Beyoncé and Her Mom Help Fund COVID-19 Testing Facilities in Houston
Beyoncé and her mother, Tina Knowles Lawson, have spearheaded #IDidMyPart, a new challenge encouraging the funding of coronavirus testing facilities nationwide.
The goal of the challenge is to highlight the need for facilities for the Black community amid the coronavirus pandemic, as well as for celebrities to nominate one another to help spearhead testing efforts in their respective hometowns.
Beyoncé is teaming up with her mother, Tina Knowles Lawson, to spearhead COVID-19 testing efforts in their hometown of Houston, Texas.
Per a press release shared to Beyoncé's official website, the star's BeyGOOD organization will be initiating the #IDidMyPart campaign, which encourages Black communities to prioritize their health amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
It's been revealed in the weeks since the novel virus's spread that Black communities are being disproportionately affected by the global health crisis in the United States. According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of mid-April, 33.7 percent of COVID-19 patients were Black, even while comprising only 13 percent of the United States' population. In addition, 33 percent of all coronavirus fatalities have been Black Americans.
"We are all in this together. But we have to look at what is happening in our Black and Brown communities and how they are being decimated by COVID-19," said Knowles Lawson in a statement. "It is critical that we stay vigilant with social distancing, wearing a mask, and most of all getting tested. If you don't get tested then you don't know if you are a carrier of the virus. Being asymptomatic is how you infect your entire household and those around you, the very people you love. We have got to go to these free testing facilities and find out our status."
This Mother's Day weekend, Beyoncé and her mother's efforts will bring two days of testing efforts to Houston, providing 1,000 testing kits and protective gear such as face masks and gloves to participants. In addition, hot meal vouchers and grocery gift cards will be donated to health care workers and staff in Houston.
The end goal of the campaign is for other high-profile celebrities to nominate each other to help fund testing efforts in their respective hometowns. According to the press release, Tyler Perry has already accepted the #IDidMyPart challenge and will help facilitate testing efforts in Atlanta, Georgia.
Before announcing the new testing initiative, Beyonce previously donated $6 million to aid organizations that support health facilities in New York, New Orleans, Detroit and Houston.
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