Sunday, May 31, 2020

Systems Failure. Answer for Change in Law Enforcement, Monitoring, and Oversight. May 2020

Systems Failure:  The Failure of Law Enforcement to Serve and Protect

With the same fervor and expediency that created the organization and structure at the Federal level for the Department of Homeland Security. This fervor change must also be conducted with great expediency at the Federal, State, County, City, townships, and other jurisdictions for the establishment of a new law enforcement model in the the U.S.

Communities will continue to lose trust in law enforcement if changes across the board are not enacted.

Now is the time for Federal Elected Officials, Governors, Mayors, City Council members,, Law Enforcement officials, and community members to make the change. 

We must proceed with a change across the board, or members of the community.  Vulnerable members, the 'whole community' will foresee 'business as usual' in both the Courts, and Law Enforcement.

Why does BEMA International comprised of homeland security, emergency management, Fire\EMS, Law Enforcement members voice this concern for change? 

The profession of law enforcement plays a key role in all phases of emergency management (preparedness, planning, response, recovery, mitigation) within the incident command system (ICS).

WHAT ROLE DOES LAW ENFORCEMENT PLAY IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT?

Without the trust, credibility, and transparency in our law enforcement profession and changes needed for 2020 and beyond.  A ‘business as usual’ approach will be the norm.

To our elected officials make the change.

Sincerely,


Charles D. Sharp




Charles D. Sharp                                                                                            
Cornell University Climate Fellow                                                                 
Chairman Emeritus\CEO                                                                             
Black Emergency Managers Association International                                    
1231-B Good Hope Road.  S.E.                                                                    
Washington, D.C.  20020                                                                              
Office:   202-618-909                                           
bEMA International                                                                                  

             


“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today.  We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. 
In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.  Procrastination is still the thief of time.  Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity.  This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos or community.”   Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘Where Are We Going From Here:  Chaos or Community’.

Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)            

A 501 (c) 3 organization.


Friday, May 29, 2020

National Caribbean American Heritage Month - Massachusetts” on June 1, 2020 at 6pm



Massachusetts Celebrates National Caribbean Heritage Month.

Since 2006, June has been designated as National Caribbean American Heritage Month by Presidential Proclamation. Caribbean American have contributed to the development of the United States in extraordinary ways. Millions of people in the United States are connected to our Caribbean Neighbors.
Join us on a virtual launch “National Caribbean American Heritage Month - Massachusetts” on June 1, 2020 at 6pm.  Massachusetts State Governor Proclamation along with the following cities proclamation - Boston, Brockton, Cambridge.
Guest Speakers:
Massachusetts Governor Representative, Mayor Robert Sullivan City of Brockton, Councilor President Kim Janey City of Boston, Councilor Julia Mejia City of Boston, Councilor Quinton Zondervan City of Cambridge, Councilor Gerly Adrien City of Everett, Councilor Natacha Clerger Town of Randolph, Councilor Ken Clifton Town of Randolph and Dr. Claire Nelson of the Institute of Caribbean Studies.

LIVE PERFORMANCE BY BECKY BASS


Becky Bass, hailing from St.Croix, US Virgin Islands, is a renowned vocalist, steel drummer & actor.  A two-time New England Urban Music Award winner, Becky’s beautiful, angelic voice and skillful steel pan playing can now be heard while performing her Caribbean Soul music as a solo artist as well as with several bands all over the New England area.


Thursday, May 28, 2020

National Black Police Association. Taking a Stand. May 2020

BEMA International shall stand with the National Black Police Association (NBPA), and Black Fire Brigade (Chicago).

Charles D. Sharp
Chairman Emeritus\CEO
Cornell University Climate Fellow
Black Emergency Managers Association International
Washington, D.C.

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Condemn, Condon, or Practice. Which are you? May 2020

Killing of Black Males, Females, LatinX, and others of color.

Is this prevalent throughout Law Enforcement in the U.S.?

Those within the Law Enforcement community MUST STAND UP and say 'No more'.

You either condemn, condon, or practice.
Which are you?

BEMA International




'Less Than Human': The Psychology Of Cruelty



Climate Reality Project. May 2020



The Climate Reality Project


Climate Reality

We have some big news. This July, we will host our first-ever virtual climate advocacy training: a truly global gathering.
  
During this moment of physical distancing, we’re excited to join together and raise our voices for change.
 
The COVID-19 emergency has shattered our sense of normalcy and forced us to grapple with the kind of world we want – and need – when this crisis is over.
 
