Black History Month. Recovery: First Nations in Recovery. New Mexico PBS--NLFRTA stands on the shoulders February 2022

 A message, a narrative, a story

 

We are One.

 

Recovery-You may normally think of recovery in relation to an individual or a community suffering from a crisis event.  Recovery can also occur within a nation, a culture of peoples devastated by some event that has uprooted their heritage, or their culture out of their normal practice that has persisted for generations.

 

Black History Month is not just about the ‘Negro’, the Colored, and African American, the Black experience for equity, justice, housing, jobs, medical & health care.  But a month for all (Black, Latino, communities of color) that have experienced and are recovering from unjust and immoral practices.

 

We are ONE  (Do not get it twisted.  We are ONE), the Rural Coalition, the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, and BEMA International

 

Una Lucha Por Mi Pueblo | New Mexico PBS Nov 30, 2009 http://www.newmexicopbs.org - Corridos are ballads, often referred to as windows that look into the soul of a people. They are the songs of the time, supplementing recorded documents as historical artifacts that describe the popular consciousness at the time in which they were written. This week, we experience the songs of corridistas, Antonio Martinez, Roberto Martinez, and Chuy Martinez. These land grant activists wrote about the centuries old struggle. Their feelings have been kept alive in song. The story they tell surrounds the Flores family's struggle to retain a portion of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant, due for development by an Arizona consortium. This case is only a small part of the larger struggle of indigenous people displaced from their land. The legal issue of the occupation of land by activists has recently been settled out of court, but the larger issue of the dispossession of land remains. COLORES | Una Luncha Por Mi Pueblo | New Mexico PBS www.knme.org - Corridos are ballads, often referred to as windows that look into the soul of a people. They are the songs of the time, supplementing recorded documents as historical artifacts that describe the popular consciousness at the time in which they were written. This week, we experience the songs of corridistas, Antonio Martinez, Roberto Martinez, and Chuy Martinez. These land grant activists wrote about the centuries old struggle. Their feelings have been kept alive in song. The story they tell surrounds the Flores family's struggle to retain a portion of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant, due for development by an Arizona consortium. This case is only a small part of the larger struggle of indigenous people displaced from their land. The legal issue of the occupation of land by activists has recently been settled out of court, but the larger issue of the dispossession of land remains.   WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYiTB7eUzVk OWN: www.flickr.com/photos/knme/sets/72157622621025519/bit.ly

 

 

 

 

 

Black Emergency Managers Association International Washington, D.C.

bEMA International Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)   A 501 (c) 3 organization "It is my belief that the best results in business come from a creative process, from the ability to see things differently from everyone else, and from finding answers to problems that are not bound by the phrase 'we have always done it this way.' "  Wayne Rogers

BLACK FARMER TAKES ACTION IN FIGHTOVER STALLED $4 BILLION RELIEF FUNDING February 2022

Food Insecurity

https://whoswhoinblack.com/black-farmer-takes-action-in-fight-over-stalled-4-billion-relief-funding/

 

BLACK FARMER TAKES ACTION IN FIGHTOVER STALLED $4 BILLION RELIEF FUNDING By Zuri Anderson   February 9, 2022 A Black farmer is speaking out amidst the legal battle over $4 billion in federal aid meant to help minority farmers.  Dr. John Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation farmer in Virginia and the president of the National Black Farmers Association, told The Hill he’s been pressuring lawmakers and the Biden administration to help Black farmers in need. President Joe Biden signed off on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package almost a year ago, and part of that money was meant to assist minority farmers facing serious debt during a crippling global pandemic. However, white farmers alleging discrimination have contested the aid in courts across the country, meaning the money cannot be paid out to those who need it. “It’s a do-or-die for a guy who owes a couple hundred thousand dollars to the government,” Boyd says, adding that he’s been trying to get a meeting with the president over the stalled money. “They’re saying they can’t interfere with the courts is what they’re telling me … and I’m saying that it’s got to be something that can be done.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture told The Hill in a statement that it “continues to work closely with the Department of Justice to vigorously defend” the allocated funding. The agency also found that Black farmers own less than 2% of the nation’s farms while white farmers own over 96%, citing rampant discrimination over the nation’s history. Boyd himself described the racial epithets and disparity he’s experienced ever since he started farming at 18. The Virginia farmer was also the subject of a public battle with then-USDA agent James Barnett, alleging discrimination when Boyd was denied a loan. “He was only seeing Black farmers on Wednesday, and he carried on with the discrimination like this is what he does every day,” Boyd recalls. His civil rights advocacy also extends to eye-catching demonstrations, such as riding his mule to Washington D.C., and reaching out to lawmakers. “We can’t just be consumers as Blacks. We got to be at the table and a part of these companies making sure that we get our part here, too,” according to Boyd. You can read more about this situation here.

