thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--A Semester Of Trauma, Sickness And Death At A New York School

By April , Odalys Garate , 18 , was supposed to have made it through the hard part .
She , her mother and her two older sisters ― everyone she lives with ― had all recovered from COVID-19 .
She had made it through the fevers , coughing fits and the night she had so much trouble breathing that her mom , in a panic , sobbed by her side .
But in many ways , Garate still felt debilitatingly sick .
The brunt of the pandemic has passed in the area for now , but school social worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She estimates that at one point , about 80 % of the students in her caseload were sick or had sick family members .
A handful of students lost grandparents , and several recent graduates lost parents .
A school survey from May found that about 40 % of responding families had had someone laid off or furloughed .
Most of the school ’ s families are Hispanic , and many are immigrants .
For those three weeks in April , Garate retreated inwards .
She stopped answering texts and FaceTimes from her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the schoolwork she normally cared about .
Her grades fell , but she felt numb to it .
She turned on the TV and flipped through channels mindlessly , zombie-like , to pass the time .
She stayed awake all night , anxious and sad and scared , and couldn ’ t get out of bed when the sun rose .
Palaguachi spent late March and April taking care of her parents and younger sister , who all got COVID-19 while she remained healthy .
For nearly four weeks , Palaguachi cooked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , delivering each meal to their respective rooms .
When she wasn ’ t cooking , she kept track of their medications , disinfected the bathrooms and updated relatives .
She stayed up until 4 a.m. completing the homework she did not have time to do during the day , and then set her alarm to go off twice in the night so she could check on her parents and make sure they were still breathing .
Even while ill , her mom couldn ’ t stop mothering .
She would check to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the middle of the night under the guise of going to the bathroom .
She would pester the teen ― who had lost her appetite ― to make sure she was eating enough .
“ She ’ s very loving and sweet , I know she ’ ll do anything for me , ” Palaguachi , who sat in front of wallpaper that read “ live , laugh , ” said over video chat with a bashful smile and twinkling eyes .
Granate , the 18-year-old student , was cooped up and anxious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to look outside either .
She had seen the cops disperse a group of people who had been waiting for hours , sweaty and hot , hoping to get food from a local pantry .
The police said they had violated social distancing rules .
It was painful to watch .
So was the news , given the suffering everywhere .

This story about a school in Queens was produced as part of the series Critical Condition: The Students the Pandemic Hit Hardest, reported by HuffPost and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
By April, Odalys Garate, 18, was supposed to have made it through the hard part. She, her mother and her two older sisters ― everyone she lives with ― had all recovered from COVID-19. She had made it through the fevers, coughing fits and the night she had so much trouble breathing that her mom, in a panic, sobbed by her side. But in many ways, Garate still felt debilitatingly sick.
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The sirens she heard traversing her neighborhood of Corona, Queens, at all hours of the night made her feel ill. She lost her appetite watching a long line of hungry people waiting outside for hours to get food from a pop-up food pantry. Seeing ambulances stop outside her building, wondering which one of her neighbors it might be coming for, gave her stomachaches. Five family friends died, one after the other.
Overwhelmed and depressed, Garate stayed underneath her covers for nearly three weeks straight.
“I just wanted to be in bed all day. And I’m not one to be in bed all day,” said Garate, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her two older sisters and mother. “I felt like I had insomnia. I didn’t even have energy to sleep.”
Garate has not just been a teen living through a pandemic. She has been a teen living through a pandemic in one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in the hardest-hit city in the country.
Staff members at her school ― the Renaissance Charter School in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights ― say she is one of many traumatized students whose families have been deeply impacted by COVID-19. HuffPost spoke to seven students, parents and staff members from Renaissance, a K-12 school of about 600 kids, about their experiences over these past few months.
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In Corona, 1 in 274 people have died from COVID-19; in Jackson Heights, 1 in 263 people have. Each neighborhood has had thousands of cases, according to the latest data. For weeks, overwhelmed hospitals were overflowing with patients.
The brunt of the pandemic has passed in the area for now, but school social worker Alison Rosow said the trauma lingers. She estimates that at one point, about 80% of the students in her caseload were sick or had sick family members. A handful of students lost grandparents, and several recent graduates lost parents. A school survey from May found that about 40% of responding families had had someone laid off or furloughed. Most of the school’s families are Hispanic, and many are immigrants.
Garate near her home. New York City — and her neighborhood in particular — has been hit particularly hard during the coronavirus pandemic. Ryan Christopher Jones for HuffPost
For those three weeks in April, Garate retreated inwards. She stopped answering texts and FaceTimes from her friends. She couldn’t focus on the schoolwork she normally cared about. Her grades fell, but she felt numb to it. She turned on the TV and flipped through channels mindlessly, zombie-like, to pass the time. She stayed awake all night, anxious and sad and scared, and couldn’t get out of bed when the sun rose.
Her peers were in similar situations.
Tiffany Palaguachi, another senior at Renaissance, spent a month taking care of both of her parents and worrying desperately after her mother spent a week in the hospital, barely breathing. Junior Juliza Lema didn’t have any sick family members, but her family became so desperate for money that they started making diapers for her little sister at home. As she took on more chores and became increasingly anxious, her grades dropped drastically. One of Lema’s friends lost their mom.
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All the while, classes continued. Kids attended school via video and sat for remote exams. A drive-in graduation ceremony took place for the seniors earlier this week.
“These kids are expected to do remote learning, but they were taking care of their parents. They’re depressed,” said Rosow, the only social worker in the school.
Rosow said she counseled several kids over text as they debated whether a parent should go to the hospital. In May, a majority of the students Rosow talked to were unable to sleep, even the ones who are typically diligent about routine.
She described counseling kids who were sick themselves. “I’m on the phone with them, they’re still coughing, still having issues breathing,” Rosow said in May. As of late June, some still had lingering illness.
The school’s principal, Stacey Gauthier, is worried that kids will face a whole host of new issues when they go back to school in the fall ― if they do.
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“We have our share of families in temporary housing, 75% are free or reduced-price lunch. I’m worried we’re going to have a whole lot more,” said Gauthier, who has been the school’s principal since 2007. “The reality is we need more people. I need more social workers.”
Tiffany Palaguachi at her home in Queens. In February, her whole family tested positive for COVID-19, and she spent weeks taking care of them. Ryan Christopher Jones for HuffPost
The word the students use the most to describe the past few months is “scary.”
Tiffany Palaguachi, 18, used the words “scared,” “scary” or “terrified” 16 times over the course of one conversation.
Palaguachi spent late March and April taking care of her parents and younger sister, who all got COVID-19 while she remained healthy. For nearly four weeks, Palaguachi cooked them all breakfast, lunch and dinner, delivering each meal to their respective rooms. When she wasn’t cooking, she kept track of their medications, disinfected the bathrooms and updated relatives. She stayed up until 4 a.m. completing the homework she did not have time to do during the day, and then set her alarm to go off twice in the night so she could check on her parents and make sure they were still breathing.
Her mom’s condition grew worse over the course of a few weeks, then she ended up in the hospital. When they spoke on the phone, Palaguachi’s mom could hardly speak. Every conversation felt like it might be their last.
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Palaguachi is still traumatized by the idea of her parents getting sick again, a month after recovery. She’s scared when her dad, a construction worker who just recently started getting hours again, leaves to go to work. She begs her mom, a teacher, to stay inside. Every time her mom mentions going to get something from the store, Palaguachi volunteers to go instead.
Even while ill, her mom couldn’t stop mothering. She would check to make sure Palaguachi was doing homework in the middle of the night under the guise of going to the bathroom. She would pester the teen ― who had lost her appetite ― to make sure she was eating enough. “She’s very loving and sweet, I know she’ll do anything for me,” Palaguachi, who sat in front of wallpaper that read “live, laugh,” said over video chat with a bashful smile and twinkling eyes.
She maintained her high 90s grade average throughout ― “there’s always a way to do something,” she said softly. Next year she plans to study biology on the premed track in college. She had planned to venture to Long Island for college, but with the pandemic, her parents wanted her to stay close. Part of Palaguachi wanted to stay close, too.
“Circumstances changed. I learned to accept that,” she said, resigned but matter-of-fact. “I’m more worried about my parents than I was before. I’m gonna be thinking about my parents for a while.”
In the early weeks of COVID-19, Rosow never knew what she was going to get when she spoke to a student.
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There was the one who mentioned watching someone’s dead body being carried out of their building. Another who had several people close to them die. There were the students she would text every day to see if their parents were still alive.
Rosow video chatted with kids, sometimes from their cramped bathrooms so their family couldn’t hear the conversations. It was hard to tell who was going hungry. Some of her students and their families were so scared that, as of mid-May, they hadn’t gone outside since March.
Students who lived close to Elmhurst Hospital told Rosow about the constant sounds of sirens and helicopters. They described hearing the sound of dead bodies getting crunched into refrigerated trucks.
The worst was when a kid stopped answering her messages. She couldn’t go to their classroom and bring them to her office, so her imagination went to dark places. She’d never had anxiety before, but started getting anxiety-related chest pains.
The Palaguachis: Felix, Nuve, Tiffany and Rachel. Everyone but Tiffany tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year, and she spent weeks taking care of her family. Ryan Christopher Jones for HuffPost
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Garate, the 18-year-old student, was cooped up and anxious inside, but she didn’t want to look outside either. She had seen the cops disperse a group of people who had been waiting for hours, sweaty and hot, hoping to get food from a local pantry. The police said they had violated social distancing rules. It was painful to watch. So was the news, given the suffering everywhere.
“It was too much,” Garate said via video chat, while sitting on the bottom bunk of the bedroom she shares with her sisters, who are 22 and 25. “Seeing everyone kind of feeling the same way. It was so overwhelming. I kind of didn’t want to know about the world at that point.”
Garate spent her time going between the bedroom and the living room, where her mom, a domestic worker, sleeps on the couch. Her mother spent April watching the news, mourning lost friends and lost work.
“When something affects my mom, it affects us all,” said Garate, who plans to study nursing next year at Lehman College. Her mom only recently started hearing from clients who want her to come clean their spaces. “She’s been happy that they remember her, I guess.”
Garate, who is asthmatic, feels lucky that no one in her immediate family got seriously ill from COVID-19. The experience of the virus, though, was terrifying. One night, at the peak of her sickness, she woke up panicked and struggled to breath. She could feel her asthma medicine, her nebulizer, not working. She sobbed in alarm. She wanted her mom to remain calm, to tell her everything would be OK, but instead her mom cried, too. Their panic grew and grew, until eventually, when they were all cried out, it passed.
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“I never want to feel that again,” Garate said. “It’s so scary.”
Garate emerged from her fog of depression after her sisters became concerned and started prodding her to exercise with them, to bake with them, to do anything. She texted her friends to make amends — she had to explain why she had ignored their calls and disappeared.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-26--Federal Judge Orders U.S. To Release Migrant Children During Pandemic

