” THE EFFECTIVE REMOVAL OF BLACK-OWNED PHARMACIES IN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD IN CHICAGO: DEMONSTRATES THE DANGER ON HOW BLACK LIVES DON’T MATTER IN AMERICA WHEN WE FAIL TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT “
BY
NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L.CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., LYNN MICHELLE CLARK, REV. C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., MBA., WILLIE GUINYARD BS., BRAHM FISHER ESQ., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., ESTHER HYATT PHD., BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER, DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BS., CUDJOE WILDING, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISOR
Norman J Clement, Aaron Howard, Lynn Michelle Clark, Rick Fertil demand the return of our DEA pharmacy Control Substance Registrations Immediately.
below is a must-see video link from CNN on pharmacy deserts
https://apple.news/AJY0ixbXWQRiGvU0Ejv7RSA
TWO SYSTEMS OF HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA
What we can observe from this above video broadcast by CNN on Pharmacy deserts in this west Chicago neighborhood of Austin, is no accident. This is the by-product of long term targeting of black-owned pharmacies by DEA and the State of Illinois, Under the Guides of Good Faith Dispensing which are being very loosely interpreted by State and Federal Agents. They have been able to shut down nearly all independently own Black-pharmacies.
Just being Black is enough to get one inspected despite the fact they may have done nothing wrong. Some black pharmacist-owners did prison-time for the most minuscule violations, which non-black owners would have been issued a warning. While for many other Black Pharmacist, the constant harassment by regulatory officials was more than enough for them to close their stores.
One pharmacist, who has chosen to remain anonymous stated, she had been in business near that same area for several years and her pharmacy only carried Tylenol #3 (medication combines with 30 mugs of codeine). However, when the State of Illinois Board of Regulation Inspector came to her establishment he questioned the pharmacy owner as to why she didn’t carry Oxycontin? She explained to him the physicians, in the area don’t write for that type of control narcotic.
The inspector immediately demanded she begin ordering Oxycontin, which she then claimed sat on her shelf for months until the next time the same inspector returned; only to site her for having “excessive Oxycontin” in her store. The constant inspections and violations got so out of control they were able to undermine her Illinois Public Aid contract and she was forced to close down. Many Black Pharmacists will agree these occurrences are unlikely to happen to a non-white pharmacist.
Practicing Pharmacy while black is real, and the results are the destruction of overall healthcare in our predominately black neighborhoods. We have been frequently reporting on the DEA using these and other types of systemic racist targeting and we have been demanding Congressional Oversight from the Sub-committee on Judiciary, Congressional Government Operations Committee, Sub-committee on Health and the Environment, the resulting warnings are being reported in our blog youarewithinthenorms.com. We demand Congressional hearings and media, exposing these injustices and how it affects our overall healthcare and the passing down of generational wealth (stratification economics).
Now, the DEA has targeted Wal-Mart, this too is a very concerning injustice by the DEA/DOJ and must be exposed. Wal-Mart and these independently own Black Pharmacies, are Pharmacist, Businesses, in dispensing of prescriptions/control medication written by healthcare practitioners for specific diseases states of their patients. More importantly, the DEA has shown absolutely NO proved these prescriptions written by licensed practitioners having diagnosed with a disease condition are illegitimate or they are being diverted for non-medical use.
Carol Anderson Ph.D., is a Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. Professor Anderson’s research and teaching focus on public policy; particularly the ways that domestic and international policies intersect through the issues of race, justice, and equality in the United States. Dr. Anderson was interviewed, June 2020 by PBS Journalist Christiane Amanpour and she pointed out:
——– Dr. CAROL ANDERSON:
” It was the basis of my book, ‘White Rage.’
“In fact, looking at that phenomenon and looking at it via policy that whenever African-Americans make a significant gain toward their citizenship rights, you see a wave of policies coming up to undercut those rights.“
“We see it coming out of the civil war where African-Americans are no longer property where you get the rise of a Supreme court that is just the visceral rating the amendments that dealt with the Baptist of servitude of slavery, citizenship, and the right to vote.“
“And we see that again coming into the great migration where you had African-Americans fleeing the South and going North and again a wave of laws to block their access and to block their aspirations for decent housing, good schools. And the Brown decision that ended Plessy v. Ferguson separate but equal.“
“You saw public school systems shutting down across the South so that Black children would not get educated but White children would get funding to go to all-white private academies. And that leads us through the civil rights movement and then to Obama. And it was the backlash against Obama that helps feed the rise of Donald Trump.“
So it behooves us, as we used to say in the church to be able to know those patterns and to not get complicit or complacent in what this incredible moment means as we’re seeing these policies being generated because we know the backlash is coming.”
We Demand hearings from Congress as these activities of Regulatory Agency such as DEA helps to create Pharmacy Deserts and threatens the lives of all of Americans during this Covid pandemic by creating disparity and shortages and the majority of the times which has been done by race.
CONGRESS MUST TAKE ACTION NOW, TO STOP THESE DEA AND REGULATORY AGENCY ABUSES
