By Charles Ellison, the b|e note

Although housing insecurity affected communities of color long before COVID-19, the current pandemic continues to exacerbate inequalities. As early as April 2020, 32 percent of Black adults and 41 percent of Latinx adults experienced job loss due to the pandemic, compared with only 24 percent of white adults.

Black and Latina women have seen the largest drop in their employment-to-population ratios since February, with Black women in particular seeing jobs come back at a rate that is 1 1/2 times slower than that of white women. Although all racial and ethnic groups have faced record unemployment, the Black-white unemployment gap has persisted throughout the pandemic.

For Asian Americans—who have been particularly targeted by racist responses to the coronavirus crisis—unemployment rates have soared to 11 percent in July, compared with 3 percent during the previous year, and they remain historically high as the pandemic continues. 

Lost and reduced income has worsened already difficult situations for many. During the pandemic, renters of color have reported less overall confidence in being able to pay their next month’s rent and have reported not having paid the previous month’s rent on time at disproportionately higher rates than their white counterparts. (see Figures 1 and 2)

With communities of color also navigating the collective pain of higher rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, they must face additional medical and funeral costs in addition to potential lost employer-sponsored health insurance and reduced household income due to unemployment—or worse, the loss of an income-earner’s life.

“This Scary Statistic Predicts Growing US Political Violence — Whatever Happens On Election Day” Read MORE …

“The tendency is to blame Trump, but I don’t really agree with that,” Peter Turchin, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Connecticut who studies the forces that drive political instability, told BuzzFeed News. “Trump is really not the deep structural cause.”

The most dangerous element in the mix, argue Turchin and George Mason University sociologist Jack Goldstone, is the corrosive effect of inequality on society. They believe they have a model that explains how inequality escalates and leads to political instability: Worsened by elites who monopolize economic gains, narrow the path to social mobility, and resist taxation, inequality ends up undermining state institutions while fomenting distrust and resentment.

Building on Goldstone’s work showing that revolutions tend to follow periods of population growth and urbanization, Turchin has developed a statistic called the political stress indicator, or PSI. It incorporates measures of wage stagnation, national debt, competition between elites, distrust in government, urbanization, and the age structure of the population.

Turchin raised warning signs of a coming storm a decade ago, predicting that instability would peak in the years around 2020. “In the United States, we have stagnating or declining real wages, a growing gap between rich and poor, overproduction of young graduates with advanced degrees, and exploding public debt,” he wrote, in a letter to the journal Nature. “Historically, such developments have served as leading indicators of looming political instability.”

“Black, Hispanic, and Young Workers Have Been Left Behind by Policymakers, But Will They Vote?” Read MORE …

Black voters have faced a 150-year struggle against voter intimidation and suppression tactics and the multilayered legacies of slavery. Black Americans are also disproportionately disenfranchised by state laws that ban convicted felons from voting—even, in some states, after they have served their full sentence. Given the U.S.’s high incarceration rate and systemic racism in the criminal justice system, this is just one more way the Black vote is suppressed.

Black voter registration and participation rose after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; while Black voting rates would continue to lag behind white voting rates, the gap had narrowed significantly—particularly in the South. In 2008, the gap essentially closed, and in 2012, Black voting rates exceeded white voting rates (Figure A). However, Black voting rates dipped below white voting rates in the 2016 presidential election, asreports of voter suppression and intimidation increased relative to previous elections.

Hispanic voter turnout has been persistently lower than both Black and white voter turnout: In the 2016 presidential election, Hispanic turnout was reported by the Census Bureau at 47.6%, compared with 65.3% for non-Hispanic white voters and 59.4% for Black voters (Figure A). The reasons for low Hispanic turnout are not necessarily easy to determine and often get told one story at a time. Like Black voters, Hispanic voters have been hampered by voter suppression efforts and face disproportionate disenfranchisement due to felony convictions. Many face language barriers. The Hispanic population is also much younger (with a median age of 30 in 2018) than the white population (with a median age of 44)—and, as discussed below, younger adults are less likely to vote.1

By Quinci LeGardye | California Black Media

Californians can rest easy. With a little over two months to go until the state’s open enrollment period for 2021 ends on Jan. 31, 2021, expect no new restrictions to your health care coverage options. 

