By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire NNPA NEWSWIRE — “The FBI assesses hate crime incidents against Asian Americans likely will surge across the United States, due to the spread of coronavirus disease … endangering Asian American communities,” read a report compiled by the FBI’s Houston office and sent to local law enforcement across America. “The FBI makes this assessment based on the assumption that a portion of the US public will associate COVID-19 with China and Asian American populations.” On March 23, standing at the podium in the White House Briefing Room, President Trump was asked whether or not using…
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By Zak Cheney-Rice Intelligencer Being black in Wisconsin is analogous to having your life cut short by six years. From 2014 to 2016, black men there lived, on average, 7.34 years less than white men; black women lived 5.61 years less than white women, which is 115 percent higher than the national racial life-expectancy gap for women. In both cases, much of the divide is attributable to health disparities. Deaths from heart disease or cancer accounted for the biggest share of the gap, according to a study published last year at BMC Public Health. They are the top two causes…
By Eugene Scott A Washington Post analysis of early data from jurisdictions across the country found that the novel coronavirus appears to be affecting — and killing — black Americans at a disproportionately high rate compared to white Americans. Majority black counties have three times the rate of infections and nearly six times the rate of deaths as majority white counties, according to the analysis. “Why is it three or four times more so for the black community as opposed to other people?” President Trump asked at Tuesday’s White House task force briefing. “It doesn’t make sense, and I don’t…
By Michael A. Grant, J.D. A storm is passing over Planet Earth. It has picked up momentum. It is wreaking havoc on human beings of every stripe. It is not bounded by geography, nationality, economic status or age group. All are threatened. But we must keep in mind: The storm is indeed passing over. It is temporary and it will cease. Now is the time to call upon your greatest weapon to speed its demise. It is your spirit. You see, while the power of the Coronavirus is limited, your spirit’s power is infinite. It has no limits. To…
A message from IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig: “Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an Economic Impact Payment. Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their bank accounts. People with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns will receive the full $1,200 payment and up to $500 for each qualifying child. The IRS will use the information on the Form SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 to generate Economic Impact Payments to recipients…
Millions of Americans are out of work. Some, like these workers at Mt. Sinai in New York City, are still on the job taking care of very sick people. Photo: Stephanie Keith. The first phase of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed March 6, included $8.3 billion for coronavirus research to develop a vaccine for the virus. The second phase was a $104 billion package focused on paid sick leave and extending unemployment benefits for American workers. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law on March 18, 2020. The third phase of the CARES…
Watch out for those elderly who are alone. We’ve seen so much of the negativity but if we’re paying attention there so many amazing grassroots community-oriented projects and activities. We can start with something as simple as the number of masks that are being made at home,” said Dr. Stacie Walton, a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente in San Leandro, California. NASHVILLE, TN – Experts briefed reporters from minority news outlets last week on COVID-19 and the stimulus programs passed by Congress in March. Three doctors talked about healthcare in their communities and one labor lawyer talked about new rules for collecting…
Chicago has seen a total of 98 deaths with 72% of them black residents Stark statistics from Chicago health officials have underscored the heavy toll of coronavirus on black Americans. Black Chicagoans account for half of all coronavirus cases in the city and more than 70% of deaths, despite making up 30% of the population. Other cities with large black populations, including Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans and New York, have become coronavirus hotspots. The US has recorded nearly 370,000 virus cases and almost 11,000 deaths. Globally there have been nearly 75,000 deaths and more than 1.3m cases total. What do…
By Jon Jeter The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Similar to Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago, the global coronavirus pandemic is shining a light on America’s racial fault lines. At ground zero of the U.S. pandemic, New York City, only essential services are allowed to remain open: groceries, drug stores, liquor stores, hardware stores, and restaurants that offer delivery. Grocery store shelves remain well-stocked, but cold and flu medicines are in short supply in drug stores. In Harlem, Margaret Kimberley, an author and columnist for Black Agenda Report, wrote on Facebook: “People are riding the subway, but there are so few that you…
By Associated Press WASHINGTON, DC — Civil rights icon and Georgia Rep. John Lewis is backing Joe Biden for president, giving the prospective Democratic nominee perhaps his biggest symbolic endorsement among the many veteran black lawmakers who back his candidacy. “We need his voice,” the 80-year-old Lewis told reporters ahead of the campaign’s Tuesday announcement. He described the 77-year-old Biden as “a man of courage, a man of great conscience, a man of faith,” and said the former vice president would “help us regain our way as a nation.” A 17-term Atlanta congressman, Lewis is battling pancreatic cancer but…