A Dose of Truth: COVID-19 in Communities of Color
Alanis Broussard
Instructor’s Introduction
Alanis Broussard created her video op-ed as a remediation of her research paper, “COVID-19 In Communities of Color: How Discrimination Affects Positivity and Mortality Rates for U.S. Black and Latinx Demographics,” for WR152: Interrogating Race in Contemporary America (Spring 2021). Her video has an impressively clear concept–it’s the first episode of a potential series that looks at serious topics with a sense of humor. Laney’s video is a court trial, wherein systemic racism is a perpetrator in the Covid-19 pandemic. She includes “evidence” in the trial to support the argument that people of color have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus due to unjust biases in healthcare. The video is relevant, engaging, and experiments with a number of techniques–voiceover, animation, and found footage.
Jessica Bozek
A Dose of Truth: COVID-19 in Communities of Color
Critical Reflection
For my multimedia translation, I decided to create a short narration video that integrated elements of animation and cartoonery. By abiding by this unique format instead of simply weaving together external multimedia sources, I was able to add my own creative style and brand to the visual design of the video. In addition, from observing the responses from my peers, I was able to meticulously organize a flow and pace that stayed engaging. This is mainly because I presented empirical content in an untraditional way. Being inspired by my previous research paper, “COVID-19 In Communities of Color: How Discrimination Affects Positivity and Mortality Rates for U.S. Black and Latinx Demographics,” I centered my video around the depiction of a court trial, purposing the video towards displaying systemic racism as the main perpetrator for “taking the lives” of millions across the world. Approaching formatting the video around a central problem that takes the audience on a journey to find a solution allowed for the audience to be included in the video, increasing overall engagement. Furthermore, I had the space to include “evidence” in the trial that supports the literal argument made in the research paper that people of color (POC) are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus due to unjust biases in healthcare.
Delving into the creative process a bit more, I decided to use multiple ways of expressing the information found in the paper: videos, styled text, pictures, cartoons, and original animations. In order to add more credibility to the information being presented, real videos documented the current vaccine rollout program and how it has mainly served white communities. Video footage of the push for equal civil rights to combat discrimination, data analysts working to present updates about the pandemic, and news reports pinpointing how POC communities are affected were all included. I stuck with the theme of a fake court trial by seamlessly integrating these pieces of raw pictures and footage in between clips of animation, using them as evidence for the trial. Different clips of media were clearly separated by a cartoon visual of the animated character holding a sign with text pointing towards the significance of the proceeding clips. My main intention throughout the video was to offer a new perspective to the audience that remained objective rather than emotional, mimicking the stark communication methods seen in database reports and on news channels. I decided to do this in order to refrain from inserting my own subjective feelings or opinions into the case that was conducted by a victim to the trends seen.
While the video turned out to be relatively successful, there were always areas for improvement when it came to actual execution. First, the sync of the animation video was off since I could not figure out how to create enough frames to better match up with the voiceover. This was an extreme downfall since I felt the jerky movements took away from the clarity of the narration and was less engaging when extensively used. Second, since the video was only three minutes long, I did not have enough time to offer up solutions to the problem, as noted in the last section of my research paper. Instead, I left the question for the audience or the “jury” to solve, which in some ways made the impact of the video last longer in the minds of the audience. However, overall, I am pleased with how the video turned out and its abilities to display information about my chosen topic.
Transcript
Fade In.
*Murmurs and the sound of a gavel banging*
JUDGE: Order in the court please, you may state your case
NARRATOR: Thank you, your honor. In the United States, Black people are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people. Despite this knowledge, many U.S. citizens still believe that the risk of not only contracting but also potentially dying from the coronavirus impacts all of us equally. This fraudulent mindset only perpetuates the stigma surrounding people of color not being able to receive the medical attention and healthcare that they need.
Ladies and gentlemen of the court, as one of the victims of this heinous act, I believe that it is time to finally put COVID-19 on trial.
But who (or what) is actually the main perpetrator? Well that’s easy: Systemic racism and institutionalized discrimination against people of color.
NARRATOR: Racism and discrimination against people of color have historically been long-standing issues in how minorities are treated and regarded by the medical field.
The Institute of Medicine reported in a 2005 study the reason behind why people of color, specifically Black people, statistically obtain shorter lifespans and more health challenges than other racial groups. The report found that “racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health care than white people– even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are the same.” In addition, the report revealed that Black people are less likely than white people to receive cardiac care and treatments for illnesses, such as stroke, AIDS, and cancer.
And still, many social determinants have denied African Americans from receiving the proper attention and treatment to combat rising cases seen in the pandemic. In fact, many databases reporting on the pandemic failed to include accurate information about how the virus disproportionately affected communities of color. Fastforwarding to June 2020, approximately 4 months after medical databases initially released this misleading information to the public, reports were just now starting to incorporate positivity and mortality rates based on race. Still, current research institutions don’t include links as to why race is the primary indicator of the disproportionate divide being experienced across the nation.
And the same trends continue as vaccines are now being made available.
NARRATOR: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the 53% of vaccinated people whose race has been identified, nearly two-thirds have been White, as of March 29, 2021.
This means that only 9% were Hispanic, 8% were Black, 5% were Asian, and a mere 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native.
From analyzing this data, one can clearly see that an issue persists in providing adequate COVID-19 vaccine access to minority groups.
Furthermore, the fact that minority groups makeup a larger percentage of the population that have high positivity and mortality rates presents an even greater concern, leaving the question as to why these groups are not being treated first.
Citizens of the jury, I now turn the question over to you. The crime here is quite clear. Only we can be the ones to finally provide a fair sentence. I urge you to demand a change in how databases present information. Demand a change in which people are given top priority in vaccine rollout programs. Demand that everyone is finally given (PAUSE) a dose of truth.
Cut out.
*Murmurs and the sound of a gavel banging*
Alanis (Laney) Broussard is a young woman who has an endless desire to advocate for avenues of change through the power of speech and communication. She is currently a second-year student at Boston University, double-majoring in Public Relations and Journalism. Hailing from Atlanta, she constantly has a front row seat to the abilities of the black community, which has inspired her desire to contribute a fresh, youthful twist on the traditional standards of media. Among the many accolades she has received, she was selected as a speaker for the TEDxPenn 2021 conference, interviewed by USA Today in her own segment entitled “Coronavirus Chronicles,” and featured on Good Morning America. She was also one of the youngest keynote speakers at the Atlanta World Congress Center in 2019, earning a full-expense paid internship at Essence Magazine headquarters, and was asked to speak on the nationally-televised event “Graduate Together 2020” hosted by Lebron James. Laney started her own public speaking organization Soul to Speak.