Vaccine hesitation has been a widespread issue throughout the United States since COVID-19 vaccines were first announced near the end of 2020. Initially, the resistance leaned more on the political end of things with former President Donald Trump taking questionable stances on the virus and vaccine. However, as Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson began producing the inoculation, fear of the unknown shook the Black community at large, who primarily cited a lack of trust in the American healthcare system among other concerns. In the summer of 2020, the National Urban League produced a report that showed that Black people are three times more likely to get COVID-19 than their white counterparts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 703,699 COVID-related deaths in the United States as of Oct. 8. The COVID Racial Data Tracker reports that Black people represent 15% of COVID-19 deaths where race is known, and die at 1.4 times the rate of white people. CDC vaccine data reports show fully vaccinated people are 11 times less likely to die from COVID and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized from complications related to the virus. Yet, Black folks in the United States make up about only 10% of the population who has received at least one vaccine dose. Blavity spoke with four Black folks who, once hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine, decided to roll up their sleeves for the greater good, and their own. Candace Literary and newspaper editor Candace J. Semien said she was initially hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19 because early information seemed counter-effective for people living with autoimmune diseases as she does with lupus. According to the Johns Hopkins Lupus Center, the disease attacks the body's tissues as if there are foreign invaders to the body causing what is referred to as a flare or crisis that can lead to severe pain or even death."There was little explanation or assurances that the vaccine would not trigger a deadly lupus crisis," Semien said. "It was important for me to hear the vaccine discussed in terms of how it affected people with hyper immunity and that information wasn't front and center. Then the hesitation grew as people had some, but only mild, symptoms after the vaccine. For me, those mild symptoms could still mean death. It is the same reason why I have never gotten the flu shot.""So, I really questioned how could my reaction to the vaccine be different," she continued. "Could the programming and symptoms send me spiraling to a preventable death? I didn't have clarity so I wasn't taking the vaccine even though COVID could kill me also. Sadly, it was either death by COVID or death by the vaccine." As Semien considered her options, she said it all boiled down to deciding what side of "wrong" she wanted to be on. "Wrong and the vaccine works to mitigate COVID or wrong and the vaccine triggered a crisis," she said. "Then reports starting coming about the COVID long haulers. Each and every symptom those long haulers reported were the exact symptoms I live with. To me, those COVID long haulers were now lupus patients. I did not feel I could outlive COVID and if I did, I surely could not survive another layer of chronic disease."So she took her first shot and cried. A few weeks later, she had to convince herself to return for the second dose."I found comfort in my decision when I see the hospital's responses to the unvaccinated. I know the experience of going into the hospital and getting inadequate care because the disease is unfamiliar. I felt it would double my chances of being medically mishandled to go to ER unvaccinated with known chronic immune issues. I needed a fighting chance."While she hasn't become a vaccine champion, Semien said it is important that people evaluate their own inhibitions when making their decision on whether or not to be inoculated. "For me, the vaccine was more about having another barrier --along with homeopathic care-- to prevent my death."RichardRapper Richard Jones, who goes by "Fiend" or "International Jones," said he has been taking serious precautions to protect himself from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, but he drew the line at getting vaccinated. After being hospitalized for three days and suffering a nearly two-month bout with the virus, the actively performing emcee is team vaccine for himself and his family. "If it wasn't for God and my wife, I'd be dead," Jones said.He said he thinks he contracted the virus at a nightclub in Atlanta because shortly after he became ill he had been told that the venue needed to shut down for a time due to COVID-19 concerns. As he suffered through what he referred to as double COVID, the veteran rapper said he felt completely helpless. At one point during his illness, he told his wife to begin making his funeral arrangements. "It wasn't looking good," he said. "COVID beat me up -- it tried to take my lungs out -- it aims to kill you."The former No Limit soldier called the experience "an invisible war." "If COVID was a person, we'd wanna kick his a*s. I just never felt so helpless." Even though he said he never wants to experience COVID-19 again, he doesn't necessarily want to become an advocate for getting vaccinated. Instead, he wants people to do what they believe is best for their household:"If you remain hesitant about being vaccinated, I hope that my real-life story can allow you to make a better assessment for yourself."Now that he's on the other side of COVID-19 and ready to receive the vaccine, Jones said he's still experiencing some symptoms, one of which is paranoia. "The thought of someone coughing around me, or going to Walmart where muscle-bound people thinking they're superior to this walking around with no mask on when it was mandated, just contributed to my paranoia," Jones said. "The way I wash my hands now, people think I'm doing the Birdman hand rub. I just wash my hands all day, all day." However, his paranoia isn't stopping him from joining former label mates Mystikal, Silkk The Shocker, Mia X, and label executive, Master P for