Today marks the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. And it’s fair to say that mental health and wellness is being taken more seriously amid COVID-19. As millions of Americans stay home and practice social distancing, there is a national conversation about the importance of self-care and mental wellness.
We recently spoke with Tonya Ladipo, founder and CEO of The Ladipo Group L.L.C., based in Philadelphia about the mental and physical impact the pandemic is having on people mentally. And during that conversation, she urged black people to not put their mental health on the back burner during these uncertain times.
Black Health Matters
Someone once said, “When white America catches a cold, black America catches the flu.” Others have even gone as far as to say pneumonia. A recent study by Dr. Cato Laurencin, CEO of the Connecticut Convergence Institute and Editor-In-Chief for the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities outlines the health disparities blacks are facing amid the coronavirus.
In addition to the virus, pre-existing social inequities are attributed to the decline in the overall health of black people.
To that point, Ladipo told BLACK ENTERPRISE that self-preservation is key. “We have been through so much that the need to make sure we are well is not optional.”
She also said, “They can’t take our minds. I feel as though we have to fight to protect it [our mental health] especially through COVID-19 because we’re on lockdown—and because it’s hard. We have to protect our mental health and wellness like a job right now. We have to make sure that when we come out of this—and we’re bruised and maybe having broken bones—that we’re not fully broken.”
Although black people and those living in underserved communities are being hit the hardest by COVID-19, there are a number of actionable steps that people can take to practice self-preservation during these times.
Here’s advice we’ve collected from mental health professionals.
Preserve Your Mental Wellness:
Find a virtual therapist
Unplug from your screen for a period of time daily.
Turn off the news and/or mute your news push notification.
Know your limits. — Be able to set limits and don’t overload yourself. We live in an overload culture and it’s very easy to do more and take on more. Sometimes we find our significance in the amount of things that we do and we find ourselves wearing ourselves out
Take vacations or staycations. – Know how to step away and take a real vacation or staycation and do what reenergizes you and things that nourish your mind and body. If what you need is to be away from everyone, do that.
Watch what you eat. – Don’t give your taste buds over what your body really needs.
Maintain a regular cycle of 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night
Exercise for 30 minutes.
Journal about how you are feeling.
Read books that take your mind to other places.
Check-in with family members and friends.
Take time for yourself.
Minimize or manage the amount of stress in your life—recognize what things are stressful to you and have a way to minimize them.
To read more about how COVID-19 is impacting the black community, click here.
Netflix series #BlackAF has struck a chord in the Black community to become one of the most polarizing new titles on the streaming platform.
The underlying topics of colorism and Black representation in media triggered much of the backlash and Kenya Barris, the show’s star and creator, recently broke his silence to respond to the reception of his latest work in an appearance on T.I.’s expediTIously podcast.
“The one thing that I’ll say in terms of the colorism [is] this (the show) is based on my family” and actress Rashida Jones is “playing a version of my wife, who’s biracial,” said Barris, who said she did a “pitch-perfect job.”
#BlackAF is a fictionalized satire of Barris, who plays himself, opposite Jones, navigating through Hollywood as a Black creative with a biracial wife and family. Barris is the creator of the Award-winning ABC series Black-ish and its subsequent spinoffs Grown-ish and Mixed-ish, which are also loosely based on his life.He is also a co-writer of comedy film Girls Trip.
Barris has six children with his wife Rania “Rainbow” Barris, who is the inspiration for anesthesiologist Rainbow Johnson, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, in Black-ish.
“I think everyone’s experience and everyone’s opinion in terms of, you know, colorism are real, and I understand that,” Barris continued, “but if you just dug a little bit under the surface, you’d understand that” #BlackAF is “biographical … and I was trying to duplicate a version of what my family was.”
The show “speaks to the idea that there is so much colorism in the world,” he added, “The ignorance I have a little bit of a problem with … but I take opinions good with the bad because if you’re going to listen to any of them, you’ve got to listen to all of them.”
Many have taken to social media to speak on their disdain for the series’ look at colorism:
One Twitter user questioned if Jones is Black, saying “it makes no sense” how America is “committed to their one drop rule.”
Americans are so committed to their one drop rule it makes no sense, because how can you tell me this lady is black… #blackAFpic.twitter.com/vdmemsyAET
While Barris is credited for creating #BlackAF and writing multiple episodes of the eight-part series, others questioned the show’s penmanship.
Y'ALL WHY ARE 5/8 EPISODES OF #BLACKAF WRITTEN BY WHITE PPL? I'm just really not understanding the Black or the As Fuck part. Like at all. pic.twitter.com/XHqekO2wi2
— one of my dads is black. (@afromisandry) April 25, 2020
Some, however, have supported the show and showed appreciation for both the satirical commentary and representation.