HOUSTON ( AP ) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of children held with their parents in U.S. immigration jails and denounced the Trump administration ’ s prolonged detention of families during the coronavirus pandemic .
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ’ s order applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement .
Some have been detained since last year .
Citing the recent spread of the virus in two of the three facilities , Gee set a deadline of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ released with their parents or sent to family sponsors .
In May , ICE said it was detaining 184 children at the three detention centers , which are separate from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services facilities for unaccompanied children that were holding around 1,000 children in early June .
The numbers in both systems have fallen significantly since earlier in the Trump administration because the U.S. is expelling most people trying to cross the border or requiring them to wait for their immigration cases in Mexico .
Gee oversees a long-running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s treatment of immigrant children known as the Flores agreement .
Her order does not directly apply to the parents detained with their children .
But most parents last month refused to designate a sponsor when ICE officials unexpectedly asked them who could take their children if the adults remained detained , according to lawyers for the families .
The agency said then it was conducting a “ routine parole review consistent with the law ” and Gee ’ s previous orders .
Advocates contend that ICE should release all families from detention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through immigration detention .
In court filings revealed Thursday , ICE said 11 children and parents have tested positive for COVID-19 at the family detention center in Karnes City , Texas .
At the detention center in nearby Dilley , at least three parents and children — including a child who turned 2 this week — were placed in isolation after two private contractors and an ICE official tested positive for the virus .
Amy Maldonado , an attorney who works with detained families , said Gee “ clearly recognized that the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and safety of the children , which is their obligation.
” “ They need to make the sensible choice and release the parents to care for their children , ” she said of the government .
For most people , the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms , such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks .
For some , especially older adults and people with existing health problems , it can cause more severe illness , including pneumonia and death .
The vast majority of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICE custody have tested positive for COVID-19 .
The agency says it has released at least 900 people considered to have heightened medical risk and reduced the populations at its three family detention centers .
But in court filings last month , ICE said it considered most of the people in family detention to be flight risks because they had pending deportation orders or cases under review .

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HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of children held with their parents in U.S. immigration jails and denounced the Trump administration’s prolonged detention of families during the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee’s order applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have been detained since last year.
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Citing the recent spread of the virus in two of the three facilities, Gee set a deadline of July 17 for children to either be released with their parents or sent to family sponsors.
The family detention centers “are ‘on fire’ and there is no more time for half measures,” she wrote.
In May, ICE said it was detaining 184 children at the three detention centers, which are separate from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services facilities for unaccompanied children that were holding around 1,000 children in early June. The numbers in both systems have fallen significantly since earlier in the Trump administration because the U.S. is expelling most people trying to cross the border or requiring them to wait for their immigration cases in Mexico.
Gee oversees a long-running court settlement governing the U.S. government’s treatment of immigrant children known as the Flores agreement. Her order does not directly apply to the parents detained with their children.
But most parents last month refused to designate a sponsor when ICE officials unexpectedly asked them who could take their children if the adults remained detained, according to lawyers for the families. The agency said then it was conducting a “routine parole review consistent with the law” and Gee’s previous orders.
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Advocates contend that ICE should release all families from detention especially as the coronavirus has spread rapidly through immigration detention. In court filings revealed Thursday, ICE said 11 children and parents have tested positive for COVID-19 at the family detention center in Karnes City, Texas.
At the detention center in nearby Dilley, at least three parents and children — including a child who turned 2 this week — were placed in isolation after two private contractors and an ICE official tested positive for the virus.
Amy Maldonado, an attorney who works with detained families, said Gee “clearly recognized that the government is not willing to protect the health and safety of the children, which is their obligation.”
“They need to make the sensible choice and release the parents to care for their children,” she said of the government.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--Pence Cancels Campaign Events In Florida, Arizona As States' COVID-19 Cases Soar

Pence is backing out of the scheduled appearances this coming week just a day after he crowed at a White House press briefing that the nation is “ flattening the curve ” in COVID-19 cases , which is not true .
The U.S. set a new record in the number of new coronavirus cases in a single day , reaching more than 42,000 Saturday .
Florida reported nearly 9,600 new cases Saturday morning , and Arizona tallied an additional 3,951 cases , and shattered its hospitalization record .
As of Friday , the U.S. seven-day average of new cases increased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week ago .
Pence is skipping appearances “ out of an abundance of caution ” due to the case spike in the states , according to the Trump campaign .
The scheduled events were part of the campaign ’ s “ Faith in America ” tour , targeting evangelical voters .
They included a stop in Tucson on Tuesday , and a Florida bus tour Thursday with appearances in Sarasota and Lake Wales at an event organized by the pro-Trump group PAC America First Policies .
Pence still plans to travel to Florida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to meet with the states ’ governors and their healthcare officials for a “ ground report ” concerning spiking cases int he states , as he announced Friday .
He ’ s also still scheduled to speak at First Baptist Church in Dallas on Sunday as part of a “ Celebrate Freedom ” event , then will meet with Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott ( R ) .
The website for the event says that “ masks and social distancing are strongly encouraged while on the campus of First Baptist Dallas.
” Florida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a desperate bid to stem the exploding number of coronavirus in their state .
The Miami-Dade County mayor is also shutting down all area beaches over the July 4th holiday from July 3-7 .
“ We opened up too fast , ” Dr. Ashish Jha , director of the Harvard Global Health Institute , said on the “ Today ” show Saturday .
“ We opened up bars , we opened up nightclubs , and it ’ s the combination of all that that has led us to where we are today.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and gatherings while Americans were still struggling with a large number of COVID-19 cases — without the testing and system of contact tracing necessary to do it safely .
A CBS News reporter suggested Friday to Pence at a press briefing of the coronavirus task force that the campaign was “ part of the problem ” battling COVID-19 because no one wears masks or practices safe social distancing to help curb the spread of the disease .
Pence responded : “ I want to remind you again that free speech and the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Constitution ” — even though wearing a mask and following social distancing guidelines do not prohibit free speech .
“ Even in a health crisis the American people don ’ t forfeit our constitutional rights , ” he added .

