WSSN Stories

By Pilar Marrero, Ethnic Media Services

When Imperial County emerged as California’s number one hot spot in COVID-19 infection rates, it exposed three variables – low wage workers, overcrowded households and inadequate health care – that make some regions a prime target for the corona virus. 

These same variables also explain why standard  COVID-19 public health protocols tailored to the middle class are unlikely to flatten the curve much less bend it in the county.

“All these years we kicked the can down the road – now we’ve run out of road,” said longtime community activist Luis Olmedo, CEO of Comite Civico del Valle Inc.

Imperial – with 88% of its population Latinx – hugs the border with Mexico and Arizona, making it both heavily agricultural and a typical border economy with a massive cross border movement of products and people every day.

Since the start of the pandemic, the county’s infection rate has been about six times the state average, with 2,835 cases per 100,000 people versus 491 cases per 100,000 statewide.

“The guidelines and policies on the pandemic were developed in a way that applies largely to the middle class  that can afford to stay home or miss work,” said Edward Flores, a sociologist at UC-Merced. “They’re not addressing the reality of (a certain number of) people who have to work, regardless of the situation” – people Flores calls “distressed workers.”

Flores released a new report “Hidden Threat” co-authored by Ana Padilla, director of the Community and Labor Center at the University, during a recent news conference organized by Ethnic Media Services (EMS).

The data indicates that a high level of “worker distress” – making less than a living wage and living in large households – is related to COVID-19 positivity rates.  Some 35.8% of households in the county have workers who earn less than a living wage – the third highest rate in the state — and the average household size is  three persons, which is the fourth highest in the state, according to the report.

“There is a striking relationship between these variables,” Flores added. “In most counties where those two measures are larger than the average of the state, there is also a higher number of COVID-19 infections.”  

“Stay at home” orders have proven relatively ineffective in counties with large populations of “distressed workers,” according to Flores’ analysis of 1.5 million  records of COVID tests by the Centers for Disease Control.  “During the state at home, COVID fell for all groups except for Latinos, whose rates rose continuously during that time.”

Community advocates have begun pushing for strategies to deal with the pandemic that are tailored to the county’s endemic poverty and lack of resources.

In June, when local officials began moving towards reopening the county in keeping with the lower infection rates of other counties, more than 2,000 residents signed a letter of protest, asking the County Board of Supervisors to keep the “stay at home” phase in place. 

“We believe it’s an artificial choice between economic stability and public health,” said Luis Flores, an activist with the Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition which spearheaded the letter signing drive. “We are also not exceptional. What we see here is a dramatic version of the inequalities common in immigrant and low-income communities across the country.”

The letter and the media coverage it received caught the attention of Gov. Gavin Newsom who pushed the county to move back its reopening plans.  But activists argue that the most vulnerable workers who can’t stay at home need other measures to be protected.

“We are pushing to hold large scale retailers and agricultural companies accountable, we are pushing for eviction moratoriums, and for more protections in the workplace,” said Flores of the Justice Coalition.

 A typical “medically underserved” community, Imperial County lacks  speciality care providers and enough medical personnel to cover its needs, said Janet Angulo, director of Public Health for Imperial County.  “We have a lot of residents who seek medical care in Mexicali on the other side of the border,” she noted. “Mexicali is larger, has more hospitals and speciality care providers.  It’s also a very short drive.”

Angulo reports that the county has had more than 7,700 COVID-19 cases and 132 fatalities since the start of the pandemic, and the infection rate continues to rise.  Over 500 patients have been transferred to hospitals outside the county through mutual aid agreements.  Patients who need care but aren’t critical are being treated in the gym of Imperial Valley College, Angulo said.

Making matters worse is the fact that many residents who already suffer from diabetes or other illnesses that make them more vulnerable to infection don’t know how to manage their conditions, according to Michelle Garcia, a nurse practitioner with Calexico Wellness Center.  “They don’t take their glucose levels, they don’t know how to eat properly, and they don’t get the appointments they need,” she said.  “Many don’t have smart phones so  video consultations may not be possible.”

As a border county, Imperial County has a “day population” of workers crossing over every day to work in the fields. Armando Elenes, Secretary Treasurer of the United Farm Workers (UFW), says infection rates are rising among farm workers, not just in Imperial County but across the state.  Letters sent to agricultural companies and contractors warning that safety measures needed to be put in place “went largely unheeded,” Elenes said, “and now we’re seeing the effects of that.”  Elenes says that some employers refuse to pay workers when they are infected, blaming them for not taking care of themselves.  Both undocumented and guest workers “work in fear” that they will lose their jobs if they complain about the virus, he says.

