Mourning a Preventable COVID-19 Death at Brian Abernathy's house

Members of ACT UP Philadelphia laid a white coffin draped with a red scarf on the ground outside of Abernathy’s West Mount Airy residence in protest of the death of a resident in one of Philadelphia’s homeless shelters. Housing, democracy, harm reduction, and decarceration activists parked on the streets surrounding Abernathy residence.

Jamaal Henderson of ACT UP speaks at a political funeral at Managing Director Brian Abernathy’s house. Photo credit: Joe Piette

In his speech, ACT UP member Jamaal Henderson referred to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s coverage of the death of a resident in Our Brother’s Place, a shelter funded by the Office of Homeless Services. His speech was punctuated with spectators chanting “Shame!” Henderson described FEMA funding that the city can use to provide non-congregate shelter to shelter residents with conditions such as HIV, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Henderson referred to communication from city officials implying they had not yet applied for the FEMA funding but are looking into making a plan to expand access to hotel rooms to shelter residents who are 65 and over, with pre-existing conditions. The open letter that ACT UP members delivered to Abernathy included a call to move all residents, regardless of age, with pre-existing conditions out of shelters and into hotels immediately.

Henderson described the conditions in Our Brother’s Place where the death occurred. “They’re in beds that are eighteen inches apart. According to the CDC beds are supposed to be at least 3 feet apart. They’re not taking care of them the way that they should be. And they have resource, they have the ability, they just don’t have the drive.”

ACT UP member Jose DeMarco added, “Poor black people are bearing the brunt of everything that’s [screwed] up about health care. It’s the same thing with COVID. You see the same pattern of behavior. You see poor black people dying, just like HIV. When you think about it, these are white people with the control over black people’s health and lives and they’re doing nothing about it”

Livestream video available at http://facebook.com/actupphilly. Additional photos of the action available courtesy of Joe Piette