‘Enough is enough’: Vigil held for 15-year-old killed in shooting at Sycamore Park

NEWS

by: Sharifa Jackson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The community came together Thursday evening to remember a teenager who was killed at a south Kansas City park earlier this week.

A vigil was held for 15-year-old Terrell Bell who was shot Tuesday afternoon at Sycamore Park.

Friends and family at the vigil spoke of the aspiring football player and good student they all loved.Police say juvenile arrested and charged in killing of 15-year-old at Sycamore Park in south Kansas City 

“He was talking about going pro and going to college. He had a future on him. He had a future. I just wish that he was still here with us,” said Ruskin High School football teammate, Kenderal Webber. “I lost a lot of friends, but I was real close with Terrell. I wouldn’t never thought this would happen.”

Bell was described as a stand-out athlete at Ruskin High School. Many of his classmates, teachers and even coaches came to show their respects.‘It’s got to end’: Kansas City family devastated after 15-year-old shot, killed at park 

“He was like another little brother. I see him and my cousins running around. He was a good person and ya’ll took him from everybody now,” said Bell’s friend, Tyisha Peak.

Earlier this week FOX4 spoke to the teen’s pastor, Dennis Lester who said the teen was active and faithful member at the neighborhood church, Bethel Family Worship Center.

The pastor shared his grief and called for unity in the community.Victims identified in three fatal shootings in Kansas City Tuesday 

At the vigil, there were also calls for change and peace.

Local gospel artist Christian Fly delivering an emotional plea before the crowd.

“Enough is enough. Until we teach our kids that their neighbor is deserving of the same respect of those in their household. This going to continue to happen,” Fly said. “We got to teach them better problem-solving skills. Until pain hurts you enough to make you want to change, we are going to keep going through things like this.”

A juvenile has been arrested and charged in Bell’s death.

Juvenile charged with second-degree murder in connection to fatal shooting of KCMO teen

Terrell Bell was shot Tuesday near Sycamore Park

https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/juvenile-arrested-charged-in-connection-to-fatal-shooting-of-kcmo-teenshooting-of-kcmo-teen

KCPD announced the arrest in Terrell Bell’s death Thursday night as family and friends gathered to honor the boy’s life.

Bell, who attended Ruskin High School, was shot Tuesday afternoon near Sycamore Park.

He initially suffered life-threatening injuries, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police did not identify the juvenile, who currently is detained at the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center.

Bell was one of four people who died Tuesday due to gun violence.

Gun Survivor’s Week in Review

Dear Kevin,

National Gun Violence Survivors Week is about elevating our voices and stories, because after living through terrible tragedy, we have found the strength to speak out to help prevent others from experiencing the same pain. It is an emotionally intense week, and after reading and sharing so many stories, I hope you will continue to practice self care and explore resources with the Everytown Survivor Network.  

I also wanted to share some of the incredible things you accomplished in the third year of National Gun violence Survivors Week.

Field Events: Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers organized close to 95 virtual events with more than 1700 in attendance, including the first ever NGVSW student summit. Thank you to all of you who organized and spoke at events to ensure survivor voices were heard across the country: from panel discussions to acts of service such as blood drives and book drives, it had a powerful impact. 

A moving event lead by California Survivor Engagement Leads

Social Media: Thousands of survivor stories were shared on social media, including 55k mentions of the hashtag #GVSurvivorsWeek and related terms. I was honored to be a part of the Survivor Twitter team — a truly powerful force — who were sharing stories of survivors in the Network all throughout the week to reach more Americans with the urgent message that we must address our country’s gun crisis. If you haven’t already and would like to, you can join the Survivor twitter team here, which engages on campaigns throughout the year. 

Federal, State, City Leaders: More than 370 survivors of gun violence released an open letter to the 117th Congress highlighting the shared life-changing trauma of gun violence, which we shared with elected officials and on social media and media during the week. Thank you to all of you who signed the letter. 