the No Limit Reunion Tour, which is taking place now since it was rescheduled from last year due to pandemic restrictions. "You see me on this No Limit Tour, I'm going to be the guy in the hazmat suit, ya' heard me." Chenese Multi-media personality and influencer Chenese Lewis initially took the stance that COVID-19 was no different than the flu. Since she generally refutes receiving the flu vaccine, being vaccinated against coronavirus was a no-go. She changed her mind at the decision of her family's patriarch who had grown restless with lockdown and was looking forward to resuming normal activities as soon as possible. "My dad shocked me by immediately signing up for the vaccine once it was available," Lewis said. "Also, watching the news reiterate the death toll daily due to the virus was scary. At the peak, you couldn’t log into social media without seeing RIPs all over your timeline."Lewis, who had been crowned the first-ever Miss Plus America, in 2003, said that while her father influenced her family to be vaccinated, she was also haunted by memories of being on life support in 2014 when she became incredibly ill. "I never want to be in that position again," she said. "Once you get to the point that you need a machine to help you breathe, it’s a very traumatizing experience, if you even survive. Many people currently in the ICU are wishing they could go back and get the vaccine, but it’s too late."The grim existence of the virus made things even more real for Lewis whose change of heart led her to be fully vaccinated. She contends she suffered no side effects. "You should want to protect yourself and your family by any means necessary," she said. "The vaccine is accessible to everyone, don’t have regrets after it’s too late because you missed your shot, literally and figuratively."Jude Luxury travel specialist Jude August saw a major setback to her industry when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit. At that time, that was the only way she was directly impacted by the virus. Back in April, the 42-year-old who also lives with sickle cell disease, said that she and her doctor had conversed enough about the vaccine's impact on those living with the illness that she felt safe enough to schedule a vaccine appointment. But three days before her dose, she began to experience labored breathing, weakness and fever chills. "I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance with a fever of 105 degrees. My body began to shut down due to a [sick cell] crisis and I had to have an emergency blood transfusion," August said.She was immediately placed on breathing machines and a heart monitor."I was in and out of consciousness in addition to severe pain. I was told that I could not be admitted to the hospital unless I had COVID."August had been tested prior to her visit but was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. After testing positive for COVID-19 and receiving an alarming chest scan, she said she was told that she could not be admitted to the hospital for another 24 hours. She was attended to by the nursing staff in the ER until she was admitted. "I was told by my best friend and husband that they did not think I would make it," she recalled. "I was not responsive at times. When I finally became responsive, I had no appetite and was extremely weak. I was not able to walk or use the restroom without assistance." Her hospital stay was extended due to a blood clot forming in her arm. Following her release, her recovery journey included seeing a hematologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, home health worker and her primary care physician. "The message I hope to send to people who remain hesitant about being vaccinated is that this virus is real," August said. "It is important to take the proper precautions to prevent the continued spread of the virus. I have to pay closer attention to my body now and operate at a slower pace because I'm still recovering."Since her battle with COVID-19, August has also lost loved ones and said her own family is personally impacted by it all because her body continues to respond to having had the virus. For information about COVID-19 vaccines, including inoculation centers, please visit Vaccines.Gov or the Centers for Disses Control and...
California is standing with women in their fight against the Pink Tax— a term used to describe the price increase on products and services marketed toward women.On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed The Menstrual Equity Act, obligating the state’s public schools and colleges to have free menstrual products in all-female and all-gender restrooms starting in 2022. The newest extension of the bill builds on the state’s 2017 law requiring low-income schools in underprivileged areas to provide students with free menstrual products.In 2020, a similar bill passed in Scotland that required all public places to offer free menstrual products.The Golden State's latest law includes grades 6 to 12, community colleges and the California State University and University of California systems. California is also urging its private schools and colleges to follow suit in making hygiene products accessible. Several cities like New Orleans and institutions such as Purdue University are also standing with women by offering free feminine hygiene products on their campuses.“Our biology doesn’t always send an advanced warning when we’re about to start menstruating, which often means we need to stop whatever we’re doing and deal with a period. Just as toilet paper and paper towels are provided in virtually every public bathroom, so should menstrual products,” Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia said.Free tampons and pads scratch the surface on products that are marketed towards women and are dramatically overpriced. From razors, toys and even medications, the pink tax is an unfair tax imbalance. We love to see society's norms and privileges being redefined....
“My Administration will always have your back, and we will continue fighting for the full measure of equality, dignity, and respect you deserve,” the president said.
