COVID-19, the U.S.’s Racial Healthcare Disparities, and the USD Community

Although the coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected everyone, Americans who identify as BIPOC have COVID-related issues compounded by racial healthcare inequalities; these members of the USD community will have to work harder to stay afloat amid the chaos.

Olivia Cunningham / Assistant News Editor

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the entire world forcefully and relentlessly, yet it has ravaged the U.S. especially during this time of social unrest. As election day approaches, #BlackLivesMatter and their counter protestors continue to clash in the streets, most recently in response to the absence of murder charges in the Breonna Taylor case. All the while, the coronavirus pandemic deaths in the U.S. have climbed to a total of 210,000, with states split on how to best manage the pandemic locally. Yet, there still is no sweeping national mandate for how to combat the coronavirus.

More locally, many students and professors seek to explore COVID-related inequalities especially as they become painfully apparent in this time of the pandemic. One of these people is T.J. Tallie, Ph.D., a USD professor of African history, colonial history, and the histories of gender and sexual orientation. He often teaches classes that emphasize the concept of colonization and its applications to our current world. 

“We already have fears about access to healthcare that may be complicated by our race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender expression…(for example), people have the likelihood of having a pre-existing condition that has been exacerbated by historic inequity (based on those identities,)” Tallie said. 

Data from the CDC shows that Black and Hispanic people make up about 19% and 31% of total coronavirus cases in the U.S., respectively, even though they make up about 13% and 19% of the total population. Black and Hispanic people also have the highest death rate, at 22% and 17% respectively.

For example, a CDC infographic made in April 2019 examines the death rates for heart disease by race, from 1999-2017 in the U.S. Even though Black Americans make up only 13% of the total U.S. population, they consistently have a higher death rate for heart disease than White people, Hispanic people, and Asian/Pacific Islander people. About 208 for every 100,000 Black Americans died because of heart disease in 2017, while White Americans make up about 70% of the total population yet only have 169 deaths per 100,000 people.

Tallie went on to explain that a racially-motivated, historical denial of affordable and proper healthcare and sufficient pain management has led to increased injury and death in the Black American community. He also linked this issue to a lack of cumulative wealth and resources that the Black community suffers from because of inequality of opportunity from slavery to Jim Crow to now. 

Tallie discussed how he believes USD’s administration can make the best of this trying time.

 “Right now, COVID-19 presents an opportunity for the university to model an approach that is both humble and reflexive, that is able to respond to these issues…while being willing to take more input, or demonstrate a commitment, to listening to all people invested in this university,” Tallie said.

In a request for comment regarding support for the Black community at USD, administration asserted its commitment to racial equality and diversity. Provost Baker has recently announced the creation of the Anti-Racism Task Force, and the administration highlighted eight focus points for the task force. There were also recent features of Dr. Channon Miller’s work and the announcement of Dr. Richard Miller as an interim Vice Provost for Diversity, Equality, and inclusion. 

Channon Miller, Ph.D., a professor of Black History, echoed Tallie’s call for more transparency from the administration, yet highlighted how difficult this situation is for the school’s leadership. She then went on to dig further into the concept of lack of access to healthcare. 

“Even if and when you are of color and you do have access to health care, how are medical professionals engaging with you?” Miller said. “You can be as wealthy as Beyonce or Serena Williams and still go into labor and have your doctors not effectively recognize your pain. Serena Williams almost died giving birth to her daughter.” 

Miller continually includes the concepts of intersectionality and power into her work as a professor. She comments on national issues with healthcare or pain management for Black mothers, making it clear that being both Black and a woman compounds the issue of COVID-19 care and healthcare generally. 

In reference to a piece written by her colleague Tallie, Miller elaborated on the concept of whiteness and how it relates to not only the foundation of the US, but this current pandemic situation as well. 

“I think that really at the foundation of the United States is a disregard for the lives of non-white people; a disregard for their housing, for their welfare, especially if their bodies and lives cannot be exploited in ways that are useful to the economic strivings of the white majority,” Miller said. “Those bodies and people are disposable. That’s been made evident throughout U.S. history through various seasons. History is cyclical; it repeats itself.”