On Wednesday June 24, 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first Black American female engineer at NASA.

Jackson started her NASA career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer, went on to lead programs influencing the hiring and promotion of women in NASA’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Administrator Bridenstine said, “Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space. Mary never accepted the status quo, she helped break barriers and open opportunities for African Americans and women in the field of engineering and technology…we proudly announce the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building. It appropriately sits on ‘Hidden Figures Way,’ a reminder that Mary is one of many incredible and talented professionals in NASA’s history who contributed to this agency’s success. Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have made NASA’s successful history of exploration possible.”

The work of the West Area Computing Unit caught widespread national attention in the 2016 Margot Lee Shetterly book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” The book was made into a popular movie that same year and Jackson’s character was played by award-winning actress Janelle Monáe.

In 2019, after a bipartisan bill by Sens. Ted Cruz, Ed Markey, John Thune, and Bill Nelson made its way through Congress, the portion of E Street SW in front of NASA Headquarters was renamed Hidden Figures Way.

“We are honored that NASA continues to celebrate the legacy of our mother and grandmother Mary W. Jackson,” said, Carolyn Lewis, Mary’s daughter. “She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation.”

Jackson was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia. After graduating high school, she graduated from Hampton Institute (an HBCU) in 1942 with a dual degree in math and physical sciences, and initially accepted a job as a math teacher in Calvert County, Maryland. She would work as a bookkeeper, marry Levi Jackson and start a family, and work a job as a U.S. Army secretary before her aerospace career would take off.

In 1951, Jackson was recruited by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which in 1958 was succeeded by NASA. She started as a research mathematician who became known as one of the human computers at Langley. She worked under fellow “Hidden Figure” Dorothy Vaughan in the segregated West Area Computing Unit.

After two years in the computing pool, Jackson received an offer to work in the 4-foot by 4-foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, a 60,000-horsepower wind tunnel capable of blasting models with winds approaching twice the speed of sound. There, she received hands-on experience conducting experiments. Her supervisor eventually suggested she enter a training program that would allow Jackson to earn a promotion from mathematician to engineer. Because the classes were held at then-segregated Hampton High School, Jackson needed special permission to join her white peers in the classroom. 

Jackson completed the courses, earned the promotion, and in 1958 became NASA’s first Black female engineer. For nearly two decades during her engineering career, she authored or co-authored research numerous reports, most focused on the behavior of the boundary layer of air around airplanes. In 1979, she joined Langley’s Federal Women’s Program, where she worked hard to address the hiring and promotion of the next generation of female mathematicians, engineers and scientists. Mary W. Jackson retired from Langley in 1985.

In 2017, then 99-year-old Katherine Johnson was there to personally dedicate a new state-of-the-art computer research facility the bears her name at Langley. Johnson, another original member of the West Area Computing Unit, also was honored as a trailblazer and given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. In addition, Johnson was part of the group honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, and NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, also bears Johnson’s name. 

“NASA facilities across the country are named after people who dedicated their lives to push the frontiers of the aerospace industry. The nation is beginning to awaken to the greater need to honor the full diversity of people who helped pioneer our great nation. Over the years NASA has worked to honor the work of these Hidden Figures in various ways, including naming facilities, renaming streets and celebrating their legacy,” added Bridenstine. “We know there are many other people of color and diverse backgrounds who have contributed to our success, which is why we’re continuing the conversations started about a year ago with the agency’s Unity Campaign. NASA is dedicated to advancing diversity, and we will continue to take steps to do so.” 

The Trump Administration’s History of Honoring “Hidden Figures” and Promoting Black Americans at NASA

• In 2018, Vanessa Wyche was appointed as the first Black American to serve as Deputy Director of Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
• In 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act that posthumously awarded the honor to Jackson, who passed away in 2005, and her “Hidden Figures” colleagues Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Christine Darden.
• In 2019, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Clayton Turner as the first Black American to serve as Director of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

• In 2020, Vice President Pence visited NASA’s Langley Research Center and honored the “Hidden Figures” women and met with some of Katherine Johnson’s family members.   
• For Black History Month 2020, First Lady Melania Trump hosted Deborah Tulani Salahu-Din, an educator and researcher in African American studies, and faculty members and students from Cornerstone Schools of Washington, D.C. in the Family Theater of the White House for a private screening of the movie “Hidden Figures.”

