theguardian--2020-06-11--Arizona sees alarming surge of more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases daily

Arizona is seeing an alarming surge in coronavirus cases , with more than 1,000 new infections per day , prompting one lawmaker to criticise the state ’ s governor for failing to highlight the “ seriousness ” of the situation .
In a letter sent to the Republican governor , Doug Ducey , on Wednesday , the Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego asked what the governor plans to do to address the recent surge that has made Arizona a hotspot and pushed some hospitals to near capacity in their intensive care units .
Gallego chastised the governor for failing to highlight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health emergency our state is facing ” .
But Ducey dismissed mounting concerns Thursday , and focused on hospitals ’ capacity to care for patients rather than slowing the spread of the virus .
“ That ’ s what ’ s most important when there is a rise in cases , ” Ducey told reporters at a news conference .
“ Because a rise in cases could result in a rise of severe illness that requires hospitalization .
I want every Arizonan to be able to have the medical care and comfort and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to provide that.
” Arizona is one of several states that has seen a surge in new Covid-19 cases after stay-at-home orders were lifted last month .
Ducey said the increase was not unexpected partly because of a wider availability of testing .
But some experts disagree , citing a lack of a face mask requirement or contact tracing in the state .
Some are calling for tighter restrictions .
The state will be making more of an effort on public health education , Ducey said .
But that would not require @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself has been criticized for not wearing a mask in public and in meetings .
“ Wearing a mask when you can ’ t social distance is good .
I ’ m going to wear a mask when I ’ m in those situations , ” said Ducey , who had a mask in his pocket but didn ’ t wear it .
Arizona is seeing more than 1,000 new cases per day , up from fewer than 400 a day when Ducey ended his business closure and stay-at-home orders in mid-May .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of positive tests has nearly doubled in the past few weeks .
On Thursday , the state reported 1,412 new cases and 32 new deaths .
As of Thursday , Arizona has had 31,267 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and seen 1,135 people die from the virus since March .
Meanwhile , hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst .
The state ’ s largest hospital system , Banner Health , has said its intensive care units are nearly full and will soon exceed capacity .
Dr Marjorie Bessel , the chief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urging the public to boost their efforts to avoid contracting or passing on the virus by wearing masks in public , using social distancing and being diligent with hygiene practices .
Maricopa county health officials made similar pronouncements at a news briefing Wednesday , and said all employees are now required to use masks when they are within 6ft ( 2m ) of co-workers .
Ducey ended Arizona ’ s stay-at-home order on 15 May and eased restrictions on businesses .
Arizona residents who were cooped up for six weeks flooded Phoenix-area bar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The state began seeing a surge of new cases and hospitalizations about 10 days later .
“ It seems pretty clear to me that what we ’ re seeing is directly related to the end of the stay-at-home order , ” said Will Humble , the executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association .
It wasn ’ t just that the order ended : there were no requirements to wear face masks , no major increases in contact tracing to spot and stop evolving outbreaks , and no scale-up of infection control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Those are missed opportunities that , if implemented today , could still make a big difference , ” said Humble , a former director of the state department of health services .
Ducey has praised the large majority of the state ’ s residents who have followed social distancing guidelines but has declined to criticise large gatherings at nightclubs .
His executive orders block cities from taking actions to stop activities that may spread the virus , and he is not requiring the public to take steps such as wearing masks .

Arizona is seeing an alarming surge in coronavirus cases, with more than 1,000 new infections per day, prompting one lawmaker to criticise the state’s governor for failing to highlight the “seriousness” of the situation.
In a letter sent to the Republican governor, Doug Ducey, on Wednesday, the Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego asked what the governor plans to do to address the recent surge that has made Arizona a hotspot and pushed some hospitals to near capacity in their intensive care units.
Gallego chastised the governor for failing to highlight the “seriousness of the growing public health emergency our state is facing”.
But Ducey dismissed mounting concerns on Thursday, and focused on hospitals’ capacity to care for patients rather than slowing the spread of the virus.
“That’s what’s most important when there is a rise in cases,” Ducey told reporters at a news conference. “Because a rise in cases could result in a rise of severe illness that requires hospitalization. I want every Arizonan to be able to have the medical care and comfort and resources necessary, and today we are able to provide that.”
Arizona is one of several states that has seen a surge in new Covid-19 cases after stay-at-home orders were lifted last month. Ducey said the increase was not unexpected partly because of a wider availability of testing. But some experts disagree, citing a lack of a face mask requirement or contact tracing in the state. Some are calling for tighter restrictions.
The state will be making more of an effort on public health education, Ducey said. But that would not require enforcing face masks. The Republican governor himself has been criticized for not wearing a mask in public and in meetings.
“Wearing a mask when you can’t social distance is good. I’m going to wear a mask when I’m in those situations,” said Ducey, who had a mask in his pocket but didn’t wear it.
Arizona is seeing more than 1,000 new cases per day, up from fewer than 400 a day when Ducey ended his business closure and stay-at-home orders in mid-May. Public health experts note that the percentage of positive tests has nearly doubled in the past few weeks.
On Thursday, the state reported 1,412 new cases and 32 new deaths.
As of Thursday, Arizona has had 31,267 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and seen 1,135 people die from the virus since March.
A cafe in Wickenburg, Arizona. The governor ended stay-at-home orders on 15 May. Photograph: Matt York/AP
Meanwhile, hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst.
The state’s largest hospital system, Banner Health, has said its intensive care units are nearly full and will soon exceed capacity. Dr Marjorie Bessel, the chief clinical officer at Banner Health, is urging the public to boost their efforts to avoid contracting or passing on the virus by wearing masks in public, using social distancing and being diligent with hygiene practices.
Maricopa county health officials made similar pronouncements at a news briefing Wednesday, and said all employees are now required to use masks when they are within 6ft (2m) of co-workers.
Ducey ended Arizona’s stay-at-home order on 15 May and eased restrictions on businesses. Arizona residents who were cooped up for six weeks flooded Phoenix-area bar districts, ignoring social distancing guidelines.
The state began seeing a surge of new cases and hospitalizations about 10 days later.
“It seems pretty clear to me that what we’re seeing is directly related to the end of the stay-at-home order,” said Will Humble, the executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association.
It wasn’t just that the order ended: there were no requirements to wear face masks, no major increases in contact tracing to spot and stop evolving outbreaks, and no scale-up of infection control at nursing homes, he said.
“Those are missed opportunities that, if implemented today, could still make a big difference,” said Humble, a former director of the state department of health services.
Ducey has praised the large majority of the state’s residents who have followed social distancing guidelines but has declined to criticize large gatherings at nightclubs. His executive orders block cities from taking actions to stop activities that may spread the virus, and he is not requiring the public to take steps such as wearing masks.


theguardian--2020-06-11--'Just ridiculous': what it’s like to wait five hours in line to vote in the US

Simone Alisa arrived at her polling place in Atlanta ’ s Old Fourth Ward at 9.45am on Tuesday .
Five hours later , she would cast her vote .
Georgia ’ s primary election , which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called a “ complete meltdown ” due to the long lines , faulty voting machines and understaffed polling stations , left much of the state stupefied .
For Alisa , a 66-year-old interior designer , it was a wake-up call .
On Tuesday , as the minutes of waiting turned into hours , the line she waited in took shape .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ burritos and Chick-fil-A sandwiches to visibly grateful and perspiring voters .
Others came prepared , bringing with them umbrellas , lawn chairs and in some cases , laptops on which to work as the line crawled forward .
For her part , Alisa arrived with a camouflage face mask and a handwritten list of candidates she was voting for , among them Fani Willis for county district attorney and the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden .
She expected a 30-minute wait , she said , like all the other times she had voted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Alisa befriended a group of voters behind her , all millennials .
“ These are my people , ” she said with a laugh , adding that they had held her place in line when she left for much-needed breaks .
“ What we had [ yesterday ] was just ridiculous , ” Alisa said in a phone interview on Wednesday .
The bungled election , she said , added to a cocktail of frustrations experienced by voters , due to the coronavirus pandemic and the protests against police brutality and racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the killing of George Floyd .
Born in Ohio to immigrant parents from Panama and Jamaica , Alisa had moved to the southern metropolis 30 years ago .
“ Atlanta was like the ‘ black Mecca ’ , ” she said .
“ I felt there were better opportunities for me.
” Those promises rang true for Alisa .
But others in her city are struggling and a new president alone won ’ t change that .
A lifelong Democrat , Alisa paused when asked about the appeal of Democratic presidential candidate Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who he would pick as a running mate .
She ’ s hoping to see the former Georgia state minority leader Stacey Abrams on the ticket , she said , in large part due to Abrams ’ work around the issue of voter suppression .
“ With what happened yesterday and how we were all standing and waiting , yeah , [ who he chooses ] is going to be critical for him , ” she said .
When she finally made it inside the recreation center that day it was close to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ booths and poll workers .
“ It ’ s going slow , ” she said after casting her vote .
“ Something ’ s wrong with this picture.
” That night , Alisa ’ s polling place would stay open until 9pm to account for the lag .
Other voters would still be in line at midnight .
Voting rights and civil liberty groups said the election was a “ massive failure ” .
“ Countless Georgians were deprived of their sacred right to vote , ” said Andrea Young , executive director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s secretary of state ’ s office , which instituted the new voting machines , and the state legislature ’ s top-ranking Republican announced separate investigations into the primary election .
The inquiries will look into , in particular , what happened in Fulton county , where Alisa voted .
For Alisa , the experience reinforced her belief in voting as a vehicle for change .
She has gone to the same polling station for the last decade , she said .
Never has she experienced anything like yesterday .
“ As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people have gotten away from human decency .
If you have [ that ] , you will do what is right , ” she said .
She now plans to volunteer as a poll worker in November .