On National Coming Out Day, President Joe Biden condemned homophobia in a statement shared by the White House.The statement, shared Monday morning, rallied behind the LGBTQ+ community and praised legislatures outlawing discriminatory practices across the country, the Independent reports."Today and every day, I want every member of the LGBTQ+ community to know that you are loved and accepted just the way you are — regardless of whether or not you’ve come out,” Biden said.“To LGBTQ+ people across the country, and especially those who are contemplating coming out: know that you are loved for who you are, you are admired for your courage, and you will have a community — and a nation — to welcome you,” he added. “My Administration will always have your back, and we will continue fighting for the full measure of equality, dignity, and respect you deserve.”The nationally recognized holiday was first celebrated in 1988. The awareness day aligned with the one-year anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, and was established by Robert Eichberg and Jean O'Leary.“Most people think they don’t know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact, everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes,” Eichberg said in 1993.The day has since been observed on Oct. 11 and aims to uplift the community.While on the campaign trail, Biden openly expressed his diligence to tackle legislature in support of the community within the first 100 days of his term as president. Biden, who has taken a different tone in his support of the LGBTQ+ community when compared to former President Donald Trump, has also appointed several members of the LBGTQ+ community to his administration.Additionally, on the 10th anniversary of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," Biden said the country should honor LGBTQ+ service members discharged due to the discriminatory act, NBC News reports.The policy banned members of the LGBTQ+ community from publicly disclosing their sexuality. Under the policy, roughly 13,000 service members were discharged. The repeal was signed into effect by former President Barack Obama. In February, the House of Representatives also passed an Equality Act that seeks to ban discrimination against people for their sexual orientation and gender identity, the Independent reports.Despite the country's strides, the president noted that the country still has a way to go in embracing all people, CNN reports."Bullying and harassment — particularly of young transgender Americans and LGBTQ+ people of color — still abounds, diminishing our national character. We must continue to stand together against these acts of hate, and stand up to protect the rights, opportunities, physical safety, and mental health of LGBTQ+ people everywhere," he said."From defeating discriminatory bills to passing the Equality Act, we have more work to do to ensure that every American can live free of fear, harassment, and discrimination because of who they are or whom they love," Biden added.The holiday is also celebrated across the seas in Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the...
For too long, the United States’ tax code and capital investment programs have favored the interests of big corporations and the wealthy over small businesses.
If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.Opinions are the writer’s own and not those of Blavity's.____When my husband and I started our food truck, Spoon-a-Bowl, in 2018, we did not factor a global pandemic into our business plan. We make a significant portion of our sales from working events, so when all of our events for the year were canceled in March 2020, it hit our business hard. We weren’t sure how or if we’d be able to stay open.My husband Jonathan and I met in college. After we started dating, we often talked about opening a business together. When Jonathan was laid off from his job in 2017, we decided to finally take the leap and pursue our dream. We bought a food truck and started selling frozen yogurt, our favorite delicious and healthy dessert.Growing up as a Black girl in Los Angeles, I didn’t know any business owners who looked like me. I dreamt of changing that. My husband and I want to set an example for kids growing up in our community. I hope they look at us and think, “Hey, I can do that too!” Operating a food truck allows us to service diverse neighborhoods all across the Las Vegas area and meet people in their communities. Over the years, we’ve talked to many people who, like us, dream of starting their own business. But many simply don’t have the resources to do so.Starting our business was not easy. We struggled to access capital and had to sell our house to buy the truck. We would love to open a brick-and-mortar store someday, but we currently don’t have the capital to make that happen.President Biden’s plan for small businesses would expand access to capital for businesses like ours, with a particular focus on helping women-owned and minority-owned small businesses overcome barriers to expansion. Not only would his plan build a nationwide network of community small-business incubators, but it would also invest billions in the Small Business Administration’s loan programs, helping to develop communities that have been racially redlined or ignored by investment programs in the past.For too long, the United States’ tax code and capital investment programs have favored the interests of big corporations and the wealthy over small businesses. Unlike our business, many top corporations in this country pay $0 in taxes. Small-business investments like the ones President Biden has proposed can easily be paid for if big corporations simply pay their fair share. Under this plan, 97% of small-business owners won’t see their income taxes increase.Small businesses have always been the key to America’s success. That’s what our nation’s prosperity was built on: working people who dream of building a better life. But to stay competitive with big corporations, small businesses need help.Congress has a rare opportunity to pass Biden's plan this fall and help put many people's dreams into the realm of possibility by expanding access to capital investments and investing in benefits for employees. President Biden’s plan will give a jumpstart to small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic, especially Black-owned businesses like ours.____Ashley Bradley lives with her husband Jonathan in Las...