Our partners in Washington responded by lifting up your voices through social media, virtual conversations,  press releases, and floor speeches, including Ambassador Susan Rice, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA-03). The week was even featured during floor speeches in both chambers of Congress by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA). 

Beyond the federal government, dozens of mayors and state officials from across the country shared your stories on social media and issued mayoral proclamations. Everytown’s research team also put together a fact sheet for local government leaders on “Community-Led Services for Survivors.”

Partnerships: Over 65 partners, including nearly every gun violence prevention organization, national membership groups, non-profit organizations, and faith partners across various issue areas, joined the effort to lift stories and facts about the impact of gun violence. 

In the week leading up to Survivors Week, PEOPLE Magazine released People Features: Gun Violence Survivor Athletes, a virtual roundtable where members of the Everytown Athletic Council shared their personal experiences with gun violence.

Throughout the week, there were many media clips in which survivors spoke out about the impact of gun violence across the country. Here are just a few of them:

Aurora Cox,   Gun safety education is vital

Crystal Turner: Everything just changed:’ Jacksonville mom who lost 2 children works to change gun laws

DeAndra Dycus, Shot in 2014, my son still fights to live. Here’s what I want more than sympathy.

Jessica Curran-Lameroux, We need to change our laws so other families aren’t hurt by gun violence

John Owens, As a survivor of a point-blank shooting, a plea to see the gun epidemic we’re ignoring

Joshua Harris-Till, I grew up amid gun violence. We don’t have to live like this

Lisa Lowman, Survivors Lend Their Voices to Movement to Fight Gun Violence Crisis – Maryland Matters

Mollie Peterson, My Abusive Husband Had a Gun; Michigan Can Keep Others Safe

Neca Allgood, Survivors of gun violence know we don’t need HB60

Pastor Lorenzo Neal, I’m a pastor, gun violence survivor: I preach, pray that no family goes through such pain

Pam Simon, For Survivors of the Jan. 8 Tucson Shooting, Every Week Is National Gun Violence Survivors Week

Sharon Risher, Guns are white supremacy’s deadliest weapon. We must disarm hate

Taina Patterson, I am a survivor of gun violence, but it took me years to realize it. Here’s why 

An enormous thank you for all that you do. 

Together we care,

Debbie 

P.S. If you have feedback on National Gun Violence Survivors Week, we want to hear from you. Please fill out this brief feedback form.

America Can Still Help Save the World

America’s extra vaccine doses could be key to global supply

Data: Duke Global Health Innovation Center. Chart: Michelle McGhee/AxiosThe Biden administration’s purchase of 200 million additional Pfizer and Modern doses means the U.S. could fully vaccinate 300 million people with just those two vaccines — and 355 million more people if four additional vaccines gain FDA approval, Axios World editor Dave Lawler reports.Why it matters: The White House says the U.S. will eventually donate excess doses to other countries, but it hasn’t released a plan to do so.Between the lines: Sources in the administration emphasize that despite the bulk orders, only two vaccines have been approved and supplies remain scarce.Most of the 1.2 billion doses of six vaccines currently on the books were purchased as part of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed.Keep reading.

Facial Recognition Wars

Coming conflict over facial recognition

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Efforts to restrict facial recognition are gathering momentum around the country, including the investigation of the Capitol insurrection, Axios Future author Bryan Walsh writes.Why it matters: With dozens of companies selling the ability to identify people from pictures of their faces — and no clear federal regulation governing the process — facial recognition is seeping into the U.S.Driving the news: The Minneapolis City Council voted yesterday to bar its police department from using facial recognition technology, Axios Twin Cities’ Nick Halter reports.Minneapolis will join other cities that have restricted the technology, including Portland, San Francisco and Boston.Keep reading.

Has Impeachment failed us Again?

