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Sterling K. Brown has been quarantining with his family. He is currently preparing to go back to filming season 5 of This Is Us and is trying to implement practices to keep himself and his loved ones safe from COVID.
In a recent People interview, Sterling talks about the effects of the virus on cancer survivors. Through the organization Survivorship Today he is trying to find creative ways to build interactive community for cancer survivors. They may find themselves re-experiencing the isolation they felt while being treated because of COVID restrictions. He also states that wearing a mask is a humanitarian responsibility, not a political issue. This is a no-brainer but so many people need to hear it. Here are a few excerpts:
Through his work with Survivorship Today, the actor also helps survivors find community and call attention to their personal triumphs and challenges.
“It’s going to take a minute before life looks the way that it was before this virus, you got to be patient. And in that patience, you have to be creative in terms of how you interact with the community, whether it’s in your backyard, outside with picnics and people bringing their own utensils or whatnot. There are ways that we can do it safely,” he says. “It may take a little bit more mental energy, but hopefully, mental energy is worth a high quality of life for everyone that you love.”
Brown, who returns to production on season 5 of This Is Us this week, also stresses the importance of wearing a face mask — plus, “obviously wash your hands, have your hand sanitizer”— to ensure safety for all.
“I care enough about my fellow man to recognize that I could potentially be a carrier to someone that I love, to someone that I care about, to someone who has as much a right to life as anybody else,” he says. “The idea that I could unconsciously or unwittingly affect them is something that horrifies me. And if there’s something I can do, it’s as simple as putting a mask on when I’m in the presence of someone that I care about them, why wouldn’t I?”
The Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts star adds, “Wearing a mask should in no shape, form or fashion, be a political issue. It’s a health issue. It’s a responsibility issue as a humanitarian. It’s not just about you. It’s about the whole community.”
The fact that we are this far into the pandemic and are still having to beg people to wear a damn mask is infuriating. It is not that hard. I get that it is uncomfortable, I have to take deep breaths so I don’t panic every time I put on a mask, but I know I am not only doing it for my safety but for the safety of others.
Wearing a mask isn’t infringing on anyone’s rights, it is not political. Like Sterling said it is our responsibility as humanitarians. Why is this so hard to understand? I do blame the disinformation campaign that is running rampant on social media and Fox News. When will people get it into their heads that losing 201,000 people in six months is not normal?
Anyhow, enough of my ranting, I will be looking into this program Sterling is involved in because I have lost six people to cancer since 2006. I think it would be amazing just to be involved with creating community for survivors. The other thing that made me smile in this article was how he couched BLM. Seeing the coalition of non-BIPOC saying enough is enough does feel hopeful. I will admit, like him I spend most of my time bouncing back and forth between rage and hope. I work hard to fight apathy as well. I guess these emotions will be the new norm for a while. As James Baldwin said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. ” I really feel that.
Sadly we do need this said and I applaud him for continuing to push this vital message. I also love his comments about things taking a bit more mental energy. The world is a different place, sure you can complain a bout that but you can also think about things differently and adapt. We’re resourceful creatures, it’s just that a lot of us had become complacent about our perceived mastery of the world we live in.
I do blame FOX and of course, the head of malevolence in this country, Donald Trump, for this anti-mask behavior, but it’s also on the American people. If we didn’t have so many who are completely devoid of empathy, of compassion, of common sense, and of a feeling of duty towards the common good, they couldn’t have run this play.
Yes, it is definitely Fox ! I live in Florida and a lot of people watch that station 🙁
Sterling is definitely gonna be asked to play John Lewis in a bio pic about him. I can feel it.
Oh yes please.
He’s criminally underrated.
What a beautiful man inside and out.
It is a humanitarian issue for sure, not a political one. And it has proven to lessen the spread of the virus significantly. If we all worked to protect each other, we could really stomp this thing out much faster.
On that note, PSA: Please wear your masks at drive thrus! I go to Starbucks for my Pumpkin Spice Latte pick-me-up once or twice a week, and I’m always the odd woman out in line when it comes to wearing a mask. I’m in a blue state, so this surprises and disappoints me. You’re not that far from the barista when you pull up close to the window, so please respect their safety!
Thankfully, where I am it’s required by law to wear a mask inside any establishment. I can’t imagine what people would be like with no enforcement.
He is completely right. Someone on another website said during the Blitz Londoners were told to keep their lights off so German bombers couldn’t seek them out as targets. Would the people that are complaining now complained back then that it was their so called constitutional right to keep their lights on? Would they have called the war into question and called it all a hoax? A virus might not be visible to the naked eye like a bomb is but it can be many times more destructive.
Yesterday I tagged along with my mother for her yearly check up in the hospital. Masks weren’t mandatory (which is odd to me) but we both wore one inside anyway. Healthcare workers need to be healthy and don’t need us taking risks with their health just because the mask is a little bit itchy. Simply put: don’t be an a-hole and wear a damn mask.