Before you ask, yes I'm 100% getting the vaccine, and I'm Black too. But I'm just offering some perspective to people as to why a lot of Black people are wary about it, and why making fun of them isn't helpful since their fears are pretty well founded and their skepticism doesn't come out of nowhere. (I've seen this sentiment on here in multiple other threads so I'm just making this thread to educate people.)
(Posting the rest of her content here since I can't link to more than 4 tweets at a time:)
" 5/ A lot more Black people with die if we don't get this vaccine campaign right. The odds are not in our favor based on everything that has led to this moment. We need laser focus and surgical precision to pull this off. But I believe we can.
6/ If we are serious about addressing the racial Heath disparities around COVID-19, we need a legitimate, well-planned and executed approach to getting Black and brown folx to buy in. The normal approach WILL fail. Completely. So how do we do it?
7/ As a Black woman and front line physician currently caring for patients with and without COVID on Chicago's South Side - here is what will ACTUALLY work in my view:
8/ First, we need to admit that white people and the government have little to no credibility in the average Black person's eyes. That's not a debate. That's a forgone conclusion. What's more, there is not enough time to correct that perception before this vaccine comes live.
9/ There's not enough time because white people and the white supremacist institutions that run our country have been abusing and terrorizing Black people for over 400 years. And continue to do so actively. Again, this point is not a debate.
10/ First slavery, then Black Codes, then Jim Crow, now mass incarceration, police brutality, and systematic oppression through a myriad of current racist laws and policies. The harsh fact of the matter is...white people simply don't deserve Black people's trust. At all.
11/ You all have not earned it. And you certainly won't earn it in time for this latest vaccination effort. Let that hope go. In Medicine, we triage during emergencies. The trust can't be repaired in time. We can and should fix that on the back end...once we survive this.
12/ If health systems, the government and providers *really* want Black people to take this vaccine, you all better start passing the mic and passing the power to act to Black and brown people. And fast.
13/ And not just wealthy Black people, Black academics and other Black "elites" Give the mic and give MONEY to Black people on the ground. Give it to grassroots organizers. Give it to Black church leaders. Give it to the people who live, work and love in Black communities.
14/ Listen to them. Follow them. Protect them. Support them. Uplift them. Pay them. Then let them work. They lead. You don't.
15/ White ppl - This is bigger ego. Or at least it should be. If you are not the right person to get this done...it is okay. I promise. Just PLEASE be honest with yourself about it.
16/ Then use your power, position and privilege to empower the right people to get this done. Why? Because you are still good person despite the horrible, racist lies we were all taught about each other. And because it is the right thing to do now.
17/ One final piece of parting advice, that never fails. If you get lost out there, just remember: Listen to Black women. "
Like, just earlier this year I had to go to a hospital (wont go into details) and I was freaking out and in a lot of pain, and instead of helping me the doctors just laughed at me and acted like it was all in my head. I felt ignored, abused, and lost. To this day when bad shit happens to me I don't like going to the doctor/nurses for it because I know they wont take my concerns seriously. And I live Canada. I can only imagine how much bad-will doctors have earned themselves over the last 400 or so years.
Side Note, but white people blatantly lying and poisoning Black people is also why...*cringe* Hoteps are so popular. Sure, The Honourable Kufi Umar might be peddling snake-oil, but at least he's not The Man(tm)
(Posting the rest of her content here since I can't link to more than 4 tweets at a time:)
" 5/ A lot more Black people with die if we don't get this vaccine campaign right. The odds are not in our favor based on everything that has led to this moment. We need laser focus and surgical precision to pull this off. But I believe we can.
6/ If we are serious about addressing the racial Heath disparities around COVID-19, we need a legitimate, well-planned and executed approach to getting Black and brown folx to buy in. The normal approach WILL fail. Completely. So how do we do it?
7/ As a Black woman and front line physician currently caring for patients with and without COVID on Chicago's South Side - here is what will ACTUALLY work in my view:
8/ First, we need to admit that white people and the government have little to no credibility in the average Black person's eyes. That's not a debate. That's a forgone conclusion. What's more, there is not enough time to correct that perception before this vaccine comes live.
9/ There's not enough time because white people and the white supremacist institutions that run our country have been abusing and terrorizing Black people for over 400 years. And continue to do so actively. Again, this point is not a debate.
10/ First slavery, then Black Codes, then Jim Crow, now mass incarceration, police brutality, and systematic oppression through a myriad of current racist laws and policies. The harsh fact of the matter is...white people simply don't deserve Black people's trust. At all.
11/ You all have not earned it. And you certainly won't earn it in time for this latest vaccination effort. Let that hope go. In Medicine, we triage during emergencies. The trust can't be repaired in time. We can and should fix that on the back end...once we survive this.
12/ If health systems, the government and providers *really* want Black people to take this vaccine, you all better start passing the mic and passing the power to act to Black and brown people. And fast.
13/ And not just wealthy Black people, Black academics and other Black "elites" Give the mic and give MONEY to Black people on the ground. Give it to grassroots organizers. Give it to Black church leaders. Give it to the people who live, work and love in Black communities.
14/ Listen to them. Follow them. Protect them. Support them. Uplift them. Pay them. Then let them work. They lead. You don't.
15/ White ppl - This is bigger ego. Or at least it should be. If you are not the right person to get this done...it is okay. I promise. Just PLEASE be honest with yourself about it.
16/ Then use your power, position and privilege to empower the right people to get this done. Why? Because you are still good person despite the horrible, racist lies we were all taught about each other. And because it is the right thing to do now.
17/ One final piece of parting advice, that never fails. If you get lost out there, just remember: Listen to Black women. "
Like, just earlier this year I had to go to a hospital (wont go into details) and I was freaking out and in a lot of pain, and instead of helping me the doctors just laughed at me and acted like it was all in my head. I felt ignored, abused, and lost. To this day when bad shit happens to me I don't like going to the doctor/nurses for it because I know they wont take my concerns seriously. And I live Canada. I can only imagine how much bad-will doctors have earned themselves over the last 400 or so years.
Side Note, but white people blatantly lying and poisoning Black people is also why...*cringe* Hoteps are so popular. Sure, The Honourable Kufi Umar might be peddling snake-oil, but at least he's not The Man(tm)