What history will say about Impeachment II

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) greets Jason Miller, adviser to President Trump, at the Capitol yesterday. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty ImagesHistorians are already drawing lessons from Impeachment II, Axios managing editors David Nather and Margaret Talev report:The power of impeachment: That’s pretty much gone. Historian Douglas Brinkley says if former President Trump is acquitted, it’ll be clear impeachment is a political process, not a legal one.America’s changing demographics: Renee Romano, an Oberlin College professor who specializes in the field of historical memory, says that outcome would raise the question: “Can America ever truly be a multiracial democracy?'”Congress leaves the field: With a Trump acquittal, the Senate would have passed on two chances to hold a president accountable for undermining the authority of Congress, said Andrew Rudalevidge, expert on presidential power.Share this story.

Nonprofit and AARP to Offer Online Tech Classes for Older Adults

AARP Joins With Nonprofit to Teach Tech to Older Adults

Alliance allows OATS/Senior Planet to offer its free classes across the country

by Linda Dono, AARP, February 8, 2021 |

OATS/SENIOR PLANET

En español | A nonprofit organization that specializes in teaching technology skills to older adults is uniting with AARP to offer its courses to even more older adults nationwide — for free.

Senior Planet and its parent organization, Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), have been working with AARP on projects for a decade or more, including a How to Use Zoom class early in the coronavirus pandemic that drew more than 10,000 participants, says Tom Kamber, executive director of OATS/Senior Planet. Now OATS has joined forces with AARP as an affiliated charity, like AARP Foundation, Legal Counsel for the Elderly and Wish of a Lifetime.

OATS will continue to offer its programs independently. AARP will support OATS in expanding its offerings and making them known to a wider audience through AARP’s new Virtual Community Center. The relationship with AARP allows both organizations to help more people learn the computer skills they need now more than ever because so many activities and events are available only online.

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Before the pandemic, nearly three-quarters of adults in the United States had high-speed internet access at home, according to recent Pew Research Center data. But that number misses differences among age groups. About 4 of 5 adults ages 50 to 64 had high-speed internet then, higher than the U.S. average, but only 3 of 5 people 65 and older had the same access.

More than a quarter of people 65 and older told Pew researchers that they never went online. Past Pew studies have shown that online use drops even more among those 80 and older.

Tech anxiety transformed

In many cases, older adults lack confidence in their ability to use new devices and software designed to make their lives easier, the Pew researchers found. They watch from the sidelines as younger family members easily adopt new technology, potential employers use code words for age bias to target “digital native” job candidates, and the pandemic increases their isolationbecause of the COVID danger that meeting friends face to face may bring.

Jolynn Bailey, 67, a retired teacher who lives in Clifton, Texas, was a reluctant convert to technology. She had used a computer at work and for her grade books, but only because her school required it, she says. She used the computer her daughter bought her only to look at email and log on to Weight Watchers’ website.

Learn online

AARP has two places where you can sign up for free online classes and workshops:

• Senior Planet’s upcoming events

• AARP’s Virtual Community Center

Then the pandemic left her alone in her studio apartment with poor TV reception and a few DVDs — unable to go to the nearby gym, head to Weight Watchers meetings in Waco or meet with friends. Her daughter, who works for a tech company in California, found out about Senior Planet in April and suggested she try it. She waited three months, becoming more and more desperate for things to do.

“The first time I went on Senior Planet I was hooked,” Bailey says. “It gave me my world back and more than that, a whole new world.” Now she joins stretch or chair yoga classes to keep fit; participates in the virtual book club; and takes tech classes, even learning how to use an HDMI cable so she can watch YouTube videos from her computer on the bigger TV screen. She’s in Senior Planet discussion groups where she’s met people from across the country and often takes part in several workshops each day.

The idea for OATS/Senior Planet began when Kamber was working on part of the project to revitalize Lower Manhattan after 9/11. An 87-year-old woman in the area called him after learning about his website launch related to the project. But she didn’t have a computer and didn’t know about the internet. 

Kamber ended up tutoring her in his office. 