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media 

Draymond Green, 30, who has won three National Basketball Association (NBA) Championships with the San Francisco-based Golden State Warriors, is known to be an agitator on the court. 

Now, the three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection has mounted an attack off the hardwood in another arena: Politics. Green is speaking out, online and off, expressing his displeasure for Assembly Bill (AB) 1998, the “Dental Practice Act,” which is authored by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell). 

Low’s district covers parts of the South Bay and Silicon Valley. Home to a number of tech companies, the area is more than 50% White and under 3% African American. Latinos account for about 17%. 

Last week, Green fired off a series of tweets directed at AB 1998 and Low. He tagged the politician in them. 

The NBA player went on the defense after Low made an indirect reference to him in a published report. “No Californian deserves to be harmed by substandard, profit-hungry care, regardless of whether they’re an NBA champion,” the politician said. 

Green took Low’s comment as a flagrant foul — aggressive contact, in this case, coming from a politician against an opponent. 

Green shot back, telling Low his bill would hamper low-income communities’ access to dental products. 

“The only issue of profits here is you giving more to dentists, while, once again, underserved communities are shut out. Sounds like you’d prefer if I shut up and dribble @Evan_Low,” Green tweeted on July 10, the day Low’s comment surfaced in the media. 

AB 1998, the “Dental Practice Act,” if passed by the California Senate, would require dentists to conduct an in-person examination of their patients prior to approving a treatment plan for clear aligners or other orthodontics. 

The bill would also prohibit internet companies from offering direct-to-consumer products to Californians until legislation is passed that establishes parameters for how teleorthodontic companies may operate. 

Green’s political pushback against AB 1998 may be rooted in more than one stake the athlete has in teledentistry. Green has a financial investment in the SmileDirectClub (SDC), a global leader in the online dental care industry. He also shares personal stories of how affordable direct-mail dental products helped him fix his teeth and regain his confidence while he was growing up. 

SDC markets non-prescription straightening aligners at discounted costs to correct teeth-positioning problems. 

In September 2019, Forbes reported that Green started investing in SDC four years earlier in 2015 at a $150 million valuation. The financial publication also mentioned that Green could make 40 times more from his investment. 

SDC began trading publicly on Sept. 12, 2019, according to Forbes. 

On May 21, during a Business and Professions Committee hearing on AB 1998, Low opened up his presentation to the members of the committee with a salvo declaring that teledentistry and telehealth are “telecrap.” 

“This will disproportionately hurt communities of color; not everyone can go to health-care providers,” Low said. “The reality is that subpar treatment can do real harm, the risk is too high.” 

Green says he is standing up for disadvantaged African Americans who can’t afford to just drop into a dentist’s office to get x-rays and clearance before they can purchase dental products they need from companies like SDC. 

“Do you want them to tell them they’re not worthy of a good smile? They’re not worthy of confidence, employment opportunities, and so many other benefits, a good smile brings? @Evan_Low,” Green tweeted. 

If approved, AB 1998 would make it more difficult to access teledentistry services by requiring an in-person visit to a dentist. 

Two days before Green’s Twitter rant, he sent a two-page letter to several California politicians explaining the hardship he experienced trying to get affordable dental care. 

In it, the athlete said his mother struggled to pay $7,000 for the metal braces he wore between his eighth and 12th-grade years. He also wrote that he broke his retainers when arrived at Michigan University and couldn’t leave to fix them because of the strict demands of his basketball schedule. 

Because of “crooked teeth,” he wrote, smiling wasn’t a gesture of his for many years. 

“After 7 years of hiding my smile, I made a decision that I was going to finally fix my teeth again. Only this time I decided that I would try invisible aligners. I came across a tele-dentistry platform with licensed dentists by the name of SmileDirectClub,” Green stated in the letter. 

Green told recipients of his letter that the California State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the California Black Chamber of Commerce are all opposed to AB 1998. 

In March, California State NAACP President Alice Huffman asked the legislature to knock down any bill that would create an obstacle to affordable dental care. 

Huffman said SDC’s teledentistry platform for clear aligner therapy treatments has helped more than 100,000 Californians, including African Americans. 