It is not likely that the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, will be successful. It occurred Nov. 10, when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments against the national health care law passed under the Obama administration in the case California v. Texas, No. 19-840. 

Although some Obamacare supporters, including California Attorney General Xavier Beccera – who led the Democratic defense of the ACA — expressed some caution about the nation’s highest court’s 6-3 conservative majority, they largely remained confident. 

After the hearing, a majority of Justices indicated that the ACA is still safe.

California v. Texas mainly focused on the ACA’s mandate requiring insurance. It was filed by 18 Republican attorneys general backed by the Trump administration. They argued that the mandate became unconstitutional after Congress eliminated the penalty for not having health insurance in Congress’s 2017 tax reform bill. They also argued that since the mandate was a crucial feature of the law, and they deemed it unconstitutional, the entire law should have been thrown out. 

Although an official decision in the case will not come until the middle of next year, at least five Supreme Court justices have indicated that they would reject the attempt to kill the ACA. Two members of the Court’s current Republican majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, noted that striking down the individual mandate portion of the ACA did not require overturning the rest of the law.

“It does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the act in place — the provisions regarding pre-existing conditions and the rest,” Justice Kavanaugh said.

The Court’s inferred support of the ACA comes at a time when unemployment across the United States is still at record highs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Covered California healthcare marketplace began open enrollment Nov. 1, and many newly unemployed or self-employed Californians will need to apply for either subsidized insurance, Medi-Cal or an individual medical plan.

In a virtual conference Nov. 9, the day before his Supreme Court oral arguments, Becerra spoke about the importance of the ACA during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he called a national health crisis.

“We need the ACA more than ever now. COVID-19 has infected more than 10 million Americans, it has cost 12 million American workers their healthcare, and it’s disproportionately hurting communities of color. Because of the ACA, in states with expanded Medicaid, workers who have lost their jobs and with that their employer-based health insurance, are still able to get healthcare and support that they need,” said Becerra.

California has supported the ACA since its inception in 2013, expanding the Medi-Cal program for low-income residents, and creating the state-based Covered California marketplace, which offers both federal subsidies and state-based aid. According to Census records, the rate of uninsured Californians dropped from 17.2 % in 2013 to 7.7 % in 2019.

According to Covered California, 271,820 people signed up for health care coverage through the marketplace during its special open enrollment period between March 20 and Aug. 20 this year, more than twice the number of people who signed up during the same period last year.

Dr. Jamila Perritt, President and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, spoke about the importance of the ACA for the community she treats as an OB-GYN.

“I take care of people, real people who deserve to have access to the healthcare they will want and need access to — provided by the Affordable Care Act. The health of my patients has improved. The health of our communities has improved. I know that the Affordable Care Act has been a safety net for many communities and undermining or eliminating it will disproportionately impact those who need care,” said Perritt.

After presenting the arguments for keeping the Affordable Care Act, Becerra was optimistic.

“The ACA has withstood numerous legal and political challenges. It’s been upheld by the Supreme Court as constitutional twice before. And we are optimistic that it will withstand this challenge as well,” said Becerra.

By Antonio? ?Ray? ?Harvey? ?|? ?California? ?Black? ?Media? ?

The California Democratic Party Black Caucus (CDP Black Caucus) joined hands with other women organizations this past weekend?. Their goal: to turn up the pressure on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a Black woman to replace outgoing Sen. Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate. 

During the virtual “Keep the Seat” news conference, which representatives from the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Black Women United (BWU) attended, the organizers explained why Gov. Newsom should appoint a Black woman. They also gave reasons why he should narrow his options to U.S. Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA-37) and Barbara Lee (D-CA-13).

“This is a pivotal time in California history. I hope together we can bend the moral arc of history towards justice, together, by ensuring that the most underrepresented and marginalized community retain a significant representation in California by appointing a Black woman to replace Kamala Harris,” said Taisha Brown, chairperson of the CDP Black Caucus. 

Brown continued, “Our call is for all of you to join us in saying to Gavin Newsom, our governor, that we are not going to accept anything but a Black woman. I think it’s critical that we emphasize that.”

Currently there are three African Americans serving in the United States Senate. Two of them are men (Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina). Harris, the junior Senator from California, is the only African American woman with a seat in the upper house of the United States Congress. 

But with Harris’s imminent ascendency to the Vice Presidency of the United States, there will be no African American woman in the US Senate after Jan. 20, 2021.

