The Past is Never Past: COVID-19, States’ Rights, and Black Trauma

“… I believe that the maintenance of the rights and authority reserved to the states and to the people … are the safeguard to the continuance of a free government … whereas the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it.” ― General Robert E. Lee, Confederate Army

COVID-19 is real. The novel coronavirus has impacted the entire world as it does not discriminate based on race, gender, geographic location, or religion. With now ~ 2 million confirmed global cases, COVID-19 has generated intense attention from all aspects of societal structures including economics, health, politics, security, and technology. Healthcare professionals are searching for a pandemic cure and a way to slow down the transmission in ways that require urgent collaboration and trust. Disturbingly, there is one country, the United States of America, that has chosen to address the distribution of resources in the nation primarily through the rights and powers reserved by the state governments rather than the national government. President Donald Trump’s decision to lean back and allow state governors to manage this complex process has only reminded many African-Americans of the historical racist experience…