By Larry Hamilton
Read the full article from The DC Post here.
“Researchers behind the study noted the percentage increased to 35 among the surveyed Black adults, as this group said they ‘definitely or probably would not get vaccinated,’ even though they are affected disproportionately by the pandemic and dying at almost three times the rate of white Americans.”
Read more and watch the video from Preservation Buffalo Niagara here.
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Buffalo Niagara are coming together to announce that Willert Park Courts has been named one of the United States 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Although Preservation Buffalo Niagara has been fighting to save Willert Park Courts from demolition for ten years, this national recognition is a notable notch on the timeline of this fight.”
by Maya Brennan, Emily Peiffer, and Kimberly Burrowes
Read the full article from Housing Matters here.
“In the early 20th century, many communities explicitly used zoning ordinances to racially segregate neighborhoods. By the late 20th century, civil rights legislation outlawed overt housing discrimination. But those explicit racial barriers were quickly replaced by subtler methods. Even today, exclusionary zoning policies that restrict lower-cost or higher-density housing options—such as requirements for large minimum lot sizes and prohibitions of multifamily housing—limit racial and economic diversity and raise housing costs.”
By Sydney Combs, Photographs by Johnny Miller
View the gallery from National Geographic here.
“Stark images from Johnny Miller’s series “Unequal Scenes” highlight the uneven development of cities. Makeshift shacks butt against developments in Mumbai. Lots sit empty in Detroit while an adjoining neighborhood flourishes. An electric fence buzzes around an affluent community in South Africa. The landscape shows how barriers—both man-made and otherwise—reinforce the disparities in urban centers.”
By David Sirota and Andrew Perez
Read the full article from Jacobin here.
“During the Goldman Sachs conference, Schwarzman seemed to insinuate that his firm may buy up even more residential real estate to try to squeeze even more revenue out of renters in the pandemic-ravaged economy.”
By Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr.
NOTE: I wrote this essay four years ago, right after Donald Trump took office. A major national publication requested the piece but decided not to publish it. I suspect that it was too hot for them. After re-reading it a few days ago, I decided that it was as timely as ever, and I decided to publish it in my Blog. The essay proved prophetic and provided insight into Donald Trump. It will also provide clues on what we can expect from Trump after Biden takes office.
By Beth Kwiatek and Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr.
Reposted from Buffalo News
“Death, destruction and disease in the interest of power and profits are what built our nation. We cannot substitute mythology for history. Nor should we create an ideology that romanticizes and erases the brutality of that history.”
By Henry-Louis Taylor, Jr.
“Anti-racist universities must have an anti-racist curriculum that promotes social justice and racial equity, and that teaches students how to dismantle systemic structural racism and social class inequality”
By Jonathan M. Metzl
Read the full article from Boston Review here.
“For commentators such as Elie Mystal, writing in The Nation, the spectacle of white sympathies shifting away from Black communities—so-called whitelash—highlighted the mercurial nature of white support for Black communities. ‘And so here we are, barely three months after George Floyd was choked to death, and already white allyship is waning,’ Mystal wrote. ‘A majority of white people were always going to value their own comfort over justice for Black people.'”
By Hanna Krueger
Read the full article from Boston Globe here.
“But as the worsening outbreak drags into its ninth month and politics too often prevail over science, many infectious disease experts say they are increasingly disillusioned. The rush of adrenaline and resolve from the pandemic’s early months has given way to frustration and fatigue caused by those government leaders who have ignored scientific data, and a public that has often shrugged off — or been openly hostile to — informed guidance. As cases and deaths surge across the country, some feel they are screaming into the void.”