Sen. Warnock tells grads to guide the country out of 'COVID-1619'
In a commencement speech Senator Raphael Warnock tells graduates that they must help guide the country out of 'COVID-1619.'
The speech took place at the Morehouse College graduation ceremony on May 15.
Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga) told medical school graduates at Morehouse College in Atlanta that America has to find a way out of “COVID-1619.”
According to The Daily Caller, Warnock compared the COVID-19 pandemic to The 1619 Project, which has been criticized by experts for historical inaccuracies and teaches that America’s true founding was the year that the first African slaves arrived, claiming that systematic racism is built into America’s healthcare system.
“May this be the class that’s going to set new standards for how we deliver care people and reach people who have been traditionally marginalized and forgotten about in our healthcare system making sure everyone has great access to health care no matter what they look like, where they live, or how much money they have,” Sen. Warnock said during the Morehouse School of Medicine graduation ceremony on May 15.
[RELATED: REPORT: UNC journalism school backs off plan to give tenure to author of debunked ‘1619 Project’]
“May this be the class that is going to keep fighting to reverse and dismantle the disparities in our healthcare system born out of deeply rooted systemic racism. Go forth. Don’t just how to make our way out of COVID-19, teach us how to make our way out of COVID-1619,” Sen. Warnock added.
This speech comes after White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci gave a separate commencement speech at Emory University, where he said that the pandemic has exposed “the undeniable effects of racism” in the U.S.
“Many members of minority groups have a much greater risk of COVID-19 often because of the nature of the jobs that many of them have as essential workers,” Dr. Fauci said in his speech.
Campus Reform reached out to Sen. Warnock’s office for comment.
