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Over the past few weeks, people across the country have faced a choice: join protesters demonstrating against racial injustice, or stay home in light of the ongoing pandemic.

This, however, is a false dichotomy. The sacrifices required of this movement aren’t unprecedented; rather, they’re just another example of how resistance to racism has always come at a high cost. Being Black means existing in a constant state of yielding, choosing between fighting for equality at great personal risk or suffering the status quo. Historically, Black people have had to offer their own bodies in protest—during the in 1963, at , and on the .

This current moment is no different. Black people aren’t strangers to putting their lives on the line, and once you recognize the stakes, there is no question that we should all be doing our part to contribute to this movement.

Black Lives Matter protesters aren’t on the streets because they don't believe in science or dismiss the risks—which are, in fact, higher for Black and Latinx people. Most are acutely aware of the dangers of COVID-19: That's why the vast majority of protesters wear masks; why healthcare workers and vendors distribute water, food, and hand sanitizer at their own risk; why nurses receive loud applause when they show up to march; and why many protesters are self-quarantining when they return home.

So why not protest from a distance? Why congregate, confront police, and shout in tight crowds, transferring saliva droplets that might carry the virus?

Because it’s working.

COVID-19 is a public health crisis, but —a raging epidemic we’ve never managed to contain in the United States. This moment is a rare opportunity to make people aware of white America’s persistent persecution and exploitation of Black communities throughout our country's existence—and to inspire them to demand profound, concrete structural changes. George Floyd’s murder and the resulting protests have galvanized millions across the globe, and they’ve led to tectonic shifts in support of racial justice: According to a , support for Black Lives Matter jumped by 11 points just two weeks after Floyd’s death. Protesters have helped white and non-Black people reflect on their role in systemic oppression.

And the protests have done more than shift public sentiment. The have been charged, and nine members of the Minneapolis City Council have pledged to and create a new public safety system. After activists rallied continuously outside his home, a $100-150 million cut to the police department’s proposed annual budget. The Washington, D.C. City Council unanimously passed an in early June, which the council chair for the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety directly attributed to the demonstrations. in Georgia after residents protested in front of the local sheriff’s office. After weeks of chants to “say her name,” the involved in Breonna Taylor’s death, and the .

Of course, there’s still much progress to be made. While policymakers have made gestures toward appeasing protesters, the movement’s demands center on building anti-racist institutions, —especially when police continue to use against those exercising their First Amendment rights. This initial momentum is just the start of a broader effort to shift public resources from police budgets that fuel the carceral state to productive social programs that address racial and economic inequality. Protesters will continue demonstrating until officials invest in systems and institutions that empower Black communities.

Research supports efforts to . Police in the United States are often ill-equipped to handle their assigned tasks: Only that police respond to are violent, and yet—as demonstrated by the cops respond to non-violent calls with a gun and a badge, often unnecessarily escalating violence. There is that increased policing reduces crime. Meanwhile, —especially Black communities—is a of mass incarceration, and there is of the prison industrial complex’s role in upending communities and entrenching racial inequalities.

Protesters are demanding that resources that have been historically consumed by police (including much of the over the past 40 years) be redirected toward addressing homelessness, food insecurity, lack of economic opportunities, health care, and more. Treating these as the logical consequences of systemic discrimination, , is a critical step toward building better communities—it’s worked in .

The novel coronavirus has been in the United States for around six months. Systemic oppression of Black people is an epidemic this country has lived with for over 400 years. The courage of the protesters—many of whom are at —is inspiring people to not only reflect on their personal biases and prejudices, but to understand how racism casts its long shadow on every facet of our lives, including our justice, health, and economic systems. Rather than criticizing protesters for spreading COVID-19 (despite current to support that conjecture), let’s make sure public displays of protest create tangible, lasting change. After all, some viruses are best managed with quarantines and social distancing—but others require us to come together, to stand in solidarity with those who have been cast aside by this country, and to fight together for a more just, compassionate future.