Face coverings are required by the CDC but they could be a problem for those who don’t feel safe wearing them.
The mother of an 18-year-old African American man said some black men are refusing to wear masks because they fear for their lives.
Jenny Kipp from San Francisco expressed her thoughts in a social media post asking her neighbors not to be scared of African American people in masks.
She said she felt the need to write the post because her son expressed thoughts of not wanting to wear a mask even though it’s recommended by the CDC.
Kipp said she read about people possibly feeling like they were up to no good.
“As a white parent of a black child, I have no idea what to tell my child about how to be in a world that’s going to keep him safe,” Kipp said. “This is about conscience or unconscious bias, it’s built into every single one of us.”
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Though there’s fear, not wearing a mask could be deadly.
In Chicago, 68% of the city’s deaths involve African Americans who make up just 30% of the population.
In Washington and California, where social distancing measures were implemented early, the surgeon general said the infection curve is going in the right direction.
