democracynow--2020-05-11--"COVID-19 Has Been Racialized": Black Scholar Jill Nelson Arrested for Chalking "Trump = Plague"

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : We turn now to look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City ’ s response to the spread of COVID-19 — and it ’ s not just limited to New York .
Data released Friday reveals more than 80 % of summonses issued by the NYPD for social distancing violations have been to Black and Latinx people , and 92 % of people arrested for not social distancing are non-White .
Images circulated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on uneven policing .
Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks , apparently arresting no one .
Meanwhile , videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods .
Earlier this month , cellphone video went viral showing police officers aggressively pinning a Black man to the ground as they arrested him , then violently attacking a Black passerby , dragging him on the street , punching him and kneeling on his neck , during what was supposed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The man who was attacked , the second man , 33-year-old Donnie Wright , was hospitalized with severe injuries to his back , ribs and chest .
The officer involved , Francisco Garcia , has since been put on modified assignment .
Last week , the Brooklyn District Attorney ’ s Office said 35 of 40 people arrested for social distancing violations were Black .
Mayor Bill de Blasio has rejected comparisons to New York City ’ s unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policies under former Mayor Bloomberg , but said in a tweet “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our values.
” Well , for more on racist policing , we are joined by an author and activist who was herself arrested by the New York Police Department on April 16 .
She was writing “ Trump = Plague ” in chalk on a boarded-up building in her Washington Heights neighborhood in northern Manhattan .
Jill Nelson was handcuffed and spent more than five hours in jail before being released .
The 67-year-old scholar , writer and activist , now being called the “ graffiti grandma , ” is speaking out against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longtime reporter , has written several books , including the autobiographical Volunteer Slavery : My Authentic Negro Experience , which won an American Book Award .
She ’ s a former professor of journalism at the City College of New York .
Jill Nelson , welcome back to Democracy Now !
It ’ s great to have you with us , but unfortunately under these circumstances .
AMY GOODMAN : Can you talk about what happened to you — JILL NELSON : I went out to go to the drugstore and the supermarket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the drugstore down to Broadway to go to the supermarket , when I saw a green boarded-up , empty , for-rent building .
It was covered with plywood .
And I wrote — had a piece of chalk in my pocket , and I wrote “ Trump = Plague.
” Before I could even step back , cops swooped in , cut me off on — made an L , two cop cars — cut me off , jumped out .
“ What are you doing ?
What are you doing ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ searched me , asked me if I had weapons , told me to take my hands out of my pockets — it was a cold day , so I said no — frisked me , shoved me into a police car and took me to the 33rd Precinct , where they put me in a cell and left me there for five-and-a-half hours .
I took my shoes off .
I had had a mask , a fabric mask I had made , on , but I demanded that they give me one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t allow me to make any phone calls .
I was never read my rights .
It was absurd , absolutely absurd , a total waste of time , energy .
And this is in a community that has one of the highest rates of COVID , has many people who are poor and working poor .
And there ’ s something the police could have been doing besides attacking me for writing the truth .
I have yet to have anyone disagree with what I said .
AMY GOODMAN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beginning .
Talk about the building that you were writing on .
You were using chalk ?
JILL NELSON : I was using chalk , washable chalk .
And it was a boarded-up front of a building , when you build it out and cover it with plywood as if you ’ re going to renovate , but it had a “ for rent ” sign .
So it was not occupied by anyone .
AMY GOODMAN : And why did you choose that phrase ?
JILL NELSON : Because he is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ houses .
And I think we need — JILL NELSON : “ Trump = Plague , ” yes .
I mean , it sums it up , to me , what ’ s going on , how it is , what ’ s happening in this country and in the world .
And we have a president who is aiding and abetting and telling us that as people of color , and older people , we should just die , get out there and die for capitalism .
It ’ s ridiculous .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in treatment , in coverage .
You know , I think the police are out of control .
I think the mayor is afraid of the police .
Instead of saying what he ought to say , which is , “ Now I see how you feel , people of color , ” he ’ s fronting for the police , as always .
Apparently , the only person he worries about is Dante .
AMY GOODMAN : And why do you say that ?
JILL NELSON : Well , because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m tired of — you know , I ’ m 67 years old .
I was politicized by the killing of Clifford Glover when I was 18 .
This notion that it ’ s only a few bad apples and that this isn ’ t policy and that the police are there to serve and protect , I don ’ t buy it .
I don ’ t buy it .
I don ’ t see it .
I can ’ t see how arresting me or rushing down those young men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t make us safer .
And I frankly feel that COVID-19 has been racialized , really , and it ’ s now being used as a way to further oppress people of color .
It ’ s just absolutely wrong .
The police aren ’ t doing their job .
What a waste .
And — JILL NELSON : You know , I think we have to stand up and resist .
Go ahead .
AMY GOODMAN : So , describe what happened when the police moved in on you .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ they wearing masks ?
JILL NELSON : They were wearing masks .
They were wearing gloves .
They jumped in .
I mean , you would have thought I was selling crack in the early ’ 80s , the way they swooped down .
It was seconds .
They subsequently said — told someone that someone had called in a complaint .
I find that hard to accept .
It was between 15 and 30 seconds max between when I started writing and when the cops got there .
“ What are you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrest you .
Is this your property ?
Do you know what you ’ re doing ?
Do you have any weapons ?
” I said , “ Words.
” They didn ’ t think that was funny or intelligent .
They shoved me into — cuffed me roughly , shoved me into a police car , took my pocketbook , took me to the station , booked me , and then put me in a filthy cell for five-and-a-half hours .
I wasn ’ t read my rights .
I wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone call .
I took all of my — AMY GOODMAN : You weren ’ t able to make a phone call ?
JILL NELSON : No , no .
I ’ m sorry , at 3:00 — this was after being there a couple hours — they told me I could call and get my — try to get my husband , because I didn ’ t have a photo ID , and he needed to — they needed that to release me .
But they dialed my home number .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after 53 , 50 seconds , says — the cop says , “ I ’ m going to cut you off after a minute.
” Boom , cut me off .
So my husband had no idea what precinct I was in .
And they had — AMY GOODMAN : You hadn ’ t gotten a chance to say where you were yet .
JILL NELSON : No .
And they had told me to tell him that they would send a cop car by my apartment , which is like 10 blocks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
My husband put my license in an envelope , went downstairs and waited for 40 minutes , and they never came to get it .
Then he came back upstairs , figured out where I was , came to the precinct , dropped off my ID .
I didn ’ t even know that until I happened to see my identification in a plastic evidence bag and was like , “ Has my husband been here ?
Where is he ?
” And they were like , “ Oh , yeah , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You couldn ’ t have seen him anyway.
” AMY GOODMAN : Which police station were you being held in ?
Which community ?
AMY GOODMAN : So , did they threaten to bring you to Central Booking , to bring you downtown ?
JILL NELSON : Yes , because I didn ’ t have ID , and they wouldn ’ t either go pick up my ID , or I had offered earlier , “ Take me .
Drive me to my house .
You can come up to my apartment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — give you my ID.
” They told me they were going to take me downtown , and that if they took me downtown , I ’ d probably be there all night .
And when they finally released me , Amy , the desk sergeant said , “ And be sure to show up for your desk appearance ticket , or else we ’ ll come to your house and arrest you.
” JILL NELSON : The whole thing was — yes , ma ’ am .
AMY GOODMAN : Jill Nelson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and we ’ re going to also be joined by your lawyer , Norman Siegel , former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union , and talk about this issue .
AMY GOODMAN : These are the kinds of issues you write about , not only in New York City , but all over the country .
We ’ re talking to the author , activist , former professor , Jill Nelson , 67 years old , lives in the Washington Heights area of New York City and was handcuffed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for graffitiing on a boarded-up building “ Trump = Plague.
” Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Freedom Blues ” by Little Richard .
The man called the “ architect of rock ' n ' roll ” died of cancer Saturday at the age of 87 .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City’s response to the spread of COVID-19 — and it’s not just limited to New York. Data released Friday reveals more than 80% of summonses issued by the NYPD for social distancing violations have been to Black and Latinx people, and 92% of people arrested for not social distancing are nonwhite. Images circulated widely on social media shone a spotlight on uneven policing. Some show police officers distributing masks to white residents in crowded New York City parks, apparently arresting no one. Meanwhile, videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods.
Earlier this month, cellphone video went viral showing police officers aggressively pinning a Black man to the ground as they arrested him, then violently attacking a Black passerby, dragging him on the street, punching him and kneeling on his neck, during what was supposed to be a social distancing enforcement action. The man who was attacked, the second man, 33-year-old Donnie Wright, was hospitalized with severe injuries to his back, ribs and chest. The officer involved, Francisco Garcia, has since been put on modified assignment.
Last week, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said 35 of 40 people arrested for social distancing violations were Black. Mayor Bill de Blasio has rejected comparisons to New York City’s unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policies under former Mayor Bloomberg, but said in a tweet “the disparity in the numbers does NOT reflect our values.”
Well, for more on racist policing, we are joined by an author and activist who was herself arrested by the New York Police Department on April 16. She was writing “Trump = Plague” in chalk on a boarded-up building in her Washington Heights neighborhood in northern Manhattan. Jill Nelson was handcuffed and spent more than five hours in jail before being released. The 67-year-old scholar, writer and activist, now being called the “graffiti grandma,” is speaking out against the NYPD. She’s a longtime reporter, has written several books, including the autobiographical Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience, which won an American Book Award. She’s a former professor of journalism at the City College of New York.
Jill Nelson, welcome back to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us, but unfortunately under these circumstances.
JILL NELSON: Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what happened to you —
JILL NELSON: Thank you, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: — just under a month ago?
JILL NELSON: I went out to go to the drugstore and the supermarket, essential trips. I was walking from the drugstore down to Broadway to go to the supermarket, when I saw a green boarded-up, empty, for-rent building. It was covered with plywood. And I wrote — had a piece of chalk in my pocket, and I wrote “Trump = Plague.”
Before I could even step back, cops swooped in, cut me off on — made an L, two cop cars — cut me off, jumped out. “What are you doing? What are you doing? You’re under arrest.” They searched me, asked me if I had weapons, told me to take my hands out of my pockets — it was a cold day, so I said no — frisked me, shoved me into a police car and took me to the 33rd Precinct, where they put me in a cell and left me there for five-and-a-half hours. I took my shoes off. I had had a mask, a fabric mask I had made, on, but I demanded that they give me one of their more professional masks. They didn’t allow me to make any phone calls. I was never read my rights.
It was absurd, absolutely absurd, a total waste of time, energy. And this is in a community that has one of the highest rates of COVID, has many people who are poor and working poor. And there’s something the police could have been doing besides attacking me for writing the truth. I have yet to have anyone disagree with what I said.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go back to the beginning. Talk about the building that you were writing on. You were using chalk?
JILL NELSON: I was using chalk, washable chalk. And it was a boarded-up front of a building, when you build it out and cover it with plywood as if you’re going to renovate, but it had a “for rent” sign. So it was not occupied by anyone.
AMY GOODMAN: And why did you choose that phrase?
JILL NELSON: Because he is a plague and a pox on all our houses. And I think we need —
AMY GOODMAN: You were writing, “Trump = Plague”?
JILL NELSON: “Trump = Plague,” yes. I mean, it sums it up, to me, what’s going on, how it is, what’s happening in this country and in the world. And we have a president who is aiding and abetting and telling us that as people of color, and older people, we should just die, get out there and die for capitalism. It’s ridiculous. There are so many disparities in healthcare, in treatment, in coverage.
You know, I think the police are out of control. I think the mayor is afraid of the police. Instead of saying what he ought to say, which is, “Now I see how you feel, people of color,” he’s fronting for the police, as always. Apparently, the only person he worries about is Dante.
AMY GOODMAN: Dante being his son.
JILL NELSON: His son.
AMY GOODMAN: And why do you say that?
JILL NELSON: Well, because it’s always an excuse. I’m tired of — you know, I’m 67 years old. I was politicized by the killing of Clifford Glover when I was 18. This notion that it’s only a few bad apples and that this isn’t policy and that the police are there to serve and protect, I don’t buy it. I don’t buy it. I don’t see it. I can’t see how arresting me or rushing down those young men in Brooklyn serves any purpose. It doesn’t make us safer.
And I frankly feel that COVID-19 has been racialized, really, and it’s now being used as a way to further oppress people of color. It’s just absolutely wrong. The police aren’t doing their job. What a waste. And —
AMY GOODMAN: So, Jill Nelson —
JILL NELSON: You know, I think we have to stand up and resist. Go ahead.
AMY GOODMAN: So, describe what happened when the police moved in on you. You were wearing your mask. Were they wearing masks?
JILL NELSON: They were wearing masks. They were wearing gloves. They jumped in. I mean, you would have thought I was selling crack in the early ’80s, the way they swooped down. It was seconds. They subsequently said — told someone that someone had called in a complaint. I find that hard to accept. It was between 15 and 30 seconds max between when I started writing and when the cops got there.
“What are you doing? We’re going to arrest you. Is this your property? Do you know what you’re doing? Do you have any weapons?” I said, “Words.” They didn’t think that was funny or intelligent. They shoved me into — cuffed me roughly, shoved me into a police car, took my pocketbook, took me to the station, booked me, and then put me in a filthy cell for five-and-a-half hours. I wasn’t read my rights. I wasn’t offered the right to make a phone call. I took all of my —
AMY GOODMAN: You weren’t able to make a phone call?
JILL NELSON: No, no. I’m sorry, at 3:00 — this was after being there a couple hours — they told me I could call and get my — try to get my husband, because I didn’t have a photo ID, and he needed to — they needed that to release me. But they dialed my home number. When my husband answered, the guy, after 53, 50 seconds, says — the cop says, “I’m going to cut you off after a minute.” Boom, cut me off. So my husband had no idea what precinct I was in. And they had —
AMY GOODMAN: You hadn’t gotten a chance to say where you were yet.
JILL NELSON: No. And they had told me to tell him that they would send a cop car by my apartment, which is like 10 blocks away, to pick up my ID. My husband put my license in an envelope, went downstairs and waited for 40 minutes, and they never came to get it. Then he came back upstairs, figured out where I was, came to the precinct, dropped off my ID. I didn’t even know that until I happened to see my identification in a plastic evidence bag and was like, “Has my husband been here? Where is he?” And they were like, “Oh, yeah, yeah. He came a while ago. You couldn’t have seen him anyway.”
AMY GOODMAN: Which police station were you being held in? Which community?
JILL NELSON: The 33rd Precinct in Washington Heights.
AMY GOODMAN: So, did they threaten to bring you to Central Booking, to bring you downtown?
JILL NELSON: Yes, because I didn’t have ID, and they wouldn’t either go pick up my ID, or I had offered earlier, “Take me. Drive me to my house. You can come up to my apartment. I’ll show you my — give you my ID.” They told me they were going to take me downtown, and that if they took me downtown, I’d probably be there all night. And when they finally released me, Amy, the desk sergeant said, “And be sure to show up for your desk appearance ticket, or else we’ll come to your house and arrest you.”
AMY GOODMAN: Jill —
JILL NELSON: The whole thing was — yes, ma’am.
AMY GOODMAN: Jill Nelson, we’re going to break, and we’re going to also be joined by your lawyer, Norman Siegel, former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and talk about this issue.
JILL NELSON: Great.
AMY GOODMAN: These are the kinds of issues you write about, not only in New York City, but all over the country. We’re talking to the author, activist, former professor, Jill Nelson, 67 years old, lives in the Washington Heights area of New York City and was handcuffed by police after they moved in on her for graffitiing on a boarded-up building “Trump = Plague.” Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Freedom Blues” by Little Richard. The man called the “architect of rock 'n' roll” died of cancer Saturday at the age of 87.


