Racial Reckoning and Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic

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Table of Contents

Historians’ Consideration in Relation to COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning
COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning in 2020
Murder of George Floyd, Breonna, and Ahmaud Arbey
Summary
References

Historians’ Consideration in Relation to COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning

By definition, a reckoning is a point at which a human being confronts an unpleasant situation. Over the last year, the word reckoning was continuously used as the wave of the racial review was observed. Historians should argue about racial discrimination, racial inequality, and cultural diversity, especially during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. They should work on the emphasis on reform and change toward equality. This essay illustrates how racism has harmed minority groups’ well-being and undermined social cohesion, resulting in racial reform.

COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning in 2020

The Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) permitted the leading COVID-19 vaccine on December 2^nd (Singh, 2020). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and several other countries assessed it for emergency use authorization (EUA) status (Guharoy & Krenzelok, 2020). The administration of the vaccine was first given to a black woman by a black lady, indicating that the life of Africans matters. Furthermore, the European countries discovering the COVID-19 vaccine and assenting to share it with Africans marked the beginning of the racial reckoning. Change has taken place, and Africans are now viewed as important people, in contrast to the colonial era.

Murder of George Floyd, Breonna, and Ahmaud Arbey

The coronavirus closed the nation for weeks starting from May 25th, 2020. The pandemic has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. As a result of the recession, millions of people have lost their jobs. A 46-year-old African-American gentleman by the name of George Floyd from Minneapolis went to the store to purchase a pack of cigarettes (Symmes, 2020). A police officer apprehended and knelt on Floyd’s neck, the incident taking a whole nine minutes. Floyd screamed for help and told the cops repeatedly, that he could not breathe. His cry was ignored, and he died while in police custody.

As the coronavirus continued to spread, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, a black lady, was working long hours as an emergency medical technician (EMT) in Louisville. While she slept in her own room on March 13^th police broke into her apartment late at night. According to prosecutors, the couple believed someone was going in to rob them, so her boyfriend fired a shot at the police officers. The police then retaliated by murdering Taylor after striking her eight times.

Three weeks before the incident with Taylor a 25-year-old black gentleman named Arbery Ahmaud fastened up his running shoe and went jogging in his Brunswick neighborhood. In high school, he was a standout football player who aspired to be an electrician. Arbery was pursued by two white men in a pickup truck, who later said that they thought Arbey was a burglar. Another white man approached them from behind and began filming the entire scene. Later, the video revealed that there had been a fight near the truck. One of the assailants then fired his gun and shot Arbery in the center of the residential community.

As a result, a new movement rose after the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery. It became a reuniting call in capitals and municipalities everywhere in the country, imposing the nation to confront its racist history with the present. Demonstrations were held throughout the state, seeking justice for the deceased. Three months after the demonstration video was leaked, the men who murdered the three were apprehended and convicted.

Summary

In conclusion, COVID-19 has resulted in an era of racial reckoning. The theme of change has been well demonstrated since Europeans have come to their senses and started viewing Africans as human beings. After the assassination of the three black Americans, protests were carried out and justice was attained. This was proof that discrimination is coming to an end and a new era of racial reckoning is rising.