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Vice President Mike Pence canceled campaign events in Florida and Arizona, as the number of COVID-19 cases in both states continues to smash records.
Pence backed out of the scheduled appearances on Saturday, just a day after claiming that the nation is “flattening the curve,” which is not true.
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As of Friday, the U.S. seven-day average of new cases increased more than 41% compared with a week ago.
Because of what the American people have done, we slowed the spread, we flattened the curve and we saved lives. — Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) June 26, 2020
Pence is skipping the appearances “out of an abundance of caution” due to the case spike in the states, according to the Trump campaign.
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The scheduled events — which included a stop in Tucson, Arizona, and a bus tour with appearances in Sarasota and Lake Wales, Florida — were part of the campaign’s “Faith in America” tour, which targets evangelical voters.
Out of an abundance of caution at this time, we are postponing the Great American Comeback tour stop in Florida. We look forward to rescheduling soon.https://t.co/unXgA4Gzs2 — America First Policies (@AmericaFirstPol) June 27, 2020
Pence still plans to travel to Florida, Arizona and Texas this coming week to meet with the states’ governors and their health care officials for a “ground report” concerning spiking cases in the states.
He’s also still scheduled to speak at First Baptist Church in Dallas next weekend as part of a “Celebrate Freedom” event. The website for the event says that “masks and social distancing are strongly encouraged while on the campus of First Baptist Dallas.”
Florida and Texas have shut down bars in a desperate bid to stem the exploding number of coronavirus in their state. The Miami-Dade County mayor is also shutting down all area beaches over the July Fourth holiday weekend.
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“We opened up too fast,” Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said on the “Today” show Saturday. “We opened up bars, we opened up nightclubs, and it’s the combination of all that that has led us to where we are today.”
A CBS News reporter suggested Friday to Pence that the campaign was “part of the problem” battling COVID-19 because its staffers do not wear masks or practice safe social distancing to help curb the spread of the disease.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--Trump Campaign Peeled Off Social Distancing Stickers In Arena Before Tulsa Rally: Reports

Donald Trump ’ s campaign removed thousands of stickers on arena seats encouraging social distancing before the president ’ s rally last week in Tulsa , Oklahoma , Billboard and The Washington Post reported .
The “ Do Not Sit Here Please !
” stickers were intended to help stem the spread of COVID-19 cases , which were spiking in the city at the time of the June 20 event — and continue to climb in Tulsa and throughout Oklahoma .
“ They also told us that they didn ’ t want any signs posted saying we should social distance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The campaign went through and removed the stickers.
” By the time the Trump campaign interfered , arena workers had already affixed some 12,000 stickers on nearly every other seat , a person familiar with the event told the Post .
There was plenty of room for social distancing at the BOK Center , where only 6,200 rally tickets were scanned for a space that can hold 19,000 people .
Instead , vast swaths of seats were left empty as people jammed together in seats closest to the podium .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s new mandatory “ VenueShield ” protocol aimed at helping protect people from COVID-19 at the 325 sites it manages .
But Thornton told Billboard that ASM had no legal authority to stop the event , which was approved by Gov .
Kevin Stitt ( R ) and Tulsa ’ s Republican mayor , G.T .
Bynum .
The Trump campaign ignored ASM ’ s request to file a COVID-19 safety plan for the rally , Billboard reported — even though Dr. Anthony Fauci , the nation ’ s top infectious disease expert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the rally would be dangerous .
Hundreds of campaign staffers only haphazardly wore masks and maintained social distancing , according to Billboard .
Tulsa is overhauling event protocols at the center in the wake of the Trump rally .
As many as eight Trump campaign staff members preparing for the rally tested positive for the coronavirus .
A reporter who covered rally has also tested positive .
“ We know that two of them were intermingling with the people in the arena , ” Tulsa Police Department Cpl .
David Crow said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Public Facilities Authority .
“ Obviously , we know that that event probably triggered some type of broader infection.
” Campaign manager Brad Parscale , campaign staffers and dozens of Secret Service officers are reportedly now in quarantine because of suspected COVID-19 risks at the Tulsa rally .
Anyone applying for tickets to the rally on the Trump campaign website had to agree not to sue the president or the campaign if the participant contracted COVID-19 at the event .

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Donald Trump’s campaign removed thousands of stickers on arena seats encouraging social distancing before the president’s rally last week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Billboard and The Washington Post reported.
The “Do Not Sit Here Please!” stickers were intended to help stem the spread of COVID-19 cases, which were spiking in the city at the time of the June 20 event — and continue to climb in Tulsa and throughout Oklahoma.
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Campaign officials informed an executive of venue manager ASM Global to stop labeling the seats hours before the rally, ASM Executive Vice President Doug Thornton told Billboard.
“They also told us that they didn’t want any signs posted saying we should social distance in the venue,” he added. “The campaign went through and removed the stickers.”
By the time the Trump campaign interfered, arena workers had already affixed some 12,000 stickers on nearly every other seat, a person familiar with the event told the Post.
Both Billboard and the Post also viewed video showing Trump campaign staffers peeling off stickers from the seats.
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There was plenty of room for social distancing at the BOK Center, where only 6,200 rally tickets were scanned for a space that can hold 19,000 people. Instead, vast swaths of seats were left empty as people jammed together in seats closest to the podium.
The stickers were part of ASM Global’s new mandatory “VenueShield” protocol aimed at helping protect people from COVID-19 at the 325 sites it manages. But Thornton told Billboard that ASM had no legal authority to stop the event, which was approved by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) and Tulsa’s Republican mayor, G.T. Bynum.
The Trump campaign ignored ASM’s request to file a COVID-19 safety plan for the rally, Billboard reported — even though Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, had reportedly warned the White House that the rally would be dangerous. Hundreds of campaign staffers only haphazardly wore masks and maintained social distancing, according to Billboard. Tulsa is overhauling event protocols at the center in the wake of the Trump rally.
As many as eight Trump campaign staff members involved in preparing for the rally tested positive for the coronavirus. A reporter who covered the rally has also tested positive.
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“We know that two of them were intermingling with the people in the arena,” Tulsa Police Department Cpl. David Crow said at a meeting last week. “Obviously, we know that that event probably triggered some type of broader infection.”
Campaign manager Brad Parscale, campaign staffers and dozens of Secret Service officers are reportedly now in quarantine because of suspected COVID-19 exposure at the Tulsa rally.
Anyone applying for tickets to the rally on the Trump campaign website had to agree not to sue the president or the campaign if they contracted COVID-19 at the event.
The Trump campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--Scientists Just Beginning To Understand The Many Health Problems Caused By Covid-19

Besides the respiratory issues that leave patients gasping for breath , the virus that causes COVID-19 attacks many organ systems , in some cases causing catastrophic damage .
“ We thought this was only a respiratory virus .
Turns out , it goes after the pancreas .
It goes after the heart .
It goes after the liver , the brain , the kidney and other organs .
We didn ’ t appreciate that in the beginning , ” said Dr. Eric Topol , a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla , California .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that can lead to strokes , and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems .
The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache , dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion .
And recovery can be slow , incomplete and costly , with a huge impact on quality of life .
The broad and diverse manifestations of COVID-19 are somewhat unique , said Dr. Sadiya Khan , a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago .
With influenza , people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher risk of complications , Khan said .
What is surprising about this virus is the extent of the complications occurring outside the lungs .
Khan believes there will be a huge healthcare expenditure and burden for individuals who have survived COVID-19 .

Besides the respiratory issues that leave patients gasping for breath, the virus that causes COVID-19 attacks many organ systems, in some cases causing catastrophic damage.
“We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas. It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidney and other organs. We didn’t appreciate that in the beginning,” said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California.
In addition to respiratory distress, patients with COVID-19 can experience blood clotting disorders that can lead to strokes, and extreme inflammation that attacks multiple organ systems. The virus can also cause neurological complications that range from headache, dizziness and loss of taste or smell to seizures and confusion.
And recovery can be slow, incomplete and costly, with a huge impact on quality of life.
The broad and diverse manifestations of COVID-19 are somewhat unique, said Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
With influenza, people with underlying heart conditions are also at higher risk of complications, Khan said. What is surprising about this virus is the extent of the complications occurring outside the lungs.
Khan believes there will be a huge healthcare expenditure and burden for individuals who have survived COVID-19.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--White Evangelicals Aren't As Worried About COVID-19 As Other Faith Groups: Study