democracynow--2020-05-11--Headlines for May 11, 2020

Headlines for May 11, 2020

The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise , with over 280,000 known deaths and over 4.1 million confirmed cases — though the true numbers are thought to be much higher .
The United States leads by far in the number of cases , which has topped 1.3 million , and the number of deaths , which is nearing 80,000 .
Despite the dire numbers , states across the country continue to open up their economies .
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington again upped its death toll forecast and is now projecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by early August .
Director Christopher Murray said some states that have moved to open up are seeing double-digit spikes in their caseloads .
This is Murray speaking on CBS ’ s “ Face the Nation ” Sunday .
Dr. Christopher Murray : “ What ’ s driving the change is , simply put , the rise in mobility .
And that ’ s the key driver .
We ’ re seeing in some states a 20 percentage point increase in just 10 days in mobility .
And that will translate into more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record unemployment numbers were reported Friday , Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged the true U.S. unemployment rate could be as high as 25 % — a rate not seen since the peak of the Great Depression .
Despite this , Mnuchin said Sunday the White House may wait “ a few weeks ” before taking up a new round of coronavirus relief funding .

The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise, with over 280,000 known deaths and over 4.1 million confirmed cases — though the true numbers are thought to be much higher. The United States leads by far in the number of cases, which has topped 1.3 million, and the number of deaths, which is nearing 80,000. Despite the dire numbers, states across the country continue to open up their economies.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington again upped its death toll forecast and is now projecting over 137,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. by early August. Director Christopher Murray said some states that have moved to open up are seeing double-digit spikes in their caseloads. This is Murray speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday.
Dr. Christopher Murray: “What’s driving the change is, simply put, the rise in mobility. And that’s the key driver. We’re seeing in some states a 20 percentage point increase in just 10 days in mobility. And that will translate into more human contact, more transmission.”
After record unemployment numbers were reported Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged the true U.S. unemployment rate could be as high as 25% — a rate not seen since the peak of the Great Depression. Despite this, Mnuchin said Sunday the White House may wait “a few weeks” before taking up a new round of coronavirus relief funding.


democracynow--2020-05-12--Los New Yorkers: Essential, Underprotected Undocumented Immigrants Struggle to Survive in Epicenter

