Thank God for experts: Black leaders advise people of color not to wear face masks

Thank God for experts: Black leaders advise people of color not to wear face masks
Image: Mohamed Hassan/Pixabay

After initially advising non-medical personnel to skip wearing face masks, the World Health Organization (WHO) reversed itself last Saturday and came out in support of the public wearing the masks. The CDC quickly followed suit, recommending that Americans wear homemade face coverings in public to help stem the spread of coronavirus.

But not all blacks are on board with this idea. Trevon Logan, who teaches economics at Ohio State University, told CNN that he won’t be following the guidance and counsels his fellow blacks to do the same.

We have a lot of examples of the presumed criminality of black men in general. And then we have the advice to go out in public in something that … can certainly be read as being criminal or nefarious, particularly when applied to black men. (RELATED: Is the Left suggesting that COVID-19 discriminates against blacks?)

The article goes on to note that “a number of people of color — activists, academics and ordinary Americans — expressed fears that homemade masks could exacerbate racial profiling and place blacks and Latinos in danger.”

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More danger than contracting a potentially deadly virus?

This advice comes at a time when researchers are determining that black Americans who become infected with coronavirus have a disproportionately high death rate compared with other groups. This harks back to underlying health conditions prevalent in the black population, such high blood pressure and a predisposition to type 2 diabetes.

Part of this trend can be traced back to lifestyle choices that contribute to these conditions. Blacks make up the largest percentage by ethnicity of McDonald’s customers, a reality that the fast food giant has exploited in the past by targeting black consumers in its advertising and promotions.

(h/t Jeff Dunetz, The Lid)

Ben Bowles

Ben Bowles

Ben Bowles is a freelance writer and regular contributor to "Liberty Unyielding."

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