During Black History Month and beyond, WHYY presents “Real Black History,” a series looking at the struggle for equality.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of nearly every human being on the planet, and Black people were getting sick and dying in disproportionate numbers. In Philadelphia, one Black doctor stepped up to level the playing field. Dr. Ala Stanford, founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, along with her dedicated team of volunteers, turned their anger into action by testing and vaccinating thousands of people in at-risk communities.
0:00 - Intro
2:17 - Dr. Ala Stanford talks about the starting the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium (BDCC)
4:03 - Many Black women volunteered to help the BDCC, including Dr. Natalie Gonzalez
5:21 - Black and brown Philadelphians were contracting COVID-19 at alarming rates. Philadelphia emergency room nurse Sheila McMillan talks about how seeing that, and her personal connection to Dr. Ala Stanford inspired her to volunteer with the BDCC.
6:48 - Sheila McMillan speaks about how the lack of Black providers causes African Americans to be hesitant to get professional care for COVID-19, and receive the vaccine.
8:49 - Dr. Ala Stanford and the BDCC fight against conspiracy theories and messaging from the Trump administration to educate Black and brown people about coronavirus.
9:17 - BDCC volunteer Sydney Walker says the idea that Black people do not want the vaccine is a myth, despite what the national media coverage has said.
10:52 - Sydney Walker, who graduated from HBCU, talks about the importance being taught and cared for by someone who looks like you, and how Black women and Black health professionals are crucial to educating and connecting with patients.
11:25 - Dr. Chris Pernell talks about the history of racial bias in the health care system.
12:28 - The two pandemics that are happening — the fast pandemic being coronavirus, and the slow pandemic being systemic racism.
13:06 - Dr. Chris Pernell talks about the disturbing history regarding African Americans in health care in this country, including when enslaved Black women were forced to undergo sterilization without anesthesia, and when Black men in Alabama participated in a syphilis study under the guise of getting free medical.
14:04 - Centuries of medical exploitation and experimentation against Black people inspired changes in the medical system, including informed consent.
14:35 - Dr. Chris Pernell talks about how the pandemic has personal affected her and her family.
15:58 - Dr. Catherine Benjamin Golden, a professor of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware, talks about the history of Black women serving the community and stepping up in moments of public health crisis.
16:42 - The 1793 yellow fever pandemic in Philadelphia
17:20 - Free and enslaved Black women worked as nurses during the yellow fever pandemic and were the essential workers of 1793.
18:20 - More than one in three Black women make up the front line and essential workers today, enforcing the fact that Black men and women across the history of time have kept society afloat and have also been viewed as disposable.
19:22 - After the pandemic is over, Black women will still be leaders front lines battling the health crisis of anti-Black racism.
20:40 - The future of the BDCC and how it can become a permanent organization where Black people seek medical care.
21:47 - A cause of celebration when the BDCC had vaccinated 25,000 people
The Black Lives Matter protests and discourse in the summer of 2020 forced urgent calls for a long-overdue “racial reckoning,” a viral buzz phrase heard over and over again. The question is, what exactly are we reckoning with WHYY will address that question through “Real Black History,” a series looking at the struggle for equality against the forces of systemic racism.
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