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman in New York City , with Juan González in New Jersey .
Here , New York City is the epicenter of the pandemic .
We ’ re turning now to meet some of the undocumented New Yorkers living through what is happening here , their stories told in the new ProPublica report headlined “ Los New Yorkers : Essential and Underprotected in the Pandemic ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a former kitchen worker who lives in the Bronx with his wife and two teen sons , who are U.S. citizens .
Adan says he worked at the World Trade Center two decades ago , where he lost so many of his friends September 11th , not identified or acknowledged in the death toll because their names did not match those on record or their families were unable to claim the bodies .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , for more on this story , we are still with the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Adriana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who worked on this story .
She wrote this story with Ariel Goodman .
In the interests of transparency , Ariel is my niece .
Adriana , can you talk about the essential and underprotected New Yorkers that you met , that you profile ?
Start with Adan , who we just heard .
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Yes .
Adan is a perfect example of some of the workers that we met in this piece .
They ’ ve been in the city for decades .
They belong to the low-wage service industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I was surprised when he had this flashback , in the middle of our conversation , to 9/11 .
And he was , as you heard , so certain that many of the people who are powering these buildings and delivering all types of service , it ’ s something — will also be forgotten in the shake of things and in the ways that undocumented deaths are happening in the city .
And him , you know , through Adan , he was sort of my Sherpa through this piece .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and every few days he would have an update of people he knew who were dying , who were sick .
And he himself and his wife and son had both — had , all three of them , been ill with COVID and beat it at home .
And so , many folks like Adan , who are both trying to save themselves and then help others , like his brothers , who were convinced they wouldn ’ t get care if they went to seek it .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stories , what were some of the biggest concerns that you have in terms of the undocumented community as it continues to face this pandemic without any kind of the kinds of governmental support , emergency payments from the federal government , extra unemployment insurance , all the other support that Congress and the president have been giving to the general population ?
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Yes .
You know , many of them felt failed multiple times by not just local government , in things such as requesting burial assistance , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Social Security number until middle of last week .
You know , they were disappointed by their own embassies and their own consulates , that were very slow to react to the hundreds of deaths that were piling up very quickly .
And they were left with some of the most difficult decisions , which were to either continue working and risk their entire — the health of their entire families or themselves , or sit at home and sort of wait for this to pass , while not having any sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And people like Adan , who said , you know , his landlord kept coming , knocking on the door , looking for rent , and him being unable to come up with next month ’ s rent .
And these are very proud folks , who talked about how much they loved what they did and how proud they were to never miss a rent payment until things like this happened .
And so , I think , for them , it was a case of ultimate disappointment and ultimate isolation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very difficult to navigate .
AMY GOODMAN : There ’ s a meme that ’ s going around : “ Instead of paying rent , we should just clap for landlords instead .
If it ’ s good enough for nurses , landlords should have no issue getting by on it.
” I wanted to turn to Berenice .
She suffers from kidney problems .
Her son struggles with asthma .
She ’ s been home for weeks , along with her husband Luis , who , before the pandemic , worked at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And this is Sonia .
She became ill with COVID-19 symptoms almost three weeks ago and was afraid to go to the hospital .
AMY GOODMAN : Sonia and Berenice are just two of the people you profiled , Adriana , in this very powerful piece , “ Los New Yorkers , ” as they talk about the number of people who have died .
You pushed hard in this piece to find out about burial benefits .
And can you talk about what came of that ?
There has just been a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street Journal reporting — sadly , they use the term “ illegal immigrants , ” The Wall Street Journal , they still use that term .
But they talked about the burial benefits going up for New Yorkers , from $ 900 to $ 1,700 , including undocumented .
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Yes .
When we started writing this piece — and there ’ s two deaths that we document in the piece , and one of them was an undocumented kitchen worker who worked in Times Square .
And his family was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cover the burial cost and the cost of cremation , and , you know , in a pattern that just seemed — you know , it was a sudden illness , maybe brief hospitalization .
Many of these folks were in the trailers , the freezer trailers that line the streets of New York , and then an incinerator .
And for them , you know , navigating all of that process is incredibly challenging , and then , of course , all of the cost implications .
And just last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York changed regulations .
And now — before this , the person requesting burial assistance and the person who died both had to list a Social Security number on the application .
That has since evaporated , and now all New Yorkers qualify for burial assistance .
So that ’ s where we ’ re at .
I did want to mention that , about Berenice and Sonia , I met both of them through an organization here in New York that works with Indigenous Mexicans , which make up a majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
La Red de Pueblos Trasnacionales is who supports many of them .
And so , we ’ re also talking about folks who are at even smaller — you know , break into even smaller communities of vulnerabilities for them .
They come from very remote places in Mexico and in other countries in Central America , and they ’ re facing unsurmountable challenges now in caring for their dead .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Adriana Gallardo , could you talk about the whole situation ?
There ’ s been an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have died of COVID-19 in the New York area .
But for health reasons , the government of Mexico will only accept their bodies if they are cremated .
Can you share any updates on this ?
What does this do in terms of the cultural traditions for some , for many Mexicans ?
And is there any change seen in terms of the Mexican government ’ s position on the bodies being able to be returned back for burial in their homeland ?
ADRIANA GALLARDO : I believe there has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what this means is a tremendous disruption to tradition .
Many of these folks both who celebrate Indigenous cultures and who practice Catholicism , really , you know , their tradition is to bury the body , return it to the earth , have ceremonial rituals of that kind .
And the cremation has really altered that notion of death and who keeps the ashes .
For one of the families , the ashes are sitting at the funeral home until they ’ re able to send them back .
You know , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
There ’ s lots of other barriers to getting the bodies or the ashes back to their families .
And that ’ s been a tremendous obstacle for many of these families , such as the brothers that we profiled .
They did everything together .
They came to this country together .
And now one brother is sitting in Queens figuring out how to send the ashes of the other to their mother in Mexico .
So it ’ s been tremendously difficult , in ways that I think are hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Mayor de Blasio said , in the last few weeks , that when you had , for example , 300 people dying a day , or 600 people , another 300 , 200 to 300 , were dying a day who were not being counted .
They were dying at home .
So many of those people are immigrants , afraid to go to the hospital .
Is that what you found , Adriana ?
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Absolutely .
I mean , we heard things like families arguing amongst themselves , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , “ If we go to the hospital , we ’ ll be the last seen .
If we die there , if we die — we ’ ll be the first to die .
We ’ ll be sectioned off according to social ” — I mean , part myth , part fear , part distrust in health systems .
I mean , we ’ re trying to undo a notion that ’ s been long — healthcare is a privilege in most places , and undocumented workers aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ healthcare .
So , even as they were hearing very encouraging messages from the governor and they were keeping up with the news , they didn ’ t feel comfortable stepping into clinics .
We also heard from many who lived within walking distance of hospitals , and they were watching the chaos unfold outside their door , and became even more afraid of coming in at the peak of the crisis .
And so , yes , we heard time and time again that they were just too afraid to go .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was too late .
And that was no accident .
And yes , many people , I think , more than we know , died at home .
That ’ s for sure .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Adriana Gallardo , we only have a couple of minutes , but I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what drives you to cover these stories , some of your own experiences that have shaped your perspective of what the role of a journalist is in society .
ADRIANA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of this work is absolutely personal , not just because the two cities that we just discussed are places that I care lots about .
And , you know , I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago , lived in Chicago for many , many years .
You know , I ’ m a Mexican woman .
I came as an immigrant at 5 years old , worked in a janitorial family .
And really , I think I see a lot of my family , and a lot of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stories are people that I can relate to .
And I ’ m lucky to work in a team that really values the perspectives of the working and the perspectives of journalists who maybe aren ’ t from the traditional backgrounds that we see in newsrooms .
And yeah , so a lot of this work are things that I care to understand on deeper levels and be able to really , like we said at the top of our segment , really value who gets remembered and how , and why — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really do a bit more to give these folks a nod for everything that they do .
AMY GOODMAN : Adriana , we want to thank you so much for being with us .
We want to ask you to stay with us for quick post-show to talk about your gorgeous piece , “ The Lucky Ones , ” about your own life , and also about the Alaska story , for which you just won , with a team of people , the Pulitzer Prize .
Adriana Gallardo , engagement reporter at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Anchorage Daily News that just won the prize .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
Thanks so much for joining us .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman in New York City, with Juan González in New Jersey. Here, New York City is the epicenter of the pandemic. We’re turning now to meet some of the undocumented New Yorkers living through what is happening here, their stories told in the new ProPublica report headlined “Los New Yorkers: Essential and Underprotected in the Pandemic’s Epicenter.”