“Now, more than ever, the African American community needs as many options as possible to close the disparity gap for oral health care. African Americans and other people of color have the right to affordable, quality health care treatment,” Huffman said. 

In his letter, Green said because Assemblymember Low’s constituents are among the richest Californians, maybe he is unaware how his legislation might hurt poor Californians. 

“If there is something I’m missing as to why you would consider adopting a bill that would take away doctor discretion to subject a patient to radiation, that would also limit access and significantly increase the cost of dental care then let’s set up a call to discuss,” he offered. “This is California. We’re supposed to be leading on these issues. Instead, this bill is a step in the wrong direction.”

By Khalil Abdullah, Ethnic Media Services

If Willie Sutton were alive, he wouldn’t be robbing banks, more likely he’d be a scam artist, siphoning off a portion of the almost $70 million that Indiana consumers alone have reportedly lost to fraud even before the COVID-19 pandemic opened up a pandora’s box of new scam opportunities.

“At the Federal Trade Commission, we always say the fraudsters follow the headlines,” explained Todd Kossow, Director of the Midwest Region of the FTC. “They take advantage of the major news stories of the day and find new ways to access consumer’s personal financial information. The corona virus pandemic has been no exception to that.”

Kossow’s remarks were delivered at an on-line convening for ethnic media primarily covering Indianapolis and nearby regions. In addition to FTC staff, presenters included representatives from state and local agencies responsible for consumer protection, as well as from non-profits like the AARP, the Better Business Bureau, and others on the frontlines of battling scams and deceptive marketing practices.

“Scammers are like vampires who bleed their victims not just of money but of hope and self-respect,” said conference moderator Sandy Close, director of Ethnic Media Services. Close urged media participants “to shine a light on these activities through your media coverage and your community service.”

Susan Bolin, from the Better Business Bureau, concurred with the need for increased media coverage and involvement. While acknowledging active media participation in Fort Wayne and Evansville, “we still need more help. Just imagine the impact that we can have if every media outlet partnered with us.” Ultimately, Bollin said she wants to make Indianapolis a scam-free zone.

The goal is a daunting one.

Scams that have proliferated since the pandemic include large up-front money payments to companies claiming they can assist homeowners to renegotiate mortgage payments they missed because of COVID linked job layoffs; or scams that promise small businesses an inside track to securing federal paycheck protection funds to retain employees.

“So what are the main types of COVID-19 related scams that we’re seeing?” Kossow asked. “Scammers who are pitching so-called treatments and cures for COVID-19 without any proof that they work… The FTC has sent warning letters to nearly 250 companies making such claims.”

Presenters cited several “red flags” typically associated with scams: run out and buy a gift card to make a payment; a money wire transfer is required; an upfront payment is necessary before a prize can be claimed; authentication of your bank account number or verification of your Social Security number as mandatory in order to speed or complete the application or funding process.

Several speakers said that humiliation over being scammed often discourages victims from reporting what happened. There’s also a sense that trying to recover the money is a hopeless task. This is particularly true with gift card transactions. At least with payments made on credit cards, victims have a bank record to point to in filing a fraud claim. Moreover, victims have a self-interest in reporting scams, Andrew Johnson, Chief of Staff of the FTC’s Division of Consumer Affairs, emphasized

“Since July, 2018, In just a two-year period, the FTC mailed $23.6 million to almost 140,000 people in the state of Indiana, which is pretty remarkable,” Johnson said. “Generally, when the FTC settles or wins a case, and we get money that we can return back to consumers, one of the main ways we determine who to send money to, is we look back at our database of who reported to us.”

One net result of the pandemic’s advent is a decrease in face-to-face counseling that would encourage reporting to the FTC.

Cheryl Koch-Martinez, who works at Indiana Legal Services, said her organization assists low-income residents in understanding their financial options and advising them on consumer fraud cases. Given the imperative for social-distancing, “face-to-face communication is just not there,” she said. Telephone and e-mail are inefficient substitutes for the sensitive conversations that need to occur.

Reverend David Green, Senior Pastor, Purpose of Life Ministry, shared the experience of a maintenance engineer at his church. Originally from El Salvador,

he immigrated to the United States 20 years ago and obtained citizenship. He sent $1,000 to purchase a trailer in Kentucky and then sought to make arrangements with the sellers to personally pick it up. “They said, ‘no,’” Green reported. “They said they needed to deliver it and that if he would go to PayPal and send $600 for the insurance on the delivery of the trailer, that when the trailer got delivered, he would get the $600 back.”

