‘Horrifically racist’ backlash prompts Oregon county to drop non-white mask policy
A week after issuing an order that required only white people to wear masks, leaders in Lincoln County, Oregon, have reversed the policy because of “horrifically racist commentary,” according to the county’s website.
The initial order, issued on June 17 in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, stated: “The following individuals do not need to comply with this Directive: ... People of color who have heightened concerns about racial profiling and harassment due to wearing face coverings in public.”
But a week later, county leaders sent out a statement explaining that the exemption would be dropped.
“We are shocked and appalled at the volume of horrifically racist commentary we have received regarding this policy exception. The vitriol that county leadership, staff, and community partners, have been subjected to is unprecedented,” county leaders said in a statement. “The expressions of racism regarding the exception has created a ripple of fear throughout our communities of color. The very policy meant to protect them, is now making them a target for further discrimination and harassment.”
The June 17 order was issued as several states in the U.S. experienced summer surges in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, prompting government leaders to mandate that residents to wear masks while in public.
Activists have expressed concerns that mask requirements put people of color in danger, the New York Post and other media reported.
“For many Black people, deciding whether or not to wear a bandanna in public to protect themselves and others from contracting coronavirus is a lose-lose situation that can result in life-threatening consequences either way,” ReNika Moore, director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, told CNN.
Census data shows that Lincoln County is 90% white and less than 1% Black, heightening concerns that a mask mandate could result in more racial profiling,CNN reported.
The county not only received complaints about the policy from members of the community, but also from all over the country, according to its statement.
“We would encourage you to think less about the possibility of your rights being violated and think instead of the heightened feelings of risk that people of color in your neighborhoods daily endure,” the statement said.
County leaders also received “several calls from leadership from our communities of color asking us to revise the policy — it was not providing them protection, but instead making them possible targets for more hate,” according to the statement.
“To address those concerns, we are revising our Public Health Directive and face covering policies. It saddens us greatly that we need to do that,” the statement said.
COVID-19 cases are increasing in the state of Oregon as more businesses continue to reopen, The Oregonian reported. The state has 7,444 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 301 in Lincoln County, or 4% of the state’s total, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The county’s mandate requires people to wear face coverings in public, both indoors and outdoors, while also maintaining social distancing, according to Lincoln County’s website.
Residents in seven Oregon counties, including Lincoln, are required to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces under Gov. Kate Brown’s mandate, The Oregonian reported.
Counties are individually responsible for enforcing the mask mandate, but most efforts will focus on education rather than punishment, The Oregonian reported.
In Lincoln County, government leaders acknowledge they are fighting more than the coronavirus, saying we “will continue to recognize and fight racism.”
“While we would like to be done with this virus, it is not done with us,” the statement said. “Wear your face covering, be kind to each other.
“End racism now.”
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 5:07 PM with the headline "‘Horrifically racist’ backlash prompts Oregon county to drop non-white mask policy."