“We have reached a crux where we must choose between potentially losing our lives at the hands of the police or the pandemic,” said Chelsea Miller, a leading organizer in the city who heads up Freedom March NYC.
“I was crying about it earlier, but the thing is, it’s not just my uncle,” she said. “Ask any black person here. They have a story, a family member that was affected by police. There’s a reason this is happening.
” It’s also notable that the pandemic and the police violence have an outsize effect on communities of color. New York City began sharing data in April that showed black and Hispanic people made up the majority of the COVID-19 deaths in the city. That trend continued through May and into June. It has not been lost on demonstrators that those most affected by the pandemic have largely been minorities, as well. “COVID-19 is a very real thing that is disproportionately impacting black and brown bodies,” Miller said. “We’re not blind to the lack of leadership on that either.”Medical workers have said the same, and some joined those in the streets this week while carrying signs that read, for example, “Nurses fought COVID, now we’ll fight the police.” Demonstrations for health care workers at hospitals throughout the city were planned for Thursday. Some doctors and nurses have also stood at the doors of their city medical centers this week and applauded the marchers, who often cheered them right back. A medical worker during a vigil near Gracie Mansion as protests over the death of George Floyd continue in New York City on June 3, 2020.But the two-fold challenge is also evident now in how the police have still not amended their tactics to deal with the marches and the virus, protest organizers said. Many have pointed to instances in which officers have pulled people’s masks down, removed the face coverings when making arrests and refused to provide masks at precincts or jail cells. In one case, police trapped tightly-packed marchers on the Manhattan Bridge for hours.David Levine, 21, came back from school at Syracuse University to live with his mom in Manhattan. He said he has had family who already caught COVID-19 and were in intense pain because of it. While Levine has come out to a few protests, he is worried that he could bring the disease home. “For me it’s 50/50 right now, between the importance of the moment and the risk of coronavirus,” he said. “My mom has a pre-existing condition, so I’m trying to be really careful about what crowds I walk in. Most people are wearing masks, but it’s kind of amazing how people maybe forgot about COVID.” Some people who aren’t comfortable being in the crowd also bring supplies to support the edges of protests and vigils. Maya Lansky, 22, and her boyfriend drive around in a Volkswagen station wagon that they’ve stuffed to the gills with personal protective equipment, or PPE, hand sanitizer, snacks and water.
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