One Twitter user called out critics that derided Barris for “choosing actors that (sic) portrayed his ACTUAL family” and said #BlackAF is “education on black history, yet ur (sic) concerned about colorism.”
why are ppl mad at Kenya Barris for choosing actors tht portrayed his ACTUAL family! The show is educational on black history yet ur concerned about colorism. 🤦🏽♀️ #blackAFpic.twitter.com/83MkPzMoHo
“[B]lack people come in all shades, shapes, and sizes. Rashida Jones is a BLACK. WOMAN” and “her having lighter pigmented skin & being mixed doesn’t (sic) make her less of a black woman than any other black woman,” another user wrote.
why are people downplaying #blackAF 😭… black people come in all shades, shapes, and sizes. Rashida Jones is a BLACK. WOMAN. her having lighter pigmented skin & being mixed doesnt make her less of a black woman than any other black woman… chile whats not clicking pic.twitter.com/0HXMYSv65L
“I truly don’t understand all the hate this guy is getting. It’s his life, and his experiences. He should be allowed to tell his story in his own way,” another #BlackAF fan said.
Great show. I truly don’t understand all the hate this guy is getting. It’s his life, and his experiences. He should be allowed to tell his story in his own way. #blackafnetflix#BlackAFpic.twitter.com/Tj3HQMSiJG
Barris as a Hollywood writer continues to make moves in real life as executive producer of the Netflix sketch comedy show Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show and wrote the forthcoming Coming 2 America sequel.
We all knew that something great had to be in the works a couple of years ago when the Obamas penned a deal with Netflix. Nevertheless, imagine our level of excitement for former first lady Michelle Obama’s documentary, Becoming to air on Netflix May 6.
Women all around the world resonated with the stories and affirming words shared by Obama in her candid autobiographic novel. Becoming sold more than 10 million copies. In addition to book sales, Obama’s book tour was a monumental success—and the Netflix documentary is a behind-the-scenes look of the 34-city tour. Which is great news for those who weren’t able to secure tickets for the sold-out events!
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Obama announced the documentary, writing:
“I’m excited to let you know that on May 6, @Netflix will release BECOMING, a documentary film directed by Nadia Hallgren that looks at my life and the experiences I had while touring following the release of my memoir. Those months I spent traveling—meeting and connecting with people in cities across the globe—drove home the idea that what we share in common is deep and real and can’t be messed with. In groups large and small, young and old, unique and united, we came together and shared stories, filling those spaces with our joys, worries, and dreams. We processed the past and imagined a better future. In talking about the idea of ‘becoming,’ many of us dared to say our hopes out loud.”
I treasure the memories and that sense of connection now more than ever, as we struggle together to weather this pandemic, as we care for our loved ones, and cope with loss, confusion, and uncertainty.
She went on to sing the director’s praise saying, “It’s hard these days to feel grounded or hopeful, but I hope that like me, you’ll find joy and a bit of respite in what Nadia has made. Because she’s a rare talent, someone whose intelligence and compassion for others comes through in every frame she shoots. Most importantly, she understands the meaning of community, the power of community, and her work is magically able to depict it.”
On Twitter, Obama shared a clip from the documentary.
I’m excited to share that on May 6, @Netflix will release BECOMING, a documentary directed by Nadia Hallgren that shares the stories of the amazing people I met after the release of my memoir. During this difficult time, I hope you’ll find some inspiration and joy in this film. pic.twitter.com/fqsIbhXYeL
President Donald Trump is blaming former President Barack Obama for the lack of testing for the coronavirus, despite the fact it didn’t exist when he left office.
“The last administration left us nothing. We started off with bad, broken tests, and obsolete tests,” Trump asserted.
When CNN reporter Jim Acosta pressed Trump, asking “You say ‘broken tests’ — it’s a new virus, so how could the tests be broken?” Trump doubled down on his claim.
“We had broken tests. We had tests that were obsolete. We had tests that didn’t take care of people,” Trump continued before pivoting to Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden for their handling of the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak.
The coronavirus did not exist until late 2019 and didn’t reach the U.S. until early February although the exact date is unknown.
The flu outbreak killed about 12,500 Americans, while coronavius pandemic has already taken more than 60,000 citizens.
Obama did, however, leave a detailed 69-page document showing how to respond to the threat of a pandemic. However, Trump fired the government’s pandemic response team in 2018. Trump also largely ignored the coronavirus when it hit the U.S. in February, saying it would go away on its own.
Obama has been more vocal since the outbreak hit the U.S. in February. In April, Obama compared the coronavirus response by the U.S.to climate change deniers.
Trump also refused to take responsibility for the pandemic during a White House press briefing last month, again blaming the situation on Obama.
