Covid-19 and the Black Working Class
“Social distancing is sometimes not an option for us,” said New York City activist Betty Davis at a Black is Back Coalition national teleconference. “When they close the schools, many working class people don’t have a partner, so they have to rely on extended family.” Coalition chairman Omali Yeshitela called Covid-19 “a colonial virus. Colonialism is when somebody else controls every aspect of your life,” including your ability to resist a pandemic.
Public Housing Neglect Creates Lethal Trap
“You have these areas that are not clean and, on top of that, you have folks that don’t have access to health care because of racism and capitalism,” said Philip McHarris, a Yale University doctoral student active in public housing. McHarris wrote an article for Essencetitled, “Public Housing Residents May Be Some Of The Hardest Hit by the COVID-19 Outbreak.”
“Decolonizing” Science in Multi-Language Africa
South African communicator and journalist Sibusiso Biyela wrote an article on “decolonizing” science so that it is accessible to the country’s many indigenous language groups. “What’s most important for me is the idea of democratizing science, so that more people will be participating in it,” said Biyela. It’s important that Africans “learn the skills that come of science, such as critical thinking and skepticism.
Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:am ET on PRN. Length: one hour.