Items

• 
  2020-12-22

  The Virus Is Showing Black People What They Knew All Along

  In this article, author Patrice Peck discusses how black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at 1.7 times the rate of whites. In her words "19,000 Black people would still be alive if not for systemic racism."
• 
  2021-03-07

  The COVID Racial Data Tracker

  This data tracker showed how Covid-19 disproportionately affected black, Latinx, and indigenous communities.
• 
  2021-07-21

  Latest Data on COVID-19 Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity

  This is an analysis of equity in vaccine distribution. The data shows a disparity between whites and Asians (whose vaccination rates were equal to or higher than their case counts) and black, Latino, Native American, and Native Hawaiians (whose vaccination rates were generally lower than their case counts). In recent weeks, however, these numbers seem to be improving.
• 
  2021-07-06

  COVID-19 Cases by Race/Ethnicity

  This is an interactive chart and map that allows the user to look at covid rates by race and state.
• 
  2021-04-19

  Health Equity Considerations and Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups

  The pandemic has brought the issue of health inequity in the United States, based on factors such as race and ethnicity, to the forefront. Racial and ethnic minority populations make up a disproportionate essential workers. Poverty restricts access to health care for many individuals. The country must address these issues of health equity and social justice now and continue to address it t ensure the health and safety of all those living in the United States. The website provides references, information, and data on the link between ethnicity and race and COVID-19.
• 
  2020-12-01

  Five Experts Reflect on the Health Equity Implications of the Pandemic

  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Blog published this article which contains the words of 5 different experts on health inequity during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-07-11

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 120

  Disagreement with Biden over Afghanistan
• 
  2021-06-14

  Anti-racism advertisements at Times Square

  These are two photos of anti-racist advertisements I saw in Times Square on June 14, 2021. One is an advertisement on a digital advertisement board that says "#NOHATE AGAINST JEWS" in white text on a blue background, while the other is a poster on the side of a garbage receptacle that says "FIGHT THE VIRUS NOT THE PEOPLE #STOPASIANHATE", made by artist Zipeng Zhu.
• 
  2021-06-23

  HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 118

  Portland promotion
• 
  2020-06-19

  Pandemic Street Art: collab by Menace and Resa

  These are screenshots of the Instagram account that represents collaborative artwork by muralists Menace and Resa. The "UNITY" mural is in South Central Los Angeles, California and was done "in response to pandemic fueled anti-Asian hate crimes." The "More Justice, More Peace" mural is in Brooklyn, New York and memorializes Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. in celebration of Juneteenth.
• 
  2021-04-18

  Feeding America in a Pandemic

  Feeding America released briefs in March of 2020, one for food insecurity locally and one nationally due to the pandemic. I have attached the national brief. This is relevant to my research on the consequences of the pandemic. The briefing looks back to 2019 and 2020 and compares notes on food insecurities. Feeding America reviews this and discusses the future of food insecurities. It also talks about how race effects food insecurity, which is something that needs to be talked about.
• 
  2021-04-18

  Child care services in Illinois are getting prioritized

  Northern Illinois University and an Early Childhood Transformation Team developed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker will work together to make getting vaccinations more obtainable. The primary goal for this movement is to make the process simpler. Most of the article refers to those in the child care industry, though. Pritzker intends to make it more accessible. Child care services have been struggling throughout the pandemic, and Pritzker has been trying to turn things around. Federal aid of $1.6 billion was allocated "to expand access to high-quality early childhood education and childcare for children and families across the state." Every demographic is to be included — children of color, children with disabilities, among others.
• 
  2020-09-23