In this case, Reverend Green encouraged his church’s employee to file a report with the FTC and the Better Business Bureau after the seller would answer phone calls but promptly hang up.

Several speakers highlighted the debilitating effects of scams that prey on people’s loneliness. While romance scams come readily to mind, scammers also have used a victim to become unwitting money mules, someone who moves money to a third-party. The use of third parties makes the origin and movement of financial transactions more difficult for authorities to trace.

Such was the case Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryAnn Mindrum described of an elderly woman who was told she’d won the lottery and had to pay fees before she could secure her winnings. She did not win the lottery, lost a substantial amount in so-called fees, “but,” Mindrum explained, “she talked to the scammer for two years!” Mindrum said her office stepped in to end the relationship, extradited the scammer to the U.S. and successfully prosecuted him. The woman was not charged.

By Lou Yeboah

Prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes! Wake up! Wake up from your slumber! Be alert! Be discerning! Watch and Pray! Pray in order that you may have strength to escape the things that are about to take place. Live in the light of Christ coming. Do this, knowing that your salvation is nearer than when you first believed.  [1 Peter 4:7]. For indeed the “fig tree” is putting forth “buds!” I tell you, you best wake up, and wake up now! Because the end to all things is approaching, says the Lord. “Prepare for a time of trouble. Seek Me while I may be found. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts… “[Isaiah 55:6-7]. Be clear-minded, and understand what time it is!

I want you to know that world situations are preparations for events leading to Christ’s return. One event, the return of Israel to their land which God promised to them many times in the book of Genesis.  This prophecy was fulfilled. Another world event, the rise of Russia to a place of international power and importance. This prophecy is being fulfilled. And yet, another the important developments and mind-boggling events is the development of a one-world government. I tell you, you best wake up and wake up now!  These and multitudes of other prophetic fulfillment are among the strongest proofs of the accuracy, truthfulness and inspiration of the Bible. It is imperative that you make sure you are ready to meet your Maker, The closer we draw to the second coming of Christ, the more urgent it is that we awake out of spiritual sleep! If ever there was a time to pay attention and get prepared, it is now! Wake up! Be discerning! Know what time of day it is! As Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 5:16? If we do not use this period of grace that we have been given by God with the correct focus, we might be blown away like so much chaff.

I tell you, prophecy is being fulfilled right before our eyes, and it pains God to know that the suffering is about to get much, much worse. It grieves Him to consider the diseases and other horrors soon to be visited upon Earth. But it is all part of His plan to teach man the absolute necessity of obeying His law. And scripture after scripture shows that God’s plan will succeed! I tell you, you best wake up, and wake now!

“Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who made you. … “How often have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thundering, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and diseases of every kind, … and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!”

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near,” [Revelation 1:3, see also 22:7].

END TIME SIGNS … [Daniel 12:4; Zechariah 12:3; Matthew 13:25-30; Matthew 24:6-14,24; Luke 21:25-26;

1 Thessalonians 5:3; 1Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:1-52Timothy 4:4; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Peter 3:3-6].

By Lou Yeboah

I’ll tell you how…. We can honor their memory by remembering and rediscovering the “Faith” that allowed them to survive. The Faith, that enabled our forefathers to endure trials and hardships that we can only imagine. The Faith, that inspired leaders to respond courageously to the problems of our people. We can build on the legacy they have left us by carefully following the One they followed – Jesus. For we have an extraordinarily rich spiritual heritage and there is victory in our bloodline. We belong to the family of God, and being engrafted into His family means that we are over-comers through the Blood of Jesus; the Blood of the Lamb, the Conquering Weapon. Without remembering the past we have no future, and present comes meaningless. Don’t forget to remember!

You see, the Bible commands believers to “Remember the days of old” and what took place in previous generations, so that it might inform our current realities [Deuteronomy 32:7]. This generation and future generations need to understand what God has done in previous generations to deliver His people from darkness and bring them into the light. How did the slaves endure, overcome, and find hope while being in physical bondage for over 200 years? They learned the story of Israel having been delivered from Egyptian slavery. They heard sermons based on the story. They originated songs based on the story. Don’t forget to remember – BLACK HISTORY!