White evangelical Protestants were generally less worried about contracting COVID-19 , more ready for life to return to normal and much more likely to say that President Donald Trump was handling the pandemic well , compared to Americans from other faith groups .
The results are part of an analysis prepared for HuffPost by the American Enterprise Institute , a conservative-leaning think tank , based on its “ COVID-19 and American Life Survey.
” That wide-ranging survey was conducted between May 21 and June 5 , a period when daily confirmed new cases of the virus inched downwards in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fellow who authored the report , told HuffPost he thinks white evangelicals ’ attitudes about the pandemic are unique and can partly be explained by the fact that many members of this religious group live in Southern states and in rural areas that were less hard hit by the virus initially .
Only 42 % of white evangelicals said they worried about the possibility that they or someone in their household might contract COVID-19 , the analysis said .
On the other hand , about 60 % of all Americans surveyed expressed worry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to worry about getting infected ( 69 % ) , which makes sense given that the virus has been particularly deadly for communities of color .
White evangelicals were more likely than other religious groups to say that the government should allow businesses to open back up ― even if it means putting some people at risk ( 65 % ) .
Majorities of white mainline Protestants and white Catholics agreed ( 52 % ) .
In contrast , most Black Protestants ( 84 % ) , Hispanic Catholics ( 70 % ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 77 % ) and the religiously unaffiliated ( 69 % ) said the government should take all necessary steps to ensure the public is safe , even if it harms businesses and the economy .
White evangelicals were the only religious group surveyed in which a majority of respondents ( 61 % ) said they felt comfortable attending a worship service in person ―something conservative Christian activists have pushed governors to allow .
Only 8 % of all Americans said they have actually attended a religious service within the past week .
White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done so ― one in five said they had attended services .
The overwhelming majority of Americans surveyed for the study said they have recently worn face masks or face coverings when they left their homes ( 86 % ) .
Most white evangelicals said they have adopted this practice as well ( 78 % ) .
But they were also more likely than any other religious group to say that they haven ’ t worn face masks outside ( 22 % ) .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they go out in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19 .
But in recent weeks , wearing a face mask has become something of a political statement .
Trump has played a role in turning face masks into a culture war issue by refusing to wear masks during public appearances .
Across the board , most Americans surveyed approved of the way that the CDC has handled the outbreak .
But the survey also asked a broader question that gauged how respondents felt about the reliability of scientists in general .
White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Majorities of all other religious groups said they believed scientists make judgments based solely on the facts .
But 58 % of white evangelicals said they believed scientists ’ judgments were just as likely to be biased as other people ’ s .
White evangelicals also stood out among religious groups for having the most positive opinion about the president ’ s handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
A significant number ( 75 % ) said that Trump is handling the pandemic well , with a majority saying he ’ s handling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
No other religious group ― including other white Christians ― came close to giving Trump such high marks .
The president downplayed the threat of the virus during the first two months of the year before declaring a national emergency on March 13 .
He urged governors to end lockdowns in early June , stating that the U.S. was “ largely through ” the pandemic .
The average number of new cases per day has increased by about 60 % over the past two weeks , according to The Associated Press .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have dropped to about 600 per day , compared to about 2,200 in mid-April .
“ Rank-and-file Republicans , who have largely been taking their cues from President Trump and other Republican elected officials , are generally less concerned about engaging in a variety of social activities and less likely to believe the pandemic poses a major threat to their families , ” he said .

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White evangelicals’ attitudes toward the coronavirus pandemic are considerably more relaxed than those of other religious groups, a new study said.
White evangelical Protestants were generally less worried about contracting COVID-19, more ready for life to return to normal and much more likely to say that President Donald Trump was handling the pandemic well, compared to Americans from other faith groups.
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The results are part of an analysis prepared for HuffPost by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, based on its “COVID-19 and American Life Survey.” That wide-ranging survey was conducted between May 21 and June 5, a period when daily confirmed new cases of the virus inched downwards in the U.S.
The virus’s trajectory has recently shifted, with health officials expressing alarm Friday about a surge in new cases across the South and West.
Daniel Cox, an AEI research fellow who authored the report, told HuffPost he thinks white evangelicals’ attitudes about the pandemic are unique and can partly be explained by the fact that many members of this religious group live in Southern states and in rural areas that were less hard hit by the virus initially.
“Given the pandemic is now sweeping through the Southern U.S., places where large numbers of white evangelical Protestants live, it will be interesting to see whether their attitudes and behaviors change,” Cox said.
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Supporters listen as President Donald Trump speaks at a Students for Trump event at the Dream City Church in Phoenix on Tuesday. SAUL LOEB via Getty Images
Only 42% of white evangelicals said they worried about the possibility that they or someone in their household might contract COVID-19, the analysis said. On the other hand, about 60% of all Americans surveyed expressed worry. Black Protestant responders were especially likely to worry about getting infected (69%), which makes sense given that the virus has been particularly deadly for communities of color.
White evangelicals were more likely than other religious groups to say that the government should allow businesses to open back up ― even if it means putting some people at risk (65%). Majorities of white mainline Protestants and white Catholics agreed (52%).
In contrast, most Black Protestants (84%), Hispanic Catholics (70%), members of major non-Christian religions (77%) and the religiously unaffiliated (69%) said the government should take all necessary steps to ensure the public is safe, even if it harms businesses and the economy.
White evangelicals were the only religious group surveyed in which a majority of respondents (61%) said they felt comfortable attending a worship service in person ―something conservative Christian activists have pushed governors to allow. Only 8% of all Americans said they have actually attended a religious service within the past week. White evangelicals were the most likely to have done so ― one in five said they had attended services.
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The overwhelming majority of Americans surveyed for the study said they have recently worn face masks or face coverings when they left their homes (86%). Most white evangelicals said they have adopted this practice as well (78%). But they were also more likely than any other religious group to say that they haven’t worn face masks outside (22%).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that Americans wear cloth face coverings when they go out in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But in recent weeks, wearing a face mask has become something of a political statement. Trump has played a role in turning face masks into a culture war issue by refusing to wear masks during public appearances.
Wanda Albritton of Miami Springs, Florida, raises her arms in prayer at a rally for evangelical supporters at the King Jesus International Ministry church on Jan. 3 in Miami. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Across the board, most Americans surveyed approved of the way that the CDC has handled the outbreak. But the survey also asked a broader question that gauged how respondents felt about the reliability of scientists in general. White evangelicals revealed a high degree of skepticism.
Majorities of all other religious groups said they believed scientists make judgments based solely on the facts. But 58% of white evangelicals said they believed scientists’ judgments were just as likely to be biased as other people’s.
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White evangelicals also stood out among religious groups for having the most positive opinion about the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. A significant number (75%) said that Trump is handling the pandemic well, with a majority saying he’s handling it very well (44%). No other religious group ― including other white Christians ― came close to giving Trump such high marks.
The president downplayed the threat of the virus during the first two months of the year before declaring a national emergency on March 13. He urged governors to end lockdowns in early June, stating that the U.S. was “largely through” the pandemic.
On Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert advising the Trump administration on its COVID-19 response, warned that infection rates are increasing among young people who could remain asymptomatic while spreading the virus to more vulnerable populations.
The average number of new cases per day has increased by about 60% over the past two weeks, according to The Associated Press. At the same time, COVID-19 deaths have dropped to about 600 per day, compared to about 2,200 in mid-April.
President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Some of the hardest-hit states ― Texas, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas ― are led by GOP governors who have largely echoed Trump’s calls to prioritize the reopening of the economy.
Cox said he suspected white evangelicals’ attitudes about the pandemic have been partly influenced by their affinity with the Republican Party.
“Rank-and-file Republicans, who have largely been taking their cues from President Trump and other Republican elected officials, are generally less concerned about engaging in a variety of social activities and less likely to believe the pandemic poses a major threat to their families,” he said.
“If Trump and other GOP officials continue to say everything is fine, then I would not expect major shifts in attitudes among evangelicals,” he added.
AEI surveyed 3,504 adults between May 21 and June 5, using a combination of live-caller phone interviews and an online panel run by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--Congress Stalls Out — Again — Dealing With National Trauma

