The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 28M total cases & 499K deaths (+100K & +13K from last week)
Some headlines:
The US is expected to cross the 500K threshold for COVID-related deaths today. Biden will hold a moment of silence for the lives lost.
Though children only represent a small number of COVID deaths, over 75% of the children who have died are children of color. 29% are Black and 45% are Hispanic.
Scientists are working on vaccines for the variants that have emerged. Clinical trials will start soon.
Much Ado About Texas
We’ve all seen news coverage about the tough week Texans are having. Freezing temperatures, food & water shortages, property damage caused by power outages, and a punk for a senator. While these issues hit Texans all over, Black and other people of color felt them disproportionately.
Btw, shout out to AOC for raising over $5M to help the victims of Texas on her own, especially after state officials utterly failed to do so themselves.
If you’re interested in helping yourself, you can donate to AOC’s fund or to any of these organizations.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
The President said last week that he’s against canceling $50K in student loans because it doesn’t make sense to forgive the loans of those who go to Harvard, Yale or any other elite school. Not only is that argument stupid (tbh), it’s also judging the full picture by the most minuscule detail. Only 0.3% of federal student borrowers attended an Ivy League school.
The U.S. is officially back in the Paris Climate Agreement, but that was the easy part. The real work must begin now.
Malcolm X once said, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.” As you can expect, VP Harris is getting a lot of hate because she’s Black and because she’s a woman. Studies suggest she actually may be the most targeted American politician online today.
Congress, What’s Good?
Bernie Sanders is confident that a $15 minimum wage increase will pass as part of the new federal budget despite not having the support of all of his Democratic colleagues.
Meanwhile, House Democrats have released their version of Biden’s COVID relief plan. Here’s what’s inside. It may be passed as early as this week in the lower chamber, but it will almost certainly have issues in the Senate due to the aforementioned Democratic senators who aren’t feeling the minimum wage increase.
Busy week for committee meetings & hearings. Congress will be covering:
The nomination hearings of Merrick Garland for Attorney General. You might remember that Obama nominated him for the Supreme Court in 2016, but Republicans blocked his nomination
Adewale Adeyemo’s hearings for his nomination as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. If appointed, he would be the first Black person in this role
Extremism in the media and domestic terrorism across the nation
Large corporations’ payment of poverty wages to their employees
Criminal Justice Round Up
Chicago took 60% of the federal Coronavirus relief funding and gave it to Chicago PD. Remember when Mayor Lori Lightfoot appeared as though she would come in and actually make needed changes for the city? Yeah, that seems like a blur to us too.
Nebraska wants to conduct research on potential criminal justice reforms, but they’re gonna multitask and also consider building a brand new prison.
Illinois’ new reform bill will be signed into law by its governor today. The bill will limit the use of force, require body cameras to be worn and allow those who cannot afford bail to await trial at home. Law enforcement is big mad. Of course.
Around the Diaspora
Grenada is keeping its waters beautiful by reducing marine waste coming from yachts and other vessels used for pleasure or recreation.
Nigeriens (of Niger, not to be confused with Nigerians of Nigeria) went to the polls to elect a new president yesterday. Sadly, the day was not without violence.
These Afro-Latinas want to see more of their stories and voices published in books.
Getting to the Money
Do you want to build your own version of the BeyHive (ok ok….or the Future Hive) for your business or a brand that you’re working with? Buy your ticket now to The Gathering Global, a business summit that calls on some of the biggest names in the business world to help. By the end, you’ll have all the keys to make a splash when establishing your brand with your target audience.
If you’re interested in investing in startups, but aren’t sure if you should make that move, check out why it may be a good (and and potentially lucrative) idea.
Buying Black
Indomitable specializes in keychains that will help you protect yourself in the event of an unsafe interaction while running errands, commuting, etc. Each set comes with pepper spray, a light, tactical stick, and whistle. Grab one of their self defense keychains for yourself or for those in your life who you know would benefit for carrying one of these.
Culture that Pops
A portion of 9th Street in West Oakland was recently dedicated to Dr. Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party.
Stevie Wonder is done with America. The legendary singer is packing up his bags and moving to the Motherland. Ghana, to be exact. Wonder if he can take us with him???