Artist teams up with MN DOH to inform overlooked communities about COVID-19
May 27, 2021
Author: Raya Quttaineh
MINNESOTA (KVRR) – A Minnesota artist teams up with the state’s Department of Health in order to reach some communities that may be getting left behind in the pandemic.
For months on end, public health messages have surrounded us, but those in certain communities weren’t always getting reached.
“A lot of it was disparities in the African American community,” said Poet’s Uplift founder Byron Roberson.
Wanting to be an advocate for the community, Roberson partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health to create Poet’s Uplift, a website dedicated to sharing COVID-19 information tailored to the African American community.
Roberson gathers information from organizations like the Department of Health and CDC and breaks it down on his blog, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
“I saw there were so many people dying and I said, ‘You know what, something has to change.’ And then, this was just one way that I saw that I could help make a difference in the community.”
Roberson also began tailoring his posts and graphics to reach other groups: LGBTQ+, seniors, people with disabilities and young people.
His 16-year-old daughter recently received the COVID-19 vaccine, and they worked together to document the vaccination journey as a video series on YouTube.
“My biggest thing is it’s the life of the person,” Roberson said. “If we title some of the things I’m talking about, that’s what’s most important and that’s what I care about: the life of the person.”
Watch the VIDEO:
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