“No, I don’t take responsibility at all. Because we were given a — a set of circumstances, and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time. It wasn’t meant for this kind of — an event with the kind of numbers that we’re talking about,” Trump said.
Trump said earlier this week that the U.S. will soon ramp up testing to test 5 million people per day. However, Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health for the Trump administration said otherwise.
“There is absolutely no way on Earth, on this planet or any other planet, that we can do 20 million tests a day, or even 5 million tests a day.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has signed an executive order allowing teenagers in the state to skip the driving test in order to get a license. All that’s required for now is their parents’ consent.
According to CNN, all other requirements before the test must be fulfilled. Once the requirements have been fulfilled, teen learner’s permit holders will be allowed to obtain a provisional license by providing an affidavit from their parent or driving instructor stating they have completed 40 hours of supervised driving.
A clean driving record of at least one year and one day is also required. Permit holders over the age of 18 can sign their own affidavit.
The order will stay in effect until the expiration of the state’s Public Health State of Emergency, which Kemp has extended to May 13.
“During these unprecedented times, the Department of Driver Services is trying to make it as easy as a process for people to get their license and to lessen the burden on people right now,” Stormi Kenney, who owns a driving school within the state, told Fox 5 Atlanta.
Spencer Moore, Commissioner of the state’s Department of Driver Services¸ said social distancing guidelines currently make it impossible to conduct in-person tests. Additionally, there is a backlog of 30,000 applicants, with an average of 5,000 teens having taken the exam every week prior to the shutdown.
Moore added the pass rate for teens in the state is over 80%.
Kemp’s executive order also outlined how the state will loosen its social distancing requirements which went into effect last week. However, a model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, says the state shouldn’t open up until at least late June.
Even that date assumes the state will implement aggressive testing, contact tracing, isolation, and crowd-size limits to prevent more infections. Although spaces in the state are opening, African American leaders are urging residents to stay home. African American barbers in the state are also weighing health over profits.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is taking a lot of heat after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing African Americans are suffering gravely from the coronavirus pandemic.
The study, released Wednesday, showed African Americans make up a majority of the 297 coronavirus patients reported in the study. Additionally, although African Americans weren’t more likely than any other group to die from the disease or to require a ventilator, according to the study, 83.2% of the patients with coronavirus were African American.
“That is a very high rate of infections,” Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, Howard University president who was not involved in the report told NewsOne.
Frederick added the high percentage of African Americans in the study most likely reflects the occupation of the patients.
“A lot of it may come from the fact that African Americans are essential employees in our system,” he said. “Everything from bus drivers to healthcare workers and cleaning services, they are on the front line, and therefore are far more likely to be exposed.”
The statistics of the study line up with national statistics showing African Americans are dying from the coronavirus at disproportionate rates in states across the country. According to New York Magazine, African Americans in Georgia make up 52% of the coronavirus-related deaths, but only 33% of the population.
Despite the statistics, Kemp has reopened businesses saying the economy needs to be restarted. Kemp has not addressed how he’s going to address the disproportionate effect the coronavirus is having on African Americans.
Kemp allowed bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, and nail salons to reopen for in-person business last Friday. By Monday, restaurants were allowed to begin dine-in service.
However, some are choosing to keep their stores closed.
Rapper Killer Mike, who owns a chain of barbershops in Atlanta, said he will keep his stores closed.
“At this time as a business, we aren’t comfortable opening. So we’re going to wait a while before we reopen.” Mike explained that the coronavirus has been hitting the African American community hard and they are the group that his business caters to. “We don’t want our customers and our barbers in danger.”
Alaska's frozen earth is a cryo chamber for ancient bone and bacteria specimens, and it sequesters carbon too. But climate change is causing its collapse.
“Here we are in the middle of a crisis and it turns out that the essential workers in this country are not investment bankers,” said Warren. “The essential workers…are doctors and are nurses — but it so much more. It’s the people that are cleaning the hospitals. It’s the people who are stocking the grocery stores,” she continued. “It’s the people that are making the deliveries and it’s the people who are still going out into people’s home to take care of the elderly. She argued that these “heroes” deserve more than a “thank you” for putting their lives on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. “We owe them full medical protection. That means the masks, the gowns,” she said. “We need to make sure that they are fully protected and that their employers are providing those masks and gowns at no costs to them.”
Sen. Warren co-authored and introduced the Essential Workers Bill of Rights in April. The bill advocates to provide essential workers with health and safety protections, universal paid sick leave, family and medical leave, and support for child care.
“This is ultimately about respect for the people that are putting their lives on the line for us every day,” said the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. “Stand with essential workers because now is the moment to do this and recognize the importance of human dignity. If somebody is going to put their lives on the line to stock the grocery shelves. They must get hazardous pay.”