OATS was founded in 2004 in New York City as an outgrowth of those lessons. It now has Senior Planet physical centers in five additional cities: Palo Alto, California; Denver; Rockville, Maryland; Plattsburgh, New York; and San Antonio. Classes are entirely online during the pandemic, which allows anyone from across the country to participate, but in-person instruction will resume when it’s safe to do so.

Engagement erases isolation

Senior Planet programs are designed to teach adults 60 and older basic computer skills — including how to start, stop, mute, skip ads and enlarge a YouTube video — and more advanced options. Its interactive online classes, offered in English, Spanish and Chinese, are free to anyone of any age. About 50 classes are on the schedule each week.

“A lot of Latino adults aren’t up to date with technology. Some don’t even have internet access,” says Braulio “Brad” José Veloz Carvajal, a 73-year-old retiree in San Antonio who found out about the Senior Planet classes through his membership in the Pride Center San Antonio. He knew how to use a computer but retired from his job at the Pentagon in 2003, so he wanted to learn all about Google, Facetime and Zoom.

“With what I learned, I was able to talk to my family in Corpus Christi and San Antonio. That made me so happy.”— Brad Veloz, 73, of San Antonio

“With what I learned, I was able to talk to my family in Corpus Christi and San Antonio. That made me so happy,” he said after the months of lockdown because of the pandemic. “I hope Senior Planet teaches technologies that can provide a way to talk to other seniors in the Latino LGBT community and start support groups.”

Class participants can decide to just listen, speak up with questions or type comments in the chat area. Most sessions aren’t archived for future playback, although some how-tos are posted to Senior Planet’s YouTube channel, but popular courses are offered frequently.

“In some of our classes, we find that they come early and stay late to talk to each other,” Kamber says. “Our trainers seek out opportunities to engage people. They draw people out.” Follow-up with students has shown that participants are using their newfound knowledge.

Technology topics include a range of how-tos such as shopping on Amazon, using Google Maps and hosting a Zoom meeting. Some workshops focus on helping participants struggling with tech issues or learning how to keep their personal information secure. Better balance, chair yoga and stretching sessions are among Senior Planet’s fitness offerings.

“If I can Zoom, you can Zoom,” says Bailey, who decided to become a member of Senior Planet to go along with her 17-year AARP membership. “It’s not that complicated. You just need somebody to guide you through it. And that’s what Senior Planet knows how to do.”

Monica Bentivegna contributed to this story. Linda Dono is an executive editor for AARP. Previously, she served as a reporter and editor for USA Today, Gannett News Service and newspapers in four states, including The Cincinnati Enquirer.

AARP Virtual Community Center opens

Though anyone can register for most of Senior Planet’s free online classes on its website, some of the AARP-affiliated nonprofit’s most popular courses are being offered through AARP’s new Virtual Community Center, including these, which all start at 1:30 p.m. ET:

• Feb. 15, All Things Zoom
• March 1, Protecting Your Personal Info Online
• March 15, Online Health Resources
• March 29, Streaming and Smart TVs

The Virtual Community Center uses Zoom and a few other online platforms to allow users with common interests to learn together. As with Senior Planet’s offerings, these events are live and allow for interactivity — speaking or typing — with others in attendance. It’s not on-demand video.

“The Virtual Community Center is designed in many ways to be like an in-person community center. You sign up for a class and go to it” online, says Heather Nawrocki, AARP’s vice president of fun and fulfillment.

Events on a wide variety of topics, including books, fitness, history, music and screenings of AARP Movies for Grownups, are available now for signup. All are free, have no age restrictions and don’t require AARP membership to participate. Although the programs initially are in English, AARP is looking at expanding the signup platform as well as course offerings for Spanish speakers.

