Staying at home, social distancing, and public masking are effective at minimizing the spread of
COVID-19. To the extent possible, we support the application of these public health best practices during
demonstrations that call attention to the pervasive lethal force of white supremacy. However, as public health
advocates, we do not condemn these gatherings as risky for COVID-19 transmission. We support them as vital
to the national public health and to the threatened health specifically of Black people in the United States. We
can show that support by facilitating safest protesting practices without detracting from demonstrators’ ability to
gather and demand change. This should not be confused with a permissive stance on all gatherings,
particularly protests against stay-home orders. Those actions not only oppose public health interventions, but
are also rooted in white nationalism and run contrary to respect for Black lives. Protests against systemic
racism, which fosters the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on Black communities and also
perpetuates police violence, must be supported.