Launched on April 6, Masks for the People is sponsored by the nongovernmental organization Live Free and Black Church Action Fund. The campaign aims to secure a supply chain of needed supplies like masks, sanitizers, and coronavirus tests for urban neighborhoods and poor rural communities.
In April, Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey donated $1 million to the Masks for the People humanitarian campaign. The donation will also go toward providing free personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits for those who are incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, violence interrupters, essential workers, and the elderly in communities of color.
“Less than a week ago we pulled together an unprecedented coalition of activists, faith leaders, artists and entrepreneurs committed to securing a supply chain of PPE and preventative care for Black and Brown communities,” said Pastor McBride. “Thanks to Dorsey’s generosity, and the generosity of others who have given, we can scale immediately and expand beyond the initial eight to 10 cities. It’s just a blessing.”
Dozens of social justice groups are calling on Amazon and other corporate giants to protect their frontline workers after the e-commerce company fired staffers who spoke publicly about their workplace health and safety concerns.
On Thursday, more than 50 advocacy groups signed a solidarity statement to condemn Amazon’s crackdown against whistleblowers who have spoken out about unfair practices during the coronavirus pandemic. According to a press release sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE, all of the warehouse workers who were fired by Amazon are black.
“Over the last few weeks, Amazon fired at least six workers who had spoken out about unsafe working conditions in warehouses,” reads the statement. “In addition to these firings, other workers at Amazon have reported receiving arbitrary work-related warnings as a result of speaking out or participating in walkouts, and they fear that they are being set-up for termination. Given that Amazon is the second largest private employer in the United States and is significantly expanding its workforce during the crisis, this apparent pattern of retaliation is alarming.”
The joint statement, which was signed by organizations like Color of Change, Public Citizen, Fight for the Future, and United We Dream, called for an expansion of legal protections for workers who call attention to dangerous workplace conditions.
“Workers themselves are in the best position to raise health and safety concerns, and if these concerns are ignored, or worse, if workers are retaliated against, it not only impacts those workers and their families, but risks accelerating the current public health crisis.”
In addition, the statement notes that unfair workplace practices disproportionately affect black and brown people.
“Thousands of warehouse, delivery, and grocery workers are on the front lines of this fight, risking contracting and spreading COVID-19 every day in order to provide essential goods. This risk disproportionately falls on communities of color, who are more likely to hold these jobs and more vulnerable to the virus, as a result of the systemic racism that undermines health in these communities,” it reads.
“Black and brown workers have always been essential for our nation’s economy and public health, but their voices are too often silenced,” said Myaisha Hayes, campaign director at MediaJustice. “During this crisis, Amazon and other employers are willing to make this ‘essential work’ a death sentence for black and brown frontline workers. This blatant disregard for the safety and wellbeing of black and brown bodies is business as usual for Amazon, who already profits from mass surveillance of over-policed communities through their partnerships with ICE and local law enforcement.”
The statement was released on May Day, a global celebration of laborers and the working class also known as International Workers Day. To mark the holiday, employees at large companies including Amazon, Target, and FedEx staged sickouts, walkouts, and other direct actions across the country on Friday.
Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, health crisis, numerous Americans around the country have lost their jobs and have been severely impacted by the economic fallout. With over 700,000 jobs lost, the number of people filing for unemployment continues to climb each week as the outbreak continues to spread. In the last six weeks, over 28 million workers have applied for unemployment compensation from the government.
Last week, the Labor Department’s latest report says roughly 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. Applications for benefits hit a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28. These new figures bring the six-week total to 30 million U.S. workers filing jobless claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the astronomical number, at least 10 million people who have filed claims have yet to receive benefits.
“The first wave was dominated by displaced leisure and hospitality workers, workers at doctor and dentist offices and administrative positions in general,” said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the New York Times. “A larger portion of more recent job losses have likely been in manufacturing, logistics and professional services.”
The implementation of the stimulus package was intended to slow down the economic devastation but reports show that relief programs won’t be enough to save the economy. In a separate report released this week, the Commerce Department said that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, has slumped by a record 7.5% last month. Personal income plummeted 2.0% in March, the most since January 2013, reflecting decreases in compensation.
Due to the viral outbreak, Americans who are still earning income during this pandemic have been spending less and are instead directing a majority of income into their savings account. Reports show that Americans who are still employed are stashing away cash rather than saving, boosting the saving rate to 13.1%, the highest since November 1981, from 8.0% in February.
College students, especially those at HBCUs, are being hit hard by COVID-19. For many of them, the freedoms of being away at school, pursuing their dreams on campus, and college life as they once knew it have come to a screeching halt as the doors of campuses closed.
For those reasons and more, NBA veteran George Lynch, Tracey Pennywell, co-founder of HBCU Heroes, and Ryan Johnson, Executive Director of Cxmmunity, have partnered to host Tech 4 COVID, a two-day virtual telethon to benefit HBCUs and students of color at various colleges and universities on May 2-3.
