Trump, Meet Corona
We’re somewhere between chuckling at the karma of it all and total disbelief. Actually, we’re leaning towards disbelief.
After months of downplay and denial, Y’alls President finally caught the ‘Rona. Or so he says. While some predicted a COVID-19 infection to be Trump’s October Surprise (aka the stunt he’d pull one month before the election to help his campaign), his administration is working hard to convince the American people that he does in fact have the virus. They’re causing confusion as they aim to be transparent, but they’re working hard nonetheless. Trump isn’t helping the optics of the moment either with the motorcade he staged to wave to his supporters and his complete disregard for quarantine requirements, but hey. His ego is bigger than any virus.
Our thoughts and prayers still go out to those who lost loved ones due to Trump’s refusal to take this pandemic seriously.
Also, here’s the latest look at how the country is managing through the pandemic.
CA Got Busy Last Week
California is far from perfect, but the state sure does know how to keep its name in the headlines. Last week, they worked with Jay & Meek’s Reform Alliance on a new probation law that will shorten probation terms to 1 year for misdemeanors and 2-5 years for most felony charges. The state spends $235M annually to send people back to jail for technical violations. The hope is that the money saved from this new law will be reinvested into programs that keep parolees out of prison for good.
Governor Gavin Newsom also signed a bill establishing a commission to come up with a reparations plan for Black residents. The benefits *could* come in the form of cash payments, student loan forgiveness, or job training programs. The commission’s first meeting must take place by June 1, 2021 and a recommendation must be delivered within a year after that initial meeting.
The Truth Always Comes to Light
After the grand jury decision in Breonna Taylor’s case was made public last week, one juror stepped forward to question some of the details shared by Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron. Turns out, Cameron did not recommend murder charges for the officers, so the jurors were only asked to consider wanton endangerment. As a result of the juror speaking out, a judge also ordered Cameron to release the grand jury recordings, allowing the public to hear what really went down in the courtroom. As a result of this revelation, Breonna’s family has asked for Kentucky’s governor (a Democrat) to appoint a special prosecutor in their continued pursuit of justice.
Congress, What’s Good?
Democrats in the House are still pushing for COVID-19 relief, so they passed a smaller bill last week. In addition to shaving $1.2T off the last package, this biggest change in the new deal is a 1-year ban on evictions for nonpayment. Initially, the ban was only in buildings that were under federally-backed mortgages, but this new bill extends this protection to renters nationwide. Nancy Pelosi is hopeful that the Trump administration will now see the light and meet her in the middle. It’s still crickets on this from Senate Republicans though. That’s probably because they were busy dealing with 3 of their own catching COVID-19. In spite of it all, they still plan to confirm RBG’s replacement.
The Senate will be in recess until October 19. The House also dispersed to allow reps to campaign in their home districts this week. As such, the committee schedule is pretty light this week.
2020 Watch
Did you lose a few brain cells watching last week’s debate too or was that just us?? Ps. Why were so many surprised that a white supremacist didn’t condemn other white supremacists?
Kamala and Pence are up next. They hit the debate state this Wednesday, October 7.
Republicans aren’t confident that the election will be conducted fairly.
Heads up Texas! Your governor has no shame about suppressing your vote. He just made the decision to eliminate all but 1 ballot drop box in each county statewide. For context on just how crazy that is, nearly 5M people living in Harris County, which includes Houston and surrounding areas, will have just one location to drop their ballots off at.
Maybe Texas’ governor is doing this because he knows there’s a possibility that Biden would have the election in the bag if he won the Lone Star State.
Around the Diaspora
Afro-Mexicans are coming for the recognition they deserve.
Meet the Nigerian-Irish teenagers who developed an app to comfort those living with dementia.
History has been made in Togo. They just elected their first woman prime minister.
Canada’s Green Party named a Black woman as its leader for the very first time.
Caribbean countries are being called to sign onto the United Nations’ pledge to reduce biodiversity loss by 2030. So far, only Belize has made the commitment.
Getting to the Money
Warner Media (home to HBO, CNN, and DC Entertainment) will be hosting a virtual career & networking fair from October 12-15. The event will allow 3,500 attendees to hear from professionals in the fields of tech, journalism, sports are more. Sign up here and make sure to include an updated resume in your submission.
Moving forward, Glassdoor will allow users to rank companies on the basis of diversity & inclusion.
Buying Black
Roller skating is another of the culture’s special talents and Moonlight Roller has the perfect skates to make you stand out for your next IG video or the next time you’re at the rink.
Culture that Pops
Portland Trailblazers star CJ McCollum is launching his own talk show leading up to the November election. One of his first guests will be VP candidate Kamala Harris.
Megan Thee Stallion called out Daniel Cameron in her SNL performance.
Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean-Raymond will serve as the global creative director of Reebok.
Warner Brothers is producing a film where only Black folks will have superpowers.
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