Beyoncé and her mother Tina Knowles Lawson are working together to slow the disturbingly high number of African American deaths in her Houston hometown caused by the novel coronavirus by offering free tests and the other materials to save lives.
In a statement prepared by the BeyGOOD foundation that appears on the “Rule the World” singer’s website, Queen Bey and Lawson are launching the #IDIDMYPART initiative to provide 1,000 free tests, masks, gloves, vitamins and household supplies. The program will commence on Mother’s Day.
“We are all in this together. But we have to look at what is happening in our Black and Brown communities and how they are being decimated by COVID-19,” Lawson said in the statement. “It is critical that we stay vigilant with social distancing, wearing a mask, and most of all getting tested. If you don’t get tested then you don’t know if you are a carrier of the virus. Being asymptomatic is how you infect your entire household and those around you, the very people you love. We have got to go to these free testing facilities and find out our status.”
According to stats compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 33 percent of COVID-19 patients were Black despite the fact that African Americans represent only 13 percent of the United States’ population. Moreover, approximately 33 percent of all coronavirus-related fatalities have been African Americans.
Rolling out previously reported that Beyoncé has already collaborated with Twitter founder and CEO Jack Dorsey to donate $6 million to various organizations that are fighting COVID-19 from a mental health standpoint.
Tyler Perry also has reportedly joined the #IDidMyPart challenge as he will duplicate the program in Atlanta, the website states.
