I never asked myself if my community would be hit hardest by the pandemic; it was more a matter of when. Whether it were because Black Americans disproportionately make up the workforce that doesn’t have the luxury to work from home — or soak in the bathtub, or learn new dances on TikTok . Or if it were a result of the overwhelming lack of access to adequate healthcare and housing that has led to disproportionate diagnoses of pre-existing health conditions like hypertension, asthma and diabetes — all of which can ultimately prove fatal when mixed with the symptoms of the virus. Or even if it were a byproduct of the impending recession that is sure to hit all Americans, but will especially gut Black and brown communities. The longstanding systematic and structural inequality that make up the fabric of the U.S. have created a perfect storm. As the old saying goes , “when white folks catch a cold, Black folks get pneumonia.”