The Skinny on COVID
The latest in numbers: 30M total cases & 549K deaths (+431K & +15K from last week)
The headlines:
Cases across the country are creeping back up. Roughly 12% over the past two weeks to be exact. In the event that a 4th surge does happen, we may see fewer hospitalizations and deaths.
What’s the reason for the numbers going back up?? Well, we can’t place the blame squarely on the more contagious variants. Increased travel & looser state restrictions are also playing a big part.
The State of New York will be the first to introduce a vaccine passport. This certification will allow people to do things like increase the sizes of their wedding party and/or to attend events at large entertainment venues.
Thanks Georgia Republicans
It’s now illegal to pass out water to a voter waiting in line, you need to have a valid form of ID in order to vote absentee, and it’ll be easier for the state legislature to swing elections in their favor because they will now decide whether local elections are being “handled” properly. This is all thanks to SB 202 that was signed into law by Georgia governor Brian Kemp last week.
If it sounds like we’re back in the pre-Civil Rights era, that’s because Republicans looked to their old Jim Crow playbook on how to bend the rules. Civil rights groups have already filed a suit to challenge the law, so hopefully it is overturned before Georgians head back to the polls.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
The crisis at the border ain’t going nowhere, but VP Kamala Harris will be responsible for working with Central American countries to help curb the problem.
The Biden administration is also working on a vaccine passport. Employers and major players in the travel industry are looking forward to this development in hopes of getting more people back into the office and back on airplanes.
In his first official press conference last week, President Biden expressed his interest in running for reelection in 2024. He’s only been President for 69 days and we love a person with goals and all, but student loan debt, gun control, the Senate filibuster, and the immigration crisis are all still unresolved. Let’s hope he works on addressing those before starting his reelection campaign.
Congress, What’s Good?
The topic of DC statehood came up in the House again last week and the amount of excuses Republicans came up with for not granting it were ridiculous. Most notable was the claim that DC shouldn’t become a state because it doesn’t have a car dealership (it has multiple), an airport or a landfill. Chile, they’ll say anything to prevent this Black Democratic stronghold from having proper representation in Congress. It’s pretty clear that the bill will make it through the House. Like many other proposals, however, it faces a hurdle in the Senate, where Democrats need 10 Republicans to side with them in order to put it on Biden’s desk.
Everyone knows that there was another mass shooting in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store a couple days ago, correct? The question is again: what is Congress prepared to do about gun control? Hopefully, we’re getting more than “thoughts and prayers” this time around as there’s now some bipartisan interest in the Senate to expand background checks. It’s literally the least Republicans can do on this issue, but we’ll take it as a starting point. WIth the NRA’s diminishing influence, let’s hope that 10 GOP Senators will be brave enough to do the right thing.
Nothing. Congress is on recess for the Easter holiday.
Criminal Justice Round Up
Last year, Baltimore announced they would stop prosecuting people for prostitution, drug possession, and other low-level crimes to slow the spread of COVID-19 in jails. Recently, they announced that this change would become permanent after observing a sharp decline in crime rates.
The jury selection for the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the cop who murdered George Floyd, is complete. What do we know about the 8 men and 4 women who were picked? Take a look.
Around the Diaspora
After fighting for months in the Northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, the Ethiopian government agrees to let the UN conduct a human rights investigation to see if they committed any violations. The catch is, the Ethiopian government will also be a part of the investigation against themselves.
In Gabon, a woman must, by law, obey her husband. According to today’s law, a woman is also unable to initiate getting a divorce. The nation’s first woman prime minister is on a mission to change all of that ASAP.
Select members of the Haitian diaspora can now vote in Haitian elections without leaving their country of residence to do so.
Getting to the Money
Heads up! If you are a small business owner or self-employed, the deadline for a PPP loan has been extended from March 31, 2021 to May 31,2021.
For many of us, negotiating what we’re worth is a muscle that we’re often nervous to flex. The Better Edit, founded by 2 Black women, wants to make sure you never walk away wishing you’d asked for more again. Attend their online “How to Negotiate What You’re Worth” event this Wednesday, March 31 to hear how you can get the most out of every compensation scenario, every time.
There’s no shortage of Tech jobs available right now. Check out the latest job listings from People of Color in Tech for career opportunities from all over, including Sephora, The Obama Foundation, Twitter & more.
Buying Black
It literally took Band-Aid 100 years to make bandages for melanin-rich skin tones. Don’t let the household name get your coins just because they finally decided to do what’s right. The next time you need a new box of bandages, consider Browndages. They’re Black owned and considered your skin tone in all of their first aid products before it became fetch to do so.
Culture that Pops
Nas’ classic debut album ‘Illmatic’ will be preserved by the Library of Congress.
Now we know why Rihanna hasn’t released any new music lately. Her last album “Anti” is STILL on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, 5 years after its release in 2016. The only Black woman to hold this title, the Bad Gal says she may release a new track to celebrate her achievement.
We are happy for Issa Rae’s new eight-figure film & TV deal with WarnerMedia (HBO’s parent company). Y’all think it’ll be possible to get a show called Secure that just so happens to pick up where season 5 of Insecure leaves off?