Simone Alisa arrived at her polling place in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward at 9.45am on Tuesday. Five hours later, she would cast her vote.
Georgia’s primary election, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called a “complete meltdown” due to the long lines, faulty voting machines and understaffed polling stations, left much of the state stupefied. For Alisa, a 66-year-old interior designer, it was a wake-up call.
On Tuesday, as the minutes of waiting turned into hours, the line she waited in took shape. Volunteers handed out bottles of water, burritos and Chick-fil-A sandwiches to visibly grateful and perspiring voters. Others came prepared, bringing with them umbrellas, lawn chairs and in some cases, laptops on which to work as the line crawled forward.
For her part, Alisa arrived with a camouflage face mask and a handwritten list of candidates she was voting for, among them Fani Willis for county district attorney and the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. She expected a 30-minute wait, she said, like all the other times she had voted there. As the line inched forward, Alisa befriended a group of voters behind her, all millennials. “These are my people,” she said with a laugh, adding that they had held her place in line when she left for much-needed breaks.
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“What we had [yesterday] was just ridiculous,” Alisa said in a phone interview on Wednesday. The bungled election, she said, added to a cocktail of frustrations experienced by voters, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the protests against police brutality and racism that have taken hold across America after the killing of George Floyd.
Born in Ohio to immigrant parents from Panama and Jamaica, Alisa had moved to the southern metropolis 30 years ago. “Atlanta was like the ‘black Mecca’,” she said. “I felt there were better opportunities for me.”
Those promises rang true for Alisa. But others in her city are struggling and a new president alone won’t change that. A lifelong Democrat, Alisa paused when asked about the appeal of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. She was more interested in who he would pick as a running mate. She’s hoping to see the former Georgia state minority leader Stacey Abrams on the ticket, she said, in large part due to Abrams’ work around the issue of voter suppression.
“With what happened yesterday and how we were all standing and waiting, yeah, [who he chooses] is going to be critical for him,” she said.
As far as voting goes, I think people have gotten away from human decency. If you have [that], you will do what is right Simone Alisa
When she finally made it inside the recreation center that day it was close to 3pm. Alisa saw just 10 voter booths and poll workers. “It’s going slow,” she said after casting her vote. “Something’s wrong with this picture.”
That night, Alisa’s polling place would stay open until 9pm to account for the lag. Other voters would still be in line at midnight. Voting rights and civil liberty groups said the election was a “massive failure”. “Countless Georgians were deprived of their sacred right to vote,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia.
Georgia’s secretary of state’s office, which instituted the new voting machines, and the state legislature’s top-ranking Republican announced separate investigations into the primary election. The inquiries will look into, in particular, what happened in Fulton county, where Alisa voted.
For Alisa, the experience reinforced her belief in voting as a vehicle for change. She has gone to the same polling station for the last decade, she said. Never has she experienced anything like yesterday. “As far as voting goes, I think people have gotten away from human decency. If you have [that], you will do what is right,” she said.
She now plans to volunteer as a poll worker in November.


theguardian--2020-06-11--Biden predicts military will intervene if Trump refuses to accept election loss

Joe Biden has predicted the military will escort Donald Trump from the White House should the president lose November ’ s election but refuse to leave office .
Biden , speaking to the Daily Show ’ s Trevor Noah , said that his single greatest concern is that the president will “ try to steal this election ” .
The Democratic presidential nominee cited Trump ’ s baseless linking of mail-in ballots to voter fraud , even though he has used this method of voting himself , and his accusations , without evidence , that Democrats are trying to rig @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump claimed the poll was rigged against him and even after he triumphed over Hillary Clinton he asserted , again with no evidence , that millions of people voted illegally against him .
He estimated this cohort to consist of 3 million votes .
This was the number Clinton beat him by in the popular vote , as opposed to the electoral college system that determines who ascends to the White House .
Biden told Noah that he has thought about a scenario where Trump would refuse to relinquish power after losing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military figures would intervene .
“ I am absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch , ” Biden said .
Trump is trailing Biden in most opinion polls , with the president ’ s election campaign demanding that CNN retract a “ stunt and phony ” poll that found the incumbent is trailing his challenger by 14 points .
CNN has said it stands by its poll .
On Thursday afternoon , Tim Murtaugh , communications director for the Trump campaign , said of Biden ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brainless conspiracy theory from Joe Biden as he continues to try to undermine confidence in our elections.
” He added : “ President Trump has been clear that he will accept the results of the 2020 election .
”

Joe Biden has predicted the military will escort Donald Trump from the White House should the president lose November’s election but refuse to leave office.
Biden, speaking to the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, said that his single greatest concern is that the president will “try to steal this election”.
The Democratic presidential nominee cited Trump’s baseless linking of mail-in ballots to voter fraud, even though he has used this method of voting himself, and his accusations, without evidence, that Democrats are trying to rig the election.
Before the 2016 election Trump claimed the poll was rigged against him and even after he triumphed over Hillary Clinton he asserted, again with no evidence, that millions of people voted illegally against him. He estimated this cohort to consist of 3 million votes. This was the number Clinton beat him by in the popular vote, as opposed to the electoral college system that determines who ascends to the White House.
Biden told Noah that he has thought about a scenario where Trump would refuse to relinquish power after losing the election but said he was confident top military figures would intervene. “I am absolutely convinced they will escort him from the White House with great dispatch,” Biden said.
Trump is trailing Biden in most opinion polls, with the president’s election campaign demanding that CNN retract a “stunt and phony” poll that found the incumbent is trailing his challenger by 14 points. CNN has said it stands by its poll.
On Thursday afternoon, Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, said of Biden’s remarks: “This is just another brainless conspiracy theory from Joe Biden as he continues to try to undermine confidence in our elections.”
He added: “President Trump has been clear that he will accept the results of the 2020 election.”


theguardian--2020-06-11--Rand Paul stalls bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime

Amid the visceral national outcry for racial justice in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd , a lone US senator is standing in the way of a bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime .
Rand Paul , a Republican with a reputation as a one-man awkward squad in the US Senate , has put the historic legislation into limbo , frustrating black colleagues and civil rights leaders , including the Rev Jesse Jackson .
About 4,075 African Americans were lynched in 12 southern states between 1877 and 1950 , according to a 2015 report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were watched by crowds , as if attending a form of public entertainment .
Ida B Wells , a crusading African American journalist , once said : “ Our country ’ s national crime is lynching.
” The killing of Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes , caught on film and seen by millions , has been likened to a 21st-century lynching .
It spurred more than two weeks of worldwide protests .
From 1882 to 1986 , Congress failed to pass anti-lynching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared to be different .
Kamala Harris , Cory Booker and Tim Scott , the only three African American members of the Senate , led the unanimous passage of the legislation in that chamber in 2018 and 2019 .
The House of Representatives then passed it by a 410-4 vote in February but renamed it for Emmett Till , a 14-year-old boy lynched in Mississippi in 1955 .
That was the only change that returned the bill to the Senate , which makes Paul ’ s sudden objection all the more idiosyncratic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed the House legislation , tweeted : “ The language of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act is IDENTICAL to the bill that was unanimously approved by the Senate .
The only conclusion I can draw from Rand Paul ’ s sudden opposition is he has an issue with the House bill being named after Emmett Till.
” But Paul , a licensed doctor , is notorious for rousing colleagues ’ ire by stalling legislation and for a life and career that are seldom conventional .
In 2017 he was physically assaulted by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 he visited Russia and delivered a letter from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin ; earlier this year he became the first senator to test positive for coronavirus , shortly after being the only one to vote against a bipartisan $ 8bn deal to provide emergency coronavirus funding .
He now argues that the anti-lynching legislation is drafted too broadly and could define minor assaults as lynching .
“ The bill as written would allow altercations resulting in a cut , abrasion , bruise , or any other injury no matter how temporary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Paul said .
“ My amendment would simply apply a serious bodily injury standard , which would ensure crimes resulting in substantial risk of death and extreme physical pain be prosecuted as a lynching.
” He has previously worked with Democrats in pushing for criminal justice reform and taken a more progressive stance than many Republican colleagues .
On Tuesday , the Associated Press reported , while speaking with activists in Louisville in his home state of Kentucky , Paul criticised no-knock search warrants , such as the one used at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was shot dead by police in March , and the militarisation of police departments .
And he said he is likely to support some form of federal legislation aimed at overhauling police procedures .
Challenged about his opposition to the bill , Paul called lynchings a “ horror ” of American history and said he supports the bill , the AP added , but reiterated that its language is too broad .
Last Thursday , as Floyd was mourned at a memorial service in Minneapolis , Paul proposed an amendment to the bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the full Senate and would send the bill back to the House – currently out of session – for additional consideration .
The amendment was defeated after emotions ran high on the Senate floor .
Booker , of New Jersey , said : “ One man , one man is standing in the way of the law of the land changing because of a difference of interpretation .
Does America need a win today on racial justice ?
” Appearing on The View on the ABC network , Harris described the senator ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , adding : “ What Rand Paul is doing , which is one man holding up what would be a historic bill recognising one of the great sins of America – and it was on the day of George Floyd ’ s funeral which just added insult to injury and frankly made it so painful that on that day that ’ s what was happening.
” Although Paul is often an outlier , there are fears that the holdup could be indicative of wider Republican reluctance to tackle systemic racism in the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a former senior adviser to Joe Biden , said on Wednesday : “ My thoughts on it are very simple : birds of a feather .
“ If Rand Paul somehow doesn ’ t believe we need an anti-lynching bill in the United States and his Republican colleagues can ’ t get him to release the hold , to me it says everything Americans need to know about the Republican party .
Either you ’ re for lynching or you ’ re against lynching .
It ’ s that simple.
” But Tara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican communications director on Capitol Hill , was less critical , noting the consistency of Paul ’ s libertarian streak .
“ I understand that he wants to strengthen the bill with certain language as an amendment , ” she said .
“ He doesn ’ t want it to go away .
He wants it to be strengthened from his perspective .
“ But I think it ’ s a bit out of step with the political climate that we ’ re in … So he ’ s going to get the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s going to talk to him and see if they can work something out in the language .
I think they will come to some type of agreement and it will eventually pass .
I don ’ t see it being held up forever .
”

