–Nancy Shute
This isn’t the first time in history that societies have been racked by social unrest while in the grip of a pandemic.
That may be scant comfort, but as Bruce Bower explains in this issue (Page 24), impacts of a pandemic often reach beyond the toll of illness and death. In the mid-200s, the Plague of Cyprian may have helped to irreversibly weaken the Roman Empire. In the 19th century, soldiers sent to Haiti by Napoleon Bonaparte to quash rebellion succumbed to yellow fever, leading to Haitian independence and Napoleon’s sale of the territory of Louisiana to the United States.
Yellow fever’s grip on Louisiana perpetuated racial inequity, Bower reports. White people who survived gained special privileges once they were immune to the mosquito-borne disease. Enslaved people, however, did not; surviving yellow fever just made them more valuable as workers.
The coronavirus pandemic has tracked long-standing racial fault lines in the United States, with African Americans more apt to become seriously ill or die from COVID-19 (SN Online: 4/10/20). Black people often work in jobs where they are more likely to be exposed, more often have other health conditions that put them at greater risk, and have less access to care.
As protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police swept the nation, physicians’ groups including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics called for the country to address the violence and inequities of racism as a public health crisis. “Racism is detrimental to health in all its forms,” the AMA statement read.
Scientists warned for decades of the risk of a pandemic, but societies worldwide failed to prepare. The economic, social and human costs of racism have been clear for even longer, yet remain a heavy burden.
But those failures don’t have to be our future. History offers many examples of societies adapting and evolving in response to the assaults of pandemics, Bower writes. In these awful times, we also have opportunities to change history for the good.
Related posts
Nigeria’s Former Jonathan Tells African Leaders To Put Humanity First
Joke Falaju, Abuja Bags African Heritage awardFormer President Goodluck Jonathan has urged African leaders privilege to hold public offices to become servants of the people, and not turn themselves into the “bosses of the people”.Jonathan stated this while receiving the African Democracy and Peace Icon…
7th Edition Connected Banking Summit East Africa – Innovation & Excellence Awards 2023 Concludes
POSTED ON MARCH 28, 2023 BY AFRICA BUSINESS The Summit brought together the best and brightest minds in the banking, financial services, fintechs and techfin sectors. The event, which took place on 7th March 2023, featured insightful speakers, award-winning companies, and top-notch sponsors. Attendees were treated to a range…
2020 Awards | Social Media For Social Good Award Announces 100 Micro & Macro Social Media Influencers For Good
Social Media For Social Good Award Announces 100 Micro & Macro Social Media Influencers For Good and Set To Award 25 Of Them On The 13th Of June 2020. The most anticipated list of Nigerians using social media for social good which is curated by…
Ergonomic Furniture Dealer Formfunc Studio Awarded SA’s First 6-Star Green Star Award
-African Independent The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has awarded Cape Town-based Formfunc Studio, a leading ergonomic furniture supplier, a 6-star Green Star rating following the recent fit-out of their office, showroom and DC in Johannesburg. The project, led by specialist sustainability and…
The Risk And Reward Of ChatGPT In Cybersecurity
Juan is an experienced CTO with a demonstrated history of working in the computer and network security industry. He is an information technology professional skilled in SAP and Oracle applications, computer forensics, vulnerabilities research, IPS/IDS and information security. Unless you’ve been on a retreat in…
Explained – History Of Money From Fiat To Crypto
What is money? Money as a concept has been a cornerstone of human civilization and economic development. To start with the latter, money is a method of storing value and worth, and it also functions as a medium of exchange that allows individuals to exchange…
Studies Show That Nigerian Crypto Foreign Investment Is At A Record Low
Foreign direct investment in Nigeria fell by 33% last year due to a severe shortage of dollars, which discouraged crypto companies from expanding into the country. The largest economy in Africa has a foreign investment problem despite exponential growth in crypto adoption. The National Bureau…
Growing The Bitcoin Development Ecosystem In Africa
– Abubakar Nur Khalil | Bitcoin Magazine Bitcoin development in Africa, with a proper regulatory environment, could equally accelerate the continent and the technology. In this piece, we’ll be analyzing the current state of the Bitcoin developer ecosystem in Africa, ways to improve it and…