Coping with Racism: a Perspective of COVID-19 Church Closures on the Mental Health of African Americans

Abstract

Academic medical literature and news outlets extensively document how older individuals in communities of color, especially African American communities, are dying disproportionately of COVID-19 due to ongoing societal, racial, and healthcare disparities. Fear of death and suffering are acutely elevated in Black communities; yet, African Americans have been facing, coping with, and overcoming American societal racism and subsequent detriments to our mental health for centuries. Predominately African American churches (hereafter referred to as the "Black Church") have always served a historical, cultural, contextual, and scientifically validated role in the mental health well-being of African American communities coping with American racism. Nonetheless, buildings of worship closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March 2020. This article is a first-hand perspective of five Black internists/psychiatrists who are deeply involved in both academic medicine and leadership positions within the Black Church. It will explore how the physical closure of Black Churches during this period of increased mental stress, as caused by healthcare inequities revealed by the COVID-19 epidemic, is likely to be uniquely taxing to the mental health of African Americans, particularly older African Americans, who must cope with American racism without physical access to the Black Church for the first time in history. Keywords COVID-19. Church. Religion. African American. Black. Racism I, Reverend Dr. Maria Black, write today as an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, an older African American woman, and a board-certified internist with nearly 40 years of experience in general and academic medicine in Georgia. I write alongside my daughter, Dr.

Mental Health Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Children and Adolescents: What Do We Know so Far?

“…The closure of these churches during the pandemic likely had negative effects on their mental health. 32 …”

Aging and COVID-19 in Minority Populations: a Perfect Storm

“…Among others, large family size and close contact greetings are common among Hispanic persons and are cultural norms that may challenge the feasibility of social distancing and increase the risk of COVID-19 infection and transmission [ 22 ]. Furthermore, the closure of churches, which play an important role in Black communities often serving as sources of information, resources, social interaction, and emotional support, may disproportionately affect Black communities [ 23 ]. The uniqueness of these factors and their potential to exacerbate the reach and effects of COVID-19 underscore the need for culturally appropriate public health measures and communication.…”

“Everything is Either Sent by God or Used by God”: An Exploratory Study on the Impact of COVID-19 Upon the Religious Lives of Black Families Living with Dementia

“…However, physical closures of Black churches during the pandemic may have forced families to opt for a home-based approach for practicing their faith and religious traditions (McGowan, 2020 ). A few studies have highlighted that the closure of churches due to the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the expression of spirituality and mental health of individuals (Chatters et al, 2020 ; DeSouza et al, 2021 ; Galiatsatos et al, 2020 ; Imber-Black, 2020 ). However, the extent of those effects on families living with dementia, especially for Black families, is unknown (Bavel et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ).…”