10 minute read
Religion & Spirituality
The community says goodbye to Michael ‘Mr. Mentor’ Thomas
The Brownsville community is mourning the death of Michael Thomas, known as Mr. Mentor, criminal justice advocate, community activist, and retired corrections officer.
He died from prostate cancer on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021.
From his Scared Straight Program, with tours of Rikers Island; to his #1 Dad Program, Thomas’ work did not stop during his full time job and after retirement. Not only did he try to make a difference at work, he also touched many lives in the community.
“Michael loved Brooklyn,” his family stated of the Brownsville native. His concern and love for the youth en couraged him to start his Mr. Mentor Program and the Save the Youth Foundation, to educate the young people about their rights pertaining to the law and as a deterrent from incarceration.
The viewing for Michael Thomas took place at the Citadel Cathedral of Praise & Worship on Dec. 1, 2021. He was laid to rest at Evergreens Ceme tery the following day.
(Danny Goodine photos)
Yorkers in the city are fully vaccinated in the city. 54% of Black New Yorkers in the city have at least the first dose. Overall, 70% of New Yorkers in the city are fully vaccinated and 78% of New Yorkers in the city have received at least the first dose. This double-digit discrepancy is a significant reason that Black New Yorkers are far more likely than their white neighbors to contract and die of COVID-19.
Vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon nor limited to communities of color. The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group defines vaccine hesitancy as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services. Vaccine hesitancy is complex and context-specific, varying across time, place, and vaccines. It is influenced by factors such as complacency, convenience, and confidence.”
Black New Yorkers will only reach vaccination parity when they have both equal access to and trust that vaccines are safe. A crucial part of making that happen are the individuals working within the community to ensure Black New Yorkers are properly informed.
Nicole Meyers, president of the National Council of Negro Women, Staten Island section, is one such advocate. As Meyers told the AmNews, “Institutional racism, historical inequities in health care…and lack of trusted messengers informing Black and Brown people of the benefits of becoming vaccinated. It’s grounded in institutional racism. It is built into the system.”
Meyers explained that “the historical traumas of the Tuskegee experiment, Lacks and Sims certainly provide critical context to the normalized experiences and fears that are embedded in present-day responses to vaccine mistrust among Black families.” She went on to say that “although we know that not every Black person may have a keen awareness of [the] Tuskegee, Sims, and Lacks cases, we can certainly attribute some of the distrust to those cases. It merely serves as an example of the
racism that Black communities face.” The denial of appropriate medical care, and having conditions misdiagnosed, or medical treatment withheld, are also contributing factors according to Meyers. onerations. “My prayers are with More than simply identifythe entire Shabazz family at this ing some of the root causes of mistrust and hesitan-
“Our hearts are truly heavy and cy within the community, - Meyers and her colleagues - have partnered with local semblyman Charles and City organizations to facilitate - prioritizing access to the likah had a beautiful caring loving vaccine; created their own spirit! May God bless and sustain vaccine waitlist; scheduled the Shabazz family! We pledge to appointments for communicontinue our love and support for ty members as well as taken the Shabazz family, a family that them to appointments; held - monthly virtual COVID-19 tributed so much for the liberation educational webinars and - invited experts to discuss uper Malcolm and Sister Betty! Peace dates and answer questions received from the Black and
“From Allah we come and to Brown communities; and inAllah we return. May Allah be vited Black and Brown leadpleased with our beloved sister ers to directly ask questions. Malikah Shabazz,” Muhammad Mosezetta Overby cred- its the efforts of the Nationtor/ Community Affairs, Daleel al Council for Negro Women Jabir Muhammad stated. “We generally and Meyers specifpray that the Shabazz family ically, with helping her overand everyone who knew and come concerns regarding loved her find comfort in the getting vaccinated. Overby, memories of her life and the life a retired educator, said that she led as a mother, sister, aunt she first received a letter from NCNW asking if she was
Along with her sisters, Attallah, interested in getting the vacQubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah, and Malaak, she is survived by her nounced, “Insha’Allah, Salaatul Janaza for Malikah Shabazz will be on Saturday, November 27, 2021 at 10 a.m., Islamic Cultural Center, 1711 3rd Avenue, at 96th Pediatricians recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for 5-17 year olds. cine. “I was nervous. I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure what would happen…I was getting information from various places.” She credits the continued efforts of Meyers and NCNW with helping her sift through all the data she was getting, and make an informed decision based on facts and science. She also indicated that, in addition to her hesitance around the vaccine, and the challenges of digesting advice from various sources, physically getting to vaccine sites was also a battle.
NCNW and Meyers helped with that as well. “They made it very easy.” When the booster shot was available, Overby indicated that NCNW helped her to get phone numbers, get locations about where to obtain the booster shot, and helped her make a booster shot appointment. “I needed help navigating the system.” Community members like Meyers, trusted by Overby, provided that much needed help.