At a time when many students and their families around the nation are facing food, housing, and financial insecurities, the trio of entrepreneurs and way-makers decided to work together with their celebrity friends for a greater good. The fundraiser is expected to reach over 30 million people and raise over $3 million. All of the proceeds will benefit student-athletes at HBCUs, as well as underrepresented K-12 schools, complete remote learning.
Celebrities participating in the Tech 4 COVID event include Offset, Jeezy, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, Bill Bellamy, Blair Underwood, Malik Yoba, Desi Banks, Dionne Warwick, Dean Crawford, The Hamiltones, Mr. Serv-On, and more.
(Image: Tech 4 COVID)
Paying It Forward
In a statement released by Tech 4 COVID, Lynch, the NBA veteran and former head coach ofClark Atlanta University’s men’s basketball team, said, “We’re pulling out all the stops for this virtual telethon. HBCU student-athletes and K-12 minority students need this movement to galvanize help. I’ve witnessed dozens of student-athletes scramble during this pandemic to get laptops. Many of them were using school computer labs or the library and now they have to find their own technology resources. Something has to be done.”
To that point, Pennywell added, “Our goal is to ensure all HBCU athletes have the resources they need to compete academically and athletically. No student-athlete left behind.”
Many students are impacted by the digital divide and the group and supporters are insistent on helping to close the gap.
“It’s important that we do not allow HBCU and minority students to be affected inadvertently by this pandemic. By supplying computers for these students, this partnership is keeping them properly equipped during these ever-changing times,” said NFL veteran Everson Walls, a former Grambling State University student-athlete.
Johnson, who is an HBCU graduate of Oakwood University, said, “This is a phenomenal opportunity to leverage entertainment, esports, and music to increase awareness for this amazing cause. The esports industry has been an amazing resource for nonprofits who are able to leverage the industry properly to do good.”
Monumental Support for HBCUs
In addition to the support of celebrities and former athletes, JP Morgan Chase is supporting the effort through its Advancing Black Pathways initiative. Programming will also include discussions on STEM led by Tuskegee alumnus Dr. Lonnie Johnson, inventor and aerospace engineer. Milton Little of United Way of Greater Atlanta, Tirrell Whitley of Liquid Soul, and Jeff Clanagan of Codeblack Life will also lead discussions on strategies to support HBCUs, tech, and more.
The star-studded event will also include–and be supported by–a number of media personalities and influencers to help get the community and the nation engaged in supporting students of color.
The event will be live-streamed May 2-3 from 12 p.m.to 12 a.m. EST both days, on Twitch, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, NFL Alumni’s ESTV, Codeblack Life, Instagram Live, YouTube, Facebook Live, ESPN Syracuse Radio, HBCU go TV, Black College Sports Radio, Axis Replay, and more.
To read more about how COVID-19 is impacting communities of color, click here.
The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic, has become the public health crisis of our generation, with the U.S confirming more than a million cases of the virus. The virus has been notoriously hard to treat and is extremely contagious, far more dangerous than the flu.
In a report by the News Atlantis, data shows it took 12 months and 61 million infections for the H1N1 swine flu to kill 12,500 Americans between 2009 and 2010. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that the more common seasonal flu killed 34,200 Americans during the 2018–2019 flu season. As of right now, the current death toll for the coronavirus in the United States is estimated to be over 60,000.
Despite the severity of the viral outbreak which has killed tens of thousands of Americans, some on the right still argue that the pandemic will end up being no more serious than a bad flu season. Fox News commentator Bill Bennett said that “we’re going to have fewer fatalities from this than from the flu.”
The seasonal flu kills 0.1% of people infected, but the novel coronavirus has already killed 0.1% of the entire population of the state of New York. Imagine the entire country getting hit as badly as New York state: 0.1% of the U.S. population is 330,000 people.
While there are 1.07 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States—that’s 0.3% of the U.S. population—former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has noted that anywhere between 1% and 5% of Americans may have actually already been infected with the virus.
The seasonal flu, by contrast, is even less deadly when you take into account that it has a much higher infection rate: the common flu infected 12% of the American population last year.
In U.S., experts suggest to me rate is lower. My informal survey of thought leaders in this area puts estimate anywhere from 1-5%. Ultimately we must confirm this with serology studies (which are underway). But it falls short of the 50-70% needed to achieve “herd” immunity 8/n
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) April 8, 2020
HistoryMakers is the nation’s largest database for black stories. The national nonprofit research and educational institution committed to preserving and making widely accessible the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans. As a part of that mission, the organization houses The HistoryMakers Digital Archive program, which recently announced its 2020 Awardees who will be contributing the archive.