In response, the CDP Black Caucus has put out a call to action under the slogan “One is not enough, and zero is unacceptable.”

“We have a Thanksgiving message for Gov. Gavin Newsom. Our goal is to have 250 every day until Thanksgiving. We need you to speak up. Make a call and let Gov. Newsom know that Black women have been the backbone of the Democratic Party as voters, organizers, and we deserve representation in the United States Senate,” said Kendra Lewis, a representative for the CDP Black Caucus. 

Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University Long Beach, was also one of the “Keep The Seat” speakers. Karenga, who is also the founder of the annual spiritual and cultural celebration Kwanzaa, said he “stands strong” with the CDP Black Caucus’s push to keep a Black woman from California in the U.S. Senate. 

“First of all, no one is more qualified than the two women mentioned — Bass and Lee. It’s not a gift. It’s recognition overdue. It’s also a service to the Democratic party. Black women have been the backbone of this party. So, it is debt owed to them,” he said. 

Over the weekend, several top women Democratic Party donors in California also urged Newsom to select a woman of color. About 150 of them have placed a letter in full-page ads in two newspapers — the LA Times in Southern California and the San Francisco Chronicle in Northern California — making their request known to Newsom. 

“Women of color are the core drivers of electoral progress in our country, and their voices should be heard in the nation’s highest governing body. California is fortunate to have a strong pipeline of women of color in elected office who are prepared to serve; as Californians and political supporters, we look forward to you selecting one of them,” the letter read. 

The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and other Black leaders in the state have also called on Gov. Newsom to fill the seat with an African American woman.  

The CLBC members also sent a letter to Gov. Newsom making their case for why Bass and Lee should be at the top of his shortlist of candidates. They cited the women’s lengthy legislative experience coupled with their broad foreign policy knowledge. 

Before the election on Nov. 3, Newsom said that he was getting pressure from different groups in the state about who he should appoint to replace Harris. He also acknowledged that he feels the weight of making that important decision and predicted that his choice would not please everyone.  

“The stress of having to choose between a lot of friends, to choose between quality candidates, and the fact that whoever you pick, there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be upset, disappointed, that it wasn’t this or that, I don’t even want to get my arms around that until I have the privilege of having to make that decision,” Newsom said in an interview with Los Angeles’ FOX 11.

Gov. Newsom can either decide to make an appointment to complete Harris’s term or he can call  a special election.

Submitted by Because of Them We Can

President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris announced their advisory council to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic with some of the nation’s leading doctors and scientists. At the helm is Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith with her co-chairs Dr. David Kessler and Dr. Vivek Murthy.

“Dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most important battles our administration will face, and I will be informed by science and by experts,” President-elect Biden said in a press release. “The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations.”

Dr. Nunez-Smith comes from Yale University, an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Public Health, and Management at the Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on marginalized communities’ health and creating an equitable and accessible healthcare system for all.

“Everyone is affected by this pandemic, yet the burden is disproportionate,” Nunez-Smith said in a statement. “We know communities of color are grieving at high rates and are facing substantial economic impact. The transition advisory board is setting a course for everyone in our country to experience recovery.” 

Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith, associate dean for health equity research at Yale School of Medicine is now the co- chair of the COVID task-force.
Black Women.
My heart is so full! pic.twitter.com/4dgVJc0kA2

— Narica (@NaricaClarke) November 8, 2020

According to the Yale press release announcing her appointment, “Munez-Smith is an internist and an expert in healthcare equity, is the founding director of Yale SOM’s Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership, which trains healthcare practitioners to address disparities in healthcare access and outcomes that affect people of color and other vulnerable populations. She is also the founding director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center at the Yale School of Medicine.”

Her official Yale bio lists Dr. Nunez-Smith as the Deputy Director for Health Equity Research and Workforce Development for the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, Core Faculty in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, and Research Faculty at Yale’s Global Health Leadership Institute. She comes from the Virgin Islands, earned a BA from Swarthmore College, an MD from Jefferson Medical College, and an MHS from Yale University.

We’re glad to have you on our nation’s team on this road to recovery! Congratulations, Dr. Nunez-Smith.

Source: Because of them we can

ONTARIO, CA— A drive-thru COVID-19 testing site opens today at Ontario International Airport (ONT) just in time for the holiday travel season as airport officials forecast that approximately 280,000 passengers will travel through the Southern California gateway.