This is Adan, a former kitchen worker who lives in the Bronx with his wife and two teen sons, who are U.S. citizens. Adan says he worked at the World Trade Center two decades ago, where he lost so many of his friends September 11th, not identified or acknowledged in the death toll because their names did not match those on record or their families were unable to claim the bodies.
ADAN: [translated] The same thing is going to happen as it did in the Twin Towers: A lot of people are going to end up in a mass grave. I don’t remember how many Mexicans died, but we used to fill the elevators going all the way up to the restaurants. And there were a lot of Mexicans working there. A lot of people died, even though they said only a few. That’s why, most people who work in the restaurants now, in deliveries, the same thing is happening right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more on this story, we are still with the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Adriana Gallardo, engagement reporter at ProPublica, who worked on this story. She wrote this story with Ariel Goodman. In the interests of transparency, Ariel is my niece.
Adriana, can you talk about the essential and underprotected New Yorkers that you met, that you profile? Start with Adan, who we just heard.
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yes. Adan is a perfect example of some of the workers that we met in this piece. They’ve been in the city for decades. They belong to the low-wage service industry. And in Adan’s case, I was surprised when he had this flashback, in the middle of our conversation, to 9/11. And he was, as you heard, so certain that many of the people who are powering these buildings and delivering all types of service, it’s something — will also be forgotten in the shake of things and in the ways that undocumented deaths are happening in the city.
And him, you know, through Adan, he was sort of my Sherpa through this piece. We would talk every few days, and every few days he would have an update of people he knew who were dying, who were sick. And he himself and his wife and son had both — had, all three of them, been ill with COVID and beat it at home. And so, many folks like Adan, who are both trying to save themselves and then help others, like his brothers, who were convinced they wouldn’t get care if they went to seek it.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Adriana, in listening to their stories, what were some of the biggest concerns that you have in terms of the undocumented community as it continues to face this pandemic without any kind of the kinds of governmental support, emergency payments from the federal government, extra unemployment insurance, all the other support that Congress and the president have been giving to the general population?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yes. You know, many of them felt failed multiple times by not just local government, in things such as requesting burial assistance, which wasn’t available to folks without a Social Security number until middle of last week. You know, they were disappointed by their own embassies and their own consulates, that were very slow to react to the hundreds of deaths that were piling up very quickly.
And they were left with some of the most difficult decisions, which were to either continue working and risk their entire — the health of their entire families or themselves, or sit at home and sort of wait for this to pass, while not having any sort of income, any sort of relief. And people like Adan, who said, you know, his landlord kept coming, knocking on the door, looking for rent, and him being unable to come up with next month’s rent. And these are very proud folks, who talked about how much they loved what they did and how proud they were to never miss a rent payment until things like this happened. And so, I think, for them, it was a case of ultimate disappointment and ultimate isolation in a city that’s already very difficult to navigate.
AMY GOODMAN: There’s a meme that’s going around: “Instead of paying rent, we should just clap for landlords instead. If it’s good enough for nurses, landlords should have no issue getting by on it.” I wanted to turn to Berenice. She suffers from kidney problems. Her son struggles with asthma. She’s been home for weeks, along with her husband Luis, who, before the pandemic, worked at a cab company.
BERENICE: [translated] Yes, we need money, but there is also our health. If we contract [coronavirus], this is serious, because I have poor health and so does my son. We’re here trying to endure as much as we can. This situation is not easy with the expenses. The little we have, we spend on buying food. And we have family members who have gotten sick and friends who have died. We are trying to survive.
AMY GOODMAN: And this is Sonia. She became ill with COVID-19 symptoms almost three weeks ago and was afraid to go to the hospital.
SONIA: [translated] I’m afraid to go to the hospital, because I have diabetes. I have high cholesterol, high blood pressure. And hearing the news, I’m afraid. I did not want to go to the doctor, to tell you the truth. I preferred to isolate myself here at home. I only bought home remedies and [drank] a lot of hot tea. The situation itself has been very sad for me, because I am here in my community, helping in whatever way I can. But I also know a lot of people, and I have seen that many of them have already died, many people I know, and it is very sad to know that they arrive with symptoms at the hospital and they don’t leave there alive. That was my fear. That’s why I didn’t want to go.
AMY GOODMAN: Sonia and Berenice are just two of the people you profiled, Adriana, in this very powerful piece, “Los New Yorkers,” as they talk about the number of people who have died. You pushed hard in this piece to find out about burial benefits. And can you talk about what came of that? There has just been a change, I mean, The Wall Street Journal reporting — sadly, they use the term “illegal immigrants,” The Wall Street Journal, they still use that term. But they talked about the burial benefits going up for New Yorkers, from $900 to $1,700, including undocumented.
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yes. When we started writing this piece — and there’s two deaths that we document in the piece, and one of them was an undocumented kitchen worker who worked in Times Square. And his family was fundraising, like many other families, to cover the burial cost and the cost of cremation, and, you know, in a pattern that just seemed — you know, it was a sudden illness, maybe brief hospitalization. Many of these folks were in the trailers, the freezer trailers that line the streets of New York, and then an incinerator. And for them, you know, navigating all of that process is incredibly challenging, and then, of course, all of the cost implications.
And just last week, May 5th, the city of New York changed regulations. And now — before this, the person requesting burial assistance and the person who died both had to list a Social Security number on the application. That has since evaporated, and now all New Yorkers qualify for burial assistance. So that’s where we’re at.
I did want to mention that, about Berenice and Sonia, I met both of them through an organization here in New York that works with Indigenous Mexicans, which make up a majority of the Mexican community in the city. La Red de Pueblos Trasnacionales is who supports many of them. And so, we’re also talking about folks who are at even smaller — you know, break into even smaller communities of vulnerabilities for them. They come from very remote places in Mexico and in other countries in Central America, and they’re facing unsurmountable challenges now in caring for their dead.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Adriana Gallardo, could you talk about the whole situation? There’s been an estimated 400 Mexican migrants who are known to have died of COVID-19 in the New York area. But for health reasons, the government of Mexico will only accept their bodies if they are cremated. Can you share any updates on this? What does this do in terms of the cultural traditions for some, for many Mexicans? And is there any change seen in terms of the Mexican government’s position on the bodies being able to be returned back for burial in their homeland?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: I believe there has been no change in that policy. And what this means is a tremendous disruption to tradition. Many of these folks both who celebrate Indigenous cultures and who practice Catholicism, really, you know, their tradition is to bury the body, return it to the earth, have ceremonial rituals of that kind. And the cremation has really altered that notion of death and who keeps the ashes.
For one of the families, the ashes are sitting at the funeral home until they’re able to send them back. You know, there’s tons of flight restrictions. There’s lots of other barriers to getting the bodies or the ashes back to their families. And that’s been a tremendous obstacle for many of these families, such as the brothers that we profiled. They did everything together. They came to this country together. And now one brother is sitting in Queens figuring out how to send the ashes of the other to their mother in Mexico. So it’s been tremendously difficult, in ways that I think are hard for us to imagine.
AMY GOODMAN: Mayor de Blasio said, in the last few weeks, that when you had, for example, 300 people dying a day, or 600 people, another 300, 200 to 300, were dying a day who were not being counted. They were dying at home. So many of those people are immigrants, afraid to go to the hospital. Is that what you found, Adriana?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Absolutely. I mean, we heard things like families arguing amongst themselves, in where someone in the family would say, “If we go to the hospital, we’ll be the last seen. If we die there, if we die — we’ll be the first to die. We’ll be sectioned off according to social” — I mean, part myth, part fear, part distrust in health systems. I mean, we’re trying to undo a notion that’s been long — healthcare is a privilege in most places, and undocumented workers aren’t the first to be receiving access to healthcare. So, even as they were hearing very encouraging messages from the governor and they were keeping up with the news, they didn’t feel comfortable stepping into clinics. We also heard from many who lived within walking distance of hospitals, and they were watching the chaos unfold outside their door, and became even more afraid of coming in at the peak of the crisis. And so, yes, we heard time and time again that they were just too afraid to go. And by the time they went, it was too late. And that was no accident. And yes, many people, I think, more than we know, died at home. That’s for sure.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Adriana Gallardo, we only have a couple of minutes, but I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what drives you to cover these stories, some of your own experiences that have shaped your perspective of what the role of a journalist is in society.
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yes. Yeah, a lot of this work is absolutely personal, not just because the two cities that we just discussed are places that I care lots about. And, you know, I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, lived in Chicago for many, many years. You know, I’m a Mexican woman. I came as an immigrant at 5 years old, worked in a janitorial family. And really, I think I see a lot of my family, and a lot of the people that we talk to for our stories are people that I can relate to.
And I’m lucky to work in a team that really values the perspectives of the working and the perspectives of journalists who maybe aren’t from the traditional backgrounds that we see in newsrooms. And yeah, so a lot of this work are things that I care to understand on deeper levels and be able to really, like we said at the top of our segment, really value who gets remembered and how, and why — what can we do as journalists to really do a bit more to give these folks a nod for everything that they do.
AMY GOODMAN: Adriana, we want to thank you so much for being with us. We want to ask you to stay with us for quick post-show to talk about your gorgeous piece, “The Lucky Ones,” about your own life, and also about the Alaska story, for which you just won, with a team of people, the Pulitzer Prize. Adriana Gallardo, engagement reporter at ProPublica, part of a collaboration with the Anchorage Daily News that just won the prize. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. Thanks so much for joining us.