We believe that together, we can create a world where we rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to end the climate crisis, safeguard our health, strengthen our communities’ well-being, and ensure justice for those who have been marginalized in the past.


  
During the training, you can expect to:
  • Hear from leading experts on strategies to implement practical clean energy and sustainability solutions around the world.
  • Gain an understanding of the road ahead for the climate movement and how we make a rapid transition to clean energy by promoting justice and equity.
  • Connect with other Climate Reality Leaders and become a member of our global network of activists.
  • Strengthen and build your skills in public speaking, advocacy, community organizing, and digital media outreach to be an effective activist and leader.
Our free event will take place virtually and feature one-to-two hours of programming each day between July 18-26, 2020.
 
While some sessions will be pre-scheduled based on your time zone, others you can stream on demand, so you will be able to create an agenda that works for your schedule.
 
Attendees who complete the training requirements will join our powerful network of over 20,000 Climate Reality Leaders in over 150 countries around the world.
 

Hilary Ashford-Ng
Director of Special Projects
The Climate Reality Project


When vital information is received at the 11-hour. What Communities Need to Know About Reopening During COVID-19. May 2020

What Communities Need to Know About Reopening During COVID-19
 
Thurs., May 28, 2020 | 1:00 p.m. ET 

Faith congregations and communities are eager to reconvene after months of remotely gathering.

Yet, as states start to reopen, how can faith leaders best care for their diverse communities while still gathering in the safest manner possible?

We want to help answer some of these important questions!

That's why we have invited top experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to review the most up-to-date information available regarding what communities need to know about COVID-19, available safety and prevention protocols, and helpful guidance on reopening worship facilities.


Join us on tomorrow, May 28, at 1 p.m. ET, to learn more!
 

GUEST SPEAKERS 
  

Los Angeles County must provide housing or shelter space for as many as 4,000 people living along freeways

A federal judge ruled that Los Angeles County must provide housing or shelter space for as many as 4,000 people living along freeways, NextCity writes

In the face of the pandemic, California legislators are rethinking their sweeping plans to address the state’s housing crisis, according to CalMatters. "My sense is that there’s a real desire to see the market help fix our problems, and I think that’s kind of fundamentally at odds with our perspective," Chione Flegal, a managing director at PolicyLink, told the news site. "Although there’s certainly a role for the market, the last two decades have shown that the market is not working to build supply for people at the bottom of the income spectrum — and it’s never worked for communities of color."

Structural Racism. COVID-19 is a never-ending lesson in the history, legacy, and reality of structural racism


Issue No 7. May 27, 2020
Advancing Water Equity for the Nation’s Recovery and Renewal

By Ronda Lee Chapman


COVID-19 is a never-ending lesson in the history, legacy, and reality of structural racism in America. We see it everywhere the pandemic forces us to look: in infection rates, unemployment, housing insecurity, and the loss of life. It’s also glaring in an area that has not gotten enough attention: lack of access to safe, affordable water.

It is no coincidence that many of the current COVID-19 "hot spots" are in cities and communities with majority-Black or Indigenous populations — places where residents have been fighting for years for reliable, affordable access to safe water. Medical experts exhort the public to wash our hands and sanitize our surroundings, but that advice is hollow in communities plagued by tainted water, crumbling sanitation systems or none at all, or unaffordable water bills and service shutoffs. COVID-19 exposes the dangers and immorality of decades of underinvestment, unjust policies at all levels of government, and society’s disregard for the well-being of millions of low-income people and people of color. Nearly a quarter of the US population, 77 million people, are served by drinking water systems with known Safe Drinking Water Act violations. As local and state governments increasingly shoulder the expense of maintaining and repairing old, fraying systems, the costs are passed down to consumers, though they are not responsible for the problems and in many cases they cannot afford higher rates. Before the pandemic, an estimated15 million people, mostly people of color struggling with poverty and unemployment, experienced water shutoffs when they couldn’t pay their bills.

When COVID-19 struck Detroit, for example, an estimated 2,800 homes were experiencing water shutoffs. More than 100,000 Detroit homes have had their water turned off at some point since 2014. We the People of Detroit co-founder Monica Lewis-Patrick has worked tirelessly to put bottled water into the hands of residents. In the face of the pandemic, they had to choose between hydration and hand washing. African Americans make up close to 14 percent of the population in Michigan, but around 40 percent of the state’s 1,076 coronavirus deaths as of April 9. Water is by no means the only factor behind these devastating statistics, but access to clean water is the most fundamental element of infection control, and it’s critical to good health.