It ’ s latest example of the ways hyper-partisanship and deepening polarization on Capitol Hill have hamstrung Congress ’ ability to meet the moment and keep up with public opinion .
As a result , police reform seems likely to join gun control and immigration as issues where Americans overwhelmingly support changes to laws that elected representatives are unable or unwilling to pass .
“ In this moment , as it was with gun violence and immigration reform , we don ’ t know where the president really is , ” said Sen. Chris Coons , D-Del.
, who weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be any different from prior failures .
“ If this were the first time we were in this situation , I ’ d be more hopeful , ” he said then .
The bipartisan outcry over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans appeared to be a chance for Congress to reshape its reputation .
Polls showed nearly all Americans in a favor of some measure of change to the criminal justice system , and both chambers moved quickly to draft legislation .
There were common elements in the House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including a national database of use-of-force incidents by law enforcement and restrictions on police chokeholds .
But efforts to bridge the divides that did exist in the bills quickly got bogged down in a debate over process , stirred an outcry among liberal activists and exposed again how little trust there is between the top Senate leaders Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , and Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. McConnell said Democrats refused to take him at his word that he was willing to negotiate over the final bill ; Schumer and other Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s tenure as majority leader that suggests that ’ s true .
The swift rise and fall of prospects for police reform also underscored one of the harsh realities of modern American politics .
Lawmakers are often driven more by the views of their parties ’ hardliners than overall public opinion .
“ The incentive structure is misaligned for compromise .
That ’ s the reality of it .
Members are more likely to be rewarded electorally for representing their base primary voters than for reaching out to voters in the middle , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a top aide to former House Speaker John Boehner .
“ The giants of yesteryear are remembered as such because voters rewarded them for successfully legislating .
And that just seems to be less and less the case.
” Public support for some measure of police reform following the death of Floyd , who died when a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes , is overwhelming .
A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows 29 % of Americans say the criminal justice system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say it needs major changes and 25 % say it needs minor changes .
There are other high-profile examples where public support has been unable to overcome hyper-partisanship in Congress — most notably on gun control .
An AP-NORC survey from March 2019 found 83 % of Americans in favor of a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers .
Trump has also supported the idea .
But gun control legislation has gone nowhere in Washington , not even after the horrific shooting deaths of 20 first-graders and six educators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The obstinacy on gun control has largely been among Republicans , though a handful of Democratic senators joined them in blocking legislation after the Newtown shooting .
The parties have also failed to make progress in overhauling the nation ’ s fractured immigration laws , despite broad public support .
The most overwhelmingly popular immigration measure — granting legal protections to young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children — has gotten caught in the fray , with GOP leaders unwilling to pass it on its own so it can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ To do really hard things you always need a president leaning in and engaged , ” said Brendan Buck , a top aide to former Speaker Paul Ryan , R-Wis. , during Trump ’ s first two years in office .
“ And on the really hard things he has not shown a willingness to get engaged.
” The police reform debate also suffered from the realities of the political calendar .
With the Congressional Black Caucus , progressive activists and the civil rights community all calling the Republican bill too weak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little incentive to give ground now when they might be able to get more if their party has sweeping successes in the November elections , now just over four months away .
Some veteran lawmakers in both parties have found ways to navigate the fierce partisanship on Capitol Hill and make progress on major issues .
Health and Labor Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander , R-Tenn. , and top panel Democrat Patty Murray of Washington have shepherded both a major education policy rewrite and legislation to combat opioids through a McConnell-led Senate .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers in both parties before committee or floor action .
“ This didn ’ t even smell like an attempt to get something done , ” Murray said .
“ The feeling that you want to accomplish something , that you want to get something done ... is a very different feeling than we saw with policing reform .
”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — For a moment, Congress had a chance to act on policing reform, mobilized by a national trauma and overwhelming public support. Now those efforts have stalled and seem unlikely to be revived in an election year.
It’s latest example of the ways hyper-partisanship and deepening polarization on Capitol Hill have hamstrung Congress’ ability to meet the moment and keep up with public opinion. As a result, police reform seems likely to join gun control and immigration as issues where Americans overwhelmingly support changes to laws that elected representatives are unable or unwilling to pass.
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“In this moment, as it was with gun violence and immigration reform, we don’t know where the president really is,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who weeks ago was expressing skepticism that this time would be any different from prior failures. “If this were the first time we were in this situation, I’d be more hopeful,” he said then.
The bipartisan outcry over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans appeared to be a chance for Congress to reshape its reputation. Polls showed nearly all Americans in a favor of some measure of change to the criminal justice system, and both chambers moved quickly to draft legislation.
There were common elements in the House Democratic proposal and the Senate Republican bill, including a national database of use-of-force incidents by law enforcement and restrictions on police chokeholds. But efforts to bridge the divides that did exist in the bills quickly got bogged down in a debate over process, stirred an outcry among liberal activists and exposed again how little trust there is between the top Senate leaders Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
McConnell said Democrats refused to take him at his word that he was willing to negotiate over the final bill; Schumer and other Democrats said there was little in McConnell’s tenure as majority leader that suggests that’s true.
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The swift rise and fall of prospects for police reform also underscored one of the harsh realities of modern American politics. Lawmakers are often driven more by the views of their parties’ hardliners than overall public opinion.
“The incentive structure is misaligned for compromise. That’s the reality of it. Members are more likely to be rewarded electorally for representing their base primary voters than for reaching out to voters in the middle,” said Michael Steel, who was a top aide to former House Speaker John Boehner. “The giants of yesteryear are remembered as such because voters rewarded them for successfully legislating. And that just seems to be less and less the case.”
Public support for some measure of police reform following the death of Floyd, who died when a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes, is overwhelming. A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows 29% of Americans say the criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul, 40% say it needs major changes and 25% say it needs minor changes.
There are other high-profile examples where public support has been unable to overcome hyper-partisanship in Congress — most notably on gun control. An AP-NORC survey from March 2019 found 83% of Americans in favor of a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers. Trump has also supported the idea.
But gun control legislation has gone nowhere in Washington, not even after the horrific shooting deaths of 20 first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. The obstinacy on gun control has largely been among Republicans, though a handful of Democratic senators joined them in blocking legislation after the Newtown shooting.
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The parties have also failed to make progress in overhauling the nation’s fractured immigration laws, despite broad public support. The most overwhelmingly popular immigration measure — granting legal protections to young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children — has gotten caught in the fray, with GOP leaders unwilling to pass it on its own so it can be used as leverage in broader talks.
The congressional gridlock has only been exacerbated by Trump’s reputation on Capitol Hill as an unreliable negotiating partner on major issues. On police reform, he spoke generally about supporting legislation but exerted little political capital when the process hit a roadblock.
“To do really hard things you always need a president leaning in and engaged,” said Brendan Buck, a top aide to former Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., during Trump’s first two years in office. “And on the really hard things he has not shown a willingness to get engaged.”
The police reform debate also suffered from the realities of the political calendar. With the Congressional Black Caucus, progressive activists and the civil rights community all calling the Republican bill too weak to be salvaged, some Democrats saw little incentive to give ground now when they might be able to get more if their party has sweeping successes in the November elections, now just over four months away.
“Why cut a bad deal now when you could potentially be in the driver’s seat to write a real bill that effects real change in just a few months?” said Matt House, a former Schumer leadership aide.
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Some veteran lawmakers in both parties have found ways to navigate the fierce partisanship on Capitol Hill and make progress on major issues. Health and Labor Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and top panel Democrat Patty Murray of Washington have shepherded both a major education policy rewrite and legislation to combat opioids through a McConnell-led Senate. They did so by building sweeping consensus among lawmakers in both parties before committee or floor action.
Murray said in an interview that there was little attempt to do that kind of behind-the-scenes work on policing reform.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--The Coronavirus Feels Hopeless. Here's A Reason For Hope.

During that same period , median Black household income has declined by roughly 5 % and median Black household wealth has plunged by one-third .
In the last five years , life expectancy for white men has dropped precipitously from suicide and substance abuse , so much so that it has pulled down nationwide figures for the first time since World War I .
And in New York City , the richest city in the history of the world , roughly a quarter of a million Asian Americans live in poverty , the highest rate among any racial demographic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ onset of the coronavirus pandemic and its resulting economic crash .
The trends are almost certainly more depressing today .
Our government fails different citizens in different ways , but it consistently neglects almost everyone who lives outside the wealthiest 1 % .
And for most of this period , the people of the United States accepted these crimes ― no other word can do justice to such conditions ― as a basic fact of life .
There have been protest movements from Occupy Wall Street to the Poor People ’ s Campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Standing Rock to Ferguson to Baltimore .
But most of these uprisings remained local affairs that did not shift the national mood .
That is no longer the case .
One hundred days into the coronavirus pandemic and a month after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin , people are still in the streets in seemingly every American city on every night of the week .
The country is changing before our eyes .
Polling on police brutality has shifted profoundly .
Americans overwhelmingly support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe that police treat Black citizens very differently than white citizens ― a dramatic shift from only a few years ago .
Even a plurality of Republicans believe that Floyd ’ s death represents a broader problem in policing .
It ’ s not just policing .
Less than a third of Americans now say they are satisfied with the distribution of wealth in the country .
Americans overwhelmingly want the government to alleviate economic inequality now , not at some far-off future time .
For people under age 44 , support is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be permeating electoral politics .
The 2020 Democratic Party presidential race was a dispiriting affair .
At one point in the fall , when Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( D-Mass . )
commanded a lead in the polls , voters suddenly turned on her over her support for Medicare for All .
This was not because they opposed Medicare for All .
Polling has consistently shown that the party faithful prefer that policy to all other health care reform options .
Democrats balked at Warren because they feared a candidate who offered a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not win an American election .
Fear dominated the entire primary process , culminating in a crushing victory for Joe Biden ― a candidate whose own supporters , in poll after poll , say they are generally not very excited about backing .
Only 26 % of all voters in a recent New York Times poll said they view Biden “ very favorably ” ― a figure lower than even President Donald Trump ’ s pathetic 27 % .
Turnout in the primaries was decidedly muted , an ominous sign for any political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protests that have swept the country in the last month have invigorated the Democratic electorate into action .
They are demanding change in the streets and at the ballot box .
The results of Tuesday ’ s Democratic primaries are a cause for celebration .
In the still undecided race for the nomination in New York ’ s 16th Congressional District , young progressive Jamaal Bowman is trouncing Rep. Eliot Engel ( D-N.Y. ) amid record turnout , despite unified support for Engel from the entire House Democratic leadership team , Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and even Hillary Clinton .
The party establishment was not afraid of losing Engel ’ s seat to a Republican .
The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and will all but certainly go to Bowman in November .
They were instead afraid of change .
But the Democratic rank-and-file , at long last , is not .
In Kentucky , Medicare for All supporter Charles Booker appears to have defeated former fighter pilot Amy McGrath , who raised over $ 40 million to challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a primary challenger who actually believes in something .
Booker raised less than $ 800,000 for the race , but bonded with voters by marching alongside them in the Louisville protests .