Amid the visceral national outcry for racial justice in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, a lone US senator is standing in the way of a bill that would make lynching a federal hate crime.
Rand Paul, a Republican with a reputation as a one-man awkward squad in the US Senate, has put the historic legislation into limbo, frustrating black colleagues and civil rights leaders, including the Rev Jesse Jackson.
About 4,075 African Americans were lynched in 12 southern states between 1877 and 1950, according to a 2015 report by the Equal Justice Initiative. Some were watched by crowds, as if attending a form of public entertainment.
Ida B Wells, a crusading African American journalist, once said: “Our country’s national crime is lynching.”
The killing of Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes, caught on film and seen by millions, has been likened to a 21st-century lynching. It spurred more than two weeks of worldwide protests.
From 1882 to 1986, Congress failed to pass anti-lynching legislation 200 times, but this moment appeared to be different.
Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Tim Scott, the only three African American members of the Senate, led the unanimous passage of the legislation in that chamber in 2018 and 2019. The House of Representatives then passed it by a 410-4 vote in February but renamed it for Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
That was the only change that returned the bill to the Senate, which makes Paul’s sudden objection all the more idiosyncratic.
The Democratic congressman Bobby Rush, who proposed the House legislation, tweeted: “The language of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act is IDENTICAL to the bill that was unanimously approved by the Senate. The only conclusion I can draw from Rand Paul’s sudden opposition is he has an issue with the House bill being named after Emmett Till.”
But Paul, a licensed doctor, is notorious for rousing colleagues’ ire by stalling legislation and for a life and career that are seldom conventional.
In 2017 he was physically assaulted by a neighbour while mowing his lawn; in 2018 he visited Russia and delivered a letter from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin; earlier this year he became the first senator to test positive for coronavirus, shortly after being the only one to vote against a bipartisan $8bn deal to provide emergency coronavirus funding.
He now argues that the anti-lynching legislation is drafted too broadly and could define minor assaults as lynching.
“The bill as written would allow altercations resulting in a cut, abrasion, bruise, or any other injury no matter how temporary to be subject to a 10-year penalty,” Paul said. “My amendment would simply apply a serious bodily injury standard, which would ensure crimes resulting in substantial risk of death and extreme physical pain be prosecuted as a lynching.”
He has previously worked with Democrats in pushing for criminal justice reform and taken a more progressive stance than many Republican colleagues.
On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, while speaking with activists in Louisville in his home state of Kentucky, Paul criticised no-knock search warrants, such as the one used at the home of Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead by police in March, and the militarisation of police departments. And he said he is likely to support some form of federal legislation aimed at overhauling police procedures.
Challenged about his opposition to the bill, Paul called lynchings a “horror” of American history and said he supports the bill, the AP added, but reiterated that its language is too broad.
Last Thursday, as Floyd was mourned at a memorial service in Minneapolis, Paul proposed an amendment to the bill, which would require a vote of the full Senate and would send the bill back to the House – currently out of session – for additional consideration.
The amendment was defeated after emotions ran high on the Senate floor. Booker, of New Jersey, said: “One man, one man is standing in the way of the law of the land changing because of a difference of interpretation. Does America need a win today on racial justice?”
Appearing on The View on the ABC network, Harris described the senator’s contrarian stance as “insulting”, adding: “What Rand Paul is doing, which is one man holding up what would be a historic bill recognising one of the great sins of America – and it was on the day of George Floyd’s funeral which just added insult to injury and frankly made it so painful that on that day that’s what was happening.”
Although Paul is often an outlier, there are fears that the holdup could be indicative of wider Republican reluctance to tackle systemic racism in the police and embrace reforms. Moe Vela, a former senior adviser to Joe Biden, said on Wednesday: “My thoughts on it are very simple: birds of a feather.
“If Rand Paul somehow doesn’t believe we need an anti-lynching bill in the United States and his Republican colleagues can’t get him to release the hold, to me it says everything Americans need to know about the Republican party. Either you’re for lynching or you’re against lynching. It’s that simple.”
But Tara Setmayer, a political commentator and former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, was less critical, noting the consistency of Paul’s libertarian streak.
“I understand that he wants to strengthen the bill with certain language as an amendment,” she said. “He doesn’t want it to go away. He wants it to be strengthened from his perspective.
“But I think it’s a bit out of step with the political climate that we’re in … So he’s going to get the backlash, but Senator Tim Scott said he’s going to talk to him and see if they can work something out in the language. I think they will come to some type of agreement and it will eventually pass. I don’t see it being held up forever.”


theguardian--2020-06-11--'An abuse of power': alarm grows over top Trump lieutenant directing force at protesters

In a rare wave of accountability for police brutality in the United States in recent weeks , four police officers were arrested in Minneapolis , a police chief was fired in Louisville , and officers were charged with felony assault in Atlanta , Buffalo and New York City .
Now the top law enforcement official in the country , the attorney general , William Barr , is facing an internal crisis of confidence and growing calls for his own resignation .
Barr stands accused of directing violence against peaceful demonstrators outside the White House earlier this month , and with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump in an attempt to smear protesters , who enjoy wide public support .
In the first 16 months of his tenure , Barr caught criticism for compromising justice department independence with his seemingly lockstep defense of Trump , whether he was protecting the president from the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller or intervening in criminal cases against the former Trump aides Michael Flynn and Roger Stone .
But Barr ’ s critics now fear that he has taken a new step , of trying on a military hat as the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posture the White House has taken against street protests that have sprung up after the killing of George Floyd , an African American man , in Minneapolis by white police officers .
Nearly 1,300 former justice department officials published an open letter to the department ’ s inspector general on Wednesday demanding an internal investigation of Barr ’ s actions in response to street protests .
The attorney general ’ s denial at the weekend that systemic racism was a problem in US law enforcement prompted new calls for his resignation .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States still , but I don ’ t think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist , ” Barr told CBS News ’ Face the Nation .
“ And I would say , you know , the president , before any of this happened , was out in front on this issue.
” On no planet has Trump been “ out in front ” in the campaign against racist policing , said Kandace Montgomery , director of Black Visions , a Twin Cities-based activist organization .
“ William Barr is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist administration , so of course he ’ s going to deny the fact that the current law enforcement system is systemically racist , ” Montgomery said .
“ History and facts have proven otherwise .
But we know how that administration feels about facts.
” While Barr does not credit the reality of systemic racism , he is an eager proponent of an elaborate conspiracy theory about the protests advanced by Trump , who tweeted this week that an elderly activist pushed to the ground by police in Buffalo , New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
None of 51 individuals facing federal charges in connection with protests in recent weeks has any alleged link to any such conspiracy , according to court documents reviewed by NPR .
Challenged on the hole in the “ antifa ” story , Barr told told Fox News on Monday that the relevant cases were still in process .
“ We have some investigations under way , very focused investigations on certain individuals that relate to antifa , ” he said .
On account of a deference to Trump that has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past been embroiled in criticism , for dropping the prosecution of Trump cronies ; distorting the findings of Mueller ; advancing investigations seemingly designed to harm Trump opponent Joe Biden ; defending Trump ’ s firing of inspectors general and more .
“ He can ’ t function in the job as the founders intended the job to be done , and he needs to be removed , ” said Donald K Sherman , deputy director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington watchdog group .
“ We have seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to protect the president ’ s rich , white , criminal allies , versus what he has done to people who have dared to stand up peacefully against racial injustice in America.
” With the rise of a national protest movement for racial equality , a new Barr has emerged , his critics say – one who seems ready to lead Trump ’ s charge against American citizens on US soil .
Barr has disputed reports that he personally ordered a violent crackdown outside the White House on 1 June to clear protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church , telling the Associated Press : “ My attitude was : get it done .
But I didn ’ t say , ‘ Go do it ’ .
” But Barr was spotted reviewing security arrangements outside the White House shortly before the crackdown began , and Trump ’ s press secretary said flatly on Monday : “ It was AG Barr who made the decision.
” Neil Kinkopf , a Georgia State law professor who worked in the Office of Legal Counsel under Bill Clinton , said it was “ quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personally direct security forces .
“ It isn ’ t unusual for the attorney general to give the president legal advice about what his authorities are in responding to crises , including responding to unrest of the sort that we ’ re seeing , ” said Kinkopf , noting that President Dwight Eisenhower ’ s attorney general issued a legal opinion in 1957 before troops were sent to enforce school desegregation in Arkansas .
“ What ’ s unusual about what Barr appears to have done is taking a role in directing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of force – that ’ s a military function , not a justice department function.
” As attorney general , Barr could bring immense pressure to bear in achieving police reform .
In 14 cases under Barack Obama , the justice department cracked down on police departments with sanctions known as consent decrees and ended the distribution of military-style combat gear to police departments .
But Trump , who has personally encouraged police brutality , threw out an Obama-era blueprint for police reform , reversed the decision on military gear and has stopped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Just because we don ’ t use that particular tool in every instance doesn ’ t mean that we ’ re not doing something about it , ’ Barr told CBS .
Barr has tried to downplay Trump ’ s open enthusiasm for deploying military force in American cities , denying reports that the president wanted to respond to demonstrators outside the White House by invoking the Insurrection Act and mobilizing 10,000 troops .
“ The president never asked or suggested that we needed to deploy regular troops ” to clear the area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In the hours before protesters outside the White House were gassed , however , Trump held a call with state governors in which the president demanded more aggressive use of force against the demonstrators .
“ You have to dominate or you ’ ll look like a bunch of jerks .
You have to arrest and try people , ” Trump said on the call .
Barr himself then spoke on the call , advising the governors that the federal government would rely on the Joint Terrorism Task Force – a national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the September 11 attacks – to coordinate operations .
“ It ’ s a tried and true system , it ’ s worked for domestic homegrown terrorists , and we ’ re going to apply that model , ” Barr said on the call .
Trump then tweeted an enthusiastic endorsement of the Republican senator Tom Cotton ’ s call for the deployment of the 101st Airborne , an elite US army combat unit typically deployed in some of the world ’ s most rugged corners , against US citizens .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Thank you Tom !
” Donald Sherman said that Barr ’ s masquerade as a military man amounted to “ an abuse of power , and it is a harbinger of potentially worse things to come.
” “ Donald Trump contested and refused to believe the results of an election that he won , ” Sherman said .
“ So I think it is reasonable to be concerned about what the attorney general ’ s role is in enabling his conspiracy theories and his attacks on democratic institutions .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from here .
”