More on Personal Technology

• Programs can help older adults get or upgrade computers, internet access
• How to slim down your email inbox — and why it matters
• 3 easy steps to set up Bluetooth on your device
• 7 tips to take better photos and video on your smartphone
• How to get a free phone number for calls or texts

Join the Discussion

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Recently, the United Kingdom appointed a Minister of Loneliness to attend to the growing public health crisis of loneliness reported by 9 million people in their country

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

-Luke 15:20

Recently, the United Kingdom appointed a Minister of Loneliness to attend to the growing public health crisis of loneliness reported by 9 million people in their country. Our culture has mastered the art of relational distance. Too many of us are content to view one another from a long way off. Our past hurts, pains, disappointments and biases keep us so isolated and alone. But like this father who saw his son and became proximal to him, we are being nudged to close the chasm of difference and remember our shared humanity.

Pastor Michael McBride (known as “Pastor Mike”) is a native of San Francisco and has been active in ministry for over 20 years. Pastor McBride’s commitment to holistic ministry can be seen through his leadership roles in both the church and community organizations. A graduate of Duke University’s Divinity School, with a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Ethics and Public Policy, Pastor McBride founded The Way Christian Center in West Berkeley, where he presently serves as the Lead Pastor.

Stephen King on Trump’s Fanatics:“Jesus, man ….You act like the Red Chinese army was invading.”– “They’re just a bunch of scared and hungry people…”

Stephen King
(Image by commons.wikimedia.org)  Permission   Details  DMCA

Bestselling author Stephen King on Monday weighed in on President Trump’s recent warnings to the migrant caravan moving through Mexico toward the United States. King’s criticism came in response to a tweet Trump shared on Sunday stating that “full efforts are being made to stop the onslaught of illegal aliens from crossing our Souther (sic) Border.” “Jesus, man,” King said in response to the tweet. “You act like the Red Chinese army was invading.” “They’re just a bunch of scared and hungry people,” the author said.

Read the rest of the story HERE:

At thehill.com

A Dad’s Work to Stop Superbugs

Antibiotic Resistance Project

Inside NIH’s Fight Against Superbugs Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, addresses some of the greatest superbug threats—and what the agency is doing about them. EXPERT Q&A

In Superbug Fight, ‘Victory Is Not at Hand’ “It’s a long road from exciting things happening in the lab to getting through a clinical process to the patient’s bedside,” Kathy Talkington, director of Pew’s antibiotic resistance project, explains in a Chicago Tribune editorial. READ ON

A Dad’s Work to Stop Superbugs For Men’s Health Month—June—get to know Chris Linaman. After his heartbreaking superbug experience, he’s working to help others avoid the trauma he endured. WATCH

IN THE MEDIA Antibiotics Weren’t Used to Cure These Patients. Fecal Bacteria Were. THE NEW YORK TIMES Superbugs Could Render Even the Most Routine Procedures Deadly, Warns Chief Medical Officer THE TELEGRAPH Stanley Falkow, Microbiologist Who Studied Bacteria and the Diseases They Cause, Dies At 84 THE WASHINGTON POST Antibiotic-Resistant UTIs Are on the Rise Around The World COSMOPOLITAN Antibiotics May Raise the Risk for Kidney Stones THE NEW YORK TIMES

Was this forwarded to you? Don’t miss the next email! SIGN UP Antibiotics are fundamental to modern medicine, essential for treating everything from routine skin infections to strep throat, and for protecting vulnerable patients receiving chemotherapy or being treated in intensive care units. Pew’s antibiotic resistance project is working to ensure both the prudent use of existing drugs and a robust pipeline of new drugs in order to meet current and future patient needs. SaveAntibiotics.org

Even if John Stewart is Gone, We all Need to Keep taking on FOX and all the Media

I am going to put a lot of John Stewart videos in the comment section, like this one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO_om3iK9kE

• Reports Accuse Bill O’Reilly of False “War Zone” Claims

You probably heard the great news – after a few years of progressive activism, FOX finally cancelled Glenn Beck’s show–but the Boycott Must Go On!!