 

Black Emergency Managers Association International   Washington, D.C.  20020 bEMA International   Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)   A 501 (c) 3 organization “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 issuch 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’.

 

 

Upcoming Events for Veterans. February 2022

 

Upcoming Events

Feb 15, 3-4 p.m. - Stress Solutions
Feb 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Creating Calm In Stressful Times
Feb 16, 12-1 p.m. - Wellness Wednesday Financial Education: Student Loans
Feb 16, 1-2 p.m. - Artificial Intelligence: How Algorithms Improve Veterans Lives
Feb 16, 1-2 p.m. - National Cemetery Administration: Pre-Eligibility and Burial Benefits
Feb 16, 2-3 p.m. - Veteran Get Hired Workshop
Feb 16, 3-4 p.m. - Wellness Wednesday Financial Education: Student Loans

WHO: Infusion of Aid Could End Pandemic’s Emergency Phase. February 2022

Feb 9, 2022

GHN News   Workers unload COVID-19 vaccines at an airport in Bujumbura, Burundi, Oct. 14, 2021. Image: Evrard Ngendakumana/Xinhua via Getty   WHO: Infusion of Aid Could End Pandemic’s Emergency Phase Wealthy countries have the power to end the emergency phase of the pandemic—but they must do more to bridge vast global disparities, WHO leaders urged yesterday, according to Al Jazeera.  Paying a ‘fair share’: Only 5% of funding has been raised for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) initiative, WHO’s campaign to bring more tests and vaccines to low-resource countries, reports Reuters. The agency still needs $23 billion, and has calculated “fair share” asks to wealthy countries. The vast gap: 10% of people in low-income countries have had 1 vaccine dose, compared to 68% in richer countries. The inequity costs lives, economies, and “risks the emergence of new, more dangerous variants,” WHO stated. Global case counts are falling, the WHO also reported yesterday–-down 17% last week; global deaths are down 7%, the AP reports. And yet: Omicron has driven the number of US daily deaths past pre-vaccine levels last spring, The Washington Post reports, mainly claiming those over 75, the unvaccinated, and the medically vulnerable.  BA.2’s eclipse: WHO also forecasts the Omicron subvariant will likely become more common than the current dominant strain, CNBC reports.

