Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department, was recently quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article “A moment became a movement as Georgians answered the calls for justice.” Anderson sheds light on how the COVID-19 pandemic has helped garner a broader base of popular support for the movement for racial justice. Read the excerpt quoting Anderson below along with the full piece here.

“More protests are happening in cities and towns where few Black people live, observers note. This is no coincidence, said Emory University historian Carol Anderson, an expert on the roles of race, justice and equality in domestic and international policy. More people are more willing to consider the toll policing has taken on Black lives amid a pandemic, widespread unemployment and deep political divisions, she said.

“White Americans are also suffering, Anderson said. Mom-and-pop businesses are losing out on federal emergency loans to large corporations. Essential workers are returning to their workplaces without adequate protections against COVID-19. It can take more than a month to get unemployment benefits. And while they’re stuck in their homes during the pandemic, they’re watching videos of the killings of Arbery and Floyd.

“‘The kind of disproportionate violence people are facing in all areas of their lives — that is what’s driving this moment. That’s what causing people to re-think America,’ Anderson said. ‘And we could be amazing.’