Over the past two decades, the wealth the United States creates each year has increased more than 67%.
During that same period, median Black household income has declined by roughly 5% and median Black household wealth has plunged by one-third. In the last five years, life expectancy for white men has dropped precipitously from suicide and substance abuse, so much so that it has pulled down nationwide figures for the first time since World War I. And in New York City, the richest city in the history of the world, roughly a quarter of a million Asian Americans live in poverty, the highest rate among any racial demographic.
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All of that was happening before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and its resulting economic crash. The trends are almost certainly more depressing today. Our government fails different citizens in different ways, but it consistently neglects almost everyone who lives outside the wealthiest 1%.
And for most of this period, the people of the United States accepted these crimes ― no other word can do justice to such conditions ― as a basic fact of life. There have been protest movements from Occupy Wall Street to the Poor People’s Campaign of the Rev. William Barber to Standing Rock to Ferguson to Baltimore. But most of these uprisings remained local affairs that did not shift the national mood.
That is no longer the case. One hundred days into the coronavirus pandemic and a month after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, people are still in the streets in seemingly every American city on every night of the week. The country is changing before our eyes.
Polling on police brutality has shifted profoundly. Americans overwhelmingly support the protests, and also now overwhelmingly believe that police treat Black citizens very differently than white citizens ― a dramatic shift from only a few years ago. Even a plurality of Republicans believe that Floyd’s death represents a broader problem in policing.
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It’s not just policing. Less than a third of Americans now say they are satisfied with the distribution of wealth in the country. Americans overwhelmingly want the government to alleviate economic inequality now, not at some far-off future time. For people under age 44, support is over 80%.
This energy appears to be permeating electoral politics. The 2020 Democratic Party presidential race was a dispiriting affair. At one point in the fall, when Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) commanded a lead in the polls, voters suddenly turned on her over her support for Medicare for All. This was not because they opposed Medicare for All. Polling has consistently shown that the party faithful prefer that policy to all other health care reform options. Democrats balked at Warren because they feared a candidate who offered a policy platform that Democrats actually like could not win an American election.
Fear dominated the entire primary process, culminating in a crushing victory for Joe Biden ― a candidate whose own supporters, in poll after poll, say they are generally not very excited about backing. Only 26% of all voters in a recent New York Times poll said they view Biden “very favorably” ― a figure lower than even President Donald Trump’s pathetic 27%. Turnout in the primaries was decidedly muted, an ominous sign for any political party trying to galvanize support.
The primary exposed a Democratic electorate whose faith in the future was broken ― frightened, defensive and drained of self-confidence. That is not a sustainable outlook for a political party ostensibly devoted to progress and social justice.
But the protests that have swept the country in the last month have invigorated the Democratic electorate into action. They are demanding change in the streets and at the ballot box. The results of Tuesday’s Democratic primaries are a cause for celebration. In the still undecided race for the nomination in New York’s 16th Congressional District, young progressive Jamaal Bowman is trouncing Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) amid record turnout, despite unified support for Engel from the entire House Democratic leadership team, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and even Hillary Clinton.
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The party establishment was not afraid of losing Engel’s seat to a Republican. The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and will all but certainly go to Bowman in November. They were instead afraid of change. But the Democratic rank-and-file, at long last, is not.
In Kentucky, Medicare for All supporter Charles Booker appears to have defeated former fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who raised over $40 million to challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the fall, only to go down herself to a primary challenger who actually believes in something. Booker raised less than $800,000 for the race, but bonded with voters by marching alongside them in the Louisville protests.
With votes still being tallied, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) leads her progressive challenger Surej Patel by only a few hundred votes, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a longtime target of Wall Street Democrats, has crushed her millionaire challenger, former CNBC personality Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, by a margin of nearly 3-to-1.
We have been living through dark days for American democracy. But for the first time in years, Democratic voters are demanding a better world. They just might get it.
Zach Carter is the author of “The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes,” available now from Random House.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--Joe Biden’s Campaign Staff Is One-Third People Of Color

JIM WATSON via Getty Images Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about reopening the country in Yeadon , Pennsylvania , on June 17 .
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ’ s campaign released staff diversity numbers on Saturday after months of delay , revealing that the campaign ’ s staff is mostly women and that more than one-third are people of color and prompting the Trump campaign to release its own numbers .
Biden ’ s full-time staff includes 35 % people of color , and his senior staff is 36 % people of color .
Moreover , 53 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as are 58 % of senior staffers .
Five percent of staffers declined to specify their race .
The numbers did not include a breakdown of LGBTQ staff members , and the campaign did not detail how many staffers of color are Black , Latino , Asian American or Native American .
The Trump campaign said its senior staff was 52 % women , and the full-time staff was 56 % women .
It also said a quarter of their senior staffers were people of color , but said the percentage of full-time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ not available.
” Trump is regularly criticized for racist campaign tactics and messaging , most recently pointedly defending statues of Confederate leaders as part of “ our heritage ” and calling the coronavirus pandemic the “ kung flu.
” Biden boasted in December of having the “ most diverse staff of anybody running ” in the Democratic primary but declined to release data to that effect .
At the time , the campaigns of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and then-Mayor Pete Buttigieg all said their campaigns were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of color .
The Biden campaign defined senior staffers as including “ department heads , senior advisors , deputy campaign managers and senior consultants who spend the majority of their time on the campaign , and others.
” “ We are still continuing the hiring process and expect to continue to add key leaders across the campaign , ” the campaign said .
The Biden campaign came under increasing pressure to release the data in recent days , following a BuzzFeed story highlighting their failure to do so .
During a town hall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American Vote on Saturday , Biden promised PBS NewsHour Host Amna Nawaz that his campaign would release the data .
“ The fact of the matter is we have a very diverse staff , and we have a diverse staff that goes across the board , ” Biden said during the town hall .
While Biden ’ s victory in the primary was in large part thanks to Black voters ’ overwhelming support of him , and while he holds a substantial lead over President Donald Trump with voters of color , some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s top advisers in an election taking place during an era of racial strife and where turning out young people of color could be crucial to a Democratic victory .
Biden has a number of key outside and inside advisers who are people of color , including senior campaign advisers Symone Sanders and Cristobal Alex , and Reps. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina .
But virtually all of Biden ’ s core inner circle , which includes long-time advisers like Mike Donilon , Steve Ricchetti , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Owens , is white .
Corporations and campaigns across the country have faced calls to reveal how diverse their staffs are during the weeks of reckoning with racism that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers .

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign released staff diversity numbers on Saturday after months of delay, revealing that the campaign’s staff is mostly women and that more than one-third are people of color and prompting the Trump campaign to release its own numbers.
Biden’s full-time staff includes 35% people of color, and his senior staff is 36% people of color. Moreover, 53% of the full-time staff are women, as are 58% of senior staffers. Five percent of staffers declined to specify their race.
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The numbers did not include a breakdown of LGBTQ staff members, and the campaign did not detail how many staffers of color are Black, Latino, Asian American or Native American.
The Trump campaign said its senior staff was 52% women, and the full-time staff was 56% women. It also said a quarter of their senior staffers were people of color, but said the percentage of full-time staffers who were people of color was “not available.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about reopening the country in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, on June 17. JIM WATSON via Getty Images
Trump is regularly criticized for racist campaign tactics and messaging, most recently pointedly defending statues of Confederate leaders as part of “our heritage” and calling the coronavirus pandemic the “kung flu.”
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Biden boasted in December of having the “most diverse staff of anybody running” in the Democratic primary but declined to release data to that effect. At the time, the campaigns of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and then-Mayor Pete Buttigieg all said their campaigns were made up of about 40% people of color.
The Biden campaign defined senior staffers as including “department heads, senior advisors, deputy campaign managers and senior consultants who spend the majority of their time on the campaign, and others.”
“We are still continuing the hiring process and expect to continue to add key leaders across the campaign,” the campaign said.
The Biden campaign came under increasing pressure to release the data in recent days, following a BuzzFeed story highlighting their failure to do so. During a town hall with the group Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote on Saturday, Biden promised PBS NewsHour Host Amna Nawaz that his campaign would release the data.
“The fact of the matter is we have a very diverse staff, and we have a diverse staff that goes across the board,” Biden said during the town hall.
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While Biden’s victory in the primary was in large part thanks to Black voters’ overwhelming support of him, and while he holds a substantial lead over President Donald Trump with voters of color, some Democrats have worried about the diversity of Biden’s top advisers in an election taking place during an era of racial strife and where turning out young people of color could be crucial to a Democratic victory.
Biden has a number of key outside and inside advisers who are people of color, including senior campaign advisers Symone Sanders and Cristobal Alex, and Reps. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. But virtually all of Biden’s core inner circle, which includes long-time advisers like Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, and Biden’s sister Valerie Biden Owens, is white.
Corporations and campaigns across the country have faced calls to reveal how diverse their staffs are during the weeks of reckoning with racism that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-06-27--The ‘Katrina To COVID Class’: How The Coronavirus Era Affects New Orleans Students More Acutely