  The power of Gen Z

  Living in the pandemic, I have seen my generation grow stronger together as we stand for the injustices occurring in this country. We have spread our ideologies onto social media to spread the message of unity and social justice to prevent further innocent lives from being taken. No violent or oppressive remark goes unseen or unheard of given the word is quickly spread around with social media. Living in the pandemic has allowed the spread of such powerful messages of unity and standing up for what is right to reach every corner of the country. While eating at a local restaurant in Downtown Phoenix, a small yet powerfully loud crowd of BLM protesters passed the location. Watching in awe and feeling some sort of empowerment, it came to my realization of how much these young adults’ voices have spread across the country. Watching the traumatic stories regarding George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (among the thousands of black lives that have been taken by police and civilian brutality over the past couple of decades), I began to fear for the safety of the black communities living in areas that began to pose threats for them. Similarly, I have watched and supported the protests against Asian American violence becoming very recurrent lately and have seen young adults like me speak out against it. Although I am a minority myself, I cannot understand the pain these families go through, but I surely stand by and support these communities. Watching this protest before me made me realize how powerful the second-youngest generation (Gen Z) has grown to be and will continue to blossom as we continue to stand with unity against oppression let it be against race or religion. Although this pandemic has physically separated us, it has also brought many minority communities to come closer and support each other with the hope of one day ending these targeted tragedies.
• 
  2021-04-14

  CVS Changes Policy to be more LGBTQ Inclusive

  CVS changed COVID-19 vaccination registration form to be more trans/ LGBTQ friendly. Originally, the form asked people to mark their birth sex in order to get the vaccine however, now they have removed the question. The CDC has come out and said it is important to only ask about the gender identity not the gender on the birth certificate. CVS has issued a statement stating that sex, gender, race, or ethnicity does not hinder people from getting the vaccine.
• 
  2020-10-28

  Indigenous sovereignty and shared solidarity at heart of national art campaign

  Indigenous land stewardship is a relatively new term, forged to compel more people to live in closer relationship with the land. As our world passes through multiple crises of our making, racial justice is the ultimate issue, and goal. As such, across many of the pieces commissioned by Nia Tero is the relationship between Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. A key message in these posters is the encouragement for people to get out and vote, use their voices to effect change on these critical issues and uplift diversity in leadership. The poster on the back of this newspaper page that you’re currently reading is part of a new series made in collaboration with Nia Tero, IllumiNative, and Amplifier Art, which debuted on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2020 to elevate the work of Indigenous land stewardship, and to promote support of Indigenous peoples every day. The purpose of this collaboration is to demonstrate how coming together now, in this moment, is critically important for racial justice, climate action and collective liberation.
• 
  2021-03-18

  Disparities in Healthcare during Covid-19

  This article is about the disparities in populations that have been impacted by Covid-19. The CDC found that American Indian, Alaska Native, African American, and Latino people were almost three times higher than non-Hispanic white people in hospitalizations during the pandemic so far. These numbers are, unfortunately, more a reflection on our healthcare system as a whole, not just specific to Covid. Dr. Felicia Collins, a distinguished graduate of Harvard Medical School, is the keynote speaker at the 2021 Alvin F. Poussaint, MD Visiting Lecture and will be discussing these healthcare inequalities. On top of having an MD, Dr. Collins also has a Master's in Public Health (also from Harvard), which gives her a unique perspective into healthcare at the individual and population levels. Analyzing healthcare data through the lens of a physician must give her the ability to contextualize healthcare disparities in a way that others would not. This sounds like it will be an interesting lecture on a very important topic, and will of course be held over zoom.
• 
  2020-06-25

  Proud Boys Clash With BLM

  "The Proud Boys, who claim to espouse "Western chauvinism," are a fratty, white power-y redux of the Men's Rights movement—except they say it's not about race, and that honoring a traditional patriarchal domestic structure isn't sexist. Less central to their beliefs but mostly just hilarious, their name comes from an Aladdin song called "Proud of Your Boy." They also happen to be led by mustachioed Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes. And if the rumors are true, their initiation proceedings include getting a tattoo and abstaining from masturbation, getting jumped in in a ritual, and beating up an antifascist." - Emma Grey Ellis, Wired
• 
  2020-07-16

  I Came to the Protest to Defend Human Rights

  "I came to the protest to defend human rights. This movement isn’t about race versus race, it’s about dissolving the negativity that our world is creating. The Black community is struggling, literally fighting for their lives, and everyone needs to stand with them to help bring a better world so Black people don’t walk the streets in fear of being a victim of the system." - Oz at the Roll4Justice rally on July 4, 2020
• 
  2021-03-09

