EARTH WATCH: MUTUAL AID AMID GOVERNMENT FAILURE-WITH ELEANOR GOLDFIELD (23 April 2020)
MUTUAL AID: “WHEN THE SYSTEM FAILS, THE PEOPLE SHOW UP” (22 April 2020)
ROAR Magazine: The badges are both for security and for building relationships. We want our community corner stores to know us as those who are looking out for the people. And we want the people to know who we are in case they need help or can lend a hand. We want cops and other government entities to acknowledge and respect that we are essential workers getting supplies and services to our community. It is not a fail-safe, but for scrappy DIY mutual aid teams, nothing ever is. We roll with what comes as best we can. We are unpaid and many folks are brand new to this work. And yet, we still manage to do a better job than the almighty politicians and their corporate overlords.
The Guardian: Coronavirus has claimed more than 45,000 lives in the US as of Tuesday – especially those of older Americans, who represent 91% of all Covid-19 deaths. Within that vulnerable population, older black people are more likely to die of the virus than their white counterparts. And among those lost are prominent black pastors, performers and practitioners who lived through struggles for civil and cultural rights in their communities.
SUMMER HEAT WILL WORSEN THE PANDEMIC FOR POOR COMMUNITIES (21 April 2020)
Truthout: Over 100 members of Congress have signed a letter urging leaders in both major parties to institute a utility shutoff moratorium as a safety measure during the pandemic. The letter, which came days after 800 environmental and energy justice groups called on Congress to act on energy justice, emphasized the outsized impact of coronavirus on poor, Black and Indigenous people.
CONTACT TRACING IN THE STALKER STATE (21 April 2020)
YouTube: Google and Apple have partnered to create a Bluetooth-based app that collects location data to notify users if they’ve come in close contact with anyone who tests positive for Covid-19. Hamid Khan, an organizer with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, is sounding an alarm.