President Joe Biden made history on Friday, signing the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples' Day, The Hill reported. The holiday, which is part of an effort to honor the contributions of Native Americans, will be recognized on the same day as the controversial Columbus Day celebration still recognized in some states.“For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures,” Biden wrote. “Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples’ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society.”While officially marking Indigenous Peoples' Day, Biden also issued a proclamation to recognize Christopher Columbus, who is known to have inflicted violence on Native communities, but still honored in some areas as he is given credit for "discovering" America. In his proclamation, the President honored Columbus for becoming "the first of many Italian explorers to arrive in what would later become known as the Americas."Biden also praised the controversial figure for inspiring other Italians to follow his journey to America. At the same time, he acknowledged the damage that's been inflicted on Native Americans. “Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities,” the proclamation stated. “It is a measure of our greatness as a Nation that we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — that we face them honestly, we bring them to the light, and we do all we can to address them.”According to CNN, more than 100 cities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day. Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix and San Francisco are among the cities which have made the transition. Several states, including Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont and Oregon, are also choosing to celebrate Indigenous people instead of the man accused of bringing destruction to the community. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there are no plans of ending Columbus Day as a federal holiday."Well, today is both Columbus Day, as of now, as well as Indigenous Peoples' Day," Psaki said. "I'm not aware of any discussion of ending that either, ending the prior federal holiday at this point, but I know that recognizing today as Indigenous Peoples' Day is something that the President felt strongly about personally, he's happy to be the first president to celebrate and to make it, the history of moving...
Ethnic studies will soon become a graduation requirement for all California public high school students. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a historic bill on Friday to authorize the legislation, the Associated Press reports. Assemblyman Jose Medina, who authored the bill, said it's a huge step for the state.“It’s been a long wait,” the Democrat from Riverside said of the legislation that's been in the making for years. “I think schools are ready now to make curriculum that is more equitable and more reflective of social justice.”According to the new law, all California public schools must offer at least one ethnic studies course beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. For students graduating in 2029-30 and beyond, they will be required to complete a one-semester course in the subject.The curriculum aims to teach students about the history and culture of various racial and ethnic groups. Ethnic studies courses, according to the bill, will encourage discussions on “institutionalized systems of advantage” and the “causes of racism and other forms of bigotry.”“America is shaped by our shared history, much of it painful and etched with woeful injustice,” Newsom wrote, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Students deserve to see themselves in their studies, and they must understand our nation's full history if we expect them to one day build a more just society.”The courses will largely center African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and Native Americans, while also including lessons on Jews, Armenians and Sikhs.Students at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Berkeley, inspired the push for ethnic studies in the 1960s when they led strikes to demand courses about marginalized groups. “The inclusion of ethnic studies in the high school curriculum is long overdue,” Medina said in a statement. “The signing of AB101 today is one step in the long struggle for equal education for all students.”Although California has been attempting to write an ethnic studies curriculum since 2018, the process faced pushback from Republican legislators who said the course is inappropriate for high school students.AB101 finally passed after some modifications, including a provision that discourages discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. School are also instructed to prohibit materials that promote bias or discrimination toward any group.“I appreciate that the legislation provides a number of guardrails to ensure that courses will be free from bias or bigotry and appropriate for all students,” Newsom wrote.While California made history with the legislation, Republican lawmakers around the country continue to push back against the teaching of systemic racism in schools. Earlier this year, Idaho banned the teaching of critical race theory in public schools and universities, making it the first state to implement such a law, as Blavity previously reported. Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Arizona and South Carolina have also followed Idaho's lead. At least 22 other states plan to introduce similar...
The president and the sole Black Republican in the Senate have both tried to balance competing agendas, ultimately sacrificing the interests of Black folks in the process.
