BLOG FEED – RE-POSTS
The mirage of the Black middle class
By Anne Helen Petersen
Read the full article from Vox here.
“You buy a place, that place grows in value, and either you trade up to a bigger place or you keep it until you can pass it down to your kids or your kids get the money from its sale. Stability gives birth to even more stability. That’s not what happened with Dee’s family. ‘My grandparents were bludgeoned every time the economy took a downturn,’ Dee recalls, in part because of the legacy of redlining and the devaluation of property in Black neighborhoods.”
Reversing Course: Joe Biden Signs Executive Actions Dissolving Trump’s Racist Policies
By Charise Frazier
Read the full article from Black America Web, here.
“Like his predecessor Barack Obama who once remarked he would use his “pen” and “telephone” to garner change when he was presented with gridlock from a majority Republican Senate, Biden has set out a series of 17 executive actions, 15 of which are executive orders, which he will sign into action on Wednesday. According to CNN, nine of the 17 actions directly reverse Trump’s policies.”
Grassroots push for more COVID-19 vaccines in Buffalo Black and Brown communities
By Thomas O’Neil White
Read the full article from WBFO here.
“Acknowledging that racism is a public health threat to communities of color, the Buffalo Common Council and local healthcare advocacy groups are prioritizing the equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to the city’s Black and Brown communities. The acknowledgement is part of a larger challenge to the pervasiveness of systemic racism, with health care being one of its pillars.”
What’s Abolitionist Housing Policy?
By Krystle Okafor and Sophie House
Read the full article from Shelterforce here.
“Despite its complexities, abolition holds tremendous promise for the housing field. Technocratic solutions are an inadequate fix for housing policy’s bitter history of racism and expropriation. Such solutions also obscure visionary, bottom-up approaches to housing justice. Following abolitionists’ lead, we can think critically about the racism in our work, set ambitious end goals, build genuine relationships with frontline communities, and foster conditions and institutions to make those visions a reality. This trailblazing moment should not pass us by.”
Black media brands are investing in growing community coverage
By Kayleigh Barber
Read the full article from Digiday here.
“Michelle Garcia, editorial director for NBCBLK who joined the vertical in July, said that under a large parent company like NBC, she and her team of two writers are able to explore more topics that are of interest to Black readers besides the ‘doom and gloom.’ ‘Our lives are not just being shot and killed. That is not the totality of the Black experience in America. We experience joy and love and want to explore this in our coverage,’ said Garcia.”
We Should Be Very Worried About Joe Biden’s “Domestic Terrorism” Bill
By Luke Savage
Read the full article from Jacobin here.
“Joe Biden used to brag that he practically wrote the Patriot Act, the Bush-era law that massively increased government surveillance powers. Now he’s hoping to pass a further “domestic terrorism” law once in office. The danger is real that the January 6 Capitol attack will be used as an excuse to severely curtail our civil liberties.”
Freedom Rider: Capitol Riot Brings U.S. Foreign Policy Home
By Margaret Kimberly
Read the full article from Black Agenda Report here.
“The United States is not a ‘beacon of democracy’ or ‘shining city on a hill.’ Euphemistic nonsense that hides criminality must be tossed out in favor of truth telling. This moment of crisis is not the time to sweep dirt under the rug. Scrutiny should begin at home and the acceptance of U.S. interventions in the rest of the world must end.”
Expert: How law enforcement would have treated a mostly Black and brown group of rioters storming the U.S. Capitol
By Douglas Sitler
For media contact information, click here.
“University at Buffalo expert Henry Louis Taylor Jr. can discuss differential treatment of people of different races by law enforcement, and what might have ensued had a predominantly Black and brown group of rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol. Taylor, PhD, is a professor of urban and regional planning in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, and director of the UB Center for Urban Studies.”
Partners in Crime: The Siege on the Capitol, Police, and White Supremacy
By Jerry Ianelli
Read the full article from The Appeal here.
“That police officers—who count massive numbers of Trump supporters in their ranks—treated a pro-Trump mob with kid gloves should surprise no one. Deeper than a question of policing, the event displayed American law enforcement’s centuries-long links to white supremacy.”
Race of Capitol rioters determined treatment by law enforcement, Taylor says
By Doug Sitler
Read the full article from UBNow here.
“‘If hundreds of Blacks and brown people had stormed the nation’s capital, there would have been a bloodbath…Moreover, if the government knew that thousands of African Americans and Latinx were coming to D.C. to protest, legions of police and the National Guard would have been there. Yet, this is not surprising,’ [Taylor] says.”
For Black Americans, The White Terror In D.C. Looks Familiar
By Erin E. Evans
Read the full article from HuffPost here.
“For more than a century, Black Americans have documented and warned us of similar moments where racial terror and white supremacy were the status quo. Several instances — often left out of history books and school curricula — illustrate this narrative. They show a desire to undermine the ideals of our democracy, and demonstrate the hypocrisy in how police respond to Black protest and white lawlessness.”
Co-ops in Spain’s Basque Region Soften Capitalism’s Rough Edges
By Peter S. Goodman
Read the full article from The New York Times here.
“The pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated the pitfalls faced by companies built to maximize shareholder returns. The shutdown of much of the world’s economy has sent joblessness soaring, threatening the ability of workers to feed their families and stay current on rent and mortgage payments — especially in the United States. Government rescue packages have emphasized the protection of assets like stocks and bonds, bolstering investors while leaving workers vulnerable.”
One in Every Three African Americans Not Willing to Get COVID Shot
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.”
Housing Field Reacts to Marcia Fudge HUD Nomination
By Miriam Axel-Lute
Read the full article from Shelterforce here.
“There are two strains of reaction to Fudge’s nomination in the housing world. One is a feeling that the choice by Biden of someone with little experience who clearly preferred another role reflects that he does not take housing policy as seriously as was hoped and that qualifications are taking a back seat to other considerations in the cabinet process…But still, some, especially those who have worked with her, do have an actively optimistic perspective that exceeds the carefully politic.”
This Place Matters: Willert Park Courts
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.”
For communities of color, there’s still uncertainty about the vaccine
By Karys Belger
Read the full article from WGRZ here.
“Henry-Louis Taylor, a professor at the University at Buffalo told 2 On Your Side, he’s heard similar hesitations from people he’s spoken to and the reasons are valid. ‘Historically, African Americans have been victimized by the medical industry. Many people are aware of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments. There were efforts made to sterilize black women without their knowledge,’ he told 2 On Your Side.”
George Arthur, civic giant and true believer, put spotlight on long-neglected truths
By Sean Kirst
Read the full article from Buffalo News here.
“‘When you look at George, the breadth of his life, what he was able to accomplish, how resilient he was, you have to think of what a blessing he was to all of us and what a role model he should be for our children,’ said Barbara Seals Nevergold, a community historian and former president of the Board of Education.”