Testing is available in parking lot 3 between terminals 2 and 4 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Tests are administered by Covid Clinic, a Southern California-based non-profit which operates testing sites in California and Arizona. ONT is COVID Clinic’s 24th location. 

Rapid tests with results available in as few as 20 minutes are among a variety of antigen and antibody tests offered. Rapid test specimens are processed on-site while others are sent to local third-party laboratories with results generally reported in two to four days. 

“The availability of COVID-19 testing adds a new level of service and convenience to the Ontario airport experience,” said Mark Thorpe, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority. “It is our hope that on-site testing administered in the comfort of a passenger vehicle will provide peace of mind to our customers, guests and airport employees, as well as any of our neighbors who want to be tested.” 

Reservations for testing at ONT, and more detailed test information and pricing, is available here. Patients may be able to receive reimbursement from their health insurance provider for all or a portion of their COVID-19 test.

Thanksgiving holiday travel spanning 11 days from Friday, November 20^th through Monday, November 30^th is expected to bring more than 100,000 air travelers through ONT, based on current airline schedules, while more than 180,000 are expected to depart and arrive at ONT during the winter holidays from Thursday, December 17^th through Sunday, January 3^rd. The total number of passengers expected in the coming weeks is 60% of the traveler volume estimated for the period last year.

Surges in COVID-19 infections across the country, government orders to pause restarts and guidance from public health officials to limit family gatherings could cause holiday travel volumes to fluctuate even more, however, as most passengers are purchasing airline tickets within 30 days of departure, Thorpe cautioned.

Nonetheless, as air travel shows signs of gradual resurgence, ONT has recorded six straight months of traffic growth since reaching its low point in April when passenger levels declined by 93%.

Ontario’s recovery ranks first among airports in California and third nationally, having regained roughly 50% of passenger volume compared to a year ago.

International carrier Volaris initiated nonstop service from ONT to its Mexico City base earlier this month.

Delta Air Lines, which resumed daily, nonstop service to its Atlanta hub in July, began twice daily, nonstop flights to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in October. Southwest Airlines restarted its Chicago Midway International Airport route while United Airlines resumed flying to Houston’s George H.W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in August.

Denver-based Frontier Airlines announced in recent days that it will add or restart flights to seven popular U.S. destinations to its ONT schedule between February and May in 2021.

Ontario airport continues intensive efforts to keep passengers and guests safe while in the airport and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by frequently sanitizing restrooms, gate areas and high-touch surfaces with highly effective disinfectant, and utilizing security screening trays treated with powerful antimicrobial technology.

Ontario requires appropriate face covers for all customers, visitors and employees. Passengers are urged to wash hands with soap and water frequently and use the many hand sanitizing stations that have been added throughout ONT terminals. Vending machines including personal protective equipment such as face covers, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are also located in passenger terminals.

“The pandemic has impacted life in every aspect, but we strive every day with our airline partners to take steps to reassure passengers that they can travel safely,” Thorpe said.

Submitted by Covered California

With COVID-19 raging across the country, African Americans — disproportionately infected with the virus – are being urged to enroll in health insurance through California’s Obamacare exchange, Covered California.

While tens of thousands of African Americans have benefited from insurance through Covered California at one time or another since 2013, nearly 65,000 uninsured Africans Americans in the state are eligible for financial help through Covered California or Medi-Cal.

“In the midst of this global health crisis and resulting economic recession, we want everyone to be insured, regardless of their race or economic status, and no matter what situation they find themselves in,” Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said. 

Covered California recently launched its open enrollment period, which lasts through Jan. 31, and is encouraging all eligible residents to “Get Covered” and “Stay Covered,” Lee said. “During this holiday season, what better way to show a loved one you than by giving the gift of health,” Lee said.

Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

According to a report in the Washington Post, African Americans were 37 percent more likely to die than Whites from COVID-19, after controlling for age, sex and mortality rates over time.

“Health insurance can have a lasting impact,” Lee said. “From day one Covered California has worked hard to connect with the state’s diverse communities. We believe that part of addressing the disparities exposed by the pandemic is by effectively reaching out to enroll all Californians.”

Open enrollment is the one-time of the year when anyone eligible can sign up for health care coverage for 2021. Covered California consumers can check their options and see if they qualify for financial help by using the Shop & Compare tool on the revamped CoveredCA.com.