President Joe Biden and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) are exchanging recriminations after efforts toward police reform failed to pass in Congress. Both Biden and Scott, in different but similar ways, bear the blame for the failure to pass legislation to curb unjust violence and racial bias in policing. Both politicians have taken an approach to reform that sought to balance competing interests, and they were ultimately unable to pull off the balancing act.In late September, the Wall Street Journal reported that Congress had given up on negotiations to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law. The legislation was of course named in honor of George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 sparked a massive round of national and international protests against police brutality, racism and other forms of oppression.As detailed on Congress’ website, the George Floyd Act addresses many of the concerns raised by activists and protesters, as the proposed law “increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices” such as chokeholds and no-knock warrants, “enhances transparency and data collection” through the creation of a National Police Misconduct Registry, and “establishes best practices and training requirements,” including trainings that address racial profiling and implicit bias. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) had been working with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) on the legislation, with Biden urging its passage. It passed the House earlier this year but has now died in the Senate.As expected in the politically polarized environment in which we find ourselves, Republicans and Democrats are each blaming the other. Biden faulted Republicans in a White House statement on the bill’s failure, arguing that “Senate Republicans rejected enacting modest reforms, which even the previous president had supported, while refusing to take action on key issues that many in law enforcement were willing to address." Sen. Scott, meanwhile, has blamed the “defund the police” movement and Democrats, including claiming in a CBS interview that Sen. Booker “wanted me to agree to limited or reduced funding for the police” and falsely labeling the bill as a “defund” measure.There is plenty of blame to go around for a variety of political actors, from Republicans in Congress who almost uniformly opposed even the mildest reforms to conservative Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin (WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) refusing to abolish the filibuster that empowers Republican obstructionism. But Biden and Scott bear a specific type of blame for assuming leadership roles in the push for reform but being unwilling to make the sacrifices that were necessary to get the job done.Bridgett Floyd recently told CNN that she faults Biden for failing on the promise he personally made to her and her family to ensure passage of the bill that bears her brother George’s name. "People are out here in desperate need (for police reform),” she told the news outlet last week, “and I don't feel that Biden is stepping up as the president and doing the right thing."As NPR recently pointed out, Biden has a complicated history with police and criminal justice, to say the least. His role in engineering tough-on-crime legislation during the 1990s and his past and present cozy relationship with law enforcement is a double-edged sword. Biden's history gives him some clout in advocating for reform without seeming to be anti-police, but it also leaves the president with a lot of baggage to carry as he attempts to reform a system he helped design and promote. Even now, while Biden has been expressing his willingness to use executive action to implement some of the police reform agenda, he has also been meeting with police chiefs and mayors and pledging White House support for fighting rising crime rates, an agenda that in practice serves Republican interests and deflects from police reform measures.Meanwhile, Sen. Scott has been attempting an even more difficult balancing act. As the only Black Republican in the Senate, he has often been stuck between a party that deals with its own racism by pretending that it doesn’t exist and an African American community that views Black Republicans as collaborators with the enemy. For a while, Scott seemed to be pulling it off, arguing that the country and the Republican Party had made progress while pushing his colleagues to embrace reform. But sooner or later, this balancing act had to end, and Scott would be forced to pick a side. When that moment came this month, Scott made his choice clear, siding with his party, which shot down the Senate bill, and disingenuously blaming Democrats for the failure.Biden won't flex his political muscle more fully behind police reform, even if it cost him some of his pro-police and bipartisan street cred. Scott is declining to speak the truth about his own party, which continues to use the senator as the GOP’s “Black friend” in order to give cover to its own shortcomings and failure to have a real reckoning over race. Now, two of the most prominent voices in U.S. government who'd been working on police reform ultimately fell off the tightropes they were walking, crushing the hopes of our communities on their way...
If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.Opinions are the writer’s own and not those of Blavity's.____The balance of power in America is in flux. We see it all around us: from the record turnout of African Americans and other historically marginalized voters in the 2020 elections to the wave of voter suppression laws, unquestionably aimed at impeding the influence of Black voters, that state-level lawmakers are passing across the U.S. in response.The takeaway for Black voters should be just as apparent: waiting another four years for general elections in order to reassert our voices at the ballot box is not an option.In the U.S., power doesn’t just play out in national elections. Local elections are already underway in jurisdictions across the country, with 21 counties and 69 cities having races in 2021. The outcome of these municipal races will ultimately determine everything from school district mask mandates — during a continuing pandemic that has disproportionately devastated Black Americans and is sickening growing numbers of children — to community development plans and the funding of police departments.The officials who are elected during these local races hold critical roles in our communities, and the decisions they make in office directly impact our lives. Up for vote this year are mayoral positions; seats on school boards, where policies like free-lunch for children from low-income families are decided; city council seats; civil and municipal court judgeships; and other critical roles such as sheriff, comptroller (the manager of a city’s finances) and even lesser-known but no less important elected offices like the Flood Control Authority Board in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and the coroner of New Orleans.Communities of color now have a crucial opportunity to elect people who will answer to us and serve our needs in these essential positions. To do so, however, we must turn out for local elections with the same passion and in the same numbers that we typically show up for midterms and general elections. Of course, there are barriers to this — not the least of which is access to the information about local elections that voters need to show up and do their part, as well as the increasingly restrictive measures against voting access that continue to be imposed on the state level. The NAACP Legal Defense Force is fighting both: we’ve filed suit against the recently passed laws in Texas and Florida that target voting rights, we’re leading advocacy in Washington D.C. to secure urgently-needed federal protections for voters and we’ve put together helpful resources so you can prepare to vote in the elections in your jurisdiction.Now, it's up to all of us to be armed with the knowledge and conviction necessary to defend our democracy. And make no mistake about it: America’s fragile democracy is in urgent peril.Along with the ongoing attacks on Black people’s ability to vote fairly and have those votes counted, the catastrophic risk of ceding power to unqualified — and frankly, dangerous — people has been made chillingly clear in the past few weeks, as videos of school board meetings overtaken by belligerent conspiracy theorists who oppose common-sense efforts like mask-wearing, or the truthful teaching of U.S. history in schools, go viral. Some of these people have even threatened violence to achieve their means, a telling echo of the white supremacist insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year.Dangerous outcomes like these can be avoided if we hold to this motivating truth: we are not powerless in designing our future. In this pivotal moment in the ongoing American story, we must be relentless in seeking every opportunity to exert whatever access to power we have. To wield real influence over the people whose decisions most directly affect your life, make a plan to vote in your local government...