  Justice for George Floyd

  From Drew Arrieta: As court proceedings for the trial of Derek Chauvin were underway, hundreds of community members, activists, and students demanded justice for George Floyd outside the courthouse. Judge Cahill, who is overseeing the trial, yesterday said he would proceed with the jury selection despite a dispute on the potential reinstatement of a third-degree murder charge that could potentially delay the case. The prosecution criticized the judge's decision, arguing the lack of clarity on charges when selecting a jury risks the case being thrown out on appeal.
• 
  2020

  COVID-19 - Racial Equity and Social Justice Resources

  The Fundamental Equity Tools website has resources and tools for people looking to get involved with social justice issues surrounding Covid-19.
• 
  2020-05-15

  Why Covid-19 is a Social Justice Issue

  From the article: People are like gardens: they require the right seeds to be planted, watered and nurtured in order to grow, but if neglected, will never produce the full harvest of their potential. For decades, Black people have been starved of the investments, the systems of care and quality environments that are needed for sustained, healthy growth and development as a people. For even a rose, as the writer Nikki Giovanni reminds us, can bloom from the concrete, if we give it the resources, care and love it deserves.
• 
  2020-03

  A Year Without Rowing

  The end of my freshman (2019-2020) spring semester of college was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic gradually growing more and more. Not being able to have a normal freshman year and sophomore year (2020-2021) was not what I was expecting going into college. I have always expected my college years to be full of fun times and rowing but instead they have been full of the COVID-19 pandemic and online school at home. Traveling has been cancelled due to the pandemic which is what stopped studying abroad chances in different countries around the world. Not only was my college years cut short but also my college rowing career as well. Freshman year the spring season was cancelled due to COVID-19 as well as my sophomore fall season and maybe spring. The spring break has been cancelled for the school due to the pandemic which meant the teams spring break training has been taken away which is where we get into racing sprint pieces on the water. Being able to race and perform in regattas at a collegiate level is something I have always looked forward to throughout my high school years. Not being able to have the chance to compete against other colleges especially in the main season of rowing which is spring is something that is upsetting to myself, the rest of the team, and the rowing community. Having limited rowing opportunities for practice such as small boat rowing, small group pods, and the location. Strict policies from the athletics department have been guiding what we can and cannot do for rowing. There are plans for my sophomore spring season of competing against other college rowing teams if the COVID-19 pandemic begins to decline. If the pandemic begins to decline it will lead to less policies enabling the team to practice as a whole team and in bigger boats like 8s and 4s. This will allow the teams to practice at a higher degree on and off the water to become ready to compete in the regattas. The picture that I have attached is from my fall season of freshman year when there was no pandemic going on. I picked this picture because it is special to me because my collegiate rowing season has only been a semester long. Wishing that my next two years of rowing will be COVID-19 free and full of races and regattas. Hopefully the vaccine will help fix the pandemic and move towards the future into a COVID-19 free life.
• 
  2021-01-18

  Stories of Resilience

  As Covid-19 continues to rage and take lives, there are also the lucky ones that survive. This article shares the stories of 14 Covid-19 survivors. Though the people featured come from different age groups, races, socio-economic statuses, and geography, they all share the common experience of coming out on the other side of a lengthy hospital stay. The stories range from an infant who has spent most of his life in the hospital and has survived both a liver transplant and Covid-19, a woman who is now considered a “long hauler” with debilitating symptoms that plague her long after diagnosis, a nurse who caught the virus saying goodbye to own mother who was dying of Covid-19 and regrets nothing, a man who fought two weeks on a ventilator determined to live to see his daughter get married, and a couple who survived together and were able to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. These stories remind us of the seriousness of Covid-19, as one survivor states "This is not a joke. This is for real. Take it seriously. It can happen to anybody." However, these stories also remind us of the tenacity of the human spirit, the skills of the medical staff, and the hope that is still alive within this pandemic year.
• 
  2021-01-07

  THE COLOR OF CORONAVIRUS: COVID-19 DEATHS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY IN THE U.S.

