Millions of people joined in the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 20. We did not stand shoulder to shoulder, but we did stand together. It was an online event, also broadcast on MSNBC and CSPAN, that achieved something rare, powerful, wise, and morally right: we listened to poor and near-poor people from across our nation. They told us about their constant struggles to secure habitable housing, clean water, adequate food, a job at a fair wage, and health care. They told of their determination to fight for something better. They were organizers for the Poor People’s Campaign, for labor unions, and for community organizations.
Archives: Voices
KIDS COUNT: Latest data show pre-pandemic progress – with some setbacks – for U.S. children
The latest edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book is hot off the presses and the news regarding the well-being of children in the U.S. through 2018 is mostly good – with some major caveats. This year’s report found that children improved nationally in 11 out of 16 indicators, essentially stayed the same in three areas, and fell further behind in two others. Among the good news to celebrate: in 2018, more parents were economically secure and lived without a high housing cost burden. More teens graduated from high school and delayed childbearing. And progress was made in the area of children’s health coverage.
Prison gerrymandering and (mis)representation: More evidence of systemic racism that needs to be dismantled
Calls for racial justice are spreading across the country and the world. COVID-19 has brought disproportionate death to Black Americans. Primary election calamities across the U.S. are making it more difficult for low-income and minority neighborhoods to vote. We can add prison gerrymandering to the list of things that have been included in recent Black Lives Matter protests and that allow us to question the integrity of the representation of BIPOC (Black and Indigenous people of color) and low-income communities in the United States.
For low-income college students, COVID-19 worries mount
For many college students, COVID-19 has become an inconvenience and created a series of disappointments. Students miss their friends, have had events or sports cancelled, missed out on a traditional graduation, and had to deal with a transition to online classes. But for low-income students, COVID-19 has presented a much more dire situation. Uncertainty about how many universities will handle a new semester come August has not eased the situation for many students who rely on their schools for housing and food security.
CHN’S COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship June 19
It is Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, the U.S. Army reached Galveston, TX to tell enslaved Black Americans that they were free, 2 months after the Civil War had ended with Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. We celebrate freedom today, but we also must confront that we are not two months late, but 155 years late in ridding the nation of the scourge of racism. That scourge is killing Black Americans ages 45-54 at 7 times the rate of white Americans from COVID-19. It means more Blacks and Latinx are losing income from work during the pandemic than whites, more work in frontline jobs and cannot work safely at home, more Blacks and Latinx are poor, more do not have enough to eat, and more are falling behind in their rent.
Supreme Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Inhumane Attempt to Deport Dreamers
We celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling, but know that the real celebration of justice and human decency awaits Congress’ enactment of legislation to provide legal status and a path to citizenship for 700,000 DACA recipients and other immigrants who every day make essential contributions to our communities. That should happen with no delay and the Trump Administration should abandon its inhumane attempts to tear our neighbors from their homes and families.
CHN on landmark Supreme Court victory for LGBTQ workers: ‘Our country’s march toward ending systemic discrimination continues on many fronts’
At a time when millions of Americans are marching in support of black lives and to dismantle systemic racism, the Supreme Court Monday took an important step toward reversing another form of discrimination. The Court’s landmark 6-3 ruling banning discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace is a major step toward equality.
What Can You Do? Some Counsel: Show me your work
These last few days and weeks have reminded me of the importance of actions and not just words. Many of my well-meaning colleagues at other non-profit organizations and past work colleagues reached out to see how I was doing and let me know they were thinking of me. My initial reaction was why? Why are you reaching out to me now when the killing of Black people did not start with George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery or Breonna Taylor. The killing of Black people and racism are deeply rooted in this nation’s history, and we have been living with that for more than 400 years. So, thanks for your nice words and prayers, but it’s time for you to do the work!
CHN’S COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship June 12
States are allowing businesses and other facilities to reopen, usually with some restrictions. COVID-19 is not done, though. We have passed the 2 million mark for cases in the U.S. and half the states plus Puerto Rico have seen cases trending up in the past two weeks. While some people are going back to work, close to half of all households (nearly 120 million people) include someone who lost income from work, with Latinx almost 1.5 times as likely to experience lost earnings as White households. 12 million of the poorest among us have not gotten help they are eligible for, and growing numbers have not had enough to eat or been able to pay their rent.
COVID-19 and Nov. 3, 2020: A colossal disaster in the making?
Anyone following the news knows the calamities that have come to characterize 2020: a coronavirus pandemic, a Great Depression-like economic collapse, and police violence born of systemic racism. On top of all this, election observers say Nov. 3, 2020 – Election Day in the U.S.America – could result in the largest mass voter disenfranchisement than at any time since the era of poll taxes and literacy tests in the 1960s and before.
COVID-19 and social distancing: What happens if a hurricane strikes?
With the arrival of hurricane season, local emergency responders as well as public health officials are asking, how can people practice responsible social distancing if they find themselves suddenly ordered to evacuate to high ground? The question is by no means academic. When Tropical Storm Cristobal first achieved tropical storm status in the Gulf of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche on June 2, it marked the first time in recorded history that three storms had achieved tropical status this early in the hurricane season.
CHN’S COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship June 5
Needless death afflicts this nation. As racism caused the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others, so are death, sickness, and hardship from the pandemic disproportionately inflicted by race. Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at more than twice the rate of Whites. Blacks and Latinx are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to go without food, and more likely to be unable to pay rent. With levels of joblessness far higher than during the Great Recession, and those without jobs far more likely to be uninsured, federal solutions and investments remain essential.