If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.Opinions are the writer’s own and not those of Blavity's.____We are hurtling toward a particularly consequential midterm election. The national narrative will focus on the Senate and the Congress, the fragility of Democratic majorities in both and the impact of political polarization on the voting behavior of the American electorate. There will be hand wringing, pearl-clutching and endless finger-pointing should those majorities crumble. What will likely be underreported and analyzed is the role that the historically anemic support for the pipeline of diverse candidates and leaders at a local level has played in the constant threats to nascent progressive majorities on the national stage. Coupled with the census-driven redistricting process that will create more Republican-friendly Congressional districts, we are looking at both organizational and structural challenges that will be as difficult as ever to overcome.We are now seeing the importance of local leadership and politics playing out in real-time. From threats of violence over mask and vaccination mandates and the fake outrage over critical race theory toward local schools leaders, to the erosion of reproductive rights and the evisceration of voting rights protections by radical state legislatures, the costs and consequences to and for our wobbling democracy are being levied and paid locally.At the same time, white populations, and therefore the conservative voting base of many swing states, are declining rapidly, according to the 2020 Census. Meanwhile, the browning of America is accelerating: the number of residents who identified as two or more races increased by an astounding 276% between 2010 and 2020. This is a leading indicator of where our politics may head in the future — and it’s the precise reason why largely white, conservative majorities in state legislatures around the country are clamping down hard on voting rights under the veil of “election security.”Black and brown communities, low-income communities and our neighbors already furthest from opportunity will feel the crushing weight of these dynamics first and foremost. Propelling leaders from these communities to civic and political power is essential for lasting progressive politics.Yet, underinvestment in Black and brown-led organizations and leaders is as well documented as it is galling. And that inadequately funded ecosystem of leaders of color means that fewer Black and brown folks are able to make the leap from community leadership to elected leadership. The result is plain as the day is long: elected leaders look less and less like the country that they govern. The politics and policies that flow from these leaders are designed to preserve their power at the cost of diverse communities.This isn’t anything new, we’ve only had 33 U.S. Senators of color and just four Black governors ever in U.S. history. It’s not getting much better as of late. Some 73% of 2020 primary candidates were white men. A subgroup that accounts for just 30% of the population. Meanwhile, men and women of color accounted for just 5 and 2.5% of candidates, respectively.Despite some important gains, particularly around the growing number of Black women actually being elected, we’ll need a concerted and comprehensive effort to build a candidate and ultimately elected official universe that reflects the robust diversity of the American population.At Leaders of Color, we're working to make that happen. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the tremendous talent of community-based leaders of color and the resources and investment required to empower those leaders to create lasting civic change. We work to identify diverse leaders with the passion and commitment to succeed, if given the appropriate support. We then train them in civic engagement and leadership.Finally, we support our alumni with personalized coaching and goal planning. The result, so far, is more than 100 trained leaders in New York, Memphis and New Orleans who have or are running for office or have formed community organizations dedicated to lifting up communities of color. Our goal is to train more than 400 across the U.S. by 2023.While we are actively cultivating, building and tending a growing pipeline of Black and brown leadership, we aren’t alone in this work. We have, however, precious few fellow travelers, far from the number needed to reverse the powerful headwinds we face. Despite those long odds, we know it’s the work that’s most essential. It’s the only way we’ll actually create a body politic that mirrors the true image of America and deliver the kind of progress our communities...