The HistoryMakers Digital Archivesis an online database of thousands of African Americans from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. Unlike other resources, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive provides high-quality video content, fully searchable transcripts, and unique content from individuals whose life stories would have been lost were it not for The HistoryMakers.
This year’s awardees are forces to be reckoned with. Each of the storytellers and historians highlight and explore complex issues within the community—both past and present. Each of the projects adds diverse stories to the archives ranging from self-preservation within black civil rights movements to the history of African American gay and lesbian politics—and so much more in the categories of Academic Research, Digital Humanities, and Creative Studies.
Meet the 2020 Awardees.
Academic Research Awardees
Paula Austin, Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies, Boston University
Project Title: A History of Black (un)Rest
Project Description: This second book project aims to examine practices of “self-care” in Black (and people of color) activist and organizing communities from early civil rights through the Black Power era. The project seeks to identify discourses and artifacts of ways in which individuals and groups theorized, articulated, and practiced self-sustainability and care in struggles for economic, racial, and gender equity and justice. It will examine early racial and economic justice movements like black laundresses who mobilized for pay equity in post Reconstruction Atlanta, Ida B. Wells and early NAACP’s anti-lynching campaigns, through movements of the Black Power era, inclusive of an array of organizations from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Simon Balto, Assistant Professor of African American History, University of Iowa
Project Title: I Am a Revolutionary: The Political Life and Legacy of Fred Hampton
Project Description: I Am a Revolutionary is a biography of the life and political afterlife of Fred Hampton, the brilliant organizer and leader of the Illinois Black Panther Party, who was murdered by the FBI and the Chicago Police Department in 1969 at the age of twenty-one. The book explores Hampton’s maturation from child of the Great Migration to youth organizer to his emergence as one of the leading lights of the Black Left in the United States, and also examines the enduring nature of his memory and legacy. In so doing, it winds through the larger ecosystems of post-World War II-era Chicago and America, the long Black freedom struggle in the United States, and the nature and necessity of interracial solidarity and struggle.
Gillian Bayne, Associate Professor of Science Education, Lehman College (CUNY)
Project Title: African American Scientists: Strengthening a New Wave of Hope and Inspiration in Youth
Project Description: The African American Scientists: Strengthening a New Wave of Hope and Inspiration in Youth research project analyzes uncovered motivating factors that can facilitate and support the achievement of vulnerable youth in science through examining select dimensions of interviews housed in
The ScienceMakers Digital Archive. The project qualitatively examines intersections of scientists’ professional and personal identities; expectations, persistence and enhancement of self-efficacy; personal and family histories; and moments that reveal inspiration. Emergent themes detailing scientists’ means of support, culture, and impactful experiences are utilized creatively in the development of curricular tools that embed the African American scientists’ lived experiences into culturally responsive pedagogical resources. Through engaging in activities that underscore the sociocultural influences in science teaching and learning, and examining individual “case studies” of select ScienceMakers in this manner, a prototype is forged, providing for a holistic and realistic interpretation of the experiences had and contributions made by African American scientists.
Kevin Quin, Ph.D. Student, Cornell University
Project Title: Queer Visions of the Black Past: A History of African American Gay and Lesbian Politics, 1970-1989
Project Description: This dissertation examines how changing attitudes toward gender and sexuality shaped the scope and direction of black activism in postwar urban America. Centering the lives and experiences of black gays and lesbians, this project investigates how a vanguard of black queer and feminist activists developed and mobilized a unique political practice in their individual and collective efforts at contesting sexual discrimination and antiblack racism while advocating for better housing, education, and employment opportunities in their communities. Using archival research and oral histories, this project illuminates how black queer activists used a diverse range of political strategies from grassroots activism to cultural production to forge new paradigms for understanding the relationship between race and sexuality. The project builds on and extends historical scholarship that has examined the gendered and sexual dimensions of black nationalist politics by examining how black queer advocates of black power challenged the forms of sexism and homophobia that undergirded prevailing expressions of black nationalism.
Digital Humanities Awardees
Denise McLane-Davison, Associate Professor of Social Work, Morgan State University
Project Title: Mapping Black Thought and Resistance: Digital Storytelling Through Primary Data Resources of The HistoryMakers Digital Archive and the National Association of Black Social Workers, Inc. (NABSW) National Repository at Morgan State University
Project Description: Mapping Black Thought and Resistance applies the use of Black spatial and public humanities techniques for curating and reconstructing Black intellectual identity research through the historic preservation practices of the National Association of Black Social Workers, Inc’s National Repository at Morgan State University. The HistoryMakers Digital Archive provides accessible use of the largest collection of oral histories by Black thought leaders whose contributions have shaped remarkable American and African Diaspora events. Mapping Black Thought and Resistance advance pedagogical and epistemological stances of intergenerational knowledge through Black storytelling cultural traditions by repurposing the use of complex technology to create corrective narratives and representation of Black experiences towards self-determination and liberation. Working with a transdisciplinary team of Morgan State University faculty, staff, and students, as well as, external content experts, the overall goal is to produce an interactive ARcGis StoryMap of the Black Social Work Movement (1968-1978) and Hashtag Syllabus.