In Navajo Nation, an estimated 30 percent of people do not have running water and must haul barrels to meet their needs, according to the 2019 report Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States. Many also lack access to wastewater systems, and some households rely on unregulated wells, springs, or livestock troughs for water, which can be unsafe because groundwater is contaminated by abandoned uranium mines. These conditions are rooted in a history of US government violations of tribal water rights. The well-documented health impacts of poor water access in Navajo Nation include higher rates of diabetes and other conditions that make people especially vulnerable to COVID-19. As of May 25, Navajo Nation had 4,794 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the highest infection rate in the United States.

In this public health crisis, some government leaders are taking action. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a statewide COVID-19 moratorium on water shutoffs in homes with unpaid bills and ordered service restored to homes that had been disconnected from water supplies. Michigan Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell have introduced the Emergency Water is a Human Rights Act, which would prohibit water shutoffs and require reconnections nationally during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act), a $3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill put forward by the House of Representatives, has two key provisions that would advance water equity and other environmental justice issues: (1) $50 million in grants to investigate or address the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic in environmental justice communities; and (2) $1.5 billion in grants to states and tribes to subsidize water costs for households at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, and to keep or restore water access.

This moment of disruption creates a unique opportunity to rework our inadequate and inequitable water systems and reconceive how we value and manage them, bending the arc toward structural change. The US Water Alliance and more than 200 organizations have put forward a set of guiding principles that call on local, state, and federal governments to ensure that water is reliable and affordable for everyone, strengthen water utilities of all sizes, close the water access gap, and fuel economic recovery by investing in water systems.  

Indigenous communities rightly refer to water as a relative, reminding us that we are deeply connected to water and should treat it with respect, care, and humility. Water is life giving, life sustaining, and lifesaving. COVID-19 should spur the nation to rethink policies and practices that treat water as a commodity — an increasingly unaffordable one — and reimagine it as an essential resource that must be available to all.

Ronda Lee Chapman is a Senior Associate at PolicyLink.

Climate Change. GCC joins FEMA Region IX in announcing Level Up Audio Project


Still don't get it.
Emergency Managers are multi-skilled and also
Climate Change Managers to address its' impacts.

BEMA International 



News & Updates from
the Georgetown Climate Center


GCC joins FEMA Region IX in
announcing Level Up Audio Project
Stories spotlight local climate adaptation and hazard mitigation

Storytelling works better than facts alone when motivating people to act. Stories allow people to form an emotional connection, to learn from other communities’ challenges and solutions, and to wonder, “How could this work in my community?”

The Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) is partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IX to make local hazard mitigation and climate adaptation stories available through the new series, Level Up Audio Project. FEMA Region IX produced this series to support local conversations about hazard risk and resilience, empower communities to advance resilience, strengthen a network of hazard mitigation and climate adaptation professionals, and inspire action. Level Up discusses themes including:

·    Climate change; 
·    Equity, environmental justice, and social resilience; 
·    Hazard mitigation; 
·    Ecosystems and natural resilience; and more.

The Georgetown Climate Center is partnering with FEMA Region IX to make the Level Up Audio Project available. This collaboration grew out of the natural connections between FEMA’s mission to reduce impacts of disasters, and the Georgetown Climate Center’s work to help state and local leaders make their communities more resilient to changes in the climate that exacerbate disaster impacts. As a resource to states and local governments on climate change adaptation, GCC helps policymakers and practitioners identify best practices in adaptation policy, including in hazard mitigation and post-disaster contexts through legal and policy analysis, and through GCC’s online resource, the Adaptation Clearinghouse.

Level Up features 10- to 15-minute conversations with individuals on the United States’ West Coast who are making hazard mitigation planning and action a priority in their communities. Tune in to hear how:

·    An immigrants’ rights organization in California made sure all members of the community were able to rebuild following the Thomas Fire;
·    The City of Santa Cruz integrated climate adaptation and hazard mitigation planning processes to ensure more coordinated implementation;
·    The City of Tehama stacked various funding sources to elevate homes and protect the community from floods; and more.

The Level Up Audio Project can be accessed on the GCC website and via streaming platforms including Blubrry, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher. If you have topics to suggest for future episodes or would like to get involved, please contact fema-r9-mitigation-planning@fema.dhs.gov or climate@georgetown.edu.




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