Update (Oct. 5, 2021): Ernest Lee Johnson, who was on death row after being convicted of robbing a gas station and killing three clerks 27 years ago, was executed in Missouri on Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition for clemency. Karen Pojmann, communications director for the Missouri Department of Corrections, said Johnson was pronounced dead after he received a lethal injection, CNN reports. Earlier in the day, Justice Brett Kavanaugh received a petition from Johnson's lawyers, who argued that the execution should be delayed because the 61-year-old had "presented overwhelming evidence" of his intellectual disability."This Court should stay Mr. Johnson's execution so that his petition for certiorari can be fully and fairly considered by this Court. There is no state interest in executing people with intellectual disabilities. The balance of equities weighs in Mr. Johnson's favor," the petition stated.Before the Supreme Court made its ruling on Tuesday, the Missouri Governor's Office released a statement a day earlier and rejected Johnson’s argument."Mr. Johnson's claim that he is not competent to be executed has been reviewed and rejected by a jury and the courts six different times, including a unanimous decision by the Missouri Supreme Court," the office of Republican Gov. Mike Parson stated.The governor added that "the state is prepared to deliver justice and carry out the lawful sentence Mr. Johnson received.”
Earlier this year, Johnson told the court that he would prefer to have his execution carried out by firing squad. Due to his brain tumor, the incarcerated individual feared that the state's lethal injection protocol would cause seizures. Lawyers said Johnson, who suffered from epilepsy due to the tumor, would end up in a worse condition if he is executed by pentobarbital, a drug known to trigger seizures. The Supreme Court, however, rejected the plea in May.Johnson issued a statement shortly before his Tuesday execution."I am sorry and have remorse for what I do," he wrote in a handwritten statement, adding that he loves his family and he is grateful for everybody who supported him.
According to the BBC, the 61-year-old is the first incarcerated individual to be put to death in the state since May 2020. He is also the seventh person on death row to be executed in the U.S. this year.Original (Oct. 3, 2021): Ernest Lee Johnson's conviction and pending death sentence has prompted a conversation regarding the lack of humanity in the death penalty as notable figures make pleas for his clemency, given his disability. Johnson was convicted in 1995 for the killings of Mary Bratcher, Mabel Scruggs and Fred Jones. According to ABC 17 News, Johnson, while under the influence of drugs, allegedly robbed a Missouri Casey's General Store during his third visit that day and killed the convenience store employees with a claw hammer, according to The Associated Press. A doctor later testified in court that Johnson's IQ ranged between 70 and 75 and that he suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome at birth.The state scheduled his execution by phenobarbital injection to take place in Nov. 2015, but Johnson filed a petition to stop the execution after doctors discovered scar tissue on his brain in 2012 from a benign tumor removal procedure in 2008. Doctors shared that the lethal injection would lead him to have painful seizures. Johnson's attorney argued that the treatment would classify as cruel and unusual punishment, which is illegal under the Eighth Amendment. He's been on death row for 26 years while his case was reviewed by federal and state courts. The Missouri Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1998, saying that his attorney didn't provide an adequate defense. He was tried again and received another death penalty conviction in 1999.Missouri's Supreme Court upheld his second conviction, but he was given another chance in 2006 after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 ruling prohibited state-sanctioned executions on people with mental disabilities. A jury, however, returned another death penalty conviction. Johnson's case has reached the attention of political figures including Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., as well as Pope Francis, reports The Guardian. The Pope called on Missouri Gov. Michael Parson to grant Johnson clemency, asking him to review “the simple fact of Mr. Johnson’s humanity and the sacredness of all human life.” Though, he did note Johnson's crime certainly "deserves grave punishment."Cleaver and Bush also petitioned the governor to halt Johnson's execution. “The fact of the matter is that these death sentences are not about justice,” they wrote in the letter, per The Guardian. “They are about who has institutional power and who doesn’t. Like slavery and lynching did before it, the death penalty perpetuates cycles of trauma, violence and state-sanctioned murder in Black and brown...
