Pharrell is using his platform to shed light on how Coronavirus is disproportionately affecting black and brown communities. In a virtual interview on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show,” the “Happy” rapper discussed racism in the world of healthcare during COVID-19.
“There’s this narrative that people who look like me, darker or lighter, brown and black folks, that we don’t know how to take care of ourselves,” he said. “We’re twice as likely to get asthma and all these other crazy things that’s been going around.”
He continued, “It’s not that. It’s just that the healthcare is disproportionate and you’re seeing the effects of that right now, in the way that this thing is spreading and who’s getting the help and how they’re getting the help — there’s historical injustices in healthcare with people of color. Those things systemically contribute to the disproportionate access.”
Pharrell then goes on to say that if black people were treated as humans from the start, there wouldn’t be a lot of problems going on in our communities today.
“This is definitely affecting people of color in a different kind of way,” he continued, “and I appreciate you asking me this question so that we can use your platform so we can get it out there. We’re human beings. If we were to be treated like that from the very beginning, we wouldn’t have disproportionate problems, but we do.”
Pharrell recently postponed his annual Something In The Water festival until next year due to COVID-19. Although the festival won’t take place this year, the In My Mind rapper is still continuing to serve his community. He is teaming up with the World Central Kitchen to feed people in the communities of Virginia that have been affected by Coronavirus.
Check out his interview with Jimmy Fallon below.