This story about the ‘Katrina to COVID Class’ was produced as part of the series Critical Condition: The Students the Pandemic Hit Hardest, reported by HuffPost and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.
Satoriya Lambert was still a toddler when Hurricane Katrina struck her hometown. After the levees burst open, her family carried Satoriya to a waiting car on higher ground and they fled the flooded city.
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Satoriya is now 18. Last month, because of coronavirus restrictions, she was allowed to bring exactly three family members to her 15-minute, individualized graduation ceremony from Walter L. Cohen College Prep.
All across the nation, students with senior years truncated by the pandemic are feeling a sense of loss as they try to understand what exactly it means to be part of the Class of 2020. But in New Orleans, some have dubbed this year’s graduates the “Katrina to COVID Class,” because their academic careers are book-ended by Hurricane Katrina and the pandemic.
These students trace their earliest memories to 2005. Satoriya, who had just turned 3, remembers looking out the car window to see downed trees and “so much water everywhere.”
The family house that Satoriya lives in now had water to the ceiling. Memories of the disaster are particularly vivid in graduates, like Satoriya, from the city’s Black households, whose homes were far more likely to be in the low-lying, heavily flooded areas of New Orleans due to historic patterns of discrimination and segregation.
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Jarrin Rainey, 20, a 2020 graduate of Frederick A. Douglass High School, remembers his uncles pushing the family to safety in a boat. All he could see for miles was “dirty, nasty water” and ruined, flooded houses, he said.
Mental-health experts say that because of Katrina, those in the Class of 2020 in New Orleans are likely to be more affected by coronavirus upheaval. “We know this is true, though they’re not going to be able to make that connection — ‘Oh, I’m feeling this way about COVID because, you know, early in my life these other things happened,’” said Denese Shervington, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Tulane University School of Medicine who focuses on community wellness as CEO of the Institute for Women and Ethnic Studies, the nonprofit she founded 27 years ago.
In interviews for this story, some of this year’s graduates described feeling a constant sense of internal struggle. This, too, could be a legacy of Katrina, which affected the way their young brains formed and how their bodies react to stress, Shervington said. “They are going to have memories in their bodies reacting to things they felt or heard or maybe observed, if their parents were in a state of despair.”
Class of 2020 graduate Trevianne Turner, 18, feels a certain tug inside when she looks at the Katrina blight left near her school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School in the city’s Lower 9th Ward. “Sometimes I walk or ride by rundown houses or empty lots filled with weeds and I think, ‘There’s a history back there. What would it have been like without Katrina?’”
That question is personal. Beyond the storm’s visible scars on New Orleans, Trevianne associates it with a series of losses that took a more invisible, internal toll on her life. “My Katrina is different,” she said.
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Trevianne Turner evacuated with her family just as Hurricane Katrina began to push storm-surge water into St. Bernard Parish. Though she was only 3, she remembers her grandfather arriving while it was still dark and hurrying the children into his pickup truck. They drove west to Houston, ahead of waters that flooded 100 percent of the parish. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
Just hours before Hurricane Katrina began to push storm-surge water into the area, Trevianne Turner’s grandfather, Harry Turner, saw satellite images of the monstrous hurricane spinning over the Gulf of Mexico and decided to take his grandchildren out of harm’s way.
Trevianne and her four older siblings had planned to wait out the 2005 storm in their parents’ home in St. Bernard Parish, just past the southeast edge of New Orleans. Though she was only 3 years old, she remembers her grandfather arriving when it was still dark and hurrying the children into his pickup truck. They drove west to Houston.
Eighty percent of New Orleans flooded; all of St. Bernard Parish flooded. Nearly everyone that the Turner family knew was displaced to other cities.
Because of this widespread displacement, few members of the city’s Class of 2020 started kindergarten in New Orleans itself. Many Katrina-evacuee families stayed on the move for several years, seeking better work and housing. High numbers of evacuee children fell behind in school and suffered unaddressed mental-health concerns, according to a study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
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That instability has likely had lasting consequences. “As much as it’s important for children to attach to a loving family, it’s also really important for them to attach to a loving school as early as possible,” said Shervington. “Because when kids feel safe and connected in school, that becomes a secondary line of defense for them if things should happen at home.”
Trevianne and her family returned to St. Bernard Parish in 2007 to live in a FEMA trailer park. Though she loved school — “It’s always been a major part of who I am,” she said — she didn’t stay in one place for long. When she was attending first grade at Willie Smith Elementary in Violet, her mom died. She was at another school by second grade, at a third school by third grade.
Then, in eighth grade, her grandpa died in his home in St. Bernard.
Broken-hearted, she moved in with her dad in New Orleans and filled out OneApp, the city’s universal application for its public high schools. Her heart fell when she saw her OneApp placement: King High School in the Lower 9th Ward.
Balloons hang on a sign outside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School in New Orleans on graduation day in late May. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
She didn’t have a problem with the location; her family had roots in the Lower 9th Ward. But she knew nothing about King, so it had been her last-choice school: No. 8 on her list.
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In the fall of 2016, she started classes in King’s brand-new building, set amid blocks of thick, tall weeds, signs of the neighborhood’s badly stalled recovery from Katrina. She found that most other freshmen had gone through King’s nearby K-8 school. She worried that, socially, she would be an outsider.
But King’s “family dynamic” embraced her in a way she’d never felt before. “By the second week, I felt at home.”
For the first time in her life, she had Black teachers. Though she had excelled under white teachers in predominantly white St. Bernard, she felt that King’s faculty had a better understanding of her struggles. “I found the school more nurturing,” she said. “And it didn’t stop with the teachers. It was the faculty, the staff, everybody.”
She entered her senior year with grades so strong that she hoped to be the top scholar in her entire class. She landed a scholarship to Louisiana State University, where she’ll study pediatric nursing. During Carnival, in February, she paraded happily through the streets in her red-and-white cheerleading uniform.
But a few weeks later, the coronavirus hit the city with a vengeance and the governor closed schools. Friends’ parents got sick; one died. Her family circled around their grandmother, running her errands and isolating themselves from the rest of the world to keep her safe.
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Troynique Turner, left, and Troy Green Jr. try to console their sister, Trevianne, who had just found out over a Zoom call that she was salutatorian — not valedictorian — of her graduating class. Her grades were so strong as she entered her senior year that she had hoped to be the top scholar in her class. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
In mid-May, school officials hosted a Zoom version of a King tradition — the class roll call. Trevianne participated from her cell phone while standing in her sister’s front yard, with a few of her siblings.
Lindsey Moore, the school principal, broadcasting from the school office, read each name from the school’s official 2020 graduation list, then rolled right into the class’ Top 10 students, starting with 10 and counting down. When he got to two, he paused. Then, in a big, grand voice, he said: “Graduating second in the Class of 2020, Salutatorian Trevianne T. Turner!”
Standing in her sister’s yard, Trevianne looked shocked, then cried. At the very least, she thought she’d be co-valedictorian, she said, as her siblings comforted her. From the phone in her hand, a voice told the class about the upcoming car parade. “I’m not going,” Trevianne said, sniffling a little.
She was still feeling wounded the next morning, as she stood by her sister Taravia’s black Honda Civic. Her siblings were determined that Trevianne participate in King’s Class of 2020 car parade. Balloons waved out of the windows; Taravia used a chalk marker to write slogans on the glass. “Congrats,” she wrote on a side window before reaching across the car’s rear window and scrawling: “We want all da smoke! Salutatorian!”
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Trevianne Turner rides on top of her sister's car during a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School graduation parade through the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans on May 20. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
Along the parade route, crowds were ready. Lower 9th Ward neighbors stood at the curb, waving and cheering. All the way down the street, King teachers, from pre-K to 12th grade, were spaced 6 feet apart, banging on noisemakers.
Taravia cranked the volume on her car radio. Trevianne felt a rush of triumph.
“I’m number two,” she yelled at the top of her lungs, raising her fist into the air. From the sidewalk, the crowd cheered. “I’m number two,” she yelled again. “Number two in the whole class!”
Satoriya Lambert stands in front of her home where she lives with her grandmother, Ether Bullock, 70, a retired teacher, who sits on the stairs. The house flooded up to the ceiling in 2005. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
Like Trevianne Turner, Satoriya Lambert got her last choice on OneApp: Walter L. Cohen College Prep. She debated trying to transfer mid-year, but she was hungry for stability after attending three different schools in four years.
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For four years, she had blended in. No more. “I left behind the ‘trying-to-fit-in’ in middle school,” she said. “I became my authentic self.”
Along with her determination to re-invent herself, she set lofty academic goals: She wanted to become president of Cohen’s student government and be named class valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA.
