The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Episode: The Injustice of COVID-19

Date: April 13, 2020
Host: David Remnick
Guest: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Assistant Professor of African American Studies at Princeton, author of Race for Profit

Overview

This episode explores the stark racial and class disparities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic in America. David Remnick interviews Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor about why African Americans and other minorities are experiencing disproportionate rates of illness and death from COVID-19, connecting these outcomes to longstanding systemic inequalities in housing, employment, and healthcare. The conversation delves deeply into the root causes and considers whether the current crisis might prompt a reckoning with American inequality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. COVID-19 Exposes Inequality (01:16–02:42)

• Main Point: Although COVID-19 appears indiscriminate, data shows it devastating communities of color—especially African Americans—at much higher rates.
• Data Highlight: In Louisiana, African Americans make up 33% of the population but account for 70% of COVID-19 deaths ([01:50]).
• Remnick’s Framing: “We see the inequality that's part of the American healthcare system.” ([01:26])

2. Underlying Causes: Health and Social Determinants (02:42–04:32)

• Pre-Existing Conditions: Taylor emphasizes the "long term diseases of disinvestment, underemployment, and ... poverty" affecting African Americans, like hypertension and asthma. ([02:44])
• Workplace Exposure: Only 19% of Black people can work from home, largely due to overrepresentation in low-wage, now “essential,” jobs. ([03:27])
  • Quote: "Jobs that are typically low waged and degraded, which now ironically, are seen as essential work like magnets to pull people away from the safety of social distancing." — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([03:31])
• Barriers to Social Distancing: Safe housing, access to internet and computers, and adequate income are prerequisites that many lack. ([03:47])

3. Structural Racism in Healthcare (04:32–05:41)

• Insurance Disparity: 10% of African Americans are uninsured, compounding vulnerability. ([04:43])
• Treatment Inequality: Even insured Black women have reported being repeatedly turned away from hospitals despite classic COVID-19 symptoms. ([04:54])
  • Quote: "There is a legacy within healthcare practice of not believing black patients when they talk about pain, not really taking seriously the complaints from black patients." — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([05:00])

4. Testing Disparities & Accessibility (05:41–06:44)

• Income and Testing: High-income zip codes get tested at six times the rate of low-income, low-insurance areas. ([05:49])
  • Practical Barriers: "Drive up" testing sites presuppose car ownership, excluding the poorest. ([06:02])
• Disconnected Populations: The poorest and most disconnected people are likely tested at even lower rates than the already underserved. ([06:32])

5. Housing Inequality and Its Legacy (06:44–08:42)

• Impact of Redlining: Residential segregation not only restricts economic opportunity but also exposes Black Americans to substandard housing. ([07:04])
• Unsafe Living Conditions: Thousands of apartments in Philadelphia are “legally designated unfit for human habitation”—problems compounded by COVID-19. ([07:30])
  • Critical Irony: Lack of plumbing and potable water is a crisis as advice to wash hands constantly is emphasized. ([07:52])
  • Quote: "We think about people in Flint, Michigan, ... thousands of black people whose water, access to potable water has been shut off at a time when we are being told to wash our hands as much as humanly possible." — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([08:03])

6. Possibility for Change and Grounds for Hope (08:42–11:18)

• Historical Perspective: Prior crises (Hurricane Katrina, 2008 financial crash) briefly exposed inequality but didn’t necessarily lead to lasting change. ([09:12])
  • Quote: “So just knowing about it is not enough. And I think social crises almost always provoke a social response.” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([09:40])
• Organizing Challenges: Social distancing complicates traditional forms of activism and protest. ([09:52])
• Grounded Hope: Taylor sees hope in “the basic decency of regular people,” highlighting mutual aid and solidarity efforts, especially among healthcare workers and community volunteers. ([10:42])
  • Quote: “I have hope not based in some kind of cheap religiosity, but hope that is rooted in an understanding of history and the history of ordinary people, really leading the way to find solutions to the social dilemmas” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([10:09])

Memorable Quotes

• “It is almost too easy to point to the kind of underlying conditions that African Americans are particularly vulnerable to ... really all of the long term diseases of disinvestment, underemployment, and in some cases, poverty.” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([02:44])
• “Segregation is not just about the relegation of African Americans to a particular city or suburb, it's about the consequences of that.” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([07:14])
• “We can't all just mobilize and take buses to Washington, D.C. to express our outrage at the sclerotic pace of aid for people on the ground... but I do have hope.” — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor ([09:54])

Important Timestamps

• 01:16 — Opening remarks and framing of the episode's topic.
• 02:42 — Investigation into the disparity of COVID-19 impact along racial lines.
• 04:41 — Discussion on class and racial bias in healthcare.
• 05:47 — How COVID-19 testing is distributed across communities.
• 07:01 — Examination of the legacy of redlining and housing.
• 08:42 — Conversation shifts to prospects for hope and potential for change.

Closing

The episode ends with Remnick thanking Taylor and highlighting her most recent book, Race for Profit. The discussion leaves listeners with a sense of urgency about addressing racial inequality laid bare by the pandemic, while rooting hope in the agency and solidarity of ordinary people.