
COVID-19 and Racism
Donation protected
Friends,
As you know, I am currently on the Canary Islands. I originally came here on March 1 for vacation and to work remotely. The first few weeks of the trip were Amazing, but things have changed dramatically since then for 2 reasons: COVID-19 and Racism.
COVID-19: As a result of the Coronavirus and the current State of Emergency in Spain, I am currently unable to leave the Canary Islands to return to the United States, so my stay is extended indefinitely. Although it is a very nice place to be stuck, I am stuck nonetheless... and have unfortunately been terminated from my job. So that creates a challenge, one of the reasons I am creating this GoFundMe. Some of the funds will be used to pay for my health insurance, because I lost my health coverage when I was terminated from my job.
Racism: We are all aware of the events currently taking place within the United States. I can't help but ask myself, "Is it safe for a Black man like me to return to the United States right now?" We all know that unarmed Black men get hurt killed by Police on a regular basis. But in most of these cases, the Black men pose no threat to the Police, and some of victims are just kids. My situation is different because I am 45 years old, 6'6", and 225#... so when the Police see me, they might actually be afraid, I fear they could take more severe actions.
To this end, some of you may know that I was recently attacked and beaten up by the local police... while I was waiting to check into a hotel room. You can see in the attached photo the damage to my eye resulting from being hit repeatedly by their Billy Club. This photo was taken more than a week after the incident occurred; it was much worse initially. So now I face both legal and medical expenses. Some of the funds will be used to pay for these expenses.
I try to stay positive and keep my head up despite this terrible situation. But my smiling face cannot hide the fact that I hurt on the inside, mentally and emotionally.
I hope you can support me and my unfortunate situation.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Organizer
Marcus Dodd
Organizer
Chicago, IL