Hope & Heartache: Gleaning From COVID-19’s Impact on the Black Church

Churches around the country have suffered this past year because of the pandemic—the Black church more than others. Mark Croston, national director of Black church ministries at Lifeway Christian Resources, talked more in depth with Lifeway Research about the impact of COVID-19 on the Black church in the U.S.

Why do you think Black Americans have suffered more during COVID-19 than white Americans?

Croston: When it comes to COVID-19 the USA is truly a world leader. As of March 5, 2021, according to an article in Medical Press, the United States had reported 28,780,950 cases and 519,064 deaths from COVID-19, leading the world in these two areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the world, but especially in the United States. We have roughly one-fourth the population of India, but roughly three times the numbers of cases and deaths.

We have the best scientists, physicians, hospitals, technology, communication, finances, system of government, you name it, and yet we find ourselves at the top of this hill which puts us at the bottom of the barrel.

So, you might be asking, what all this has to do with answering the question. It has everything to do with it. It suggests to me that there’s something additional going on here: That is, we’ve lacked the will, as a nation, to lower these numbers and squash the pandemic. Social distancing, quarantine and mask wearing are being seen through the optics of politics rather than the public good. So, when the public good gets pushed off the table, who always gets hurt most? The poor and minority populations. Read More