In a rare wave of accountability for police brutality in the United States in recent weeks, four police officers were arrested in Minneapolis, a police chief was fired in Louisville, and officers were charged with felony assault in Atlanta, Buffalo and New York City.
Now the top law enforcement official in the country, the attorney general, William Barr, is facing an internal crisis of confidence and growing calls for his own resignation.
Barr stands accused of directing violence against peaceful demonstrators outside the White House earlier this month, and with peddling a conspiracy theory advanced by Donald Trump in an attempt to smear protesters, who enjoy wide public support.
In the first 16 months of his tenure, Barr caught criticism for compromising justice department independence with his seemingly lockstep defense of Trump, whether he was protecting the president from the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller or intervening in criminal cases against the former Trump aides Michael Flynn and Roger Stone.
But Barr’s critics now fear that he has taken a new step, of trying on a military hat as the president’s top lieutenant in the antagonistic posture the White House has taken against street protests that have sprung up after the killing of George Floyd, an African American man, in Minneapolis by white police officers.
Nearly 1,300 former justice department officials published an open letter to the department’s inspector general on Wednesday demanding an internal investigation of Barr’s actions in response to street protests.
The attorney general’s denial at the weekend that systemic racism was a problem in US law enforcement prompted new calls for his resignation.
“I think there’s racism in the United States still, but I don’t think that the law enforcement system is systemically racist,” Barr told CBS News’ Face the Nation. “And I would say, you know, the president, before any of this happened, was out in front on this issue.”
On no planet has Trump been “out in front” in the campaign against racist policing, said Kandace Montgomery, director of Black Visions, a Twin Cities-based activist organization.
“William Barr is a white man who is serving a racist administration, so of course he’s going to deny the fact that the current law enforcement system is systemically racist,” Montgomery said. “History and facts have proven otherwise. But we know how that administration feels about facts.”
While Barr does not credit the reality of systemic racism, he is an eager proponent of an elaborate conspiracy theory about the protests advanced by Trump, who tweeted this week that an elderly activist pushed to the ground by police in Buffalo, New York, “could be an antifa provocateur”.
None of 51 individuals facing federal charges in connection with protests in recent weeks has any alleged link to any such conspiracy, according to court documents reviewed by NPR.
Challenged on the hole in the “antifa” story, Barr told told Fox News on Monday that the relevant cases were still in process. “We have some investigations under way, very focused investigations on certain individuals that relate to antifa,” he said.
The violent clearing of demonstrators from outside the White House has prompted calls for a review into Barr’s role in the dispersal. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
On account of a deference to Trump that has been perceived as excessive, Barr has in the past been embroiled in criticism, for dropping the prosecution of Trump cronies; distorting the findings of Mueller; advancing investigations seemingly designed to harm Trump opponent Joe Biden; defending Trump’s firing of inspectors general and more.
“He can’t function in the job as the founders intended the job to be done, and he needs to be removed,” said Donald K Sherman, deputy director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington watchdog group. “We have seen him literally bend the scales of justice to protect the president’s rich, white, criminal allies, versus what he has done to people who have dared to stand up peacefully against racial injustice in America.”
With the rise of a national protest movement for racial equality, a new Barr has emerged, his critics say – one who seems ready to lead Trump’s charge against American citizens on US soil.
Barr has disputed reports that he personally ordered a violent crackdown outside the White House on 1 June to clear protesters for a Trump photo op at a church, telling the Associated Press: “My attitude was: get it done. But I didn’t say, ‘Go do it’.”
But Barr was spotted reviewing security arrangements outside the White House shortly before the crackdown began, and Trump’s press secretary said flatly on Monday: “It was AG Barr who made the decision.”
Neil Kinkopf, a Georgia State law professor who worked in the Office of Legal Counsel under Bill Clinton, said it was “quite unusual” for an attorney general to personally direct security forces.
What’s unusual about what he appears to have done is taking a role in directing the use of force –that's a military function
“It isn’t unusual for the attorney general to give the president legal advice about what his authorities are in responding to crises, including responding to unrest of the sort that we’re seeing,” said Kinkopf, noting that President Dwight Eisenhower’s attorney general issued a legal opinion in 1957 before troops were sent to enforce school desegregation in Arkansas.
“What’s unusual about what Barr appears to have done is taking a role in directing the use of force, ordering the use of force – that’s a military function, not a justice department function.”
As attorney general, Barr could bring immense pressure to bear in achieving police reform. In 14 cases under Barack Obama, the justice department cracked down on police departments with sanctions known as consent decrees and ended the distribution of military-style combat gear to police departments.
But Trump, who has personally encouraged police brutality, threw out an Obama-era blueprint for police reform, reversed the decision on military gear and has stopped the use of consent decrees.
“Just because we don’t use that particular tool in every instance doesn’t mean that we’re not doing something about it,’ Barr told CBS.
Military force against protesters
Barr has tried to downplay Trump’s open enthusiasm for deploying military force in American cities, denying reports that the president wanted to respond to demonstrators outside the White House by invoking the Insurrection Act and mobilizing 10,000 troops.
“The president never asked or suggested that we needed to deploy regular troops” to clear the area around the White House, Barr claimed.
In the hours before protesters outside the White House were gassed, however, Trump held a call with state governors in which the president demanded more aggressive use of force against the demonstrators.
“You have to dominate or you’ll look like a bunch of jerks. You have to arrest and try people,” Trump said on the call.
Barr himself then spoke on the call, advising the governors that the federal government would rely on the Joint Terrorism Task Force – a national law enforcement network that was beefed up after the September 11 attacks – to coordinate operations.
“It’s a tried and true system, it’s worked for domestic homegrown terrorists, and we’re going to apply that model,” Barr said on the call.
Trump then tweeted an enthusiastic endorsement of the Republican senator Tom Cotton’s call for the deployment of the 101st Airborne, an elite US army combat unit typically deployed in some of the world’s most rugged corners, against US citizens. “100% Correct,” Trump wrote. “Thank you Tom!”
Donald Sherman said that Barr’s masquerade as a military man amounted to “an abuse of power, and it is a harbinger of potentially worse things to come.”
“Donald Trump contested and refused to believe the results of an election that he won,” Sherman said. “So I think it is reasonable to be concerned about what the attorney general’s role is in enabling his conspiracy theories and his attacks on democratic institutions.
“The stakes are only going to get higher from here.”


theguardian--2020-06-10--'I was leaving a shop and security stopped me. I was four': young protesters on why they are marchin

'I was leaving a shop and security stopped me. I was four': young protesters on why they are marching against racism