democracynow--2020-05-12--"Losing the Fabric of the City": COVID-19 Took Chicago Black Lives First & Exposed Structural Racism

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : This is Democracy Now !
, democracynow.org , The Quarantine Report .
I ’ m Amy Goodman , with Juan González .
As top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci prepares to remotely testify today before a Senate panel opening up the country prematurely will lead to , quote , “ needless suffering and death , ” we look at how the pandemic has already taken a disproportionate toll on African Americans in cities like Chicago , where Black people account for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ population , 72 % of COVID-19 deaths .
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke to CBS News ’ Face the Nation about the disparity .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s the Chicago mayor .
A new report by investigative news outlet ProPublica examined the first 100 recorded deaths in Chicago and found 70 of them were African American .
Reporters obtained a Cook County Medical Examiner ’ s database that listed the names , health and location information of COVID-19-related deaths , and reached out to the families and friends of each person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the victims .
For more , we ’ re joined by the newly Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica engagement reporter Adriana Gallardo , part of a ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News team that just won the 2020 Pulitzer for the investigative report “ Lawless , ” about sexual violence in Alaska .
We hope to talk to her about that , as well as her piece on “ Los New Yorkers : Essential and Underprotected in the Pandemic ’ s Epicenter.
” But first , the story that you did , Adriana , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Talk about the significance of what you found in your hometown , in Chicago .
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Sure .
Thank you for having me .
Good morning .
And like anything at ProPublica , it was a team effort , both the story and all of the other accolades .
The story in Chicago , that happens when you peel back all of the jargon and the numbers and the overrepresentation , is one of losing the fabric of the city .
In the 22 families that we were able to speak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , A , they loved Chicago , how much they did for the city .
We ’ re talking about veterans , teachers , nurses , everyday folks that are really the workers at the heart of what makes the city so great .
And so , in examining these first 70 deaths , we were able to understand how sophisticated structural racism exists in a place like Chicago and how it ’ s quick to sort of throw off the arrows in trying to understand how entrenched things are .
And it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Well , these folks just were sicker and worse off than other folks , and that ’ s an inevitable consequence.
” And what we learned is that it looks very different when this is your lived experience .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Adriana , specifically , what did you learn in terms of why there was such a disproportionate impact in the African American community compared to the general White community ?
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Sure .
There were three things that we learned from speaking to these families and looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was that the one-size-fits-all approach to COVID care doesn ’ t necessarily work for everyone , especially those that are already facing other complications .
And so many folks waited until their symptoms were very severe to seek care .
That was one thing that really gleamed .
The second thing was , you know , the thing that most Chicagoans know , which is the uneven distribution of hospitals throughout the city .
Many of the folks who were among the first to die lived in neighborhoods that are served by less-equipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called safety net hospitals .
And particularly the South and West Side , they serve low-income populations with fewer resources .
And many of the folks that became ill would either travel 30 minutes , 40 minutes to the nearest hospital that they trusted , or they got so sick that by the time that the paramedics arrived , they had to go to the nearest location , which is often a hospital that they didn ’ t trust or that wasn ’ t equipped to serve them .
And then , thirdly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the social connections that made their lives so strong , that make them integral to the beat of the city , really were then weaponized and were often a trace of how they became sick .
So , those three things were really — stand out for us in this story .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And were there any particular impacts , for instance , of the kind of work that people did before the pandemic struck or during the pandemic ?
Because , obviously , in terms of some of the Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , now already makes up the largest portion of any demographic in Illinois that has been struck by COVID-19 , but many of them work in frontline situations .
They ’ re janitors .
They work in restaurants or in hospitals as maintenance people .
Were there any particular , among the African American community , employment situations that may have contributed to their contracting the virus and dying ?
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Yeah , of course .
These are the city ’ s frontline workers , right ?
The transit workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those connections , of course , had lots to do with who died first in the pandemic .
AMY GOODMAN : Your specialty , Adriana , your love , your passion for journalism , is around engagement and bringing out the voices of the people that you ’ re covering .
Can you tell us some of the stories , like Philman Williams , who was 70 years old and loved to travel and was in Mardi Gras in New Orleans ?
ADRIANA GALLARDO : Yes , yeah .
No , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m very interested in understanding the — in between the disparity that they long lived with and their sudden deaths .
There ’ s so much that happens in between and so many people that were a part of their lives .
And that ’ s something that doesn ’ t always happen in obits and doesn ’ t always happen in how we talk about these — AMY GOODMAN : Adriana , you just froze for a second .
AMY GOODMAN : Oh , there , go ahead .
Go ahead .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yeah , no , I mean , like any story that I think , especially in the ones that our newsroom covers , it ’ s important to really understand what ’ s at stake for those that are most affected by whatever issue we ’ re talking about .
And then , in learning from them as the experts of their own experience , we ’ re able to really tell fuller stories that are actually representative of what ’ s at stake and who ’ s let who down in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was a very fast-moving target .
You know , the pandemic was probably the only new factor in things that people already knew were happening in their lives and weren ’ t necessarily had any control over , until — ADRIANA GALLARDO : Yes .
John Hill was a man that grew up in Cabrini-Green , met his wife down the street at the Rock ' n ' Roll McDonald ’ s — and Chicagoans will know exactly where we ’ re talking about — met his wife and built a family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ catered to many of the local politicians .
And among his proudest accomplishments was cooking for the Obamas in 2008 .
You know , folks that can ’ t get more Chicago than that .
And , you know , Philman ’ s family , Philman Williams ’ family , was proud of him .
He was a doorman at Michigan Avenue and was very well loved by his colleagues , by the people in his building , had a long career in the service industry and in his neighborhood , in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these families , this was a complete betrayal from the universe they weren ’ t expecting .
John Hill who was 53 years old and was out campaigning for a friend on Election Day last March in Chicago .
And so , for a lot of these families , when you call them and talk to them about COVID , you know , they don ’ t speak of it in the terms that we might write about it .
They speak of it as a sudden and incredible loss to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AMY GOODMAN : We ’ re going to break , Adriana , and when we come back , we want to talk about “ Los New Yorkers , ” talk about people in the epicenter of the epicenter of the pandemic , who gets counted in their deaths , who doesn ’ t , what kind of support does the state give , especially for the undocumented .
Adriana Gallardo , Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with ProPublica .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : “ Quarantine Trio Improvisation ” by Sonny Singh , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing together alone in their homes , from Los Angeles to New York City .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. As top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci prepares to remotely testify today before a Senate panel opening up the country prematurely will lead to, quote, “needless suffering and death,” we look at how the pandemic has already taken a disproportionate toll on African Americans in cities like Chicago, where Black people account for 30% of the city’s population, 72% of COVID-19 deaths. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke to CBS News’ Face the Nation about the disparity.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT: This is an issue that’s not unique to Chicago, unfortunately. We’re seeing similar kinds of numbers reported across the country in large urban centers. And the answer that we believe is right is because of the underlying conditions that people of color, and particularly Black folk, suffer from, whether it’s diabetes, heart disease, upper respiratory illnesses. The kind of things that we’ve been talking about for a long time that plague Black Chicago, that lead to life expectancy gaps, this virus attacks those underlying conditions with a vengeance.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s the Chicago mayor. A new report by investigative news outlet ProPublica examined the first 100 recorded deaths in Chicago and found 70 of them were African American. Reporters obtained a Cook County Medical Examiner’s database that listed the names, health and location information of COVID-19-related deaths, and reached out to the families and friends of each person who died, ultimately focusing on 22 of the victims.
For more, we’re joined by the newly Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica engagement reporter Adriana Gallardo, part of a ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News team that just won the 2020 Pulitzer for the investigative report “Lawless,” about sexual violence in Alaska. We hope to talk to her about that, as well as her piece on “Los New Yorkers: Essential and Underprotected in the Pandemic’s Epicenter.”
But first, the story that you did, Adriana, on Chicago. Congratulations on your Pulitzer. Talk about the significance of what you found in your hometown, in Chicago.
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Sure. Thank you for having me. Good morning. And like anything at ProPublica, it was a team effort, both the story and all of the other accolades.
The story in Chicago, that happens when you peel back all of the jargon and the numbers and the overrepresentation, is one of losing the fabric of the city. In the 22 families that we were able to speak with, you really learn how much, A, they loved Chicago, how much they did for the city. We’re talking about veterans, teachers, nurses, everyday folks that are really the workers at the heart of what makes the city so great. And so, in examining these first 70 deaths, we were able to understand how sophisticated structural racism exists in a place like Chicago and how it’s quick to sort of throw off the arrows in trying to understand how entrenched things are. And it is easy to just say, “Well, these folks just were sicker and worse off than other folks, and that’s an inevitable consequence.” And what we learned is that it looks very different when this is your lived experience.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Adriana, specifically, what did you learn in terms of why there was such a disproportionate impact in the African American community compared to the general white community?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Sure. There were three things that we learned from speaking to these families and looking at the data in Chicago. One was that the one-size-fits-all approach to COVID care doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, especially those that are already facing other complications. And so many folks waited until their symptoms were very severe to seek care. That was one thing that really gleamed.
The second thing was, you know, the thing that most Chicagoans know, which is the uneven distribution of hospitals throughout the city. Many of the folks who were among the first to die lived in neighborhoods that are served by less-equipped hospitals, what — they’re called safety net hospitals. And particularly the South and West Side, they serve low-income populations with fewer resources. And many of the folks that became ill would either travel 30 minutes, 40 minutes to the nearest hospital that they trusted, or they got so sick that by the time that the paramedics arrived, they had to go to the nearest location, which is often a hospital that they didn’t trust or that wasn’t equipped to serve them.
And then, thirdly, the other heartbreaking thing is that the social connections that made their lives so strong, that make them integral to the beat of the city, really were then weaponized and were often a trace of how they became sick. So, those three things were really — stand out for us in this story.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And were there any particular impacts, for instance, of the kind of work that people did before the pandemic struck or during the pandemic? Because, obviously, in terms of some of the Latino community, which, as I understand it, now already makes up the largest portion of any demographic in Illinois that has been struck by COVID-19, but many of them work in frontline situations. They’re janitors. They work in restaurants or in hospitals as maintenance people. Were there any particular, among the African American community, employment situations that may have contributed to their contracting the virus and dying?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yeah, of course. These are the city’s frontline workers, right? The transit workers, the service industry workers. Many of those connections, of course, had lots to do with who died first in the pandemic.
AMY GOODMAN: Your specialty, Adriana, your love, your passion for journalism, is around engagement and bringing out the voices of the people that you’re covering. Can you tell us some of the stories, like Philman Williams, who was 70 years old and loved to travel and was in Mardi Gras in New Orleans?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yes, yeah. No, I mean, I think — I’m very interested in understanding the — in between the disparity that they long lived with and their sudden deaths. There’s so much that happens in between and so many people that were a part of their lives. And that’s something that doesn’t always happen in obits and doesn’t always happen in how we talk about these —
AMY GOODMAN: Adriana, you just froze for a second.
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Like —
AMY GOODMAN: Oh, there, go ahead. Go ahead.
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Oh, sorry. Yeah, no, I mean, like any story that I think, especially in the ones that our newsroom covers, it’s important to really understand what’s at stake for those that are most affected by whatever issue we’re talking about. And then, in learning from them as the experts of their own experience, we’re able to really tell fuller stories that are actually representative of what’s at stake and who’s let who down in the equation. And in this case, it was a very fast-moving target. You know, the pandemic was probably the only new factor in things that people already knew were happening in their lives and weren’t necessarily had any control over, until —
AMY GOODMAN: So, John Hill and Philman Williams?
ADRIANA GALLARDO: Yes. John Hill was a man that grew up in Cabrini-Green, met his wife down the street at the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald’s — and Chicagoans will know exactly where we’re talking about — met his wife and built a family, started a small catering business, catered to many of the local politicians. And among his proudest accomplishments was cooking for the Obamas in 2008. You know, folks that can’t get more Chicago than that.
And, you know, Philman’s family, Philman Williams’ family, was proud of him. He was a doorman at Michigan Avenue and was very well loved by his colleagues, by the people in his building, had a long career in the service industry and in his neighborhood, in his community.
And so, for many of these families, this was a complete betrayal from the universe they weren’t expecting. John Hill who was 53 years old and was out campaigning for a friend on Election Day last March in Chicago. And so, for a lot of these families, when you call them and talk to them about COVID, you know, they don’t speak of it in the terms that we might write about it. They speak of it as a sudden and incredible loss to their families and to who they were.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to break, Adriana, and when we come back, we want to talk about “Los New Yorkers,” talk about people in the epicenter of the epicenter of the pandemic, who gets counted in their deaths, who doesn’t, what kind of support does the state give, especially for the undocumented. Adriana Gallardo, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with ProPublica. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Quarantine Trio Improvisation” by Sonny Singh, Jonathan Goldberger and Rohin Khemani, friends playing together alone in their homes, from Los Angeles to New York City.


