Large numbers of people in the African American Community continue to resist taking the COVID vaccine because they do not trust the government. They still remember the Tuskegee experiments on black men and the history of medical mistreatment against blacks.
These atrocities continue to haunt the Black community. These are deep concerns that many Blacks can't get over. The government and medical officials must seriously confront this issue. They have not done this. The images that we have seen on television from the CDC to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during the pandemic have contributed to this mistrust. When you think about it, African American leaders in the medical community often have not been seen or heard during these public updates. Even the current reports on COVID and vaccination information by the CDC do not include anyone of color. Images are powerful. Black people are intelligent. What they see often are people talking at them.
In order to break down this wall of vaccine resistance in the Black community, there must be a new approach. Blacks might be more inclined to get vaccinated if members of their own community are totally involved in this effort. This must include not only politicians and well-known celebrities, but those on the streets of the inner city who have clout within our community. These are the people who have the most trust. They must be included in any plan to get Blacks vaccinated. The wall of resistance must be broken. It won't happen if we continue to see people in high places telling the community what they should do.
There must be a serious grassroots effort to get Black people vaccinated. This writer is calling for a campaign in the Black churches on Sunday mornings where our health professionals are allowed to speak on the benefits of getting the COVID vaccine. This has not happened on a city-wide basis. We can and must confront the history and mistrust that Blacks feel toward the government and vaccines. We must do it ourselves in our own churches and in our own community centers. As a journalist I am reminded of the quote from John Russwurm, America's first Black newspaper publisher when he stated the following, "We wish to plead our own cause, because too often others have spoken for us."
Eva M. Doyle is a columnist for 'The Criterion' and a prominent leader in the Buffalo Black Community
