We Did That
Remember when Jay-Z said “We are the culture. Nothing moves without us”?
At that particular moment, he was talking about sneakers & music, but we proved that point again with last week’s election. In a nail-biting race that saw record turnout across the country, Black folks’ came through and got Donald Trump TF up out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Oh yeah, we also happened to elect Joe Biden & Kamala Harris (the first woman, Black woman, and South Asian woman) in the process.
You’ve seen the news and the social media posts, but it deserves to be said again: Philadelphia, Detroit, and Atlanta—all majority Black cities—put in work to get us here. Braving the pandemic and attempts to suppress our votes, Black voters came out in record numbers to save the US from itself again. Seriously, what can’t we do??
This infectious joy? We deserve it. The right to claim that WE got rid of Donald Trump? We deserve that too. And yet, we deserve so much more. We didn’t elect Biden & Harris because they were perfect. We elected them because we believe that we can further our cause for equality under their administration. Here’s to keeping them accountable for the next 4 years.
COVID is Running Us
We are in the worst surge of COVID-19 that we’ve had thus far in the US. Now at 10M cases since the start of the pandemic, pretty much all states are seeing increases while the midwest continues to be hit the hardest by this wave. States are implementing new rounds of travel restrictions and social distancing protocols in attempts to curb the spread.
Among the first in the country to do so, New Jersey passed legislation to release over 2K prisoners early. With Black people making up a disproportionate share of their prison population, the move could help save lives in the community.
Thank goodness for President-Elect Biden. The man is sensible enough to believe in science. Details on a new Coronavirus task force will be released today. While we wait on his plan for getting us through the end of this nightmare, stay masked up and keep your immune system strong.
California Gives Felons Right to Vote
The Golden State had a number of propositions geared toward racial & economic equity on the line in this election and while many didn’t pass, the state did vote to restore voting rights to felons out on parole. Impacting felons of color more than whites, the goal of this law is to reduce recidivism rates and to keep them on track for rebuilding their lives.
Congress, What’s Good?
Now that the election’s over, we’re entering a lame duck session through January 2021 when the new Congress & POTUS are sworn in. Mitch McConnell changed his tune on not considering another stimulus package until the new year, but he and Nancy Pelosi are again at opposite ends of the spectrum. You’d be wise to keep your expectations low on more relief. Doesn’t look like there’ll be stimulus checks to make holiday shopping any easier.
The themes for committee meetings on the hill this week: oversight & nominations.
2020 Election Recap
The real MVP of 2020 is Stacey Abrams. After voter suppression tactics cost her the chance to become Georgia’s governor in 2018, she took her L, set her sights on turning Georgia blue, and gave us a critical win that helped defeat 45.
Trump & his supporters are refusing to see that the light at the end of the tunnel is a U-Haul truck coming to move his things out of The White House. Instead, they’re touting fabricated stories of election fraud.
A Ferguson activist. Black men who are proudly part of the LGBTQ community. Ditching an old Mississippi law that was designed to dilute the Black vote. Here are all of the historic people & things we said “yes” to last Tuesday.
2020 has been a long year and for these 2 US Senate races in Georgia, it’s gonna be just a little longer. If you have a bit of free time, consider helping the Democratic candidates get across the finish line. Winning these races will produce a critical 50-50 split in the Senate.
Mitch McConnell referenced MLK in his acceptance speech and the icon’s children replied by asking him to keep their father’s name out of his mouth.
Around the Diaspora
Ethiopia is on the brink of civil war and the winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize (their prime minister) is right in the middle of the conflict.
Muslim protestors in Senegal are furious with French president Emmanuel Macron for supporting the caricaturization of the Prophet Muhammad.
Tropical storm Eta is making her way to Cuba and causing some serious flooding throughout the Caribbean along the way.
Getting to the Money
PayPal is giving a total of $50M to these 8 Black & Latinx venture capital funds.
Buying Black
With the holidays coming up, you might wanna think of more ways to enjoy spending time with your close friends & family at home. Let The Black Pack spice up your heated Spades games a bit more. Each deck of their cards represents us throughout the Harlem Renaissance, the ‘70s, & the ‘90s. They even have a deck dedicated strictly to Martin Lawrence. Oh, and get this: their cards are also waterproof, so you can sanitize them on the regular.
Culture that Pops
Whitney & Biggie were both inducted into the Rock & Roll HOF. If you missed it, you can catch the induction on HBO Max.
Talk about Black-owned everything. These two Black-owned startups partner together to help Black-owned restaurants.
Last week was stressful AF. Here are some ways we can practice self-care for free.99.