democracynow--2020-05-12--Standoff in South Dakota: Cheyenne River Sioux Refuse Governor's Demand to Remove COVID Checkpoints

This is a rush transcript .
Copy may not be in its final form .
AMY GOODMAN : We begin today ’ s show with the standoff in South Dakota , where two Native American Indian tribes are defying orders by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to remove COVID-19 checkpoints from their territories .
The Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux tribes say the checkpoints are the best way to protect against the coronavirus entering their communities , which are not equipped to handle an outbreak .
The governor says the checkpoints — which are set up on highways on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday , she gave the tribes 48 hours to remove them and threatened legal action .
Both the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux have refused , and the checkpoints are still running .
In a Facebook Live video Saturday , Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner said that Governor Noem was threatening the sovereignty of the Oglala people .
AMY GOODMAN : Seventeen South Dakota lawmakers signed a letter over the weekend urging the South Dakota governor to seek a resolution with the tribes .
As of Monday , the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South Dakota has a COVID-19 death toll of at least 34 and has had more than 3,600 confirmed cases .
For more , we go to Eagle Butte , South Dakota , to the reservation , where we ’ re joined by Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier .
Chairman , welcome to Democracy Now !
Thank you so much for joining us .
Can you explain what ’ s happening now ?
How many checkpoints , COVID checkpoints , have you set up ?
And what are they for ?
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stopped ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Yeah , good morning .
Right now we have nine checkpoints on our reservation .
And , you know , one of the biggest concerns we have is safety .
And we are looking , and as soon as we get more equipment , we intend to put up another checkpoint .
You know , the main purpose of these checkpoints is to try to , number one , keep the virus out .
And number two is track if it comes in , because we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not travel , it ’ s the people with virus that travel .
So , we know that that ’ s the only way that that virus will get into our homes , is if it ’ s brought in from the outside .
And that ’ s the main purpose of these checkpoints , is to keep our people safe and also to ensure that [ inaudible ] have the right to live .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : Well , Chairman Frazier , what about the governor ’ s perspective or viewpoint that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s your response to that ?
Could you talk about your treaties , the existing treaties between your nation and the federal government , that might have some bearing on this or do have bearing on this ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Well , you know , we kind of look , you know , and , number one , my — the people who elected me to this position , they ’ re the ones that are , I guess , so-called my boss .
The governor is not my boss , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people that live here .
That ’ s who I work for , and that ’ s who I take directives from and such .
But they haven ’ t — you know , we stepped up to do this .
We feel that we have every right to do this .
We have a treaty , the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty , Article 16 .
In that article , it says that , you know , before any White man can travel or reside on our lands , they must get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addition to our treaties , there ’ s case law .
There ’ s even our Constitution , that we swore to uphold against all enemies foreign and domestic , that they give us all the legal right to do what we ’ re doing .
You know , a lot of times — and we ’ ve been studying the laws of this country for quite a while .
How can somebody own something without paying for it ?
And that ’ s the way we look at it , that these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ours , because we were never paid for it .
So we have every legal right to do that .
And it doesn ’ t matter , you know , what comes today , tomorrow .
We ’ re still going to be here .
We ’ re still going to have and maintain our checkpoints .
AMY GOODMAN : Chairman Frazier , can you describe what happens at a checkpoint ?
And have you been at one ?
Talk about the people who are stopping the cars and what they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FRAZIER : Well , yeah , I ’ ve been there to all of our checkpoints numerous times .
You know , if a driver rolls up — and it all depends .
You know , if a driver rolls up , they ’ re asked some health questions .
There ’ s a questionnaire that they have to be filled out , and they ’ re filled out by our deputies .
So , there ’ s really no — you know , I ’ ve seen some motorists where they just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the questions .
If they ’ re coming in for essential travel , if they ’ re a resident of the reservation or a member of the tribe or family to a resident or a member , they ’ re asked the questions , and they come in .
If you ’ re a motorist coming from a hot spot , your license plates show that , every day we monitor that , where are people — where ’ s the areas that we ’ ve got to be concerned with .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , then they will be asked to reroute their travel and not come through our lands .
But we allow any commercial vehicles coming , because we need to have supplies just like everyone else .
Medical people , they definitely are rolled in .
But also , too , essential , and that ’ s the Postal Service , the agriculture .
That ’ s a big thing on our reservation .
So , things like that , they ’ re allowed to come and go , but they ’ re all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questionnaires .
And to expedite a lot of locals , particularly the agriculture , numerous times they come and go to — sometimes they have land in other areas .
So , they — what we put together was a process to obtain a permit , an agriculture permit or essential travel permit .
And them motorists usually just roll up , just show their permit number , and they ’ re allowed just to keep going .
Usually , it just probably takes a minute to a minute and a half .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a hot spot , you ’ re generally just allowed to just roll on .
So , it ’ s not really any , in my opinion , hindrance of any motorist .
And again , the main purpose is to try to save lives .
And I know there was [ inaudible ] that we should work together .
And that ’ s something that I agree with .
But with our population , with our lack of medical facilities , things like that , we know , and we just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Navajo Nation , and see what ’ s going on there .
And that could easily be us .
And we ’ ve been watching that , so that ’ s why we stepped up to do these type of actions , to try to keep our people safe and definitely save their lives .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Chairman Frazier , you mentioned the lack of medical facilities .
Could you talk about that ?
Because you issued a stay-at-home — strict stay-at-home measures , while the governor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dakota did not .
What is the situation ?
You only have eight hospital beds and one ICU , as I understand it , on your lands ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Well , we have eight hospital beds .
We don ’ t have no ICU .
There are six ventilators .
We have one respiratory therapist .
And I ’ m being told by our medical people that generally they monitor two to three ventilators , and they could do four , but that ’ s pushing it .
The nearest facility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and it ’ s about a three-hour drive just to get to Rapid .
And that has always been the practice of the Indian Health Service , is to get the care that some of our people need , they generally get referred out .
But when we started this , we started looking at numbers and the number of residents .
And when we broke it down , that maybe 50 % would possibly get the virus .
And when we — they were saying that 80 % can be handled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % .
And we looked at the numbers , and we realized that there is a potential that we may need 1,200 beds .
And when we only have eight , I mean , that really woke up a lot of people here at home .
AMY GOODMAN : Chairman Frazier , can you talk about the one confirmed COVID case you have had on the reservation and how the checkpoint led you to be able to identify that person ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Yeah .
That patient come in , I believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they knew where they come from .
Our command center , which works directly with the checkpoints , they knew the patient come from an area that what we called a hot spot .
Our medical people immediately started monitoring every day , you know , being in contact and so forth .
And then , that following Tuesday is when the patient wasn ’ t feeling well .
They took her into the hospital .
They ran a test and was tested positive , in a matter of less than probably eight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the very next morning they already knew the contact , of who they were , and then people were put into quarantine .
And right now the patient is doing well , and we ’ re pretty happy about that .
But that ’ s the whole purpose of that , because if we didn ’ t know any of that , and the individual come and they didn ’ t realize that they were infected by the virus , they could have easily went , and , you know , immediately that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is something that we know we ’ re definitely not capable of handling .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Chairman , the governor has threatened to take your tribe to court over the checkpoints , while other lawmakers have urged her to try to negotiate and reach a common agreement .
Could you talk about the state ’ s relationship to your tribe over the years ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Well , you know , it ’ s just — as a matter of fact , I was just reading something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of our members live out there , from us , Oglala , Rosebud .
A lot of our Sioux relatives live out there .
And there ’ s a IHS service unit out there .
And they ran some tests , and there were 16 positive cases .
And I was just reading that , and I was going to get some verification later today .
But it sounded like one of the individuals that tested positive , the state Department of Health didn ’ t even contact that individual 'til three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we 've been — we know the treatment we get from the state and the federal government .
And that ’ s why we ’ re really doing these things , because we know when times get tough , all we have is each other .
AMY GOODMAN : I mean , this is a very significant situation .
HAROLD FRAZIER : And it ’ s important that we step up and — yes .
AMY GOODMAN : You have Governor Noem , the South Dakota governor .
I mean , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Falls , for example , the mayor was begging the governor to shut down the plant .
This is before Trump ’ s executive order that said the state couldn ’ t .
You had hundreds and hundreds of workers , mainly immigrant , overwhelmingly immigrants , who were testing positive .
And yet the governor refused to do this .
This is the same governor now that is saying she will challenge you , demanding you take down these checkpoints .
So what are you willing to take this to , Chairman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a standoff , not just legally , but between the state and your tribe ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Well , you know , we have no other alternative .
We won ’ t back down , no matter what they do .
Whether it ’ s through the court or they come by force , we will be still there , because we live here .
And , you know , we looked at everything .
When we started planning and getting ready back in early March , that ’ s some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our plans , was for legal , as well as medical .
So , I ’ m confident that , you know , if you want to — if she wants to take us to court , go ahead and do it .
And I believe in my heart that we ’ re going to be successful .
And the main reason why is we ’ re doing these things for the right reasons .
It ’ s not to benefit economically , or we ’ re not doing this to destroy somebody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I mean , we ’ re doing it for the good , you know , the good of God .
And what we ’ ve been saying is , you know , the number one right is the right to live .
I know that I ’ ve seen words being thrown out there about liberties and civil rights and First Amendment rights , Second Amendment rights and so forth .
But the right to live , I believe , is above all of them .
And that ’ s what we want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here have that right to live .
JUAN GONZÁLEZ : And , Chairman Frazier , you mentioned courts .
Could you talk about the recent victory of the Cheyenne River Sioux over the Trump administration , where the Trump administration attempted to use some federal COVID-19 moneys that were intended for the tribes to go instead to the Alaska Native corporations ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Yeah .
You know , it was nothing against the Native villages , but we felt that business corporations , that ’ s chartered under the state , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ felt that they shouldn ’ t get that , because we believe that that money was set aside for Native Americans .
And , you know , the interesting thing , as of today , we still have not been notified how much we ’ re going to receive here on Cheyenne River .
I know a lot of our relatives in North Dakota and the other South Dakota tribes have received or been at least notified how much they ’ re going to receive .
But as of this morning , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to receive .
So , we ’ ve been kind of thinking , well , I guess they ’ re pretty upset for us taking them to court ; maybe they ain ’ t gon na give it to us .
But , I guess , hopefully by today , we would know if we ’ re going to receive any of that funding .
AMY GOODMAN : That ’ s from the CARES Act .
The tribes were demanding something like $ 20 billion , ultimately was settled on $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been very slow to make its way out to the various nations .
Finally , Harold Frazier , very quickly , if you can talk quickly about the significance of a legal battle here and what it could mean , for example , for the future of ongoing struggles , like your fight against the Keystone XL pipeline ?
HAROLD FRAZIER : Oh , yeah , I mean , most definitely .
And , you know , there ’ s already been case law .
The recent one in reference to roads and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just can ’ t think where they ’ re coming from , you know , reading what the lawmakers at the state Legislature put out there .
I mean , and then , even that , the governor has been on briefings saying that they have no jurisdiction .
So , I mean , I ’ m just kind of totally shocked , and almost unbelievable what ’ s going on , because there ’ s no way that they can win .
There ’ s just no way .
And , yeah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re trying to focus and stay prepared for this pandemic , and just to have another issue is kind of unbelievable .
AMY GOODMAN : Well , I want to thank you so much , Harold Frazier , for joining us , Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe chairman , speaking to us from Eagle Butte in South Dakota from the reservation .
When we come back , we go to Chicago , where COVID-19 took Black lives first .
It didn ’ t have to .
And then we talk about Los New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undocumented at the center of the pandemic , who are essential yet underprotected .
We ’ ll speak with a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with ProPublica .
Stay with us .
AMY GOODMAN : Valerie Adrian , an Oglala Lakota in Sweetwater , Idaho , participating in the Quarantine Dance Specials .