The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer took place thousands of miles from the UK .
But the 46-year-old ’ s cry in Minnesota that he could not breathe has sparked widespread protest in Britain .
In the past two weeks , there have been demonstrations across UK cities .
The protesters , the vast majority of whom were under 25 , chanted : “ No justice , no peace , no racist police ” and “ the UK is not innocent ” .
The demonstrations were largely organised through word of mouth and social media rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handmade placards with the names of Mark Duggan , Sean Rigg , Julian Cole and others killed or left disabled by British police .
They chanted for the Windrush generation , the victims of the Grenfell tower fire , and decried the high Covid-19 death rate among members of the BAME community .
The Guardian asked the two women who organised the protest as well as other organisers and demonstrators what has driven them to this momentous time in the UK ’ s history of race relations about the moment that made them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the streets and in police custody – but also , they said , in schools , hospitals and workplaces .
Six of the protesters in London explained why they were there .
I became politicised at a really young age , probably when I was four .
I was leaving a shop and security stopped me and my mum .
The woman pulled out a scanner and started scanning me from head to toe .
My mum gave her an earful , but that ’ s when I realised that I looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They automatically assumed that I ’ d stolen something when I hadn ’ t .
It was an important point in my life .
It ’ s the same issue trying to get a job .
Even with mechanic shops all around London , it ’ s harder for black people to get picked for a job in some of these places .
The mechanic would rather take the white boy and not give me a shot .
Enough is enough .
My children aren ’ t going to go through similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got to be out here every single day , I will be .
Police brutality is a strong issue here in the UK too .
During the coronavirus pandemic , police started coming round my area and black boys like me were getting stopped .
Their excuses are we look like we ’ re trying to steal something .
They are stopping me in front of the building I live in , putting me in cuffs , embarrassing me in front of everyone .
You ’ re putting your hands on my parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you can abuse ?
These things need to stop .
There are so many young black people here , outside the American embassy , because we all feel it .
There has never been a time when I ’ ve felt I can call the police : they ’ re more likely to suspect me than actually help .
I realised there was institutional racism in the UK when I was 15 .
My dad lives in Nigeria and he said he knew someone who had died of Ebola .
Everyone at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was worried for my father ’ s safety .
I told people that it wasn ’ t cool and that they had to stop because what if I made a joke about cancer ?
Everyone started kicking off .
Someone made a racist comment towards me and my mum got called into school .
Not because of what they said , but because of what I said .
They said I needed to stop talking about controversial subjects at school or I would be excluded .
It was probably the first time I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my mum .
I thought the teachers would be more understanding , but nothing happened .
Since then , I realised it ’ s a lot bigger than I first thought .
George Floyd isn ’ t the first man to die at the hands of racism , but there is such a hype right now , we need to jump on it .
These are innocent people who are not sick and they are dying anyway .
People are just taking lives here .
The presence of social media has blown up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black community online sharing everything , and it has brought it to everyone ’ s attention .
There is no shadow of a doubt what ’ s happening and now everyone is wising up to previous things when excuses were made .
Everyone is seeing it ’ s all just smoke .
Student and co-organiser of the London Black Lives Matter group LDN BLM I ’ ve grown up with so many videos of police brutality ; videos from the US , UK and all over the world .
It has affected me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 years of watching people die online that has driven me to being so angry and wanting my voice to be heard .
When I moved to the UK from Nigeria in 2012 , I saw so much that I have never seen before .
Seeing and hearing my friends talk about stop and searches has really affected me .
There was a lot of racism in school ; other students calling me the N-word , calling me a monkey .
I ’ m here today because I stand in solidarity with all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is enough ; black people can not keep suffering .
Racism doesn ’ t just happen in the US ; it also happens here and that ’ s why we ’ re fighting .
We need to realise that so many people have been harassed and assaulted by the British police .
I ’ m tired because systematic racism within the police system has been going on for years .
Just because it ’ s not talked about much doesn ’ t mean it ’ s not happening .
We want people to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is the main thing – hear our voices .
I think marching has made a huge difference because everyone is speaking about the issue .
George Floyd ’ s death was the catalyst for everything .
Black Lives Matter has resonated so deeply in the UK because the black community and other people of colour know what racism is like in this country .
I think they all had a “ this could be me ” or “ this could happen to someone I know ” moment .
This is a sign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be different .
I ’ m here to call for justice for Grenfell .
There are residents who still don ’ t have housing .
It was a tragedy .
We want change and we want our voices to be heard .
I can not believe that in 2020 , and even though we are facing a global pandemic , we still have to come out and protest for our civil rights and for our lives .
You can ’ t tell the oppressed how to feel .
I hope that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What happened at Saturday ’ s Black Lives Matter protests , when police horses charged at protesters and how things escalated from there , is part of the reason why I ’ ve come back here today .
We aren ’ t all that dissimilar to America .
It ’ s ignorant to think there isn ’ t racism in the UK .
There is racism here , there is racism practically everywhere , even in Africa , where nearly everyone is black .
You have to educate yourself ; look around you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure there are plenty of places that can tell you just how racist the system is .
For me , racism in the UK was people in school making fun of your accent , people in restaurants wondering why you ’ re not speaking English , people telling me they can ’ t pronounce my name and asking whether I ’ d prefer to be called John or Jack .
It ’ s wondering why they can ’ t spell my last name , yet they can easily pronounce names like Schwarzenegger .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ school .
I came in for my first day , feeling great .
My mum did my hair in little bobbles and plaits .
The head of year seven , who was a white woman , shouted at me within moments of me entering the school .
She said that my hair was not acceptable .
She told me to remove it all .
I was 11 .
I went to the toilet and cried .
I wondered what I was supposed to do .
The teacher would rather I looked like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how it was .
I just didn ’ t agree with that .
From that moment , it kind of shifted everything else for me .
White teachers would say things like , “ You ’ re acting a bit ghetto , ” and I would think how is this allowed ?
I ’ m here today for black women .
We hear about what happens to black men in cases of police brutality , but it ’ s black women that we don ’ t really hear that much about .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been killed due to racism , nothing really happens .
I felt like I needed to say something because it could be me .
It could be any black woman and nobody would know our names .
Black men , it ’ s also your job to help take care and protect our black women .
We are the ones who are going to provide the future .

The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer took place thousands of miles from the UK. But the 46-year-old’s cry in Minnesota that he could not breathe has sparked widespread protest in Britain. In the past two weeks, there have been demonstrations across UK cities. The protesters, the vast majority of whom were under 25, chanted: “No justice, no peace, no racist police” and “the UK is not innocent”. The demonstrations were largely organised through word of mouth and social media rather than established anti-racism groups.
Protesters carried handmade placards with the names of Mark Duggan, Sean Rigg, Julian Cole and others killed or left disabled by British police. They chanted for the Windrush generation, the victims of the Grenfell tower fire, and decried the high Covid-19 death rate among members of the BAME community.
The Guardian asked the two women who organised the protest as well as other organisers and demonstrators what has driven them to this momentous time in the UK’s history of race relations about the moment that made them want to protest. Black lives matter in the streets and in police custody – but also, they said, in schools, hospitals and workplaces. Six of the protesters in London explained why they were there.
Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/The Guardian
John, 24
Car mechanic
I became politicised at a really young age, probably when I was four. I was leaving a shop and security stopped me and my mum. The woman pulled out a scanner and started scanning me from head to toe. My mum gave her an earful, but that’s when I realised that I looked different, that I was a target. They automatically assumed that I’d stolen something when I hadn’t.
It was an important point in my life. It’s the same issue trying to get a job. Even with mechanic shops all around London, it’s harder for black people to get picked for a job in some of these places. The mechanic would rather take the white boy and not give me a shot. Enough is enough. My children aren’t going to go through similar racist experiences. If I’ve got to be out here every single day, I will be.
Police brutality is a strong issue here in the UK too. During the coronavirus pandemic, police started coming round my area and black boys like me were getting stopped. Their excuses are we look like we’re trying to steal something. They are stopping me in front of the building I live in, putting me in cuffs, embarrassing me in front of everyone. You’re putting your hands on my parts for what? Just to feel power that you can abuse? These things need to stop. There are so many young black people here, outside the American embassy, because we all feel it.
There has never been a time when I’ve felt I can call the police: they’re more likely to suspect me than actually help.
Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/The Guardian
Chioma Atuanya, 22
Former recruitment consultant
I realised there was institutional racism in the UK when I was 15. My dad lives in Nigeria and he said he knew someone who had died of Ebola. Everyone at school was making jokes, whereas I was worried for my father’s safety. I told people that it wasn’t cool and that they had to stop because what if I made a joke about cancer?
Everyone started kicking off. Someone made a racist comment towards me and my mum got called into school. Not because of what they said, but because of what I said. They said I needed to stop talking about controversial subjects at school or I would be excluded. It was probably the first time I had a proper conversation about racism with my mum. I thought the teachers would be more understanding, but nothing happened.
Since then, I realised it’s a lot bigger than I first thought. George Floyd isn’t the first man to die at the hands of racism, but there is such a hype right now, we need to jump on it. These are innocent people who are not sick and they are dying anyway. People are just taking lives here.
The presence of social media has blown up the issue. There is a large black community online sharing everything, and it has brought it to everyone’s attention. There is no shadow of a doubt what’s happening and now everyone is wising up to previous things when excuses were made. Everyone is seeing it’s all just smoke.
Aima, 18
Student and co-organiser of the London Black Lives Matter group LDN BLM
Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/The Guardian
I’ve grown up with so many videos of police brutality; videos from the US, UK and all over the world. It has affected me quite badly. It’s been 10 years of watching people die online that has driven me to being so angry and wanting my voice to be heard.
When I moved to the UK from Nigeria in 2012, I saw so much that I have never seen before. Seeing and hearing my friends talk about stop and searches has really affected me. There was a lot of racism in school; other students calling me the N-word, calling me a monkey. I’m here today because I stand in solidarity with all my US brothers and sisters. Enough is enough; black people cannot keep suffering.
Racism doesn’t just happen in the US; it also happens here and that’s why we’re fighting. We need to realise that so many people have been harassed and assaulted by the British police. I’m tired because systematic racism within the police system has been going on for years. Just because it’s not talked about much doesn’t mean it’s not happening. We want people to be educated and to hear us. That is the main thing – hear our voices. I think marching has made a huge difference because everyone is speaking about the issue.
Natasha, 21
Student, co-organiser of LDN BLM
Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/The Guardian
George Floyd’s death was the catalyst for everything. Black Lives Matter has resonated so deeply in the UK because the black community and other people of colour know what racism is like in this country. I think they all had a “this could be me” or “this could happen to someone I know” moment. This is a sign of real change and people want things to be different.
I’m here to call for justice for Grenfell. There are residents who still don’t have housing. It was a tragedy. We want change and we want our voices to be heard. I cannot believe that in 2020, and even though we are facing a global pandemic, we still have to come out and protest for our civil rights and for our lives.
You can’t tell the oppressed how to feel. I hope that we can start to see some reform.
Zoje Aig, 25
Creative writing graduate
Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/The Guardian
What happened at Saturday’s Black Lives Matter protests, when police horses charged at protesters and how things escalated from there, is part of the reason why I’ve come back here today. We aren’t all that dissimilar to America. It’s ignorant to think there isn’t racism in the UK. There is racism here, there is racism practically everywhere, even in Africa, where nearly everyone is black. You have to educate yourself; look around you and look online.
I’m sure there are plenty of places that can tell you just how racist the system is. For me, racism in the UK was people in school making fun of your accent, people in restaurants wondering why you’re not speaking English, people telling me they can’t pronounce my name and asking whether I’d prefer to be called John or Jack. It’s wondering why they can’t spell my last name, yet they can easily pronounce names like Schwarzenegger.
Ruth Ngombo, 24
Student nurse
Photograph: Anselm Ebulue/The Guardian
It started when I was in secondary school. I came in for my first day, feeling great. My mum did my hair in little bobbles and plaits. The head of year seven, who was a white woman, shouted at me within moments of me entering the school. She said that my hair was not acceptable. She told me to remove it all. I was 11. I went to the toilet and cried. I wondered what I was supposed to do. The teacher would rather I looked like a fool and had my hair out than how it was. I just didn’t agree with that.
From that moment, it kind of shifted everything else for me. White teachers would say things like, “You’re acting a bit ghetto,” and I would think how is this allowed? I’m here today for black women. We hear about what happens to black men in cases of police brutality, but it’s black women that we don’t really hear that much about. And, unfortunately, with black women who have been killed due to racism, nothing really happens.
I felt like I needed to say something because it could be me. It could be any black woman and nobody would know our names. Black men, it’s also your job to help take care and protect our black women. We are the ones who are going to provide the future.


