"I felt what was happening in our country [USA] with race was so much scarier than the [COVID-19] virus." Black Lives Matter protesters’ beliefs and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: The killing of George Floyd triggered the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and social injustices in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. No research to date has assessed the COVID-19 prevention practices and beliefs of protesters. The purpose of this study was to assess COVID-19 prevention practices and beliefs of Black Lives Matter protesters in the USA. Methods: A pilot mixed methods study was employed. Participants completed a survey collecting data on their frequency in following COVID-19 recommended guidelines and answered open-ended interview questions to elucidate the results from the survey. Results: Twenty participants completed the study. Participants’ average age was 29 and most participants were female (80%) and black (75%). Most always or almost always properly wore their masks (50% and 25%, respectively) and washed their hands during a protest 2-3 times or more than 3 times (35% and 50%, respectively). Although all believed that COVID-19 testing is important (90%), most had never been tested (85%) and most did not self-quarantine for 14 days after protesting (95%). Moreover, most participants reported never or rarely following social distancing guidelines at a protest (25% and 30%, respectively) and most reported being Not at all or Slightly concerned about COVID-19 while at a protest (25% and 30%, respectively). Qualitative data highlighted the following themes: 1) Fighting for social justice, 2) Protesting being more important than COVID-19, 3) Unable to keep 6 ft distance, 4) Masks worn most of the time, 5) Protests sparked global movement, and 6) Increasing awareness of injustices. Conclusion: Although protesters believe that both the fight for social justice and taking precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic are important, they believe the fight for social justice is more important than the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they understand the importance of COVID-19 and try to practice the recommended guidelines to prevent its spread while protesting. These results make an important contribution for policies for controlling the spread of the disease, and also understanding human behavior of protesting for social justice during a pandemic.

Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among African American, Latinx, and White sexual minority women: A descriptive phenomenological study.

“…Although participants varied considerably in how they situated themselves in relation to racial justice protests taking place at the time of the interviews, narratives often highlighted their perceptions that systemic racism necessitated social justice actions. Complex calculations about personal safety has been echoed in recent research documenting ways that Black Lives Matters protestors attempted to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission, even when convening in groups (Arana-Chicas et al, 2020). These findings underscore the importance of exploring community-level adaptations to risk and health in the context of on-going activism, and the need to assess and respond with resources in neighborhoods at risk during the pandemic because of racism and other systems of oppression.…”

Mentoring Minorities: Five Foundational Lessons

“…The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in the year 2020, while the pandemic was spiraling out of control, have been formative in our understanding of health disparities through the public health crises of racism. 3 Since 2013, BLM gained support and advocacy in response to public displays of police brutality and systemic racism within North American justice systems. Meaningful mentoring of BIPOC students is even more urgent now than ever because the emotional burden put on these students is immense, while witnessing such public display of injustice.…”