The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world.

But for African American communities, its devastating impact extended beyond illness and death.

Beneath the statistics lies a deeper story of historical racial trauma, systemic inequality, psychological distress, institutional mistrust, and a longstanding struggle for trust in systems intended to protect
human life.

Kenneth Leroy King explores the troubling intersection of public health, racial injustice, and mental well being, examining how the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on African Americans intensified fears, revived painful historical memories, and raised difficult questions about accountability and inequality.

Drawing upon scholarly research and historical trauma theory, the book asks readers to move beyond numbers and consider the people, memories, fears, institutions, and histories behind them.

Because a pandemic can end—but the wounds it exposes may have existed for generations.