theguardian--2020-06-11--Joining Trump church photo op 'a mistake', says Gen Mark Milley – video

Gen Mark Milley has said it was a mistake to have been present at Donald Trump 's photo op in @ @ @ @ @ Washington . '
I should not have been there , ' he said in a @ @ @ @ @ the National Defense University .
Milley and the defense secretary , Mark Esper , were @ @ @ @ @ the photo-op during George Floyd protests in Washington , with many former defence officials saying @ @ @ @ @ ’ s efforts to politicise the military • A photo-op as protests swirled : how @ @ @ @ @ the church

Gen Mark Milley has said it was a mistake to have been present at Donald Trump's photo op in front of a church in Washington. 'I should not have been there,' he said in a pre-recorded video commencement address to the National Defense University.
Milley and the defense secretary, Mark Esper, were widely criticised for participating in the photo-op during George Floyd protests in Washington, with many former defence officials saying the two were helping Trump’s efforts to politicise the military


theguardian--2020-06-12--‘We’re just going to have a catastrophe’: US faces November election fiasco

The alarm bells have been going off for months , but the election fiasco in Georgia on Tuesday made it clear : America is ill-prepared to hold a fair presidential vote in November , and is dangerously close to having an election disaster .
The Georgia contest offered the most alarming preview to date of what could happen in November without major overhauls , training and planning .
Voters stood in line to vote for upwards for four hours , saying they never received mail-in ballots requested weeks ago .
Local officials , forced to consolidate polling locations because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ influx of voters and struggled to operate new voting equipment .
Experts worry that poll worker shortages , long lines and other delays in processing requests for absentee ballots will only get worse in November , when there will be more voters .
Since March , voting advocates have been calling on states to prepare for an election like no other , and quickly implement plans that accommodate a surge in voters casting their ballots by mail for the first time as well as robust turnout at the polls .
One estimate places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country at $ 4bn .
“ We ’ re just going to have a catastrophe in November , ” said Michael McDonald , a professor at the University of Florida who studies elections .
“ We ’ ve already passed the point of catastrophic failure .
It doesn ’ t get any better if we have two to three times the number of people who are trying to vote in these polling locations.
” Not every primary in the Covid-19 era has been a disaster , and there has been strong turnout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting by mail at unprecedented levels .
But Georgia was far from the only place where there have been serious election problems .
Voters in Nevada waited hours in line to vote in the state ’ s primary on Tuesday , even after the state moved to conduct its election largely by mail .
Earlier this month , election officials in Pennsylvania and Washington DC struggled to meet the crush of requests for absentee ballots and voters in the nation ’ s capital waited hours to vote .
Voters in Baltimore , Maryland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long lines .
In April , voters in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , waited hours to vote in the state ’ s primary as the city was forced to condense its usual 180 polling places into just five .
Most glaring , voting groups say , has been the disproportionate impact the election failures have had on communities of color .
LaTosha Brown , a co-founder of Black Voters Matter , told Politico it took her three hours to vote in her majority African American precinct in Atlanta on Tuesday , but she saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a predominantly white area later in the day .
State officials have launched an investigation into what went wrong in Fulton county , which includes Atlanta .
“ Black voters in particular appear especially hard-hit , ” said Kristen Clarke , president and executive director of the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law , which has closely monitored the primaries .
“ In some parts of the country , it feels like officials are making reckless decisions that are a recipe for disaster.
” Even before Covid-19 , there were concerns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic has only exacerbated them .
Donald Trump is already making repeated baseless accusations of voter fraud in what appears to be an effort to lay the foundation for contesting the legitimacy of the 2020 election .
Activists were already deeply concerned about the mass closure of polling places and the Covid-19 pandemic has given election officials justification for doing so .
More than 1,600 polling places in jurisdictions previously covered by the Voting Rights Act were closed between 2012 and 2018 , according to a report by the Leadership Conference on Civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polling places in Georgia .
Democrats and voting rights groups are also pushing states across the country to extend the deadline by which absentee ballots need to arrive to be counted .
Many states require the ballots to arrive by election night , a cutoff that could leave eligible voters disenfranchised .
In Wisconsin , Democrats secured a court order requiring the state to count ballots as long as they were postmarked before election day and arrived within six days of the election .
More than 79,000 ballots that normally would have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Trump won the state in 2016 by just under 23,000 votes ) .
There is also growing concern about plummeting voter registration in recent months and an unprecedented Republican effort to monitor the polls and challenge the eligibility of voters who appear , something that could result in voter intimidation .
The Republican National Committee , freed from a decades-old court order prohibiting them from such activity , is seeking to recruit up to 50,000 volunteers .
The window for states to understand the problems from their primaries and implement solutions for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for purchasing necessary equipment and other measures are approaching and in some cases have already passed .
Republicans in Congress have also scaled back funding to help states run elections , allocating just $ 400m so far , a small fraction of the billions experts say is needed .
The Republican National Committee also plans to spend at least $ 20m to oppose efforts to expand vote by mail .
“ If no one , legislators/advocates/voters/election officials , listens to what is being said it will be a debacle in November , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration at the Democracy Fund , said in an email .
“ The primaries have been the canary in the coalmine.
” Meanwhile , there have been some encouraging signs .
After Wisconsin ’ s chaotic April primary , the state ’ s bipartisan election commission released a detailed analysis of what went wrong and unanimously voted to send an absentee ballot application to all voters who hadn ’ t requested one for November .
The commission also moved to give local clerks – who were overwhelmed by ballot requests during the primary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May it would send a ballot to all registered voters .
Michigan – which saw extremely long lines at the polls during its March primary – is also sending an absentee ballot request to all voters .
But other signs suggest states may move in the opposite direction .
In Georgia , Brad Raffensperger , the state ’ s top election official , refused to acknowledge systemic problems in the way the election was run this week , instead blaming local election officials .
In Iowa , Republicans are considering legislation that would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pate , from sending absentee ballot applications to all voters , something Pate , a Republican , did ahead of the state ’ s June primary when there was record turnout .
Ohio Republicans are also considering legislation that would bar the state ’ s top election official from paying for postage on absentee ballot requests and the ballots themselves .
“ On the one hand , it ’ s very concerning , ” said Amber McReynolds , CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute , which is advising election officials on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On the other , what I would say is that this is a wake-up call.
” Stacey Abrams , the 2018 Democratic nominee in Georgia who put voting rights at the core of her campaign , said some states were better positioned for November “ because those states have an intention of actually letting every person vote ” .
“ It is not that we don ’ t know the answer .
It is that the Republican party in particular has been resistant to solving the problem and that will put our elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @