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show with the standoff in South Dakota, where two Native American Indian tribes are defying orders by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to remove COVID-19 checkpoints from their territories. The Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux tribes say the checkpoints are the best way to protect against the coronavirus entering their communities, which are not equipped to handle an outbreak. The governor says the checkpoints — which are set up on highways on tribal land — are illegal. On Friday, she gave the tribes 48 hours to remove them and threatened legal action. Both the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux have refused, and the checkpoints are still running. In a Facebook Live video Saturday, Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner said that Governor Noem was threatening the sovereignty of the Oglala people.
PRESIDENT JULIAN BEAR RUNNER: South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, threatened the sovereign interests of the Oglala people when she issued an ultimatum to us on May 8, 2020. … Governor Noem miscalculates our level of dedication to protect our most vulnerable people from crony capitalism, threats to force us to open our economy as they chose to do so. There is no way to place a value on what we have to lose if we let them insult us this way. My relatives, we have been here for millions of years. Whatever they brought to our lands has proven to be poison.
AMY GOODMAN: Seventeen South Dakota lawmakers signed a letter over the weekend urging the South Dakota governor to seek a resolution with the tribes. As of Monday, the state had not yet filed any lawsuit. South Dakota has a COVID-19 death toll of at least 34 and has had more than 3,600 confirmed cases.
For more, we go to Eagle Butte, South Dakota, to the reservation, where we’re joined by Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier.
Chairman, welcome to Democracy Now! Thank you so much for joining us. Can you explain what’s happening now? How many checkpoints, COVID checkpoints, have you set up? And what are they for? What are you doing when the cars are stopped?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Yeah, good morning. Right now we have nine checkpoints on our reservation. And, you know, one of the biggest concerns we have is safety. And we are looking, and as soon as we get more equipment, we intend to put up another checkpoint.
You know, the main purpose of these checkpoints is to try to, number one, keep the virus out. And number two is track if it comes in, because we’ve always been saying that the virus does not travel, it’s the people with virus that travel. So, we know that that’s the only way that that virus will get into our homes, is if it’s brought in from the outside. And that’s the main purpose of these checkpoints, is to keep our people safe and also to ensure that [inaudible] have the right to live.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Chairman Frazier, what about the governor’s perspective or viewpoint that these checkpoints are illegal? What’s your response to that? Could you talk about your treaties, the existing treaties between your nation and the federal government, that might have some bearing on this or do have bearing on this?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Well, you know, we kind of look, you know, and, number one, my — the people who elected me to this position, they’re the ones that are, I guess, so-called my boss. The governor is not my boss, or the federal government. It’s the people that live here. That’s who I work for, and that’s who I take directives from and such.
But they haven’t — you know, we stepped up to do this. We feel that we have every right to do this. We have a treaty, the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, Article 16. In that article, it says that, you know, before any white man can travel or reside on our lands, they must get consent from the Indians first. In addition to our treaties, there’s case law. There’s even our Constitution, that we swore to uphold against all enemies foreign and domestic, that they give us all the legal right to do what we’re doing.
You know, a lot of times — and we’ve been studying the laws of this country for quite a while. How can somebody own something without paying for it? And that’s the way we look at it, that these lands, these roads, they are ours, because we were never paid for it. So we have every legal right to do that. And it doesn’t matter, you know, what comes today, tomorrow. We’re still going to be here. We’re still going to have and maintain our checkpoints.
AMY GOODMAN: Chairman Frazier, can you describe what happens at a checkpoint? And have you been at one? Talk about the people who are stopping the cars and what they’re doing when they stop them.
HAROLD FRAZIER: Well, yeah, I’ve been there to all of our checkpoints numerous times. You know, if a driver rolls up — and it all depends. You know, if a driver rolls up, they’re asked some health questions. There’s a questionnaire that they have to be filled out, and they’re filled out by our deputies. So, there’s really no — you know, I’ve seen some motorists where they just roll down their window partway and answer the questions.
If they’re coming in for essential travel, if they’re a resident of the reservation or a member of the tribe or family to a resident or a member, they’re asked the questions, and they come in. If you’re a motorist coming from a hot spot, your license plates show that, every day we monitor that, where are people — where’s the areas that we’ve got to be concerned with. And if their vehicle is coming from that, then they will be asked to reroute their travel and not come through our lands.
But we allow any commercial vehicles coming, because we need to have supplies just like everyone else. Medical people, they definitely are rolled in. But also, too, essential, and that’s the Postal Service, the agriculture. That’s a big thing on our reservation. So, things like that, they’re allowed to come and go, but they’re all stopped and asked to fill out these questionnaires.
And to expedite a lot of locals, particularly the agriculture, numerous times they come and go to — sometimes they have land in other areas. So, they — what we put together was a process to obtain a permit, an agriculture permit or essential travel permit. And them motorists usually just roll up, just show their permit number, and they’re allowed just to keep going. Usually, it just probably takes a minute to a minute and a half. And if you’re not coming from a hot spot, you’re generally just allowed to just roll on.
So, it’s not really any, in my opinion, hindrance of any motorist. And again, the main purpose is to try to save lives. And I know there was [inaudible] that we should work together. And that’s something that I agree with. But with our population, with our lack of medical facilities, things like that, we know, and we just look to our relatives to the south, the Navajo Nation, and see what’s going on there. And that could easily be us. And we’ve been watching that, so that’s why we stepped up to do these type of actions, to try to keep our people safe and definitely save their lives.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Chairman Frazier, you mentioned the lack of medical facilities. Could you talk about that? Because you issued a stay-at-home — strict stay-at-home measures, while the governor of the state did not, of South Dakota did not. What is the situation? You only have eight hospital beds and one ICU, as I understand it, on your lands?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Well, we have eight hospital beds. We don’t have no ICU. There are six ventilators. We have one respiratory therapist. And I’m being told by our medical people that generally they monitor two to three ventilators, and they could do four, but that’s pushing it. The nearest facility for critical care is in Rapid City, and it’s about a three-hour drive just to get to Rapid. And that has always been the practice of the Indian Health Service, is to get the care that some of our people need, they generally get referred out.
But when we started this, we started looking at numbers and the number of residents. And when we broke it down, that maybe 50% would possibly get the virus. And when we — they were saying that 80% can be handled at home, and that left 20%. And we looked at the numbers, and we realized that there is a potential that we may need 1,200 beds. And when we only have eight, I mean, that really woke up a lot of people here at home.
AMY GOODMAN: Chairman Frazier, can you talk about the one confirmed COVID case you have had on the reservation and how the checkpoint led you to be able to identify that person?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Yeah. That patient come in, I believe, like on a Thursday. And they knew where they come from. Our command center, which works directly with the checkpoints, they knew the patient come from an area that what we called a hot spot. Our medical people immediately started monitoring every day, you know, being in contact and so forth.
And then, that following Tuesday is when the patient wasn’t feeling well. They took her into the hospital. They ran a test and was tested positive, in a matter of less than probably eight hours, I would say, because the very next morning they already knew the contact, of who they were, and then people were put into quarantine. And right now the patient is doing well, and we’re pretty happy about that.
But that’s the whole purpose of that, because if we didn’t know any of that, and the individual come and they didn’t realize that they were infected by the virus, they could have easily went, and, you know, immediately that could have went into a community spread, which is something that we know we’re definitely not capable of handling.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Chairman, the governor has threatened to take your tribe to court over the checkpoints, while other lawmakers have urged her to try to negotiate and reach a common agreement. Could you talk about the state’s relationship to your tribe over the years?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Well, you know, it’s just — as a matter of fact, I was just reading something last night. Rapid City, a lot of our members live out there, from us, Oglala, Rosebud. A lot of our Sioux relatives live out there. And there’s a IHS service unit out there. And they ran some tests, and there were 16 positive cases. And I was just reading that, and I was going to get some verification later today. But it sounded like one of the individuals that tested positive, the state Department of Health didn’t even contact that individual 'til three days later. So, you know, we've been — we know the treatment we get from the state and the federal government. And that’s why we’re really doing these things, because we know when times get tough, all we have is each other.
AMY GOODMAN: I mean, this is a very significant situation.
HAROLD FRAZIER: And it’s important that we step up and — yes.
AMY GOODMAN: You have Governor Noem, the South Dakota governor. I mean, when you look at the meatpackers in Sioux Falls, for example, the mayor was begging the governor to shut down the plant. This is before Trump’s executive order that said the state couldn’t. You had hundreds and hundreds of workers, mainly immigrant, overwhelmingly immigrants, who were testing positive. And yet the governor refused to do this. This is the same governor now that is saying she will challenge you, demanding you take down these checkpoints. So what are you willing to take this to, Chairman? Could this lead to a showdown, a standoff, not just legally, but between the state and your tribe?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Well, you know, we have no other alternative. We won’t back down, no matter what they do. Whether it’s through the court or they come by force, we will be still there, because we live here. And, you know, we looked at everything. When we started planning and getting ready back in early March, that’s some of the scenarios we threw out at our plans, was for legal, as well as medical. So, I’m confident that, you know, if you want to — if she wants to take us to court, go ahead and do it. And I believe in my heart that we’re going to be successful.
And the main reason why is we’re doing these things for the right reasons. It’s not to benefit economically, or we’re not doing this to destroy somebody’s business, their lives. I mean, we’re doing it for the good, you know, the good of God. And what we’ve been saying is, you know, the number one right is the right to live. I know that I’ve seen words being thrown out there about liberties and civil rights and First Amendment rights, Second Amendment rights and so forth. But the right to live, I believe, is above all of them. And that’s what we want to do: ensure that our residents here have that right to live.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Chairman Frazier, you mentioned courts. Could you talk about the recent victory of the Cheyenne River Sioux over the Trump administration, where the Trump administration attempted to use some federal COVID-19 moneys that were intended for the tribes to go instead to the Alaska Native corporations?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Yeah. You know, it was nothing against the Native villages, but we felt that business corporations, that’s chartered under the state, that is not federally recognized — we felt that they shouldn’t get that, because we believe that that money was set aside for Native Americans.
And, you know, the interesting thing, as of today, we still have not been notified how much we’re going to receive here on Cheyenne River. I know a lot of our relatives in North Dakota and the other South Dakota tribes have received or been at least notified how much they’re going to receive. But as of this morning, we have not been notified what we’re going to receive. So, we’ve been kind of thinking, well, I guess they’re pretty upset for us taking them to court; maybe they ain’t gonna give it to us. But, I guess, hopefully by today, we would know if we’re going to receive any of that funding.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s from the CARES Act. The tribes were demanding something like $20 billion, ultimately was settled on $8 billion, but that’s been very slow to make its way out to the various nations. Finally, Harold Frazier, very quickly, if you can talk quickly about the significance of a legal battle here and what it could mean, for example, for the future of ongoing struggles, like your fight against the Keystone XL pipeline?
HAROLD FRAZIER: Oh, yeah, I mean, most definitely. And, you know, there’s already been case law. The recent one in reference to roads and highways was in 1990. And I just can’t think where they’re coming from, you know, reading what the lawmakers at the state Legislature put out there. I mean, and then, even that, the governor has been on briefings saying that they have no jurisdiction. So, I mean, I’m just kind of totally shocked, and almost unbelievable what’s going on, because there’s no way that they can win. There’s just no way. And, yeah, and then, too, we’re trying to focus and stay prepared for this pandemic, and just to have another issue is kind of unbelievable.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you so much, Harold Frazier, for joining us, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe chairman, speaking to us from Eagle Butte in South Dakota from the reservation.
When we come back, we go to Chicago, where COVID-19 took Black lives first. It didn’t have to. And then we talk about Los New Yorkers, those New Yorkers who are undocumented at the center of the pandemic, who are essential yet underprotected. We’ll speak with a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with ProPublica. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: Valerie Adrian, an Oglala Lakota in Sweetwater, Idaho, participating in the Quarantine Dance Specials.


