Georgia's Covid-19 reopening pits white governor against black mayors.
African Americans account for 54% of state’s known Covid-19 deaths while Atlanta’s mayor unveils her own reopening council
On Monday, Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, announced his decision to reopen the state for business.
Non-essential businesses, including tattoo parlors, hair salons, movie theaters and bowling alleys, will be authorized to reopen from Friday, if they follow social distancing orders.
In a state where African Americans make up more than 32% of the population but account for an estimated 54% of known coronavirus deaths, the decision pitted a white Republican governor against mostly black Democratic mayors and critics.
“By trying to push a false opening of the economy, we risk putting more lives in danger,” Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who lost to Kemp in a controversial election in 2018, told MSNBC.
Citing the close contact needed for grooming services, Abrams said: “There is nothing about [the measure] that makes sense.”
Abrams also said the governor “did not consult with [the mayors] before making this decision”.
The mayors of Savannah, Augusta and Atlanta confirmed they were not contacted before the governor’s announcement.
Bo Dorough, who is white, is the mayor of Albany, a small city with a cluster of confirmed Covid-19 cases that has ravaged its mostly black community. Dorough said he only learned of the Kemp’s announcement after an aide caught the press conference on TV.
“I’m flabbergasted that the governor would say we can’t take additional precautions to protect our citizens,” Dorough told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This isn’t a mixed signal. It’s a U-turn.”
Citing “more than 19,000 Georgians” who have tested positive for coronavirus, Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is black, said in a statement she “will continue to urge Atlanta to stay at home, stay safe and make decisions based on the best interests of their families”.
She later told CNN: “As a parent, I am concerned. Our numbers are going up. [Mayors] are really at a loss.”
On Monday, Bottoms unveiled her own advisory council for reopening, independent of state guidance.
African Americans account for 54% of state’s known Covid-19 deaths while Atlanta’s mayor unveils her own reopening council
On Monday, Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, announced his decision to reopen the state for business.
Non-essential businesses, including tattoo parlors, hair salons, movie theaters and bowling alleys, will be authorized to reopen from Friday, if they follow social distancing orders.
In a state where African Americans make up more than 32% of the population but account for an estimated 54% of known coronavirus deaths, the decision pitted a white Republican governor against mostly black Democratic mayors and critics.
“By trying to push a false opening of the economy, we risk putting more lives in danger,” Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who lost to Kemp in a controversial election in 2018, told MSNBC.
Citing the close contact needed for grooming services, Abrams said: “There is nothing about [the measure] that makes sense.”
Abrams also said the governor “did not consult with [the mayors] before making this decision”.
The mayors of Savannah, Augusta and Atlanta confirmed they were not contacted before the governor’s announcement.
Bo Dorough, who is white, is the mayor of Albany, a small city with a cluster of confirmed Covid-19 cases that has ravaged its mostly black community. Dorough said he only learned of the Kemp’s announcement after an aide caught the press conference on TV.
“I’m flabbergasted that the governor would say we can’t take additional precautions to protect our citizens,” Dorough told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This isn’t a mixed signal. It’s a U-turn.”
Citing “more than 19,000 Georgians” who have tested positive for coronavirus, Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is black, said in a statement she “will continue to urge Atlanta to stay at home, stay safe and make decisions based on the best interests of their families”.
She later told CNN: “As a parent, I am concerned. Our numbers are going up. [Mayors] are really at a loss.”
On Monday, Bottoms unveiled her own advisory council for reopening, independent of state guidance.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/22/georgia-reopening-kemp-governor-mayors