Archives: Voices

CHN’s Deborah Weinstein: Every Person Counts and By Law Must Be Counted

Posted by

President Trump issued a memorandum on July 21 that wantonly disregards the Constitution in asserting that his Administration will not include undocumented immigrants in its 2020 Census count for purposes of Congressional apportionment. CHN has been working faithfully along with its members and allies to ensure that every person is counted in the 2020 Census. We know that an accurate count ensures that communities receive their fair share of education, health and other resources. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is completely clear in basing representation on “the whole number of persons in each state.”

Dire times could worsen for Missouri families on the brink

Posted by

As the U.S. Senate returns to work this week, there are urgent calls for legislators to act quickly to ensure all Missouri families can meet their basic needs during and after the COVID crisis. In the next two weeks, a moratorium on evictions will expire along with federal emergency unemployment benefits. Jeanette Mott Oxford, Director of Policy and Organizing with Empower Missouri, said that could be a double whammy for the 4-in-10 Missouri households that have someone who has lost a job in recent months.

CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship July 17

Posted by

Congress returns to Washington on Monday, July 20, with deadlines only days away for expiring unemployment benefits and the end of evictions moratoria. That’s a very dangerous combination: back rent will come due while half of American households have lost earnings and 25 million jobless people will start losing $15b per week in unemployment benefits. The Senate must join the House in enacting COVID recovery legislation similar to the House’s HEROES Act – the time is now.  

International students prevail as Trump Administration rescinds xenophobic policy  

Posted by

After facing multiple lawsuits and challenges by 20 states, the Trump Administration this week fully rescinded its previous directive that would have prevented international students from entering or remaining in the United States if their college classes were to be held entirely online. The National Immigration Law Center tweeted, “This policy should have never even seen the light of day. The Trump administration’s culture of cruelty led the way in the forming of this policy,” NILC said. “Thank you to every university, organization, and state that took action to file suits and stop this policy in its tracks.” 

CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship July 10

Posted by

This week, we track the hardships connected to one of the 38 states (includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) with rising COVID-19 caseloads: Texas. Decisions to reopen without adequate preparation are powering the caseload surge nationwide, with 59,880 cases on July 9, the sixth single-day record in the past 10 days. As of July 10, the U.S. had more than 3.1 million cases and 133,000 deaths. The spiking pandemic brings more than sickness – it also inflicts severe economic hardships. The Senate must join the House in enacting COVID recovery legislation similar to the House’s HEROES Act as soon after its return as possible.

COVID-19 and evictions: Could 23 million Americans lose their homes? 

Posted by

Evictions are coming and the potential numbers are terrifying. A panel of experts warns that between 19 million and 23 million Americans are at risk of eviction by the end of September. That is roughly one in five of the 110 million Americans who live in renter households. “That wave [of evictions] has already begun. We are trying to prevent it from becoming a tsunami,” Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, told the Washington Post. 

Colleges and Racial Equality: Students Call on Their Institutions to Act 

Posted by

Colleges and universities have been places of protest, advocacy, activism, and social justice throughout history. From anti-war protests in the 1960s to marches fueled by the 2016 presidential election, college students have always gathered attention for their involvement in social movements. There has been no exception when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for anti-racism in 2020.  

CHN’S COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship July 2

Posted by

The U.S. Senate will be finishing up today without having taken up a new COVID-19 relief bill. It will be out until July 20. In the meantime, most states are starting up a new fiscal year as of July 1, with plummeting revenues and no assurance that the federal government will provide aid to prevent service cuts and state and local government worker layoffs. From February through June, there have already been 1.5 million state and local worker layoffs, out of 15 million public sector workers. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reminded the Senate this week that the economic downturn would be prolonged, and that the “path forward will also depend on the policy actions taken at all levels of government to provide relief and to support the recovery for as long as needed.”

We are pressed on every side, but we are not crushed

Posted by

The pain Black people are feeling — that I am feeling — is not about one incidence of police violence and murder or even the highly visible state-violence we’ve witnessed over the past decade. It is not about one Amy Cooper or Starbucks incident. It is layers and layers of connected events that dehumanize Black people from public lynchings to the discrimination and microaggessions that happen in school, at work, while shopping, and while seeking help. It is quite literally death by a thousand cuts. Racism is killing us.