democracynow--2020-05-12--Headlines for May 12, 2020

Headlines for May 12, 2020

In Washington , D.C. , President Trump clashed with Chinese American CBS reporter Weijia Jiang when she confronted him over the issue of testing .
Weijia Jiang : “ You have said many times that the U.S. is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing .
Why is this a global competition to you , if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we ’ re still seeing more cases every day ?
” President Donald Trump : “ Well , they ’ re losing their lives everywhere in the world .
And maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ask China .
Don ’ t ask me .
Ask China that question , OK ?
When you ask them that question , you may get a very unusual answer .
Yes , behind you , please.
” President Donald Trump : “ I ’ m not saying it specifically to anybody .
I ’ m saying it to anybody that would ask a nasty question like that.
” The second reporter addressing Trump was CNN ’ s Kaitlan Collins , as Trump walked off the stage .
Last month , Trump went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about his failure to warn Americans about the virus in February as he held packed political rallies .
He told her at the time to “ just relax ” and “ keep your voice down.
” Trump also falsely claimed at his Monday press briefing that anyone who wants a test can get one .
Pressed by a reporter , Health and Human Services official Admiral Brett Giroir later clarified “ anybody who needs a test ” can get one — specifying this covered people with COVID-19 symptoms or who were knowingly exposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump was standing in front of a banner that read “ America leads the world in testing .
”

In Washington, D.C., President Trump clashed with Chinese American CBS reporter Weijia Jiang when she confronted him over the issue of testing.
Weijia Jiang: “You have said many times that the U.S. is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing. Why is this a global competition to you, if everyday Americans are still losing their lives and we’re still seeing more cases every day?”
President Donald Trump: “Well, they’re losing their lives everywhere in the world. And maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me. Ask China that question, OK? When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer. Yes, behind you, please.”
Weijia Jiang: “Sir, why are you saying that to me specifically?”
President Donald Trump: “I’m telling you.”
Weijia Jiang: “That I should ask China?”
President Donald Trump: “I’m not saying it specifically to anybody. I’m saying it to anybody that would ask a nasty question like that.”
Weijia Jiang: “That’s not a nasty question.”
President Donald Trump: “Please, go ahead.”
Weijia Jiang: “Why does it matter, when” —
President Donald Trump: “OK, anybody else? Please, go ahead, in the back, please.”
Kaitlan Collins: “I have two questions.”
President Donald Trump: “No, it’s OK. We’ll go over here.”
Kaitlan Collins: “But you pointed to me. I have two questions, Mr. President.”
President Donald Trump: “Next? Next, please.”
Kaitlan Collins: “But you called on me.”
President Donald Trump: “I did, and you didn’t respond. And now I’m calling on” —
Kaitlan Collins: “Sir, I just wanted to” —
President Donald Trump: — “the young lady in the back. Please.”
Kaitlan Collins: “I just wanted to let my colleague finish. But can I ask you a question, please?”
President Donald Trump: “OK, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Appreciate it.”
Kaitlan Collins: “But you called on me.”
President Donald Trump: “Thank you very much.”
The second reporter addressing Trump was CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, as Trump walked off the stage. Last month, Trump went after Weijia Jiang after she questioned him about his failure to warn Americans about the virus in February as he held packed political rallies. He told her at the time to “just relax” and “keep your voice down.”
Trump also falsely claimed at his Monday press briefing that anyone who wants a test can get one. Pressed by a reporter, Health and Human Services official Admiral Brett Giroir later clarified “anybody who needs a test” can get one — specifying this covered people with COVID-19 symptoms or who were knowingly exposed to the virus. At the briefing, Trump was standing in front of a banner that read “America leads the world in testing.”