  This data sheet looks at the affects of Covid-19 mortality rates by race in North America. They do not interpret the data but the site says the following: We call on state and local health departments to release timely data about COVID-19 deaths with as complete racial and ethnic detail as is possible. As the data reporting improves, so too will our understanding of the devastating impact of this disease. This will inform states and communities about how to direct resources more equitably as well.
• 
  2020-10-30

  Race and social justice in the 2020 presidential election

  In the interview, Rashawn Ray discussing race and voter suppression. He discusses the history of voter suppression and how it can be used against various communities of color and how it is being used today. He also discusses the many ways this practice affects communities and our country as a whole.
• 
  2021-01-13

  We are in the race of our lives.

  This video is compelling people to keep in mind the best interest of all during the pandemic. A combination of collective struggles and necessary actions if we are to get out of this.
• 
  2020-06

  June of 2020: a quarantine journal

  This past June, for the first time in my life, I began keeping a daily journal—composed in formally identical declarative sentences—as a record, not only the events of the world that were on and affecting my mind, but also my domestic observations of home, of family, the creatures in my yard, the blooms erupting throughout the garden. In a season of isolation and upheaval, it in many ways helped to keep my brain from total dissolution into quaking depression. Once this month-long record was complete, I launched a Kickstarter campaign in support of the limited publication of *June of 2020: a quarantine journal*, with all profits being donated to Black Girl in Maine, a social-justice blog founded by writer, educator, and activist Shay Stewart-Bouley. While my skill has always been the construction of narratives that allow the reader to feel what it’s like to experience the characters’ experiences, Shay’s talent lies in taking the complex abstractions of social justice and explaining them in a way that is not only immediate and concrete, but also grounded in the experiences of both herself and her audience (in other words, she takes the cultural phenomenon at large and makes it directly relevant to you and your life). She has an ability that I lack. So I’m using my abilities to help support her and her work.
• 
  2020-12-12

  Nurse Fighting for Racial Equality in Healthcare

  This is a video of a nurse who volunteered to go to New York and help out with the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals. She was overwhelmed at the number of patients she had that were Hispanic, Black, Latino, and Middle Eastern, and other people of color. It was clear to her that they were being disproportionately affected by this pandemic and chose to march in protests along with them. The acts of Becca Cooper, and the stories she told her audience about, amplify the voices of marginalized groups by speaking out about it and making people aware of these communities and how heavily they are being affected. I think 2020 has also been a year of protests to fight for equal rights and that speaks out to my generation as well. I know a lot of people who have participated in these protests and it goes to show how my generation is standing up for what we believe in, much like Becca Cooper did for her patients.
• 
  2020-12-07

  Connecting the Past to the Present

  This is important to me because I see so many people disregard events of the past and assume we are so much better now. But that is not true as we all have flaws that we must work on. Flaws that many assume are ancient history and would no longer exist in 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/sep/29/women-better-off-far-from-equal-men https://globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/54484/working-conditions-in-the-textile-indust
• 
  2020-09-30

  Who Will Win The Vaccine Race?

  Who will win the vaccine race? With so much money on the line. Watching these events unfold live as tensions with United States and Russia are flagarant, have been interesting. The US denounces Russias vaccine yet, Egypt trusts it enought to purchase 25 million doses. Will the vaccine cause problems? Is the race to a vaccine truly about saving people? Perhaps the race for the vaccine is all about monetary gain? As the race for a vaccine continues, it is interesting to watch national debates and alliances crafted and dismantled.
• 
  2020-09-17

  The Hands of Our Mothers: The Survival of Black Motherhood Through COVID-19 & the Uprisings

  My project sought to examine and understand the historical resilience of Black motherhood and its relation to the life altering pandemic, COVID-19 and racially driven uprisings against systematic oppression; How Black motherhood and resistance through Black motherhood adapted, how it’s changed and what new radical resistance through motherhood was conjured in face of the pandemic and race clarity. As an autoethnographic account this research project was centered around my experience of motherhood and communal connections, as well as the experiences of Black mothers and birth workers. The political positioning of Black mothers was considered through essays and poetry written, as well as photos during the lockdowns in relation to the concepts of birth and death, the idea of radical mothering and activism, and the umbrella term of community.
• 
  2020-08-01

  "Too Many Black Americans Are Dying from COVID-19"

