Photos by Steve Granitz/WireImage, Monica Schipper/Getty Images, and Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
On Thursday night Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs hosted a live virtual panel featuring lawmakers, artists, activists, and doctors to discuss the critical impact COVID-19 is having on the black community.
The live discussion, titled “State of Emergency: The State of Black America and Coronavirus,” was hosted on Diddy’s platform REVOLT.
The dynamic list of guests included Rev. Al Sharpton,Van Jones, Angela Rye, Charles Blow, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Fat Joe, Killer Mike, A$AP Ferg, and also, New Orleans Mayor LaToyaCantrell, and Dr. Camara Jones.
The program started with a powerful pre-recorded video from Sen. Kamala Harris.
In her introduction, Harris stated that while only making up 13% of the US population, African Americans account for 40% of coronavirus deaths. These eye-opening stats set the tone for a conversation that covered policy, health, community, and call to actions.
You can watch the full program here:
Since the early months of 2020 COVID-19 has been taking the world by storm. People from all walks of life have been impacted. Everyday folk to celebrities such as Idris Elba have battled the virus.