Global Health Voices       COVID-19 WATCH The Latest Global Numbers  401,389,331 cases  5,766,875 deaths  10,115,095,644 vaccine doses administered —Source: Johns Hopkins University   Key Developments Johnson & Johnson shut down production of its COVID-19 vaccine last year, according to the New York Times; the company says it is still on track to fulfill its contracts with African Union nations reliant on the single-dose vaccine. CBS News   Don’t delay mammograms after COVID-19 vaccination, says a new study that found lymphadenopathy—swollen lymph nodes that are a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccines—are common, but malignant lymph nodes were found in just 9 of 1,217 patients. Radiology Compared to their uninfected peers, pregnant people with COVID-19 are ~40% more likely to die or become seriously ill from conditions such as high blood pressure-related pregnancy disorders and postpartum hemorrhage, according to a study of 41,104 women across 17 US hospitals. CIDRAP    A shadowy minority of American doctors are driving a surge in prescriptions for ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment; a patient video sheds light on how they profit from the demand for the unproven treatment. NPR Shots Related Can you get long COVID after an infection with omicron? – AP "The next culture war": Vaccines for young kids – Axios The Violence Epidemic: Firearm Injuries Increased 51% During the COVID-19 Pandemic – HCPLive Testing fractional doses of COVID-19 vaccines – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Tracking COVID-19 infections: time for change – Nature (commentary) America’s split-screen pandemic: Many families resume their lives even as hospitals are overwhelmed – The Washington Post Will Covid-19 Vaccine Nasal Sprays Be the Pandemic Game-Changer We Need?  – Rolling Stone With Mask Restrictions Set to Lift, a Haze of Uncertainty Lingers – The New York Times How sneezing hamsters sparked a COVID outbreak in Hong Kong – Nature     SMOKING Study Clouds Effectiveness of E-cigarettes as a Quitting Tool Despite e-cigarettes’ rising popularity, the number of people actually using them to quit smoking has declined—and those who did adopt them as a quitting tool found them less effective than other aids like gum, patches or lozenges, according to the new PATH cohort study. The study—drawing on 2017-2019 US data and including 1,323 recent former smokers and 3,578 previous-year smokers with recent quit attempts—provides more real-world evidence casting doubt on the effectiveness of vaping as a quitting tool, despite randomized clinical trials showing them to be helpful.  Relapse common: Nearly 60% of smokers-turned-e-cigarette users returned to smoking within 2 years.  More study needed: The usage of high nicotine e-cigarettes for cessation ticked up in 2019—which bears further study in the next PATH survey, researchers said.  Limitations: Because the study is self-reported, exposure variables were not controlled.  Loophole: Unregulated synthetic nicotine products, which use flavored cartridges popular to teens, are becoming more popular, Politico reports.  Related: Smoke and mirrors: What you need to know about the hazy world of the proposed vaping tax – Bhekisisa   Global Health Voices       HEALTH SECURITY The EU Push for a Pandemic Treaty with Teeth   The European Union wants a legally binding treaty to guard against new pandemics—potentially banning wildlife markets and setting incentives like access to medicines and vaccines for countries to report new viruses or variants.   But the US, Brazil, and some other countries have balked, favoring a non-binding agreement. International negotiators from Japan, the Netherlands, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt and Thailand—representing the world’s major regions—are convening today to draft the text.  Organizers hope for a preliminary agreement by August; any resulting treaty would not be expected to be signed until 2024.   In parallel talks, the US has expressed support for firmer rules to boost transparency and speed WHO access to outbreak sites.   Reuters Related: The costs and benefits of primary prevention of zoonotic pandemics – ScienceAdvances     RACISM AND PUBLIC HEALTH In Life and in Death, a Health Equity Powerhouse Shalon Irving had great health insurance, adoring friends and family—and a dazzling public health career tackling health inequities.   Yet in 2017, 21 days after giving birth, she died from sudden cardiac arrest, after pleading with her medical team for help.    Despite all her advantages, “She was still a Black woman” vulnerable to the covert bias of providers, write her family, friends, and colleagues in a new essay.   Maternal mortality rates for Black mothers are more than double those of white women.   Shalon’s story is one reason such alarming statistics are becoming more widely known. Those she left behind have picked up the baton, using her story to galvanize new research resources and national policies aimed at reducing maternal disparities—and all-important media coverage of the issue.     Health Affairs     OPPORTUNITY The Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Crisis: A Priority for Black America   Marking Black History Month, USAID’s Harry T. Moore Blacks in Government Chapter and the Office of Civil Rights and Diversity will host a discussion on the critical health emergency affecting Black mothers. On the panel: Representative Lauren Underwood, Black Maternal Health Caucus founder and co-chair Wanda Irving, board chair of Dr. Shalon’s Maternal Action Project Ebony Marcelle, director of Midwifery at Community of Hope Family Health and Birth Center; doula and owner of DC Metro Maternity   The event is free and open to the public, but registration is mandatory. Friday, February 11, 11:30 a.m. EST Register     CORRECTION Missed 1 Thanks to a typo in our summary Monday of an Atlantic article about Denmark's COVID response, we under-reported Denmark’s booster rate by quite a lot: Danes are 61% boosted, not 6%. It should have read: With 81% of adults vaccinated with 2 vaccine doses, and 61% boosted, Denmark has avoided high levels of hospitalizations, severe illness, and death seen in countries with higher populations of unvaccinated people—like the US. Thanks to Frederik Seelig of the Global Vector Hub at LSHTM and others for pointing this out!   Daily Diversion     Quick Hits   Ethiopia accused of ‘serious’ human rights abuses in Tigray in landmark case – The Guardian Appeals court upholds Biden changes to family planning program – The Hill Association of Preterm Singleton Birth With Fertility Treatment in the US – JAMA Network Open The white nationalist threat to antiracist medicine in Boston – The Boston Globe A Latina scientist co-created a new Covid vaccine. She's nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. – NBC Data Science Paves the Way for Road Safety – The Hub (JHU)  Turkey’s Doctors Are Leaving, the Latest Casualty of Spiraling Inflation – The New York Times