"Nawl, You First!": Medical Racism, Health Conspiracies, & Black Perspectives on the COVID-19 Vaccine

This week in the Absolute Ghetto, Sadé and Malcolm seek to thoroughly address concerns regarding the impending COVID-19 vaccine that has now been official approved for distribution by the FDA (Pfizer Inc’s vaccine, specifically). The purpose of this episode is to contextualize the response amongst some Black people to news about the development and distribution of the vaccine. Their goal is to contextualize and validate why the Black American community has skepticism towards and grievances with the medical industry, and discuss ways the industry, Black leaders, and the community as a whole can ameliorate this damaged relationship so that we can save the lives of Black people, as the Black community has been heavily affected by COVID at higher rates medically and economically. They will be discussing: 1) Medical racism, 2) Disease-related Conspiracy theories and spiritual/ideological hustlers, with special focus on Dr. Sebi, 3) The disparate impact of COVID19 on the Black community, 4) How Black leaders and healthcare professionals are trying to improve skeptic’s trust in the science behind the vaccine, 5) Potential concerns about the distribution of the vaccine with an eye on class and privilege.

The Absolutely Ghetto Org of the Week: Black Doctor Org! BDO is the leading health and wellness destination for people of color. We leverage culture, content and technology to transform people’s lives for the better. Editorially, BDO shares culturally relevant tips and strategies on health, wellness, lifestyle and longevity.// Website: www.blackdoctor.org // IG: @blackdoctororg // Twitter:@blackdoctor

Show Notes: WE WILL POST ALL OF OUR SOURCES ON OUR WEBSITE WWW.THEABSOLUTEGHETTO.COM. WE HAD WAY TOO MUCH TO FIT. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING LOL. BELOW ARE JUST A FEW.

• Gynecology: https://www.today.com/health/racism-gynecology-dr-james-marion-sims-t185269
  • Tuskegee Experiment: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/history/40-years-human-experimentation-america-tuskegee-study
    • www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/05/16/youve-got-bad-blood-the-horror-of-the-tuskegee-syphilis-experiment/%3FoutputType%3Damp
    • Eugenics- “Is Race Science making a comeback?”: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/07/10/416496218/is-race-science-making-a-comeback
    • Forced Sterilization: Lexual on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeHlBGgB9yA // https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/
    • Dr. Sebi and fraudulent health “breakthroughs”: https://arahthequill.medium.com/dr-sebi-was-either-a-complete-fool-or-a-complete-fraud-but-he-was-no-healer-a378dff54713// Lexual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq3I4D6IP60
    • America’s 1% will try to jump to the front of the line: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-a-covid-19-vaccine-could-make-its-way-into-wealthier-americans-arms-first-11607711708