At the start of the pandemic, Blacks were experiencing longstanding barriers to health care access, as well as higher overall rates of mortality and morbidity than their White counterparts (Gamble, 2010). Spanish Flu of 1918–1920īetween 19, the world was overwhelmed by the Spanish Flu, the deadliest disease outbreak in modern history, with deaths totaling more than 50 million 675,000 were from the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019 McDonald, 2020). Their status as a war veteran meant nothing beyond their community and race alone continued to define their identity.
What they had not secured was their own freedom and upon return they experienced the same denial of rights and opportunities they had encountered before leaving (Bates, 2019). They had answered the call and risked their lives to secure American freedom and democracy. World War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, was still being fought when many Black World War I veterans returned home. Representative John Lewis, inspired by protesters and supportive of the movement said, “We must use our time and our space on this little planet that we call Earth to make a lasting contribution, to leave it a little better than we found it, and now that need is greater than ever before” (Capehart, 2020, para 13). For others, such as activists during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is invigorating.
However for many Black people, road trips serve as a reminder of times when driving south to visit relatives meant being fearful of what danger you might encounter from the police, while driving to your destination, or local Whites who did not want you stopping in their town to get food, gas, use the restroom, or spend the night (Mzezewa, 2020). The American tradition of the family heading out to the open road for a summer vacation has also had a resurgence due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Mzezewa, 2020). Others are recalling family traditions attributed to surviving the Great Depression. Many Black people are experiencing today’s events while remembering the childhood stories they heard from their parents or grandparents about a child, sibling, spouse, or friend who died during the Spanish Flu.
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