When elements of Black culture are Christopher Columbus'd by mainstream America, things get messy, weird, and out of control with the quickness. It's almost like Miley Cyrus "discovered" twerking again.
What the Health
The latest COVID numbers: 104M total cases & 1M total deaths (+156K & +2K from last week) in the US.
The headlines:
COVID-19 deaths hit a 3-year low.
Just a couple weeks after the government said COVID was likely due to the virus leaking from a lab, other evidence suggests it actually came from raccoon dogs that were being sold at a market in Wuhan, China.
One doctor says the US needs a restorative health plan to help address the health disparities our community faces.
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
Going back on a campaign promise and angering environmental activists in the process, Joe Biden approved the Willow Project. The project will generate up to 600M barrels of oil from federally owned land in Alaska.
Biden signed an executive order last week that aimed to increase the instances under which someone must go through a background check before purchasing a gun.
With a Republican governor aiming to reverse its abortion law, VP Harris says Iowa is on the frontlines of the reproductive rights battle.
Congress, What’s Good?
Mitch McConnell is out from a fall last week and it’s got Congressional GOPers shook.
Elizabeth Warren wants to raise the FDIC insurance limit into the millions.
The House GOP is still holding out on a debt ceiling deal. Now some of them are asking for Trump’s many investigations to go away before they’re ready to negotiate.
Committee meetings on this week’s agenda:
Social Justice Round Up
San Fran’s board of supervisors approved a proposed reparations plan, a procedural step in a very, very process. The plan contains over 100 suggestions for reparations, including a $5M payout to Black residents, clearing personal debt, or an annual income of $97K. The board will meet again on this plan–separate from the one underway at the state level–in September.
The City of Los Angeles approved $1M to create the Office of Unarmed Response & Safety, which will expand the 9-8-8 suicide and crisis hotline and the city’s ability to effectively respond to these instances with professionals who are unarmed.
Last week’s red state vs. blue (or Black) city issue was in Jackson, MS. This week, Houston’s school district has been taken over by the state, despite improving conditions. One author said the quiet part out loud: the maneuver is part of a long game to prevent Black and brown folks in Texas from obtaining greater political power. Sounds like another state we know…
Speaking of Florida, the Florida Men and Women that make up the state’s GOP want to ban Black Greek-letter organizations and other campus groups that promote diversity. Thanks to members of the Divine Nine, that specific provision has been struck from the bill, but the state’s fight to restrict anything related to DEI continues.
Something that grinds our gears: the people appropriating and running the word “woke” into the ground still can’t define it.
Around the Diaspora
Burundi is experiencing its first polio outbreak in 30 years. The east African nation has declared a public emergency and is rolling out a campaign to protect children 7 and below from the disease.
St. Kitts and Nevis is asking the international community to help achieve gender equality by closing the digital divide across the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America
Jamaican farmers are being encouraged to get in the $100M castor oil market.
Countries in Central Africa want to limit the number of imports it receives to encourage job creation at home.
Haiti’s Prime Minister is ready to deploy the country’s military to combat the gang violence.
Getting to the Money
With the fall of Silicon Valley Bank…what does it mean for the everyday person’s money? Find out here. If you’re a Black startup founder, you should pay extra close attention.
Buying Black
Our Black don’t discriminate around here. Check out these brands owned by Afro-Latinas that Yahoo has deemed inspiring and grab a gift for yourself or your (furry) friends.
Culture that Pops
ChatGPT is all the wave in conversations about AI advancement. But for a culture whose innovations are already appropriated and stolen left and right (ours), is it something we should really be excited about?
An order of ‘Good Burger 2’ is coming right up.
Got a little one that you need to keep asleep or just quiet while you complete your to-dos? New mom Jhene Aiko created a soothing album to ensure babies get the sleep they need.
Diddy has also thrown his name into the ring as a contender for purchasing BET.
Comments