Understand this truth…. God has chosen us for Greatness…. And there’s nobody, there’s nothing, and there is no circumstance, under the Sun that can keep God from doing exactly what He wants in us for His Glory! We have victory through Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior who lives and Reigns in our heart…. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, if God be for us, who can defeat us? If God be for us, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  If God be for us, is there anything that we can’t do? I hear our ancestors answering, “No!” I hear the civil right marchers, answering, “No!” Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who heard the songs of the slaves and the chants of the civil rights marchers will hear the prayers of those who now cry out for justice throughout our country.

Therefore, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the pioneer and perfecta of our Faith. For it wasn’t by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of God—the wisdom, authority, power, and presence of the Most High God—that freedom, equality, and justice was and will be.   Let us learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses.  “Though beaten, they were not beaten down by life because they looked to Christ. Though enslaved physically, they were not enslaved spiritually because they were free in Christ. For a people in bondage for 400 years— it is a sustaining and comforting reminder to know that God has not forgotten. “He has seen!” our afflictions, and heard our cries: every tear shed was preserved, and every groan uttered was being recorded, in order to testify at a future day, against the authors of the oppressors.”

Oh, what an amazing future it is! Living moment by moment looking back with thankfulness on all that God has done for us, and looking forward at all God promises to do for us because of Christ. For empowered by God as they were, we can continue their work and likewise pass down legacies of strength, perseverance, faith, and victory to future generations. [Psalm145:41].

As it is written: “For our sake [they] were killed all day long; [they] were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in ALL THESE THINGS [they] were MORE than CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. They were persuaded that neither death nor Life, nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, nor things Present nor things to come, nor Height nor Depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate them from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:35-39].

Surely, We Shall Overcome!

Thanksgiving toward the Past, Faith toward the Future!

Broadband should always be free to students

By Dr. Caprice Young | Learn4Life

In the 1920s, radio was an essential communications device — and it was free. In the 1950s, television became an important means of communication — and it was free. Here we are now in 2020 and there’s a big question: Why isn’t internet free when we need it to educate our children? It’s time for the Federal Communications Commission to step in. Broadband should always be free to students.

Students who don’t have broadband access are severely disadvantaged. The next 18 months will likely require sporadic sheltering in place and remote learning solutions. Schools, parents and communities are struggling to pay for a few months of internet access, but we need to recognize that learning must take place at school and online at home … forever.

That means every student should have access to broadband anywhere, anytime — to level the playing field and help close the achievement gap. Academic success means the ability of students to do homework and to explore the world online.

When schools closed, for example, Learn4Life quickly distributed thousands of laptops to our students. These days, laptops are under $200 — less than the cost of textbooks for one semester of high school. So, the return on investment is easy to justify, but the big issue is the lack of internet access.

In the schools I lead, 85 percent of our 23,000 at-risk students don’t have internet access at home. This is more than a significant competitive disadvantage. Their families don’t have access to the basic lifesaving information we access through the internet on a regular basis, such as public data about COVID-19 and where to get tested, solutions for how to create your own masks, and community resources for food, medical care and shelter. Basic civic and economic information anyone needs to function in the modern world isn’t part of their world. They don’t have access to news, candidate information, free job training or online employment applications. Families without internet access are shut out.

Most families do have access to a smartphone of some sort, and it is a vital lifeline. Low-income parents will often pay for their phones before they pay for rent, or sometimes even food. This makes sense because cell phones connect them to jobs, church and family. I even witnessed a teen selling his sneakers to get cash to add minutes and data to his cell phone. Being connected isn’t a luxury. It is a necessity.

Some of our students were writing their papers on smartphones before we put laptops into their hands. They made do, but cell phones don’t always have the unlimited data needed for online education. Video chats with teachers, group collaboration, YouTube and Vimeo downloads, document sharing, e-books and online research all require significant broadband access. Full-time school online requires much more than two gigabytes of data downloads per month.

Learn4Life is struggling to find the 19,000 hotspots we need—and the telecom companies are charging us for devices that used to be free. Prior to COVID-19, my telecommunication providers would give me a hotspot to access WiFi if I signed up for a year-long $10 per month WiFi contract. Now, WiFi hotspots are hard to find. The advertised two months of free WiFi requires a year-long contract at $35 per month, making WiFi more expensive than laptops. Getting broadband consumes resources needed for teachers, counseling, academic intervention and eventually, school cleanliness and nurses.