  From the article: "The U.S. has been roiled this year by two crises that seem on the surface to be unrelated: the coronavirus pandemic and law-enforcement killings of black Americans—the latter leading to mass protests and police violence toward protesters. Although the immediate causes of these two tragedies seem distinct, both have their roots in structural racism. The virus has killed a disproportionate number of black people (as well as other people of color), and black people are by some estimates 2.5 times more likely than white people to be killed by the police. Support is building for police reform, and we can take concrete steps immediately to protect the health of black Americans."
• 
  5/25/2020

  Sandra Smith Oral History 2020/05/25

  This interview is the fifth in a collection compiled by Glennda McGann for the COVID-19 Oral History Project
• 
  2020-06-17

  The Legacy of the Duluth Lynchings

  Video created by the Minnesota Historical Society to commemorate and remember the 100th anniversary of the murders of three African American men: Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie who had been falsely accused of rape by a white woman. The video reflects on the continued trauma or white racial violence and terrorism in the United States, as well as the failure of the education system in Minnesota to focus on this event and its significance in the context of the recent murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. In the midst of the pandemic and the protests related to the murder of George Floyd, museums are grappling with how to commemorate important moments in the nation's past. This is especially true of moments of racial violence and trauma, which hold increased significance with current discussions surrounding white supremacy.
• 
  2020

  Letter to the Community

  Letter posted on the Science Museum of Minnesota website, addressing the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Museums and cultural heritage sights, especially those in Minnesota, have sought to stand in solidarity with protestors demanding justice for George Floyd. This has been complicated by social distancing and pandemic related closures that prevent museums from physically holding events tied to issues of race in the United States. This particular letter highlights the museum's own complicity in perpetuating racial injustice.
• 
  -2020-06-18

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 40

  pandemic and racial commentary
• 
  2020-06-16

  HERMIT HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 39

  pandemic and racial related entries
• 
  2020-05-31

  Covid vs. Racial Tensions

  In the middle of America trying to mismanage its Covid-19 response, racial tensions have bubbled over after the death of George Floyd. As the entire country shifts its focus towards the protests, we all seem to be collectively forgetting that there still is a health crisis occurring at the same time. America has a lot on its plate right now.
• 
  2020-06-09

  George Floyd Funeral

  This is an image of the funeral of George Floyd, whose death from police brutality has sparked a wave of protests across the world against police brutality even in the midst of pandemic.
• 
  2020-06-07

  Hipocresía domestica

  Un dibujo político que muestra un hombre con un laptop investigando o publicando sobre el tema #BlackLivesMatter, al fondo se ve una mujer de la clase baja, seguro una empleada que trabaja en la casa. Esta sentada y se ve la escoba, cosas de limpieza, su cama y un tanque de agua. Se trata de la hipocresía que la gente tiene, y la realidad que hay mucho discriminación según líneas de clase, genero, y raza.
• 
  2020-06-03

  Cops need to do ayahuasca

  Image of a black man holding a sign saying "Cops need to do ayahuasca," referring to the recent protest over George Floyd, which has also sparked conversations about race worldwide. In Peru, social media accounts are posting memes, statements, and declarations against racism and the current situation in the U.S.
• 
  2020-05-01

  The Impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQ Communities of Color

  From the report: "It is distressing, but not unsurprising, to see how the pandemic is impacting vulnerable populations. New research from HRC and PSB now demonstrates the devastating economic impact COVID-19 has had on LGBTQ communities of color in particular."
• 
  2020-05-21

  A flyer shared on the Los Angeles subreddit stating their area is high risk for COVID-19.

  This is a flyer that seems to have been passed out in the Westlake and Pico Union neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Currently these neighborhoods have the highest death counts for LA County. Many of these people are lower socioeconomic status and non-white. Many of them have front lines jobs that cannot be done from home and live in more crowded neighborhoods.
• 
  2020-05-09

  "The First 100"

  "In Chicago, 70 of the city’s 100 first recorded victims of COVID-19 were black. Their lives were rich, and their deaths cannot be dismissed as inevitable. Immediate factors could — and should — have been addressed."
• 
  2020-03-31

  Staycation Races

  A link to register for a virtual running race