Eligible consumers who sign up through Covered California can qualify for financial help from the federal government, the state of California, or both. Consumers can visit and find out if they are eligible for either lower cost private plans through Covered California or free coverage through Medi-Cal (which is open year-round). Right now, a record 1.5 million Californians are enrolled in Covered California and are in the process of renewing their coverage, with nearly 90 percent receiving some level of financial assistance.

“Affordability is the number one issue for consumers, and the financial help available through Covered California helps bring the cost of coverage within reach,” Lee said.

In 2021, nearly all Californians (99.8 percent) will be able to choose from two or more carriers and over three-quarter of Californians (77 percent) will have four or more choices.

Consumers will need to sign up by Dec. 15 in order to have their coverage begin on Jan. 1, 2021. Those interested in learning more about their coverage options can:

• Visit www.CoveredCA.com.
• Get free and confidential assistance, in a variety of languages, from a certified enroller.
• Have a certified enroller call them and help them for free.
• Call Covered California at (800) 300-1506.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— Mobile home parks in San Bernardino and Riverside counties were awarded more than $4 million in grants by the California Public Utilities Commission, which will provide access to technology for residents.

Charter Communications applied for the California Advances Services Fund Infrastructure Grants to bring broadband service to underserved communities. 

“Technology helps move communities forward so we are excited that our residents who need Internet access the most will soon be connected,” said Curt Hagman, chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. “No community should be left behind in our county when it comes to technology, which is essential to compete in our world today. Closing the digital divide improves access to emergency services, expands economic opportunities and bridges the economic divide.”

“Now more than ever, we’ve seen how access to the internet allows residents to connect with businesses, schools and loved ones. It’s a necessity,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “Bringing the internet to underserved communities will significantly support the basic activities in our residents’ lives. I look forward to more opportunities to broaden this effort and reduce the digital divide.”

The four Inland projects that received grant approval are: Country Meadows Mobile Home Park in Ontario – $2,120,390; Monterey Mobile Home Village in Montclair – $784,322; Villa Montclair Mobile Home Park in Montclair – $543,529; and Soboba Springs Mobile Estates in San Jacinto – $907,817.

The approved projects will enable broadband access at speeds of up to 940 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 35 Mpbs upload to 661 households. These households currently are unserved with no facilities-based wireline or fixed wireless broadband service providers. The projects are expected to be completed over the next year.

By Lou Yeboah

Woe, Woe, Woe!

Wake up and wake up now, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” [Romans 13:11]. The final countdown and signs of the seven-year tribulation are rising all around us. The warnings are there. The signs are there. The thunder is growing, the lightning is on the horizon, and the dark clouds are gathering. I tell you, we are living in the most significant and important time in Bible-prophecy history, yet no one is paying attention. Woe, Woe, Woe!

If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” [Luke 21:36]. And if you want to know how close we are in Bible prophecy, then watch Israel and compare it to God’s Word. Israel is the key to the end time prophecy and the City of Jerusalem is the center stage.

Consider the message and understand the vision: [Daniel 9:24]. The final seven year countdown, begins when this world figure known as the Antichrist initiates a peace covenant with Israel. Done [?]: “Israel and the UAE agreed to full normalization of relations in a phone call with President Donald Trump marking the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country in 25 years.” [Moving the United States Embassy in Israel back to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel].

“STRIKING ANOTHER HISTORIC AGREEMENT: President Donald J. Trump brokered a peace agreement between Sudan and Israel – the third such agreement between Israel and an Arab-Muslim nation in less than three months. “Today, Israel and Sudan have agreed to make peace and to normalize their relations in another landmark agreement. In the coming weeks, the two countries will begin negotiations on cooperation agreements in agriculture, economy, trade, aviation, migration issues, and other areas of mutual benefit. This historic peace agreement follows similar agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan are the first Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel in over 25 years.”

QUOTE President Donald J. Trump ? “They are choosing a future in which Arabs and Israelis, Muslims, Jews, and Christians can live together, pray together, and dream together, side by side, in harmony, community, and peace.”

Can you hear me now! Bible prophecy is quickly being fulfilled in rapid succession. End time prophecy is being fulfilled one after another. Watch and pray! The final seven year countdown has begun.

Happy Thanksgiving!