No smart take summaries atm. Just praying for the families of Uvalde and Buffalo this week.
The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 84M total cases & 1M total deaths (+770K & +3K from last week) in the US.
The headlines:
Chances are, the current surge in COVID-19 cases is much, much higher than official numbers report. We can thank home tests for that.
Speaking of chances, it’s also very likely that we’ll all catch COVID over and over and over again. You’ve been warned.
Can’t remember if we told y’all this already, but you can order more COVID tests via the USPS. This time, they’re giving 8 per household.
As American As
…apple pie, football played with your hands, & a government that won’t do anything, we experienced another mass shooting that took the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, TX.
A few questions we continue to ask in an effort to not get desensitized to an issue that people are committed to doing nothing about:
Why, amongst its peers, is this only a recurring issue for the US?
How can folks still say law enforcement is a potential remedy when the police response failed so miserably?
How can the excuses for mass shootings be mental illness, rap music, or video games when there’s a common denominator in each instance?
How are folks coping?
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
Here’s what Biden has already done to address gun control within the scope of his power.
On the 2-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death, Biden signed an executive order aimed at increasing public trust & police accountability. About 2 weeks before then, he called on police to also get more funding.
VP Kamala Harris pays her respects in Buffalo.
Congress, What’s Good?
In light of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Congress continues to prove just how much work they don’t (won’t) do. Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have set up offices to combat domestic terrorism and extremism, claiming the measure only politicizes the killings of the 10 Black people who died from the racist massacre in Buffalo.
Later in the week, a bipartisan group of Senators indicated plans to discuss a long-shot compromise on expanded gun control, despite where the GOP stands on the issue in the wake of Uvalde.
Holding your breath for an actionable outcome? Don’t.
With Congress’ Memorial Day break extending to become a Memorial Week, there are no committee meetings this week.
Election Watch: 2022 Midterms
The next round of primary elections are on June 7. Voters in California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, & South Dakota will be going into the election booth.
Looks like there’s gonna be a rematch in Georgia. Stacey Abrams, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, will challenge Brian Kemp again for the governor’s seat in November.
Also in Georgia, democratic Senator Raphael Warnock will go head-to-head with Herschel Walker, the former NFL player and Trump knockoff. Early polls of their match up indicate a close race with Walker slightly ahead.
Speaking of political candidates made in Trump’s image, this Republican-turned-Democrat appears to have a real chance at winning Los Angeles’ mayoral race. He’s got Snoop and Kanye’s ex wife, both known to have interesting relationships with Trump, as some of his biggest endorsers.
Historically, the Black church has played a pivotal role in getting our community to the polls. Do they still have the same pull today?
Social Justice Round Up
In a ruling that’s on trend for this conservative Supreme Court, they recently decided that state-level prisoners no longer have a “broad constitutional right” to present new evidence in federal courts to show they’ve been wrongly convicted. This decision will have a direct impact on 2 Arizona inmates and many others who’ve been inadequately represented in court.
It comes as a surprise to absolutely no one, but a recent study shows that “woke” capitalism does nothing to advance social justice.
It’s about damn time. A street in Brooklyn named after Robert E. Lee had its name changed to honor a Black Brooklyn native who sacrificed his life for others during the Vietnam war.
Around the Diaspora
A Jamaican-born woman who’s worked as a nurse, a community activist and a trade union official has made yet another career pivot. She’s now the first Black mayor of her town in the UK.
When it comes to improving the treatment of LGBTQIA+ people across the continent, this writer says everyone has a role to play.
Providing an update from a story we talked about a few weeks ago, the bodies of 6 of the 8 miners trapped in a mine in Burkina Faso have been found.
Getting to the Money
Black-owned clothing brand Theophilio is hiring. In addition to an Operations Manager, they’re also hiring for a number of intern positions. Tap in if fashion is your thing.
When looking for a new job, don’t leave money on the table and don’t join a company blindly. Here are 3 questions you should ask before accepting the next job offer.
Buying Black
We know a lot of yall love love your Casamigos, but maybe it’s time to try something new. You know, for the culture or whatever. Tequila With Friends is a Black-owned brand with Dallas roots that’s won multiple international spirits competitions. Consider taking your tequila talents over to TWF this summer instead of lining George Clooney’s already-fat pockets.
Culture that Pops
Howard University signed a deal with Jordan brand, allowing the brand to be the official outfitter of all of the University’s athletic teams.
The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Darvin Ham as their new coach. With his hire, now half of all head coaches in the NBA are Black.
While white people’s validation never matches up to that which we give ourselves, but we still celebrate our people’s achievements. Questlove, Quinta Brunson, Jazmine Sullivan and more were named on TIME’s 2022 list of 100 most influential public figures.