The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 35M total cases & 613K deaths (+558K & +3K from last week)
The headlines:
Regardless of your vaccination status, please just keep wearing y’all masks. That’s the new guidance from the CDC.
Dr. Fauci doesn’t foresee any additional lockdowns despite the current surge in COVID-19 cases. Are we (and our bank accounts) the only ones who wouldn’t mind being indoors again?
The White House is frustrated, claiming the media is putting extras on the news about vaccinated people spreading the Delta variant. They believe the excessive coverage is discouraging people from getting vaccinated.
Black Athletes Don’t Work for You
Simone Biles chose her mental and physical health over the 2021 Olympics and everybody (that’s white & conservative) threw a collective white supremacist fit. Twitter fingers were going crazy and the rants & think pieces were coming in from left and right after she withdrew from 4 events. . Despite Biles asserting confidence in her teammates' abilities (she told no lies), the misogynoir in the moment was STRONG.
In what we hope is a move motivated purely by Biles being ready to return on her own, she will be shutting the haters up as she competes in the balancing beam final tomorrow.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
Joe Biden asked Congress to extend the rent moratorium that expired on July 31. They did not. Here’s what you need to know if you feel you could be facing eviction soon.
President Biden gave the green light to resume expedited deportation flights, preventing migrant families at the southern border from seeking asylum. The administration was supposed to phase out this Trump-era practice, but they’re using the current stage of the pandemic as reasoning for why the deportations will continue. Minors coming to the border alone are still allowed to seek asylum.
Kamala Harris is making her first trip to Asia as VP. She will be visiting Vietnam & Singapore where the pandemic, regional security, and climate change are on the agenda.
Congress, What’s Good?
The impossible happened: the Senate messed around and made a bipartisan deal on infrastructure. The 2700-page proposed legislation includes $1.2T to be spent on various transportation needs, high speed internet, electric vehicles, and more. What happened last week was just a 67-37 early vote, so the Senate will vote on the bill in full this week to see whether it will be passed on to the House. Only after it makes it through the House will Biden be able to sign it into law.
As for the budget reconciliation, that’s still in the works and it looks like it’ll be another rocky ride. The next couple days will tell us a lot about its future.
Other happenings on the Hill last week, Capitol Police officers were invited to the House’s January 6 commission to recount their experience of the insurrection on January 6 and the details—if you missed them—were harrowing.
Only the Senate is in session this week as the House is already away on recess. Here’s what’s on their agenda for committee meetings:
Nomination hearings of potential federal government officials
Student loan bankruptcy reform
Social Justice Round Up
Texas activists marched 27 miles to protest the state’s new voting laws. Among the demands of the “Moral March for Democracy” were the restoration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the passage of the For the People Act, and an end to the filibuster.
The Poor People’s Campaign, the organization that coordinated the march mentioned above, will also hold a demonstration in Washington, DC today to advocate for raising the federal minimum wage to $15.
Around the Diaspora
A Black Italian man named Lamont is now the world’s fastest. He won the gold for Italy in the 100m race.
Also, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, a Black woman, won the 100m race for Puerto Rico. The win secured the island’s second gold medal ever.
The Cuban government is moving to convict protestors in mass trials. Given what we've learned about the treatment of Afro-Cubans and the fact that they led these protests, we can only imagine how harsh the convictions will be.
Getting to the Money
The Black Marketers Association of America is hosting “Ask an HR Leader” on Tuesday, August 10. Register here and be prepared to get transparent advice on topics like resumes, interviews, LinkedIn, compensation and more.
Buying Black
Listennnn. We all have our moments when we are going through it and just need something to help us push through until we can get in touch with (or find) our therapist. My Therapy Cards were designed to help us do just that. Created by a Black woman, the cards can help with unproductive habits, mental blocks, & trigger responses. They also have decks created specifically for Black men and/or teenagers to offer help to those of us who identify with either of those demographics. If you or a loved one could really benefit from a resource like this, consider giving the cards a chance.
Culture that Pops
Will Smith and Jay-Z are investing in a startup that aims to make homeownership accessible to all.
Speaking of Will, he released the trailer for King Richard, a film about Venus & Serena Williams’ father. There’s been quite a bit of questions surrounding the promo release like shouldn’t there be a film about the tennis superstars first? Also, should a light skinned Black man (Smith) have portrayed Richard, who is dark skinned himself?
It’s a new month, so that means new films/TV shows are popping up on Netflix. Check out what Blackity Black Black movies are on the way here.