Julian Chambliss, Professor of English, Michigan State University;Justin Wigard, Ph.D. Student, Michigan State University; andZack Kruse, Ph.D. Student, Michigan State University
Project Title: The Michigan State University Comics Open Educational Resource
Project Description: What do comics tell us about community, culture, and identity? The Graphic Possibilities Research Workshop (GPRW) group at Michigan State University (MSU) believes The HistoryMakers database can be a vital tool to understand how black imagination has shaped modern culture. While Michigan State University has been home to several avenues of comics scholarship for many years (the MSU Comic Art Collection, a minor in comic art and graphic novels, the long-running MSU Comics Forum, and the Graphic Narratives Network), most recently, the GPRW has centralized critical questions concerning identity and representation in comics through digital means. To this end, over the past year the GPRW at MSU has developed a collaborative Comics Library Guide as an Open Educational Resource (OER) centered around the Comic Art Collection, a collection of over 300,000 items including American and international comic books and comic strips, along with “several thousand books and periodicals about comics.” This Comics OER will serve as an introduction to working with the Comic Art Collection, but more importantly, it is a public-facing, foundational resource that serves students, educators, and scholars invested in Comics and Popular Culture Studies. In this latter capacity, the OER will include a number of videos and resources from The HistoryMakers, including, but not limited to interviews with readers and creators of comic books and graphic narratives.
Creative Studies Awardees
Yunina Barbour-Payne, Ph.D. Student, University of Texas at Austin
Project Title: One of a few: Performing Black Experiences in America’s Appalachia
Project Description: This project proposes a devised theater and dance performance focusing on Black experiences in the Appalachian region, foregrounding the role of Black Appalachians (Affrilachian) and African Americans in resisting discrimination in the U.S. at large. One of a few: Performing Black Experiences in America’s Appalachia is committed to stimulating discourse around identity, activism and artistic practice. The performance process carefully considers the role of archives in dramaturgical approaches to Affrilachian performance. During rehearsal, director Yunina Barbour-Payne will draw from The History Makers Digital Archive interviews based in the Appalachian region to foster spaces for cultural exchange. The process will involve exposure to Black Acting Methods, Affrilachian art forms and advocate for theater-making as a tool for activism in and outside the rehearsal room.
Catherine Valdez, MFA Student, University of Michigan
Project Title: Dinner at My Body
Project Description: Dinner at My Body is a hybrid poetry and graphic short story collection that explores the relationship between self-image and food in Black communities. Using personal anecdotes, interviews, and archival sources as anchoring documents, this creative work demonstrates the many ways in which discussions surrounding food and food production impact self-narratives. Food exists as a mode of celebration, an act of labor, insecurity, frustration, a political-tool, an item of scientific inquiry, tradition, rite, a religious experience, an item of mockery, joy, a racially and ethnically coded object, an entry point from which to think of one’s own body, and more. Jointly, image and verse paint an honest and intimate portrait of body-food.
America has always had a complex relationship with firearms. According to a Pew Research study, 30% of American adults say they own a gun, and an additional 11% say they live with someone who does. One of the many reasons owners use for obtaining a firearm was for safety and protection. For one entrepreneur, it was her chance to use her knowledge of firearms to teach others in her community how to protect themselves.
Javondlynn Dunaganisthe owner of JMD Defense, a company focused on workplace safety, firearm training, and safety education. She founded the security and firearm safety company in 2017 in addition to the Ladies of Steel Gun Club after retiring from her career of 25 years as a United States probation officer based out of Chicago.
“Then I married a police officer; so I was around guns all day. When we divorced, I called the job and said, “I’m ready to carry a gun now because I’m scared to be at home without protection,” said Dunagan in an interview with Rolling Out. “I was the only person in the class. After having this one-on-one experience for the entire week with an excellent instructor, I fell in love with firearms.”
One of the reasons Dunagan wanted to create her business was to give a space for black women to learn about concealed carry and self-defense. “When I started the business, initially I was just teaching concealed carry. That was my initial vision,” she said. “I said [to myself], “Whenever I go to the gun range, I never see other black women by themselves shooting or even in a group,” and that’s how the Ladies of Steel Gun Club came about.”
In addition to firearm safety, the company also offers self-defense classes and offers safety seminars for women.
This week, Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan tell us why they are planning their own critical care decisions now, well before Covid-19 forces them to do so under pressure.
