16.2% of Latinos have jobs that allow them to work from home, compared to 29.9% for White workers. Black and Hispanic citizens are more likely to work essential jobs, and are thus having to leave their homes more often and for longer. This also makes them more likely take public transportation, all of which increases their risk of exposure to the virus.
Therefore, for White Americans to question the threat of the virus and call for the economy to be immediately reopened is selfish at best, and racist at worst. The inadvertent or willful racial undertones to the anti-lockdown protests are derived from White privilege, wherein White Americans are less food insecure, live in less polluted and congested areas, and have access to a greater quality of medical care than the average population, which decreases their vulnerability to the coronavirus. Their access to higher quality medical care and facilities also means that, even if they do contract the virus, they are less likely to die from it than a Black patient with the same pre-existing health conditions. They are also more likely to be tested, and earlier at that, thus increasing the window of opportunity for a successful recovery. Anti-lockdown protestors have much less to lose from the lockdown being lifted too early, and right-wing conservatives, who make up the vast majority of the protestors, have historically shown disdain or indifference to minorities and people of color.
This ignorance and tunnel-vision is openly encouraged by the US President, who says people protesting against social distancing measures by taking to the streets and sending death threats to governors are “great people” and “very responsible”. He wasn’t being diplomatic and trying to pacify them, either. Trump himself essentially told them to take to the streets in a series of tweets reading: “LIBERATE MINNESOTA”, “LIBERATE MICHIGAN”, and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA”. And, when asked if he had seen the many Nazi and Confederate flags at these events, he said, “no way. I’m sure the news plays that up.”
Trump has, in several instances, indicated that he wants to reopen the economy as soon as possible, even if “some people” will be “affected badly”. For a President that has previously referred to neo-Nazis as “very fine people”, one should not be surprised that he is willing to use “some people” as collateral damage.
Admittedly, even though Trump is aware that the Black community is “three and four times” more likely to contract and die from the coronavirus, he may not be referring to minorities and people of color when he says “some people”, but the American population as a whole. Likewise, anti-lockdown protesters may not be taking to the streets with the explicit and overt intention of bringing people of color into harm’s way. Nevertheless, given the track record and defective moral compasses of Trump and his supporters, one can’t help but wonder. Ultimately, when White anti-lockdown protestors say the coronavirus isn’t that dangerous, what they’re really saying is that it isn’t that dangerous to them, thus perpetuating yet another cycle of systemic and institutional racism. Whether by design or through ignorance, their inability to even consider the impact of the coronavirus on non-White people is reflective of their White privilege, wherein they see themselves as the prototypical American.
The Inherent White Privilege of Anti-Lockdown Protests in America
Black Americans account for one-third of coronavirus cases and deaths.
May 9, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGESAlthough Black Americans make up just 13% of the population, they constitute 30% of all coronavirus patients in the US.