The alarm bells have been going off for months, but the election fiasco in Georgia on Tuesday made it clear: America is ill-prepared to hold a fair presidential vote in November, and is dangerously close to having an election disaster.
The Georgia contest offered the most alarming preview to date of what could happen in November without major overhauls, training and planning. Voters stood in line to vote for upwards of four hours, saying they never received mail-in ballots requested weeks ago. Local officials, forced to consolidate polling locations because of Covid-19, were unable to manage the influx of voters and struggled to operate new voting equipment.
Experts worry that poll worker shortages, long lines and other delays in processing requests for absentee ballots will only get worse in November, when there will be more voters. Since March, voting advocates have been calling on states to prepare for an election like no other, and quickly implement plans that accommodate a surge in voters casting their ballots by mail for the first time as well as robust turnout at the polls.
One estimate places the cost of upgrading vote-by-mail systems across the country at $4bn.
“We’re just going to have a catastrophe in November,” said Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida who studies elections. “We’ve already passed the point of catastrophic failure. It doesn’t get any better if we have two to three times the number of people who are trying to vote in these polling locations.”
Not every primary in the Covid-19 era has been a disaster, and there has been strong turnout in many states as Americans have embraced voting by mail at unprecedented levels. But Georgia was far from the only place where there have been serious election problems.
Voters in Nevada waited hours in line to vote in the state’s primary on Tuesday, even after the state moved to conduct its election largely by mail. Earlier this month, election officials in Pennsylvania and Washington DC struggled to meet the crush of requests for absentee ballots and voters in the nation’s capital waited hours to vote. Voters in Baltimore, Maryland, didn’t get ballots and faced long lines. In April, voters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, waited hours to vote in the state’s primary as the city was forced to condense its usual 180 polling places into just five.
Most glaring, voting groups say, has been the disproportionate impact the election failures have had on communities of color. LaTosha Brown, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told Politico it took her three hours to vote in her majority African American precinct in Atlanta on Tuesday, but she saw no line at a polling place in a predominantly white area later in the day. State officials have launched an investigation into what went wrong in Fulton county, which includes Atlanta.
“Black voters in particular appear especially hard-hit,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which has closely monitored the primaries. “In some parts of the country, it feels like officials are making reckless decisions that are a recipe for disaster.”
Social distancing is ignored as voters wait in an hours long line to vote at Fulton county’s Park Tavern precinct in the coronavirus-delayed Georgia presidential primary election in Atlanta, Georgia. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA
Even before Covid-19, there were concerns about mass disenfranchisement in November; the pandemic has only exacerbated them. Donald Trump is already making repeated baseless accusations of voter fraud in what appears to be an effort to lay the foundation for contesting the legitimacy of the 2020 election.
Activists were already deeply concerned about the mass closure of polling places and the Covid-19 pandemic has given election officials justification for doing so. More than 1,600 polling places in jurisdictions previously covered by the Voting Rights Act were closed between 2012 and 2018, according to a report by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. That includes 214 polling places in Georgia.
Democrats and voting rights groups are also pushing states across the country to extend the deadline by which absentee ballots need to arrive to be counted. Many states require the ballots to arrive by election night, a cutoff that could leave eligible voters disenfranchised. In Wisconsin, Democrats secured a court order requiring the state to count ballots as long as they were postmarked before election day and arrived within six days of the election.
More than 79,000 ballots that normally would have been thrown out were counted during the extension (Trump won the state in 2016 by just under 23,000 votes).
There is also growing concern about plummeting voter registration in recent months and an unprecedented Republican effort to monitor the polls and challenge the eligibility of voters who appear, something that could result in voter intimidation. The Republican National Committee, freed from a decades-old court order prohibiting them from such activity, is seeking to recruit up to 50,000 volunteers.
The window for states to understand the problems from their primaries and implement solutions for November is rapidly closing. Recommended deadlines for purchasing necessary equipment and other measures are approaching and in some cases have already passed. Republicans in Congress have also scaled back funding to help states run elections, allocating just $400m so far, a small fraction of the billions experts say is needed. The Republican National Committee also plans to spend at least $20m to oppose efforts to expand vote by mail.
“If no one, legislators/advocates/voters/election officials, listens to what is being said it will be a debacle in November,” Tammy Patrick, who works on election administration at the Democracy Fund, said in an email. “The primaries have been the canary in the coalmine.”
New state-issued voting machines proved problematic in a number of locations in Georgia’s primary. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA
Meanwhile, there have been some encouraging signs. After Wisconsin’s chaotic April primary, the state’s bipartisan election commission released a detailed analysis of what went wrong and unanimously voted to send an absentee ballot application to all voters who hadn’t requested one for November. The commission also moved to give local clerks – who were overwhelmed by ballot requests during the primary – more help. California announced in May it would send a ballot to all registered voters. Michigan – which saw long lines at some election offices during its March primary – is also sending an absentee ballot application to all voters.
But other signs suggest states may move in the opposite direction. In Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top election official, refused to acknowledge systemic problems in the way the election was run this week, instead blaming local election officials. In Iowa, Republicans are considering legislation that would prohibit the secretary of state, Paul Pate, from sending absentee ballot applications to all voters, something Pate, a Republican, did ahead of the state’s June primary when there was record turnout. Ohio Republicans are also considering legislation that would bar the state’s top election official from paying for postage on absentee ballot requests and the ballots themselves.
“On the one hand, it’s very concerning,” said Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute, which is advising election officials on how to prepare for November. “On the other, what I would say is that this is a wake-up call.”
Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic nominee in Georgia who put voting rights at the core of her campaign, said some states were better positioned for November “because those states have an intention of actually letting every person vote”.
“It is not that we don’t know the answer. It is that the Republican party in particular has been resistant to solving the problem and that will put our elections in jeopardy,” she said.


theguardian--2020-06-12--Jailed. Beaten. Yet 1960s activist Fannie Lou Hamer stood up to white supremacy – comic

As hundreds of thousands of people continue to protest against police brutality against black Americans in the country , many have turned to our original civil rights activists for inspiration .
Fannie Lou Hamer fought for the right to vote in the 1960s , resisting brutal violence and imprisonment for years in Mississippi , where Jim Crow laws threatened the lives and franchise of African Americans well into the 20th century .
Hamer ’ s civil disobedience was part of a movement that eventually restored the right to vote for hundreds of thousands of people in the south through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into law by Lyndon B Johnson .
Today , on the anniversary of the day Hamer was released from jail in 1963 , we ’ re featuring an excerpt on her life from Drawing the Vote : An Illustrated Guide to Voting in America , a graphic novel that looks at the history of voting rights , by author Tommy Jenkins and illustrator Kati Lacker .
Credit : Drawing the Vote : An Illustrated Guide to Voting in America , by Tommy Jenkins and illustrated by Kati Lacker , © Abrams ComicArts , @ @

As hundreds of thousands of people continue to protest against police brutality against black Americans in the country, many have turned to our original civil rights activists for inspiration.
Fannie Lou Hamer fought for the right to vote in the 1960s, resisting brutal violence and imprisonment for years in Mississippi, where Jim Crow laws threatened the lives and franchise of African Americans well into the 20th century. Hamer’s civil disobedience was part of a movement that eventually restored the right to vote for hundreds of thousands of people in the south through the Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by Lyndon B Johnson.
Today, on the anniversary of the day Hamer was released from jail in 1963, we’re featuring an excerpt on her life from Drawing the Vote: An Illustrated Guide to Voting in America, a graphic novel that looks at the history of voting rights, by author Tommy Jenkins and illustrator Kati Lacker.
Credit: Drawing the Vote: An Illustrated Guide to Voting in America, by Tommy Jenkins and illustrated by Kati Lacker, © Abrams ComicArts, 2020.


theguardian--2020-06-12--‘Long overdue’: lawmakers declare racism a public health emergency