Today, petroleum producers around the world will start shutting down wells after the Covid-19 pandemic caused demand to plummet. What took them so long?
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday speculated that China could have unleashed the coronavirus on the world due to some kind of horrible “mistake,” and his intelligence agencies said they are still examining a notion put forward by the president and aides that the pandemic may have resulted from an accident at a Chinese lab.
Trump even suggested the release could have been intentional.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, said it had ruled out the virus being man-made but was still investigating the precise source of the global pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people worldwide.
Though scientists suggest the likeliest origin of the pandemic remains natural, that it spread from an infected animal to a human, Trump claimed to have seen evidence to support the theory that the origin was an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak.
He said the U.S. now “is finding how it came out.”
“It’s a terrible thing that happened,” the president said. “Whether they made a mistake or whether it started off as a mistake and then they made another one, or did somebody do something on purpose.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the press briefing room with members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force April 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The intel statement said the federal agencies concur “with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.”
“The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”
In recent days the Trump administration has sharpened its rhetoric on China, accusing the geopolitical foe and vital trading partner of failing to act swiftly enough to sound the alarm about the outbreak or to stop the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. U.S. officials have said the Chinese government should “pay a price” for its handling of the pandemic.
This all comes as the pace of Trump’s own original response continues to come under scrutiny, questioned as too meager and too slow.
Earlier Thursday, before Trump’s comments, the Chinese government said that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are “unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang cited the institute’s director, Yuan Zhiming, as saying the lab strictly implements bio-security procedures that would prevent the release of any pathogen.
“I would like to point out again that the origin of the virus is a complex scientific issue, and it should be studied by scientists and professionals,” Geng said.
He also criticized those in the U.S. who say China should be held accountable for the global pandemic, saying they should spend their time on “better controlling the epidemic situation at home.”
At the White House, Trump repeatedly blamed China for its handling of the outbreak, criticizing the country for restricting domestic travel to slow the virus but not international travel to keep it from spreading abroad.
“Certainly it could have been stopped,” Trump said during an event in the East Room on his administration’s efforts to aid seniors during the outbreak. “They either couldn’t do it from a competence standpoint, or they let it spread.”
“It got loose, let’s say, and they could have capped it.”
Earlier this month, Trump addressed the lab theory saying, “More and more, we’re hearing the story.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added at the time, “The mere fact that we don’t know the answers — that China hasn’t shared the answers — I think is very, very telling.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks about refugees as he makes a statement to the media Monday, Sept. 17, 2018, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Pompeo also pressed China to let outside experts into the lab “so that we can determine precisely where this virus began.”
While Trump and Pompeo have made their feelings clear, a U.S. intelligence official disputed the notion that there was pressure on agencies to bolster a particular theory. The intelligence official was not authorized to publicly discuss the issue and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Scientists say the virus arose naturally in bats. Even so, Pompeo and others have pointed fingers at an institute that is run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has done groundbreaking research tracing the likely origins of the SARS virus, finding new bat viruses and discovering how they could jump to people.
“We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was,” Pompeo said two weeks ago. The institute has an address 8 miles, or 13 kilometers, from the market that is considered a possible source.
U.S. officials say the American Embassy in Beijing flagged concerns about potential safety issues at the lab in Wuhan in 2018, but they have yet to find any evidence the virus originated there nearly two years later.
Medical staff wearing hazmat suits work inside a nucleic acid testing clinic in Beijing on April 29, 2020. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP) (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Scientists studying the virus for months have made clear they believe it wasn’t man-made but are still working to determine a point at which it may have jumped from animals to humans.
Early attention focused on the live-animal market in Wuhan where the first cases were reported in December. But the first person identified with the disease had no known connection to that market.
Kristian Andersen, who studies the virus at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, puts the odds of it being accidentally released by the Wuhan lab at “a million to one,” far less likely than an infection in nature. But virus expert David O’Connor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said he thinks too little is known to rule out any source, except the idea the virus was man-made. Finding the source is important, he said, because it may harbor the next pandemic virus.
The U.S. was providing funding to the Wuhan lab for its research on coronaviruses, Michael Morell, former acting director and deputy director of the CIA, said Thursday.
He said State Department cables indicate that there have been concerns in past years among U.S. officials about the safety protocols at that lab. If the virus did escape from a Chinese lab, it not only reflects negatively on China but also on the United States for providing research funding to a lab that has safety concerns, Morell said during an online forum hosted by the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy and International Security at George Mason University.
“So if it did escape, we’re all in this together,” Morell said. “This is not a gotcha for China. This is a gotcha for both of us.”
There’s been a lot of heat but not much light on whether the antimalarial drug helps coronavirus patients. That’s because we still need a big clinical trial.