Student responses to the pandemic are crucial to understanding how the university can best protect and support their community. Paulina Sierra, current senior and president of the Diverse Gender and Sexuality Alliance, (DSGA), is juggling graduating, reviving the DSGA on campus, and dealing with the pandemic. 

She spoke about being Mexican and being involved with multicultural and LGBTQ+ orgs. 

 “For a lot of us, entering into college is an opportunity to step away from expectations and get a little closer to who we are,” Sierra said.

Coronavirus restricts club meetings and other gatherings because they are physically unsafe, but the loss of community for students who are already disenfranchised is perhaps the most unfair part of being a student without a true campus. The SLP’s 3rd and 4th floors house many of the diversity groups and support, so the absence of that space is a detriment to the progress of those communities. 

“How do we reach out to freshmen who are losing the experience of being able to be themselves openly for the first time?” Sierra said. “How do we assure them that whenever this is over, there will be community here for them to interact with?”

Digital community building continues to be the focus for not only Sierra, but for every student and staff leading an organization that supports those underrepresented on campus. Chidi Okaru, a junior and co-President of the African Student Union expressed similar concerns about digital community building within the African and Black communities on campus. 

“We, (student leaders), did a lot of work over the summer just to prepare for the semester…we did a lot of outreach, while taking into account that people get ‘Zoom fatigued,’” Okaru said.

As Okaru and fellow student leaders fight to make clubs and organizations relevant to the student body, she believes the administration has been disappointing in their lack of commitment to work with these student leaders and the wider community. According to Okaru, certain universities have been able to offer testing to their surrounding community. Linda Vista is such a diverse community in San Diego, ranked #5 most diverse out of 45 other neighborhoods in San Diego by Niche. The population of BIPOC people will have to deal directly with the choices of USD students back on campus or off campus, making the actions the university takes crucial to the wellbeing of the neighborhood. 

Even with the changing landscape of the USD community, Okaru said administration had not shown special care or increased communication with multicultural organizations and student leaders. 

“Maybe it’s because ASU is small, but I haven’t heard anything from the administration … the support has come from professors and staff that we already work with,” Okaru said. 

In response to Okaru, the administration referenced student leader resources found within the UFMC and Student Activities. They encouraged student leaders to reach out to those advisors and organizations on campus for more information or any assistance they might need.

Currently, some students have been welcomed back on campus to live, work, and study. While a protocol has been put in place to survey and check the temperature of those who arrive on campus, the school has seen an uptick in cases since bringing students back to campus on Sept. 18. According to USD’s COVID-19 dashboard, there were a recorded nine total confirmed cases in the week of Sept. 6-12, and that number has jumped to 23 total cases in the last week. While these case numbers are low in our community, San Diego State reported over 1,134 possible cases on Oct.5, even though they paused in-person instruction on Sept. 2. UCSD has yet to return to campus, but they are slated to move in their freshman class this weekend. 

As a broader community, San Diego County health officials have cautioned people of a large wave of cases and hospitalizations coming in October. Within the last month, San Diego was able to move out of the most restrictive tier of COVID-19 preventative measures, yet the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the current rate of cases in San Diego is 6.7 cases per 100,000 people; if it climbs to 7 cases per 100,000 people, San Diego will have to fall back into the most restrictive tier. USD’s administration stated that they plan to keep students on campus even if San Diego moves backwards into that restrictive tier, because the low-density housing models and remote learning and working has been effective so far. They also gave advice to the USD community, stating, “We will continue to follow county orders and state guidance. Our community can help reduce the likelihood of moving into a more restrictive tier by all of us complying with orders and ensuring we engage in proper prevention strategies.”  

The upcoming flu season is slated to exasperate the country further, as a “twindemic” could be imminent. Schools like USD continue to move forward and make decisions about classes, sports, and student gatherings. Critiques and praises for each local leadership will continue regardless of the actions that local leaders take, but citizens must take into consideration the harm they may be doing to their neighbors that are less fortunate. Getting flu shots, social distancing, and mask-wearing continue to be imperative as the country braces for another wave in the next couple of months.