Long before a white police officer killed George Floyd and sparked nationwide outrage , long before Covid-19 began killing Black people at twice the rate of their white counterparts , doctors and health experts were raising alarms that systematic racism is itself a pervasive , deadly pandemic – one that kills both instantaneously and insidiously , burdens Black and Brown Americans with generational trauma , contributes to higher rates of infant mortality and heart disease , and even speeds up the aging process .
Now , amid a national reckoning with entrenched inequality , lawmakers are finally hearing those alarms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health emergency .
The city councils of Cleveland , Denver and Indianapolis have voted to acknowledge a crisis .
Officials in San Bernardino county , California , and Montgomery county , Maryland , have done the same .
State representatives in Ohio and Michigan are looking to follow suit .
These declarations are “ long overdue ” , said Dr Allison Agwu , an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine .
As a physician on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic , Agwu said she ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ establishment mobilized to develop diagnostic tests , and produce thousands of research papers seeking a treatment and vaccine .
If the government can commit the same sorts of resources and funds to addressing issues of systemic racism , Agwu said , “ That ’ s a start.
” The stark health disparities in the cities and counties that have declared emergencies have been clear for decades .
In Cleveland , the city where a white officer shot and killed with impunity 12-year-old Tamir Rice , Black infants are nearly three times as likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mortality rates for Black women are two to three times greater compared to white women , and neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Black have the highest rates of lead poisoning .
“ Even as an elected official , when I ’ m driving , when the police drive up behind me – I feel a sense of nervousness that comes over me , “ said Basheer Jones , a Cleveland council member who introduced legislation declaring racism a health crisis .
“ The trauma of seeing your children , your sons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed , in living color – that kind of stress ... also plays a part in the ailments that affect our bodies.
” In Cleveland , officials introduced the landmark resolution recognizing racism as a health emergency in early March , before the coronavirus pandemic had hit the city , and months before the demonstrators against police brutality took to the streets nationwide .
The moment has lent momentum to the effort , Jones said .
“ Getting support for this sort of legislation isn ’ t easy ... Now , everybody is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resolutions adopted by different cities and counties has varied , but all of them are largely symbolic .
They assign new urgency to long-standing issues .
“ If you declare something an emergency , you ’ re also saying it ’ s imperative to address the problem , ” Agwu said .
In San Bernardino , pastor Samuel Casey , one of the community leaders and activists who pushed the county to declare a crisis , said the move is an important first step .
“ I fought for this because I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tired , ” he said .
“ In some of our neighborhoods , kids are birthed into the generational trauma of slavery , and they ’ re traumatized by systemic oppression.
” By focusing on health , activists were able to capture all the racist institutional and social structures that erode the wellbeing of Black and Brown people , Casey explained .
Decades of research back up their case .
Police have fatally shot about 1,000 people a year in recent years , disproportionately killing Black people , as documented by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal justice system disproportionately jails African Americans and Latino people .
Housing segregation and racist housing policies have limited access to education and healthcare , and left minorities disproportionately exposed to toxic and cancer-causing chemicals in the water they drink , the air they breathe .
Amid the pandemic , a labor market structured by racism means that Black and Latino people working frontline jobs as nurses , grocery staff , cleaners and transit workers are disproportionately exposed to the coronavirus .
“ I ’ ve taken care of a number of coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ frank discussions with my Black patients about their risks , ” said Dr Jade Pagkas-Bather , an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine .
“ And as a Black provider , I offer that perspective in a way that doesn ’ t feel as painful or threatening.
” But pervasive discrimination within the medical system also contributes to bad health outcomes , she noted .
“ Black people aren ’ t believed when they ’ re in pain , ” she said .
Mary Bassett , the director of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Harvard , who previously served as a New York City health commissioner , said race can also gradually erode physical wellbeing in less obvious ways .
A growing body of research has found links between the chronic stress of experiencing discrimination and health disorders ; for instance , people who endure years of microaggressions develop heart disease more rapidly .
A study of Black women found that stress from frequent racist encounters was associated with chronic low-grade inflammation .
Other research suggests that pregnant women who report high levels of discrimination tend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lower birth weight .
Some researchers have also linked the constant stress of being marginalized to a phenomenon called “ weathering ” – which accelerates aging on a genetic level .
“ Of course , the answer to all this is not sending everyone on a yoga retreat – though that wouldn ’ t be so bad .
We still need to address the structural issues , ” Bassett said .
Doing so will likely involve a range of reforms across many different departments of local governments , she told the Guardian .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ – along with declaring a public safety and health emergency – announced it would withdraw from a federal defense department program that provides military weapons to police departments and committed to implementing a 10-point plan to reform law enforcement developed by US representative Ayanna Pressley , a Democrat of Massachusetts .
Cleveland lawmakers are planning to create a community advisory board to help shape legislation to address health disparities .
In San Bernardino , community activists plan to keep the pressure on officials to go beyond a ceremonial declaration , by addressing not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that doles out “ instant death ” for Black men , Casey said , but also inequities in the education and medical system .
“ Racism is a pandemic just like Covid-19 is a pandemic , ” Casey said .
“ But we ’ ve been dealing with the coronavirus for , what , four months ?
We ’ ve had systematic oppression for 400 plus years .
”

Long before a white police officer killed George Floyd and sparked nationwide outrage, long before Covid-19 began killing Black people at twice the rate of their white counterparts, doctors and health experts were raising alarms that systematic racism is itself a pervasive, deadly pandemic – one that kills both instantaneously and insidiously, burdens Black and Brown Americans with generational trauma, contributes to higher rates of infant mortality and heart disease, and even speeds up the ageing process.
Now, amid a national reckoning with entrenched inequality, lawmakers are finally hearing those alarms – and officially declaring racism a public health emergency. The city councils of Cleveland, Denver and Indianapolis have voted to acknowledge a crisis. Officials in San Bernardino county, California, and Montgomery county, Maryland, have done the same. State representatives in Ohio and Michigan are looking to follow suit.
These declarations are “long overdue”, said Dr Allison Agwu, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As a physician on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, Agwu said she had been amazed at how quickly the medical establishment mobilized to develop diagnostic tests, and produce thousands of research papers seeking a treatment and vaccine. If the government can commit the same sorts of resources and funds to addressing issues of systemic racism, Agwu said, “That’s a start.”
The stark health disparities in the cities and counties that have declared emergencies have been clear for decades. In Cleveland, the city where a white officer shot and killed with impunity 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Black infants are nearly three times as likely to die as white infants. Maternal mortality rates for Black women are two to three times greater compared to white women, and neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Black have the highest rates of lead poisoning.
Medical workers from the DC Nurses Association march in support of Black Lives Matter in Washington. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images
“Even as an elected official, when I’m driving, when the police drive up behind me – I feel a sense of nervousness that comes over me, “ said Basheer Jones, a Cleveland council member who introduced legislation declaring racism a health crisis. “The trauma of seeing your children, your sons, your daughters, your wives being killed, in living color – that kind of stress … also plays a part in the ailments that affect our bodies.”
New urgency for longstanding issues
In Cleveland, officials introduced the landmark resolution recognizing racism as a health emergency in early March, before the coronavirus pandemic had hit the city, and months before the demonstrators against police brutality took to the streets nationwide. The moment has lent momentum to the effort, Jones said. “Getting support for this sort of legislation isn’t easy … Now, everybody is on board.”
Kids are birthed into the generational trauma of slavery, and they’re traumatized by systemic oppression Pastor Samuel Casey
The language of these resolutions adopted by different cities and counties has varied, but all of them are largely symbolic. They assign new urgency to longstanding issues. “If you declare something an emergency, you’re also saying it’s imperative to address the problem,” Agwu said.
In San Bernardino, pastor Samuel Casey, one of the community leaders and activists who pushed the county to declare a crisis, said the move is an important first step. “I fought for this because I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he said. “In some of our neighborhoods, kids are birthed into the generational trauma of slavery, and they’re traumatized by systemic oppression.” By focusing on health, activists were able to capture all the racist institutional and social structures that erode the wellbeing of Black and Brown people, Casey explained.
Decades of research back up their case. Police have fatally shot about 1,000 people a year in recent years, disproportionately killing Black people, as documented by the Guardian’s Counted project. The criminal justice system disproportionately jails African Americans and Latino people. Housing segregation and racist housing policies have limited access to education and healthcare, and left minorities disproportionately exposed to toxic and cancer-causing chemicals.
Amid the pandemic, a labor market structured by racism means that Black and Latino people working frontline jobs as nurses, grocery staff, cleaners and transit workers are disproportionately exposed to the coronavirus. “I’ve taken care of a number of coronavirus patients, and I’ve had frank discussions with my Black patients about their risks,” said Dr Jade Pagkas-Bather, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine. “And as a Black provider, I offer that perspective in a way that doesn’t feel as painful or threatening.” But pervasive discrimination within the medical system also contributes to bad health outcomes, she noted. “Black people aren’t believed when they’re in pain,” she said.
Nurses take a stand for racial justice outside of Bellevue hospital in New York City, in June. Photograph: Steve Sanchez/Pacific Press/Rex/Shutterstock
Discrimination as a chronic illness
Mary Bassett, the director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard, who previously served as a New York City health commissioner, said race can also gradually erode physical wellbeing in less obvious ways. A growing body of research has found links between the chronic stress of experiencing discrimination and health disorders; for instance, people who endure years of microaggressions develop heart disease more rapidly. A study of Black women found that stress from frequent racist encounters was associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. Other research suggests that pregnant women who report high levels of discrimination tend give birth to babies that have a lower birth weight.
Some researchers have also linked the constant stress of being marginalized to a phenomenon called “weathering” – which accelerates ageing on a genetic level. “Of course, the answer to all this is not sending everyone on a yoga retreat – though that wouldn’t be so bad. We still need to address the structural issues,” Bassett said. Doing so will probably involve a range of reforms across many different departments of local governments, she told the Guardian.
To that end, Somerville, Massachusetts – along with declaring a public safety and health emergency – announced it would withdraw from a federal defense department program that provides military weapons to police departments and committed to implementing a 10-point plan to reform law enforcement developed by US representative Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat of Massachusetts. Cleveland lawmakers are planning to create a community advisory board to help shape legislation to address health disparities.
In San Bernardino, community activists plan to keep the pressure on officials to go beyond a ceremonial declaration, by addressing not only the criminal justice and policing system that doles out “instant death” for Black men, Casey said, but also inequities in the education and medical system.
“Racism is a pandemic just like Covid-19 is a pandemic,” Casey said. “But we’ve been dealing with the coronavirus for, what, four months? We’ve had systematic oppression for 400-plus years.”