When we return after stay at home orders end, we likely will have a year of sporadic remote learning requirements when outbreaks must be addressed. But the plain truth is that our modern lives require ubiquitous WiFi, like clean air and water, shelter and basic nutrition, and students should not be penalized based on their parents’ ability to pay. It is time that we recognize that students of all economic backgrounds need to be connected.

FCC requirements to support public access to telecommunications has long been part of national policy. Radio and television were supported by advertising, but public access to cable broadcasting was an active part of the last century. Just in the last decade, eRate became a vital program that enabled every school in the country to get connected to the internet. Policymakers knew that the proper functioning of our schools demanded this basic infrastructure. The COVID-19 crisis has done a simple favor in forcing us to recognize that student learning outside of the classroom is just as important as inside. Eliminating this necessary barrier to 21st century learning is a practical and simple way to help reduce inequity in our education system and build success in all students.

Broadband should be free for students always.

As state hits record number of tests, California asks labs to prioritize testing turnaround for individuals who are most at risk of spreading virus to others.

SACRAMENTO – The California Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, issued the following statement today urging laboratories in California to prioritize testing turnaround for individuals who are most at risk of spreading the virus to others:

“Over the past six months, along with public and private partners, California has worked to increase access to diagnostic testing in response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Together, we increased testing from 2,000 tests per day to 100,000 test per day in just a few months. We did this by: (1) building laboratory capacity within public and commercial laboratories; (2) establishing new specimen collection sites outside the healthcare delivery system; and (3) disrupting the testing supply chain to ensure adequate supplies of viral media and swabs.

“As more states begin to scale their testing capabilities, new constrains are materializing within the supply chain. Simultaneously laboratories are becoming overwhelmed with high numbers of specimens, slowing down processing timelines. These delays will present significant challenges in (1) our ability to care for people in the hospital where testing helps us make appropriate treatment decisions and (2) our ability to appropriately isolate those who are sick in order to box in the virus and cut transmission rates.

“Due to these new limitations, California is recommending that laboratories prioritize the processing of specimens of individuals who are COVID-19 symptomatic and those who are hospitalized or in long-term care facilities, including skilled nursing facilities (e.g., Veterans Homes) and assisted living facilities (e.g., Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly). Additionally, specimens of patients in institutional settings, including prisons and jails, must be prioritized in order to timely implement appropriate interventions to mitigate the spread of the virus within the facility.

“California will continue to work hard to reduce any delays in testing turnaround time and return to our broader scale testing efforts.”

Seven out of 10 African American youth between ages 12 and 17 who smoke use menthol cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).? 

And a higher percentage of Black adults who smoke began using menthol cigarettes (93%) — that’s more than two times higher than the number of White adults who did the same (44%), according to the CDC. 

The two top-selling mentholated cigarette brands in the United States are Newport and Kool.  

Anti-Tobacco advocates say these numbers are alarming. So, two of the nation’s top organizations committed to decreasing the use of tobacco in the United States are taking legal action to end the consumption of menthol by African Americans, calling them chemically unhealthy and deadly. They want it eliminated from all tobacco products. 

The two groups, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) formally announced their joint lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during a ZOOM news conference on June 17. 

“We are suing the United States’ Food and Drug Administration for their failure to enact public health policy that protects the health and welfare of African Americans,” said Carol McGruder, co-chair of AATCLC. 

Represented by Pollock Cohen, LLP, a New York City-based firm, the complaint requests that the court compel the FDA to act on the organization’s own conclusion that it would benefit the public health to add menthol to the list of prohibited cigarette flavors in the United States. 

The AATCLC and ASH’s lawsuit also asks the court to carry out its duties under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. That action would also result in the removal of menthol-flavored tobacco products from the marketplace. 

In California, there is no statewide ban on the sale or possession of flavored tobacco products. However, a growing number of communities in the state are banning the sale of them. So far, more than 30 jurisdictions have placed restrictions on the sale of mentholated cigarettes. San Francisco County was the first county in the state to ban menthol cigarettes in the summer of 2017.  

In an effort to protect the public and design a healthier future for all Americans, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), was signed into law on June 22, 2009, by President Barack Obama.? 

“When the Tobacco Act was signed, all characterizing flavors were banned from cigarettes. All except menthol,” McGruder said. “Menthol was inexplicably given a pass. Characterizing flavors are the building blocks to nicotine addiction. As we witnessed last year with the nicotine baby epidemic, flavors seduce children (and) nicotine hooks them.” 

