[ONLINE] - COVID-19 and the Black Community: A year of loss and lessons

Join us for a virtual town hall at 1:30 pm Tuesday, February 23, 2021 to discuss the extraordinary impact the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has had on the Black community in Indiana and beyond. While the new year has brought an end to stay-at-home orders, life hasn't returned to "normal" in Indiana and the pandemic has called the question, “What was normal for Black Hoosiers in the first place? And was that safe or fair?” As COVID-19 amplified long-time health and economic disparities, Black communities found themselves disproportionately affected by job loss, illness, unsafe working conditions, and challenges posed by disruptions to learning, work, and access to services. Now, even with promising developments like vaccines, Black Hoosiers face questions and concerns based in historic, systemic racism in interactions with healthcare systems. With our partners at AARP Indiana and WISH-TV, we’ll explore lessons from this first year of the pandemic, do some mythbusting and awareness raising about vaccination, and ask local experts—and you!—what we should prioritize as a community to ensure that our recovery is equitable and successful. Oseye Boyd, Editor, Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, and Molly Martin, Director of New America Indianapolis, will co-moderate the conversation, welcoming:

• Paul Babcock, CEO, Health & Hospital Corp. of Marion County
• Dr. Virginia Caine, M.D., Director of Marion County Public Health Department
• Carl Ellison, IMHC President/CEO Indiana Minority Health Coalition
• Dr. Curtis Wright, President/CEO, Eskenazi Medical Group
• Dr. Eric A. Yancy, M.D. Pediatrician, Riley Children's Health

About Indianapolis Recorder - Since 1895, The Indianapolis Recorder has been an influential voice for our local community, the state of Indiana, our nation, and now internationally. For 125 years, the Recorder has been an advocate for those who could not express their thoughts or concerns; we've also been a supplier of truth and justice. The vision of our founders was to create a publication that would speak to and for the people. The Recorder today continues to hold that original vision in high regard. We communicate to increase awareness, educate and motivate the community, and preserve the community's knowledge of relevant issues. The Recorder, as with other Black newspapers around the country, is not only a voice in the community; we are also advocates for African Americans, all minorities, and the underserved. www.indianapolisrecorder.com.

About New America Indianapolis - New America Indy--a program of New America--works with local communities on issues of racial and economic equity. We build better feedback loops between lived experience and policy design, provide a national platform for local problem solvers, and extend the resources of a national think tank to residents, entrepreneurs, and grassroots organizations. https://www.newamerica.org/indianapolis/