Debunking the myth that coronavirus is ‘a great leveller’

The phrase “we are all in this together” is one that has been widely used since the current global health crisis hit.

But the idea that coronavirus is a great leveller is a myth that needs debunking, say a growing number of people, as evidence mounts that the pandemic is exacerbating existing inequalities.

On April 23, Bristol-based youth organisation Rising Arts Agency made the decision to start using its Twitter feed to document how COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting people of colour. The creative collective did this out of concern that people in their community and family members would be impacted by the virus.

“A lot of the current discourse fails to highlight that this isn’t a biological issue – it is a structural one and therefore, we are not powerless to it,” says Kamina Walton, the founder and director of Rising Arts and engagement producer Euella Jackson.

“As Nikesh Shukla puts so succinctly in his tweet; ‘Please don’t say ‘the virus doesn’t discriminate…’. People do. Systems do. Institutions do. That’s why certain communities are suffering more than others. Because of systems. Institutions. People’.

“There’s a difference between equality and equity. We felt that we owed it to our community to raise awareness about this structural issue so that this message doesn’t get lost, that power is held to account and that people can get access to the rights that they deserve.”

https://twitter.com/nikeshshukla/status/1247798174657306626

The Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre found that 35 per cent of the nearly 2,000 patients studied were black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME), triple their 13 per cent proportion of the overall population.

Growing concern around this issue has prompted the government to commission a review into why coronavirus is disproportionately impacting those from BAME backgrounds, while baroness Doreen Lawrence is leading on this work for the Labour Party.

Campaigners say this doesn’t go far enough and a petition calling for the Government to do more work on data gathering and investigating the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 has been signed by more than 4,100 people.

Rising Arts Agency is documenting how COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting people of colour. Photo by Shamphat photography

Black South West Network (BSWN) has issued a statement saying the “large number of deaths of BAME people due to the coronavirus has quickly disproved the claim that the pandemic is a ‘great leveller’ and has instead brought to the fore the many social ills of the world”.

For Sado Jirde, the director of BSWN, the issue won’t be solved until society recognises that racial inequality exists and responds accordingly.

“Economic and health impacts are connected so people are having to respond to both,” she tells Bristol24/7.

“When we have inequalities, the impact is felt everywhere [in all aspects of life]. We need to realise that racial inequality exists but also match that with investment. The truth is we are playing with the lives of BAME people, so many of whom are responding and keeping the country going through the crisis.

“People are scared to talk about race, and I don’t understand because racial inequality is not saying someone is racist, it’s systematic inequalities. It’s something that has been well documented – people are putting their lives at risk unnecessarily and it’s because of the environment that was created.”

https://twitter.com/BlackSWNet/status/1252871772371742722

The statement from BSWN outlines a number of key issues, including access to healthcare, the disproportionate number of BAME families living in overcrowded homes, or working in insecure industries and the class divisions that have only been highlighted by the impact of lockdown measures.

It says: “As most determinants of health are socially created, it logically follows then that the fact that socioeconomic deprivation disproportionately affects BAME people will be a precursor to the impact of the virus on those communities.”

In conclusion, BSWN says: “While it is important to come together in times of crisis, it is equally important to recognise the difference in challenges and circumstances. BAME communities are overrepresented in many vulnerable groups often with no recourse to public funds, and so addressing structural inequalities is essential to fighting the pandemic.”

The organisation joins national lobbyists, such as campaign group #CharitySoWhite, in calling for a “purposeful, intersectional approach centring on BAME communities” to mitigate against the disproportionate impact the virus is having.

Main photo of Sado Jirde by Ellie Pipe

Read more: ‘There’s never been a more important time to put equality at the forefront of business’