The Tobacco Control act gives the FDA authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, including: 

• Restricting Tobacco Marketing and Sales to Youth 
• Requiring Smokeless Tobacco Product Warning Labels 
• Ensuring  “Modified Risk” Claims are Supported by Scientific Evidence 
• Requiring Disclosure of Ingredients in Tobacco Products 
• Preserving State, Local, and Tribal Authority. 

Pollock Cohen law firm’s Christopher Leung, an attorney representing AATCLC and ASH, said he hopes the lawsuit “saves tens of thousands lives” and that it would correct “a terrible wrong perpetrated against the Black community.” 

“Over 10 years ago, U.S. Congress directed the FDA and the Department of Health to quickly address the harm caused by menthol cigarettes,” said Leung, who specializes in public-interest litigations. “In that time the FDA and the Department of Health have done nothing. Our lawsuit compels these agencies to do what congress directed them to do.”? 

Tobaccofreekids.org has reported that 45,000 African Americans die each year from a smoking-related disease. 

African American and Latino smokers —76.8% of whom smoke menthol cigarettes — likely prefer brands with menthol because the tobacco industry markets those products to young people and Black people, according to the FDA’s “Preliminary Scientific Evaluation of the Possible Public Health Effects of Menthol Versus Nonmenthol Cigarettes” study of 2013. 

Several studies have documented how major tobacco companies have target-marketed menthol cigarettes to African Americans, beginning in the 1950s.  

“By continuing to delay, the FDA and the U.S. government are failing to protect the health of U.S. Citizens, particularly, African Americans,”? Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy, ASH’s managing attorney said during the virtual press conference. “The U.S. is also falling behind the global trend as countries around the world are increasingly banning menthol.”?? 

Some African American leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, have cautioned that making menthol cigarettes illegal will only create room for an underground market, which could expose Blacks to more criminal convictions and increase law enforcement surveillance — particularly in neighborhoods where there are more cases of police use of excessive force. Sharpton opposed a ban on menthol cigarettes in New York City last year that did not pass.  

Menthol has been laced in tobacco products for almost 100 years. It is a substance naturally found in mint plants such as peppermint and spearmint, according to smokefree.gov.?A synthetic version of the compound can also be manufactured.  

Smokefree.gov is a website operated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smokefree.gov’s main objective is to assist efforts to reduce smoking rates in the United States, significantly among (certain) populations.? 

AATCLC educates the African American community about tobacco use and cessation, partners with community stakeholders, and public health agencies to inform and affect the direction of tobacco policy, practices, and priorities, as it affects the lives of Black people. 

Founded in 1967 and based in Washington, D.C., ASH is the country’s oldest anti-tobacco organization, dedicated to reducing tobacco-related deaths down to zero. ASH does not attack smokers. Its vision is to combat tobacco.? 

AATCLC and ASH are non-profit entities. The Public Health Law Center, an organization that collaborates with other groups to reduce and eliminate the use of tobacco, supports AATCLC and ASH’s lawsuit. 

“This landmark litigation is the culmination of a decade of pioneering work by the health champions of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership and other Black-led organizations,” Doug Blanke, the Executive Director of Public Health Law Center, said in a written statement. “It has the potential to reverse the leading cause of death in the Black community.” 

By Jake Pickering

The Washington Redskins National Football League franchise is a disgrace!  In the year 2020, Washington team owner Daniel Snyder cannot possibly continue to rationalize keeping his ridiculously racist team name in the face of widespread, righteous public condemnation of Snyder’s racist recalcitrance.

Our nation’s capitol’s team name “The Redskins” will be retired before this football season begins, if Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) has anything to say about it:  “The time [for the name] has ended.  There is no way to justify it.  You either step into this century or you don’t.  It’s up to the owner of the team to do that.”

In 1997, Washington, D.C.’s National Basketball Association franchise willingly changed its name from “The Bullets” to “The Wizards”.  So what’s Daniel Snyder’s problem (other than being a bigot)?

As silly as some of these monikers are below, any one of them would be preferable to Washington D.C.’s current NFL team name.  Take your pick, Mr. Snyder.

• Washington Redcoats
• Washington Rednecks
• Washington Redrums
• Washington Red Dawns
• Washington Red Foxes
• Washington Red Lines
• Washington Red Rovers
• Washington Red Tides
• Washington Red Riding Hoods
• Washington Red Sparrows
• (Melania Trump can be the team mascot)