Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter as a mother, citizen and psychologist with issues we as women and men face in the AfricanAmerican community. I also offer solutions to begin to take some action now. I welcome your feedback.
ISSUES
My daughters are upset. They are living through a time that I thought they would never have to experience. They have good educations and careers, but they are still suffering from what was supposed to be an equal, just world by now, something my generation fought hard for them to have.
My daughters are upset because they have been denied the right to properly mourn the loss of friends and families ravaged by COVID-19.
My daughters are upset that when they seek medical care, their issues may not be taken as seriously because the psychological impact of being traumatized by two pandemics is not factored into courses of treatment. Yes, the experience of a Black woman is quite different.
My daughters are upset that they must live in constant fear that their father or husband, uncles, cousins, or any male friend could be subject to an untold end without any just cause. What has really changed since slavery when families were torn apart or families witnessed loved ones lynched right in front of their eyes? There was no need for videos then to prove an atrocity had taken place.
My daughters are upset because they are upright citizens with an exceptional work ethic who pay their taxes and vote regularly, but nothing seems to change in terms of how they are viewed by the larger society.
My daughters are upset because they grew up in the post Social Movements of the sixties when change was going to make it easier for them. They were told that if they worked hard and had a good sense of self, fortune would follow and acceptance would not be questioned. It did not happen as they thought it would.
My daughters are upset because some may not think of the positions they hold as essential workers. One of my daughters, in my mind, is an essential worker because she supervises workers who process over 1800 applications for social and medical assistance a month, an increase from 300 a month, while working with the same number of staff. She keeps her staff motivated while she worries if her husband will make it home safely once again. My son-in-law is considered an essential work as well. He supervises the workload for NJTA. His life matters. Their work is overlooked which causes them a great deal of stress.
My other daughter is an essential worker in my mind because she makes sure families do not lose their homes by educating them about finances and mortgages. How many might lose their homes for lack of knowledge about to handle the financial nightmare created by this disease?
Dr. Yolanda HawkinsRodgers
