Special Issue Call for Papers: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Effect on the People of African Descent

The Journal of Black Psychology is issuing a call for papers on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Blacks in the Americas and in other countries. In a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dated April 11, 2020, it was noted that, out of approximately 1,968 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, 32% of these cases were persons of African descent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Among these, 27.8% were approximately 65 years of age or older. These data suggest that, not only are members of Black populations greatly affected by COVID-19, older Black adults are especially vulnerable to the virus with regard to their overall health. Previous studies have documented that, compared to members of other racial and ethnic groups, persons of African descent are at greater risk for being immunocompromised, largely due to comorbid chronic diseases, such as hypertension (e.g., Glover et al., 2020), diabetes (e.g., Ajuwon, 2020), and forms of cancer (e.g., DeSantis et al., 2019). These challenges, coupled with the realities of social and economic disparities that largely limit or prevent access to quality care and other resources, place persons of African descent at a unique disadvantage in effectively managing the difficulties posed by this pandemic.

Yet the pandemic in the United States has not manifested in the same way on the African continent. As the pandemic is continuing to unfold, it is too soon to know whether all people of African descent will experience what has been currently observed in the United States. Based on a new report by the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC; 2020), there are mixed findings about the impact of COVID-19 on African people. One, many African countries have demonstrated swift actions to contain the virus (e.g., screening airport passengers prior to outbreak, suspending public gatherings, and implementing nationwide lockdowns), possibly minimizing the transmission so far. Two, it has also been speculated that the age of the African population may give them more protection. Only 3% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa are 65 years and older, which is almost one fourth of the same age group of the Black population in the United States (11%; U.S. Census, 2018). Three, there is strong support for the stay-at-home orders (70% to 94%); however, this support could weaken. Approximately 69% of survey respondents in 20 countries feared going hungry if quarantined for 2 weeks. This concern was high in four of the five African regions, Eastern (73%), Central (83%), Southern (70%), and Western (83%), but not the Northern (23%) region. Over half of the respondents in 28 African cities said they would run out of money by staying home for 2 weeks (PERC, 2020). Because of the heterogeneity among the Black population, as highlighted above, it is important to examine the similarities and differences of the COVID-19’s impact on African people across the diaspora. What about the experiences of Blacks in the Caribbean, in South America, in Europe, or in Asian countries?

Thus, the purpose of this call is to enhance the awareness and knowledge among scholars who are working in various capacities with Black populations during the pandemic (e.g., health care, community outreach, mental health, education, social policies) across the African diaspora. The aim is to not only enhance knowledge and awareness of the lived realities of persons of African descent who have been affected by COVID-19 but also to determine best practices and potential solutions for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. And these practices and solutions may be varied based on age, location, and economics as well as other factors. Issues that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

We are interested in a mixture of papers in terms of the format for submission. Full-length manuscripts, brief reports, quantitative and qualitative, mixed methods studies, literature reviews, and conceptual papers can be submitted for potential publication. Commentaries are also possible if they address the complex realities that persons of African descent are currently facing during the pandemic, such as health services, employment issues (e.g., being classified as essential personnel), as well as policy-related realities (e.g., shelter-in-place orders). These papers must be evidence-based, not an editorial. Finally, we will also review case studies that are submitted. These studies much be relevant to persons of African descent and COVID-19 related issues.