A new directive by Health Officials in Lincoln County, Oregon, requires that all residents wear a mask in public, but the order says that  ‘people of color’ are exempted from the requirement.

The reasoning by health officials considers that some ‘people of color’ may have “heightened concerns about racial profiling and harassment” over wearing the masks:

According to an ACLU Activist, making ‘people of color’ wear a mask could put them in danger:

“For many black people, deciding whether or not to wear a bandanna in public to protect themselves and others from contracting coronavirus is a lose-lose situation that can result in life-threatening consequences either way.”

A black professor from Ohio State said forcing people of color to wear a mask is “basically telling people to look dangerous given racial stereotypes that are out there. This is in the larger context of black men fitting the description of a suspect who has a hood on, who has a face covering on. It looks like almost every criminal sketch of any garden-variety black suspect.”