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Why do some Latinos and blacks not want to wear bandanas or homemade masks?

2020-04-08T02:48:35.988Z


In the United States, criminal justice and fashion have sometimes been a deadly combination. Bandanas, particularly in certain colors, are often associated with gang membership and ...


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Coronavirus global news round this April 7 1:32

(CNN) - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that all Americans use homemade face covers in public to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

But Trevon Logan, professor of economics at Ohio State University, will not follow this guide.

LOOK: How to make your own protective mask

"We have many examples of the alleged criminality of black men in general," Logan, who is black, told CNN. "And then we have the advice to go out in public on something that ... can certainly be read as criminal or nefarious, particularly when applied to black men."

Logan is not alone in his concerns. On social media and in interviews with CNN, several people of color, activists, academics, and ordinary Americans, expressed fear that homemade masks may exacerbate racial profiling and endanger blacks and Latinos.

"I don't feel safe wearing a scarf or anything other than CLEARLY a protective mask covering my face (when I go) to the store because I'm a black man living in this world," Aaron Thomas, an educator in Columbus, tweeted, Ohio ". I want to stay alive but I also want to stay alive. "

Her tweet has more than 121,000 likes.

The CDC's recommendation for DIY face masks comes when the dizzying number of coronavirus cases and a shortage of medical supplies have made professional-grade surgical masks unavailable to most Americans.

In an interview with CNN, Logan acknowledged that during a pandemic it makes sense to ask people to protect their faces in any way possible.

But it also makes sense not to use them if you're a person of color, he added.

"This (wearing a homemade mask) seems like a reasonable response unless you simply wipe out American society. When you can't do that, you're basically telling people to look dangerous given the racial stereotypes that exist, "said Logan.

"This is in the broader context of black men who fit the description of a suspect who has a hood, who has a covered face," he added. "It seems like almost every cartoon about criminals of any variety of black suspect."

What can scarves and other clothing mean to people of color in America?

In the United States, criminal justice and fashion have sometimes been a deadly combination.

Bandanas, particularly in certain colors, are often associated with gang affiliation and violence, said Cyntoria Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University.

The California Bloods and Crips street gangs have used colorful bandanas or rags as an identification system, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Los Angeles police also describe the "Hispanic gang uniform" that includes "a bandana tied around the forehead, similar to a sweatband."

"People of color have to make conscious decisions every day about how they portray themselves in the world and are perceived by others, especially the police," Johnson said.

Racial profiling by US law enforcement USA It has been documented by studies such as the Stanford Open Policing Project, which examined 100 million pedestrian and traffic stops from 2011 to 2017 and found that officers generally apprehended blacks at higher rates than whites. In recent years, high-profile police shooting at black men has also increased fear of law enforcement among African-Americans.

But this nuance was absent on Friday when the CDC instructed people to use "cloth face covers in public places where other measures of social distancing are difficult to maintain."

The federal guide also included a video by American Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams showing how to turn an old scarf, scarf, or T-shirt into a mask.

"Health equity and complex interactions between race and health have always been an area of ​​emphasis for my office," Adams said in a statement sent to CNN. "I understand the concerns that communities of color would have about being racially shaped, and I am working with the NAACP, the NMA, and other organizations representing people of color to ensure that no one is unduly harmed by COVID-19, or our response to it. "

The CDC's mask guide is an example of heterogeneous effects, said Robynn Cox, an assistant professor in the Department of Change and Social Innovation at the University of Southern California.

"Just because something works or is true for the (average) mainstream does not mean it is also true or works the same way for different groups," Cox told CNN by email. "Clearly, there are additional costs that blacks must consider when choosing what protective gear to wear."

When choosing to wear a mask is a 'lose-lose situation'

An organization very familiar with America's troublesome race history is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Andrea Young, executive director of the Georgia ACLU, characterized the CDC's mask guide as "one more instance of racial insensitivity that permeates the response to this pandemic."

“To date, neither federal nor Georgia state officials are addressing racial disparities in access to health care, Internet access, and the ability to work from home. Black Americans are suffering disproportionately from this pandemic, "Young said.

The CDC has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's office also did not respond to a request for comment.

These fears about wearing homemade masks occur when government data shows that the outbreak is more concentrated in major U.S. metropolitan areas, such as New York City and the Southeast, where higher percentages of African Americans and Latinos.

Black and Latino workers are also "much less likely" to be able to work from home, according to a report by the Institute for Economic Policy.

Federal mask guidelines failed to capture this reality, said ReNika Moore, director of the ACLU's Racial Justice Program.

"For many black people, deciding whether or not to wear a headscarf in public to protect themselves and others from contracting the coronavirus is a loss or loss situation that can have life-threatening consequences in any way," said Moore.

"Not wearing a protective scarf runs counter to CDC recommendations and increases the risk of getting covid-19, but wearing one could mean putting your lives at risk of being shot or killed because of racial discrimination."

Still, Che Johnson-Long, a black woman who works for the Racial Justice Action Center in Atlanta, says she plans to wear a mask in public.

"I will wear a mask because it can protect other people from what I might have," he told CNN. “But what I'm also going to do with a mask is everything I'm already doing as a black person in Atlanta.

I will text people before I leave the house so someone knows where I am. I will make sure to travel with someone I know or notify someone when I return home.

"If I go for a walk, I will make sure to greet people so they can recognize that I live in the neighborhood," added Johnson-Long. "I will do all the things I would do if I was afraid of being stopped by the police anyway."

CNN's Chauncey Alcorn and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.

Racism

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-04-08

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