Those trying to ensure that community members are vaccinated are also using multimedia to get the word out. Dr. Tonya Taylor, PHD, MS, assistant professor, Special Treatment and Research (STAR) Program, College of Medicine, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, has created a series for DownstateTV called “Coronavirus, COVID-19 Information Session.” Titles include “What is COVID-19” and “What to do if you or someone in your home gets sick.” Taylor’s series, which is on YouTube, has been viewed hundreds of times and has provided a wealth of information from hand washing, to mask wearing, to how the disease spreads, for people in New York City and beyond. In addition to the web series, Taylor has also participated in several educational sessions including a Town Hall in March 2021 hosted by the National Black Leadership Commission on Health and Harlem Prevention Center entitled “COVID19 Vaccines.”
It’s not just the medical community that is fighting to keep Black New Yorkers informed, their elected leaders are doing their part as well. Councilmember Debi Rose of the 49th District in Staten Island leads by example. As she said, “I’m fully vaccinated and wear a mask when attending indoor social
See VACCINE on page 30
Is it necessary for my child to get a COVID-19 vaccine? The COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for children 5-17 years old just like other childhood vaccinations. The COVID-19 vaccine is the best protection against getting severely sick or having long-term complications from COVID-19 illness. COVID-19 VACCINES SAVE LIVES. GET YOUR CHILD VACCINATED. To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine or call 212-COVID19.
gatherings. My staff and I have worked hard to inform our constituents about the COVID-19 virus and the importance of wearing masks in crowded settings and getting fully vaccinated. And we provide masks to anyone or any organization that requests them.” Rose also spoke about a newsletter that she emails her constituents every Friday, featuring a regular “Vaccination Updates” section. It includes the latest news about COVID-19 and its variants, where to get vaccinated, the availability of home vaccinations, free transportation to vaccination sites, and in-school vaccinations.
“We have worked closely with city Health Department officials to schedule NYC Mobile and Pop-Up vaccine sites in our district,” Rose said.
Minister Robert Perkins, Staten Island Male District Leader of the 61st Assembly District, also believes in doing his part, stating, “I personally took the shot, and have successfully supervised Test and Trace Teams. I’m currently a COVID-19 Tracker and constantly carry informative literature, masks to give out, and hand sanitizer.”
Community leader and Harlem Children’s Zone President and founder Geoffrey Canada wrote a piece for PolicyLink entitled “Why I took the COVID-19 Vaccine” to add his voice to the call for individuals in the Black community to get vaccinated. “I did not decide to get vaccinated without reflecting deeply on the relationship between Black and Brown communities and the health-care system in the United States. However, I’m confident I made the right decision for myself and my family, and I’m sharing my thoughts with you with the hope that you will do the same.” According to Canada, the virus must be stopped, and the most effective way to do that is to get vaccinated.
The digital media community is also getting the word out. S. Mitra Kilatra is the co-founder and publisher of Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter to help New Yorkers get through the pandemic and navigate vaccine registration. Kalita spoke with AmNews and said, “The good news is overall New York is doing great. The bad news is as the vaccine rolled out Black and Brown communities still have problems. You need an internet connection to book your vaccine appointment. If you work two to three jobs, finding a place that can accommodate you past 7 p.m. is still really hard. If you don’t speak English, it’s pretty hard to get a vaccine because you may have issues with documentation.”
Kalita also explained how time is an issue for people, especially those in the Black community who may not have a surplus in their schedule to chronicle minuteto-minute COVID changes. Kalita also highlighted the multitude of inequities in communities such as a lack of grocery stores, absence of transit hubs, and dearth of media outlets that people feel they can get trusted information from. According to Kalita, it’s not possible to treat the issue of under-vaccinated individuals as solely an issue of vaccines. “These are communities that were feeling acutely disconnected before COVID.”
Kalita and her team are doing their part with newsletters, vaccine help, vaccine registration assistance, and more to get information to the communities in need.
Johnnie M. Walker, Bethune-Height Recognition Program national co-chair, and New York State Convener, shares this view. Walker said that “lack of trust in the medical and science profession” is a large barrier in people getting the vaccine, but that “outreach such as webinars and workshops can be critical in sharing information,” and that’s the work that Walker is specifically engaged in.
It is this “lack of trust” that Lorna Wilson, treasurer of the Faith United Methodist Church, also cites as a massive barrier to Black community members getting vaccinated. “Most people feel like the vaccine is against us. It is miseducation. It’s sad. People ask how did it come up so fast; I say scientists don’t go on vacation.”
Where do we go from here? Nicole Meyers of NCNW believes we need to “increase the number of trusted messengers. Provide more community-based awareness programs and educate the community leaders. The training and awareness must be designed in digestible ways so that accurate information about the benefits of being vaccinated becomes a normalized discussion and not a discussion based on a debate.”
According to Lorna Wilson of Faith United Methodist Church, “The Black community has been historically marginalized. There’s so much distrust. We need people we can trust.” As reported in an article in the British Medical Journal, “Unvaccinated Americans have died at 11 times the rate of those fully vaccinated since the delta variant became the dominant strain.” Further, “vaccinated people were 10 times less likely to be admitted to hospital and five times less likely to be infected than unvaccinated people.”
The stakes are high not just for Black New Yorkers but the entire city if high quality information from trusted sources is not provided to the Black community to inspire more people to get vaccinated.
Funding for this story was provided by a Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative & National Association of Black Journalists Black Press Grant.
