Prominent in discussions of the COVID-19 pandemic is the negative impact that governmental actions, or inactions, have had and will continue to have disproportionally on Black America. The socioeconomic positioning of the Black community in the United States is unique, putting its members at far greater risk of contracting the virus and suffering from not only the associated medical consequences but also the long- term socioeconomic setbacks that are associated with suffering from serious health conditions. With these considerations in mind, it is rational for Black Americans to be more fearful of COVID-19, both from personal health and socioeconomic perspectives. Not only is the rational fear quantitatively different between Black Americans and white Americans, in that Black Americans have more reasons to be afraid, but it is also qualitatively different, insofar as Black Americans are more susceptible to deeper, generational, defining loss than are white Americans.

Fear is one of our most basic human responses to a variety of situations and, as such, motivates many of our actions. Shamaila Dodhy (2017) writes that ‘[fear] happens in reaction to some kind of threat. The most common and general threats which a humankind confronts are fears related to death and collapse of life ideals.’ Similarly, Annette Freyberg- Inan (2006) says that ‘the motive of fear is associated with the goal of survival. Realism assumes that human beings want, above all, to survive. This goal, often considered an instinct, leads them to try to find ways to protect themselves from natural dangers.’ These characterisations describe fear as a response motivator to some form of external threat to personal wellbeing, broadly construed. This being the case, effective policy responses must be grounded in race- based data regarding these particular fears, taking into account that minority Black America and majority white America have not experienced the same pandemic.

Most of the information on COVID-19 infection and the associated long- term consequences among particular race groups is privately funded and limited in scope. Few governmental agencies have funded, analysed or appealed in meaningful ways to race- based data related to any aspects of this pandemic. Effective policy must rely on the most complete and accurate data available, especially when concerning health, freedom and finance, and this is not possible with incomplete data.