Queen Latifah Announces Fundraiser to Support Black, Latino Americans Impacted by Coronavirus
Queen Latifah Announces Fundraiser to Support Black, Latino Americans Impacted by Coronavirus https://t.co/jZQWtfadyp
- People (@people) September 22, 2020
Queen Latifah will be hosting a virtual fundraiser to help Black and Latino communities affect by coronavirus.
In an exclusive interview with People, Latifah reveals that the cause hits close to home. One of her cousin’s, who works in a supermarket, tested positive for Covid. Her cousin’s wife and son also tested positive.
“As frontline workers, they were right in the crosshairs of the virus,” Latifah, tells People. “I’m really thankful they were able to fight it off, but this thing is serious and it’s hitting Black and Latino communities at a higher rate than white people.”
Queen Latifah is teaming up with the American Lung Association to host its first-ever livestream benefit #Act4Impact on September 26. The event will raise money for the organization’s COVID-19 Action Initiative.
The Covid-19 Action Initiative aims to highlight the disproportionate effects the pandemic has on Black and Latino communities throughout the US. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), Black and Latino people are nearly five times as likely to be hospitalized due to Covid as white patients.
The group will help provide relief and invest in research programs for respiratory illnesses. The group will distribute free cloth masks and advocate for accessible and affordable Covid and flu vaccines.
“If there's anything we've seen this year, it’s that there's some big differences in how people of color are treated in our country, whether it's from healthcare, to policing, to this pandemic,” Latifah says. “This fundraiser is an opportunity for regular, everyday people to get good information, get a break from the craziness of it all, but also hear from some of your favorite people.”
Celebrities including Jimmy Fallon, Laura Dern, Whoopi Goldberg, Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade are scheduled to participate.
Join us on September 26, 7 p.m. ET on Facebook Live for #Act4Impact, a livestream fundraising event, hosted by Queen Latifah. Keep checking back as we reveal behind-the-scenes content and announce additional celebrity guests. Learn more at https://t.co/CHmrY0EFqd pic.twitter.com/CSbdlBtpY1
- lungassociation (@LungAssociation) September 18, 2020
The American Lung Association’s #Act4Impact fundraiser will be held on Facebook Live on Saturday, September 26 at 7 p.m. EST. All funds from the event will go directly to its COVID-19 Action Initiative.
Sources: 1, 2