Charles Barkley says the coronavirus pandemic is a ‘wake-up call’ for the black community

“This thing is divided,” Barkley said on CNN’s “The Color of Covid.” “This thing ain’t working the same on everybody. It’s really having an effect on the black community … and Hispanic community because of poverty and systematic racism.”

As The Washington Post found in an analysis of early data from jurisdictions across the country, counties that are majority-black have three times the rate of infections. When it comes to deaths, majority-black counties have almost six times the rate of deaths as those counties where white residents are in the majority.

"There is systematic racism, but that does not give you a reason to go out and be overweight..."

Former NBA star Charles Barkley says the coronavirus pandemic was a "wake-up call" for him. #ColorOfCovid https://t.co/WdJqE0cDNE pic.twitter.com/pSclxHdu1h

— CNN (@CNN) April 19, 2020

Barkley, who recently tested negative for coronavirus following a scare, said that covid-19′s effect on black and brown people could potentially help minority communities change their lifestyles moving forward. He acknowledged that even with a culture of “systematic racism,” it should “not give you a reason to go out and be overweight, have diabetes.”

“There have been people in our community begging us for years to take this seriously,” said Barkley, “so I think this virus is trying to teach us about wellness and about oneness and I think it’s been there we just got a listen to it.”

He told CNN’s Don Lemon and Van Jones that he’s changed his drinking habits since the start of the pandemic and is working out twice a day.

“This is going to be a wake-up call for us as a black community,” he said. “This was a wake-up call to me. Every person has to look in the mirror.”

Source: Washingtonpost.com