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), who has been vocal about her experience with alopecia, has introduced a bill that aims to help those living with the disease and other similar conditions. The proposed measure, unveiled on Thursday, requires Medicare to pay for wigs for those losing hair due to medical treatments or disease, The New York Post reported. “It’s so much more than cosmetic,” the Massachusetts congresswoman said about hair loss. “It takes a real toll.” As Blavity previously reported, in 2020, Pressley first opened up about her condition, which causes hair loss for millions of Americans. The congresswoman said she no longer wanted to hide her truth. "My twists have become such a synonymous and a conflated part of not only my personal identity and how I show up in the world but my political brand. And that's why I think it's important that I'm transparent about this new normal and living with alopecia," she told The Root.“The Squad” member continued to open up about the disease in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Thursday.“[To] be bald as a woman really does disrupt conventional and societal norms of what is appropriate, what is professional, what is attractive, what is feminine,” she said. Rep. James McGovern (D-MA), who is sponsoring the bill with Pressley, shared the stories of others who are struggling with hair loss.“Doctors have told me that patients have refused lifesaving cancer treatments because they were afraid they were going to lose their hair and didn’t know how to deal with it,” the congressman said. McGovern's 20-year-old daughter, who is battling cancer, finds herself in the same dilemma about hair loss.“The thing she’s most worried about is having to go through chemotherapy,” McGovern said. “Losing your hair at 20 — that’s really kind of a traumatic thing.” If McGovern and Pressley succeed in passing the bill, medical wigs would be categorized as medical equipment, making the wigs eligible for coverage under the Social Security Act. Currently, private insurance plans can cover wigs. Medicare, however, does not.“Every person living with alopecia, battling cancer, or facing another medical condition that leads to hair loss, should be able to access wigs and other head coverings,” Pressley said. “Our bill is responsive and sends a powerful message to these communities: we see you, you belong, and you deserve to be treated with dignity and...
It was an emotional scene on Thursday when three congresswomen shared their personal abortion stories at a congressional hearing on reproductive rights. The three women, Cori Bush, Pramila Jayapal and Barbara Lee, delivered their testimonies after Texas recently passed a law that bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, Yahoo News reports. Sharing their own stories, the representatives hoped to help lawmakers understand the consequences of stringent abortion legislation. Bush said she had to get an abortion as an 18-year-old in 1994 when she became pregnant after being raped by an older boy she met on a church trip to Jackson, Mississippi. The Missouri representative recalled details of the incident, saying the boy asked if he could come to the room she was staying in with a friend. Bush said she allowed the boy to come in, thinking they would stay up and talk."The next thing I knew, he was on top of me,” she said. “I was frozen in shock as his weight pressed down upon me. When he was done, he got up, he pulled up his pants and without a word he left. That was it.”As the boy left and never spoke to her again, the teen was overcome with shame.“I was confused, I was embarrassed, I was ashamed,” she said.When she missed her period and realized that she was pregnant, Bush didn't feel ready to raise a child on her own. That's when she decided to make the difficult decision to get an abortion.“Choosing to have an abortion was the hardest decision I had ever made,” Bush said. “But at 18 years old, I knew it was the right decision for me.”When she first went to the abortion clinic, Bush learned that she was nine weeks pregnant."There, the panic set in," she said.The lawmaker also recalled a conversation she heard at the abortion clinic, noting she heard the staff saying, “They ruined their life and that’s what they do." "‘They’ being Black girls like us,” the Missouri legislator explained.Sending a message to "all the Black women and girls who have had abortions and will have abortions," Bush said, "We have nothing to be ashamed of.”“We live in a society that has failed to legislate love and justice for us,” the congresswoman said. "We deserve better. We demand better. We are worthy of better. That's why I'm here to tell my story. So today, I sit before you as that nurse, as that pastor, as that activist, that survivor, that single mom, that congresswoman, to testify that in the summer of 1994 I was raped, I became pregnant and I chose to have an abortion." Lee, an El Paso, Texas, native, said she became pregnant at age 16 and decided to get an abortion, traveling to a “back-alley clinic” in Mexico to complete the operation.“I was one of the lucky ones,” the California representative said. “A lot of women in my generation didn’t make it. They died from unsafe abortions. In the 1960s, unsafe septic abortions were the primary killer of African American women.”Jayapal said she experienced “severe” postpartum depression and contemplated suicide after facing a difficult pregnancy during her first marriage. The lawmaker later divorced and became pregnant when she met the man who is now her husband. But Jayapal still feared the possibility of experiencing another difficult pregnancy. “I simply could not imagine going through that again,” she said.After speaking with doctors, the congresswoman learned that any pregnancy would be a high risk for both her and the child.“I decided to have an abortion,” Jayapal said. “For me, terminating my pregnancy was not an easy choice — the most difficult I’ve made in my life. But it was my choice, and that is what must be preserved for every pregnant person.”Congresswomen shared their deeply personal abortion experiences during a committee hearing on state laws limiting women's access to the procedure pic.twitter.com/TPXjb2XP5s— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) September 30, 2021As Blavity previously reported, the latest highly criticized policy in Texas imposes punishments on abortion providers, as well as people who seek abortions and those who drive people to receive an...