She forged strong relationships with her teachers and staff. But Satoriya never felt she got what she needed at the school. The work at Cohen wasn’t challenging enough; she had to settle for xeroxed work packets instead of textbooks. So she worked out the frustrations of the day on the school’s Green Hornets dance team, where she rose to captain.
She became known throughout Cohen as a popular but soft-spoken young woman, a self-identified bookworm. Even before the coronavirus brought stay-at-home orders, she usually could be found inside her grandparents’ house in the 6th Ward, where she’s lived since she was 11.
At the start of her junior year, the stability she’d built began to evaporate. Cohen lagged on state performance ratings and attracted about 40 fewer students than it had expected. To balance its budget, the board opted to make emergency staff layoffs, which prompted more staff to leave. Satoriya started her senior year without most of the people she trusted. Darren Lewis, the principal who was hired in 2018 to turn around the failing school, saw how the high turnover affected students like Satoriya. “The people she grew to love chose to leave,” he said.
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Satoriya tried to do her part. She had a 4.0 GPA and was ranked first in her class at the end of her junior year. She was elected president of the student council, was voted Miss Senior and became captain of the dance team. She was accepted to Southeastern Louisiana University, where she plans to study business administration.
Satoriya Lambert does homework in her room after the coronavirus shuttered schools for the rest of the year in New Orleans. Satoriya was 3 when she and her family fled after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
But she “felt unappreciated,” she said. She wanted more from Cohen than Cohen wanted for her.
During the coronavirus stay-at-home order, Satoriya’s household stayed well. Even their routines changed very little. Her grandma, Ether Bullock, 70, a retired teacher, donned gloves to hand over the trademark fruit-cocktail huckabucks — frozen cups — that she sells to neighbor kids. Satoriya and her grandpa were in charge of the household’s grocery shopping, outfitted in masks and gloves.
As initial fear of the virus receded, she started working at a fast-food restaurant, to make money for college. She also used the quiet time to grow closer to her dad, who was sent to prison on a drug charge a few years ago. They began speaking by phone at least every other day. “I want you to go to school and do better than I’ve done,” he told her. In turn, she told her dad about her frustrations with her school.
Satoriya Lambert takes a selfie before heading to her high school graduation ceremony on May 27. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
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A few weeks before graduation, Lewis and an assistant principal made a surprise stop at Satoriya’s job to ceremonially hand her a gold-satin salutatorian sash. Behind them, a car full of customers waiting for chicken honked and yelled, “Congratulations.”
Another student had been named valedictorian, having squeaked past Satoriya with a margin of a few hundredths of a point, said Lewis. But she could still deliver a speech during the school’s rolling graduations, where a single student graduated, followed by another, in filmed, socially distanced ceremonies that will be edited together to create a comprehensive graduation video.
On the last Wednesday in May, Satoriya walked across the stage in front of the three-person audience she was allowed: her grandma, mom, and sister. Then she took the microphone. “Being as I am your student-council president, as a leader, I believe you should always go above and beyond what’s expected of you,” she said. “With that being said, my fellow classmates and I haven’t received a lot of support, but have gotten a lot of hostility, backlash and unprofessionalism from the majority of Cohen’s staff.”
Jade Brown, left and Satoriya Lambert break down in tears as they sing their school song at Walter L. Cohen College Prep. Because of pandemic restrictions, she was allowed to bring only three family members for her 15-minute graduation ceremony. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
Though staff was present, scattered around the room, and heard her controversial speech, no one said anything to her, Satoriya said. “Nobody even acknowledged it,” she said.
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“It was disheartening,” Lewis said later, wondering if Satoriya would have felt the same way if her senior year hadn’t been cut short by the coronavirus. “I’m hoping we will get a chance to discuss it at some point,” he said.
After their separate mini-ceremonies, Satoriya and her friend Jade posed for photos in front of a Cohen Green Hornet photo backdrop. They started to sing, then broke down sobbing.
“I felt her emotion, mine bounced off of hers; hers bounced off of mine,” said Satoriya. “Everything had piled up. We had ruckus and chaos at school, America had COVID and police brutality. We’ve dealt with so much. We needed that moment to release everything that’s going on.”
Jarrin Rainey gets help with his gown from school staffer Danneka Mitchell just before his graduation ceremony at Frederick A. Douglass High School in late May. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
The front room of Sheila Rainey’s house in the Lower 9th Ward is bathed with a golden glint, from sunlight bouncing off the baseball trophies that crowd the front windowsill, all engraved with the name of her tall, soft-spoken grandson, Jarrin Rainey. He’s a star player at Frederick A. Douglass High School who hopes to keep playing ball next year while taking up welding at a local community college.
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Jarrin started school in 2005 as a Katrina evacuee at Bush Elementary in southwest Houston. He recalls missing a lot of school, acting up in class, and running from the school nurse when she tried to give him his prescribed medicine for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Rainey, his maternal grandma, returned to New Orleans before her family, in late 2006, replacing her destroyed family home with a modular structure set on cinderblock pilings. “It’s a trailer, but it’s home,” she said. The rest of the family returned in 2007, a time when the school system was in tumult. Jarrin and his little sister Jamia changed schools so often over the next few years that keeping up with classwork was difficult. Some days, Jarrin, who earned extra money tap-dancing in the French Quarter, arrived at his middle school dead tired. He mostly danced on the weekends, unless supplies in his grandma’s refrigerator got too low. “If it was one of those hungry days, I’d go down there on Monday or Tuesday, just to help us live,” he said.
Jarrin Rainey gets help with his tie from mentor and coach Jonny Bartlett, a middle school principal and the varsity baseball coach at Frederick A. Douglass High School. Jarrin began playing on the Douglass baseball team in eighth grade and was immediately one of the team’s best players Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
Then Jarrin met a mentor, Jonny Bartlett, the principal of KIPP Leadership Academy middle school and the varsity baseball coach at the nearby KIPP high school, now Frederick Douglass. Baseball talent had run in the Rainey family for four generations, starting in the 1940s. His grandmother takes pride in Jarrin being a fourth-generation baseball player, part of a family tradition that began with her father and continued with her brothers, her sons, and Jarrin’s dad. Jarrin played tee ball almost as soon as he could walk; he practiced batting by swinging at soda-bottle tops with a broomstick. When he began playing high school baseball for Douglass in eighth grade, he was immediately one of the best players on the team.
But school didn’t capture his enthusiasm. When Jarrin started missing too many schooldays, Bartlett began going to his house every morning, to wake him up and bring him to school. Still, he was held back twice, in fifth grade and again in junior high. “It just made me want to drop out, I ain’t lying,” he said.
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He was already 19 when he began his senior year — one of the city’s many “overage” students. A 2018 analysis found that roughly half of New Orleans public-school students were retained at least one year. For Jarrin, turning 19 made him ineligible to play his senior season in baseball. Although the season was scuttled after four games because of coronavirus, Jarrin felt a little lost without baseball to anchor his schooldays.
But his mom and grandma — and Bartlett — urged him to stick it out, and he did.
Before graduation, Bartlett pulled up to Sheila Rainey’s house with clothes for Jarrin to wear: a necktie and the pair of leather shoes that Bartlett had worn at his own wedding. As Bartlett knotted the tie around Jarrin’s neck in the family’s driveway, he got sentimental: “I’m so proud of you, man,” he said. “I love you to death, like a son.”
Typical, Jarrin said. “That’s something he been doing always, for the whole 10 years I’ve known him, making sure I’m straight.”
Jarrin Rainey celebrates with his proud family, including grandmother Sheila Rainey, left, after his graduation ceremony at Frederick A. Douglass High School in late May. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
Bartlett recalled that seven years ago his star player was known for sliding down school bannisters and acting out. Looking back, Jarrin believes he was acting that way because of lagging academics. “I felt like I wasn’t sharp enough in the classroom,” he said.
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Because a separate ceremony was held for each student, Frederick Douglass Principal Towana Pierre-Floyd wrote 120 graduation speeches, one for each of graduate. For Jarrin’s, she recalled his freshman year, when he was paired with reading interventionist Ellie Kramer. “You came in like a quiet storm,” she said from the podium, as his grandma, mom, sister, and cousin cheered loudly, along with the teachers and coaches positioned at socially distanced intervals across the school’s auditorium.
“Anything Ms. Kramer put in front of him, he would get it done without fail, without argument — just cleanly, crisply, always got it done,” Pierre-Floyd said. “And when we looked back in May, Jarrin had jumped 300 Lexile points in one year.” She said that was about four times the typical annual growth in reading for his age group.
Jarrin Rainey holds his diploma and senior picture plaque after his graduation ceremony at Frederick Douglass High School in New Orleans. Kathleen Flynn for The Hechinger Report
No one before or since has topped his freshman-year growth, said Pierre-Floyd, as she turned to speak directly to the 6-foot-3 student who’d first shook her hand as a polite eighth grader playing on her high school team. “The thing that’s even cooler is that Jarrin has continued to outpace himself,” Pierre-Floyd said. “Year after year, he’s at these crazy numbers of growth. And he doesn’t show off his skill, doesn’t show off the fact that he’s the greatest grower of all time in the history of Douglass. Instead, he just operates with quiet leadership.”