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The Current Landscape

The two most common questions I encounter while teaching since the Black Lives Matter protests began in May after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, are: "How did racial inequity become such a big problem?" and "Why are these protests happening now?" They are both such important questions that, despite their simplicity, quite a bit of background and context is required to fully understand the answers. As you are likely wondering these things yourself in your work to be an ally and an advocate for others, I'm going to paint a full picture of "how we got here" and "why these protests are happening right now."

I want to start by discussing the current global landscape and its impact. There are a lot of global shifts happening in the world at the same time-a global pandemic, protests against racial justice, climate change, changes in the political landscape, and much, much more. I think everyone around the globe would agree that 2020 has been a hell of a year. The first two months of the year were probably the closest to what many of us would call "normal," and they were still pretty eventful. Just to recap, here are a few things that happened in the first 60 days of 2020 around the globe:

• Wild bush fires destroyed millions of acres, homes, and wildlife in Australia.
• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were stepping down from their royal duties.
• A Ukrainian flight crashed in Tehran, Iran, killing all 176 passengers on board.
• Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi Bryant, along with seven others, died in a helicopter crash in California.
• The United Kingdom exited the European Union, making Brexit a reality.
• Donald J. Trump, president of the United States, impeached by the House of Representatives, was acquitted on impeachment charges by the Senate.
• Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, known for Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, was convicted of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual acts.

Wild, right? Some of those things feel like they happened years ago, and that's not including all the coronavirus news that happened in that same window of time. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified about 2019-nCoV virus in China. A couple of weeks later, China reported its first coronavirus death, and by the end of January, the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province in China was on a complete lockdown. By mid-February, WHO officially named the 2019-nCoV disease the name we all know now, COVID-19, and nations around the world began to take notice as concerns about the virus's reach and its severity dominated news cycles. In March, we saw European nations entering varying phases of lockdown to control the virus, and on March 11, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

I remember the moment when the virus got real for me. I was in London in mid-February on what would turn out to be my last business trip of the year. The day of my departure, my client let me know fears of the coronavirus global pandemic had led to the postponement of our March engagement in Lisbon. By February 20, all work my business had booked for 2020 was either postponed or canceled altogether. In a week, my business went from being on track to have the most successful year ever to zero dollars and a commitment to my staff that I would figure it out and not let them go. Suddenly I was trying to figure out rent and health insurance and keeping the business running on the few invoices we had still waiting on payment. It was terrifying.

Everyone has a story, though, as the global pandemic is affecting everyone at the same time and in different ways.

Take a few moments and consider how your life has changed since the global pandemic. Answer the following questions:

• How has coronavirus changed the way you live?
• What are some concerns you have as a result of the global pandemic?
• How has coronavirus changed how you see the world?
• What are some new things you have learned, big or small, as a result of coronavirus?
• How has the global pandemic affected your loved ones?

Since the onset of the pandemic, some things are uncomfortable, like not being able to get a haircut or go to the gym, and even having air travel restricted. I'm a woman with short hair who traveled a lot for business. I am currently living in DC with a hairstylist in Detroit. This was no problem when I was on the road 85% of the time. I'd plan for a weekend layover in Detroit, get my hair done, and continue on with my life. Having a hairstylist in Detroit, a doctor in Dallas, and a dentist in Atlanta seems silly and irresponsible now that air travel isn't exactly safe. In reality, though, these are just inconveniences. I will survive with a bit of new growth and skipping my annual checkup.

The coronavirus has changed the world in other very remarkable and life-altering ways. The whole world is feeling it, and when you consider that there are over 7 billion people on the planet, it's mind blowing that something we can't see with our naked eyes can have such a massive impact. Some of the major changes include these:

• Had you ever heard of "social distancing" or "physical distancing" before the coronavirus? I certainly hadn't. As a result of the coronavirus, we now have an entirely new language around how we should behave. Social distancing, wearing your mask, and washing your hands constantly are a part of everyday life.
• What about "essential workers"? Prior to coronavirus, I would have described an essential worker as someone who worked in a hospital or someone that works in a power plant. Today we also think of essential workers as people who help grocery stores run, people who keep transportation moving, both in and out of the country, and even people who work in food plants.
• There have been major economic impacts as a result of the coronavirus, including sweeping layoffs and furloughs resulting in millions of people in the United States needing unemployment assistance. The stock market has been volatile, and the government has been a part of a constant conversation about what needs to happen to stimulate the economy and support people and business owners who are unable to work.
• Alarming rates of unexpected illness and death have come with the coronavirus. At the time of this writing, over half a million people had died from the virus and there were over 14 million confirmed cases globally. People are losing friends and family and not even having the chance to say good-bye. I have personally lost a number of close friends and some distant family members due to coronavirus.
• That leads me to health system strain. We have heard a lot about how we need to be at home, "sheltering in place" so we can reduce the spread of the virus and slow the burden on our health system. Almost nightly there are reports of hospital units in areas hit by a surge in cases being at capacity for patients. When a facility is at capacity, that means it cannot take on more patients, even those with other illnesses, and there is additional pressure put on the hospital staff.
• Had you ever heard of PPE before this pandemic? PPE stands for personal protective equipment. It includes the gear that medical staff need to wear to ensure they do not catch the coronavirus when they come in contact with someone with the virus who needs treatment. PPE includes masks, gloves, and face shields. When the coronavirus first hit the United States and everyone was afraid to catch it, it was virtually impossible to find PPE as well as other things that help people stay safe and keep things clean, like hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.
• On the mental health front, there have been reports of increased levels of stress-induced anxiety, depression, and even domestic abuse since the onset of the pandemic. People are less able to get the help they need with cities shutting down and people sheltering in place to reduce the spread of the virus.
• Children are at home with parents full-time; in some cases, parents have had to figure out how to balance doing their jobs while making sure their children are participating in virtual learning. As much as we may love our families, everyone needs a little time apart or with their friends. People are feeling the emotional strain of not being able to manage their relationships as they could pre-pandemic.
• Conversely, some people are sheltering in place alone. Instead of feeling the psychological strain of being around a lot of people, they have strong feelings of loneliness and isolation. I am a single woman, living in a new city, with no children. The isolation and loneliness for me during the pandemic has been palpable.

No matter your circumstances, you are feeling something as a result of the many changes to everyday life that have come with COVID-19, and one thing is for sure-everyone is trying to make the best of the new environment.

Let's examine for a moment what pandemic life might be like if you are a member of an underrepresented group. An underrepresented racial and ethnic group is a group of people who make up a smaller percentage of a specific population. In this case, let's zoom in on the American population. Underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the United States include Black or African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic or Latinx people, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians. Underrepresented...