The vastly disproportionate death rate of African people in the U.S. from COVID-19 is attributed to so-called “pre-existing health conditions”. These conditions are imposed on the African community because we can’t afford the profit-driven healthcare, have limited access to healthy food, and are forced to live in poor, high density housing, among other symptoms of a population dominated by an hostile U.S. government.
The U.S. has been condemned throughout the world for its inability to respond effectively or humanely to the pandemic. While the U.S. currently has more than one quarter of the world’s COVID-19 deaths, the government has done very little to provide meaningful resources to the vast majority of people.
Other countries like China, Venezuela and Cuba have led the way in responding to the coronavirus. They’ve identified potential cures, implemented rapid stay-at-home policies, provided free rent (along with already-free healthcare) and have dispatched doctors throughout the world to treat infected populations.
The U.S. has responded by cutting off funding to the European-based, World Health Organization for its praise of China’s response to the global pandemic. The U.S. has also responded to Cuba by continuing strict sanctions intended to starve the socialist-run island into submitting to a capitalist-dominated economy, and has even blocked the flow of personal protective equipment to the island.
This week we talk with Lisa Davis, member of the People’s Organization for Progress, vice-chair of the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations (BIBC) and chair of the BIBC’s Healthcare Working Group. She was co-signer to a recent letter to the FDA head demanding expedited approval of a Cuban-developed COVID-19 drug treatment, Interferon Alpha 2B. Based in New Jersey, she is an outspoken critic of the lack of hospitals and denial of healthcare in the black community. She is a researcher and advocate of nutritional and traditional African approaches to health and well-being.
“I believe that the reason black people have such horrible statistics when it comes to being able to survive COVID-19 in these hospitals is because we are in the hospitals of a system that was set up by the colonizers. Just as the police can look at us and say “they look like a criminal” and kill us, the medical profession has the same ability to do that”, says Davis.
Hosted by Ticharwa Masimba and Matop Nyungu, the weekly People’s War Radio Show features guests covering all aspects of the current crisis - providing health and medical tips and resources, economic survival information, analysis of the political and international impact, how to prepare for the future and organize for African community self-determination.
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #28: Black People's March on the White House, Black Power Matters!
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #27: The shooting of L.A. Sheriffs in Compton - response to legacy of police violence?
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #26: COVID-19 and the Black Ankh free Telehealth program
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #25: Hip-hop, politics and Black Power
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #24: Police containment of the black community is genocide
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #23: Black athletes stand against police violence
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #22: Black Power and the struggle against gentrification
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #21 "Black and Brown Unity - the time is now!"
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #20, "Black August and the struggle to free political prisoners"
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #19 "Black Power in the Great White North: a report from Toronto, Canada"
The People's War radio show, Episode #18: Black Community Control of Schools
The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #17: The struggle for Black Power in Brazil, from the Quilombos to the Favelas
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #16: Corporate scramble; they must pay!
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #15: Black Community Control of the Police
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #14: African women must lead
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #13: Black Power Matters in the NYC
Chairman Omali Yeshitela’s message on the colonial murder of George Floyd and the righteous revolutionary resistance of the African Nation
The People’s War Radio Show, Episode 12 “Fighting colonial violence, from Minneapolis to Atlanta”
The People's War Radio Show, Episode #11, "Reports from the ground: Haiti"
The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #10: “Reports from the Ground: The Pandemic and George Floyd protests in California and Mexico.”
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