THREAD: 1) It is extremely important that there is a growing public conversation about how to overcome the fears and suspicions of large numbers of Black people so that they will be willing to take the Covid vaccine.

2) The fears many Black people have of the US medical system are well founded. Some history:

- Tuskegee Syphilis Study
- J. Marion Sims's surgical experiments on enslaved Black women
- forced sterilization
- allround inferior care

This remains to be fully confronted & overcome!

3) But, BAD science & unethical, racist medicine should NOT be a reason to prevent Black people from accessing good medicine to prevent unnecessary death & widespread suffering!

That would only worsen the problem! Esp as Black people are disproportionately dying of Covid.

4) It is very positive that many are calling on prominent Black figures to publically take the vaccine as a way of breaking down the fear among Black people more broadly.

And, it is impt that Black people were included in the trials -- both as scientists & doctors, & recipients.

5) But one very important thing is way too often left out of the discussion of the efforts to overcome Black people's widespread & legitimate fear of the vaccine:

BUILDING UP PEOPLE'S BROAD UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE! Including a scientific understanding of the virus & vaccine.

6) Unless/until people are trained to understand things scientifically, they will be subject to being played again & again!

While it is part of what is needed, it is NOT ENOUGH to have "trusted" figures take the vaccine.

People need to have the tools to evaluate for themselves.

7) It is no accident that Black people in their large numbers are shunted into the very worse education and deprived of training in basic science.

Not enough people are talking about this -- and fighting to overcome it.

8) Rather than capitulating to this widespread lack of scientific training, we should all be aggressively using this moment of fear of the vaccine to broadly DEMYSTIFY science & TRANSFORM the situation where millions of oppressed ppl don't have the tools to evaluate 4 themselves.

9) This will not only save lives in relation to Covid, it will "repay" again & again & again & again as this will enable oppressed people to think critically about the real-world causes for all kinds of problems & to seek reality-based, scientific solutions to them.

10) This includes problems like the whole system of capitalism-imperialism that enforces white supremacy in a thousand forms, has fueled a science-hating fascist regime to wreck havoc on the world, & is driving our planet to catastrophe.

11) And, the revolution that can and must be made -- in the real world, using the scientific tools and framework that has been further forged by Bob Avakian -- to put an end to all forms of oppression, exploitation, and enforced ignorance & misery that flow from this system.

12) Last, but EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:

Access/training in a scientific approach also ENRICHES the lives of people -- expands the awe & wonder at the "beauty and richness" that surrounds us, as per this wonderful quote from Ardea Skybreak.