Ten years ago, Media Matters launched with a revolutionary mission: to systematically monitor the U.S. media for conservative misinformation every day, in real time. We’ve been calling out right-wing lies for a decade — and we’re not done yet. Will you contribute now to help us raise $10,000 for our 10th anniversary?

For ten years, we’ve successfully fought back against the bad actors that poison our media with right-wing lies and smears. It’s been an amazing beginning, and we couldn’t have done it without your support.

We’re in this for the long haul. Make an anniversary gift today to kickstart the next ten years of media accountability.

Dear Kevin,
You probably heard the great news – after two years of progressive activism, FOX finally cancelled Glenn Beck’s show.
Beck was targeted after he slandered President Obama by saying, “This president has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture, I don’t know what it is… This guy, I believe, is a racist.”
Activists at ColorOfChange, Media Matters, StopBeck, FoxNewsBoycott, and of course Democrats.com responded with a boycott of advertisers on Glenn Beck’s show. Ultimately over 300 advertisers pulled their ads from Beck, costing FOX over $40 million.
Advertiser boycotts work! And it’s time to boycott all FOX News advertisers:
http://www.democrats.com/boycott-proactiv
We’re starting our boycott of all FOX News with Proactiv, which sells acne medicine to teenagers and young adults. Why?
First, there are lots of other acne treatments. Second, young adults above all are hurt by FOX News, which promotes right-wing policies on race, education, healthcare, the environment, and war. Let’s get our future leaders to lead the fight against FOX News!
Sign the petition to Proactiv and enter the email address of every young adult over 18 you know:
http://www.democrats.com/boycott-proactiv
Beyond President Obama, FOX regularly slanders nearly everyone: Democrats, unionized workers, the unemployed (including veterans and 99ers), environmentalists, feminists, blacks, Hiics, Jews, Muslims, progressives, scientists, and any other group it disagrees with.
FOX News broadcasts rightwing extremist slander, incitement to violence, political propaganda, and outright lies to promote its rightwing political agenda. This is not “news,” but rather a never-ending “war on news” – and it’s all documented in our petition.
Why would any decent company want to fund it? Tell Proactiv to stop advertising on FOX News:
http://www.democrats.com/boycott-proactiv
Thanks for all you do!
Bob Fertik

GLEN BECK ADMITTED in 2007, “I Am RACIST and Barack Obama is very White” THIS MAKES Boycotting FOX NEWS needed NOW

By Kevin Stoda

Dear, American supporters of the Fascist Oddball Xenophobic (FOX) news networks.

AMERICANS are getting less tolerant of your racism and stronghold on our major media.

For example, we have noted that in his 2007 TV program from FOX (See on You-Tube), Glen Beck admitted he himself was racist. Further, Beck then, in contrast to 2009, called Barrack Obama much more white than black. (Apparently, Beck now he has other nonsense to mush men’s minds.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0tgvWxC_6A

Using a major news platform to promote racism and to tell people to disrespect a whole presidential administration through mixed truths, outright lies, and xenophobia, is not to be tolerated any more.

On Democracy Now today, Amy Goodman asked Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP what he thought of Wal-Mart’s pull-out from advertising on the Glen Beck program on FOX.

NOTE: Goodman had simply asked , “The whole attack by Glenn Beck that drove this (resignation)? In your response from the NAACP to Van Jones, it says, ´The only thing more outrageous than Mr. Beck’s attack on Van Jones is the fact that there are sponsors that continue to pay him to provide this type of offensive commentary.` Do you support the continued boycott of companies like Wal-Mart of Beck’s show on Fox?”

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/8/white_house_environmental_adviser_van_jones

This is a particularly important point because Glen Beck´s HATE CAMPAIGN ON THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION led recently to a great American policy maker, Van Jones, quitting the government this week.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/06/van-jones-resigns/

Mr. Jealous said, “We certainly support them (Walmart) choosing with their dollars who they’re going to support. I mean, it’s—Glenn Beck is somebody who’s told a seven-year-old girl, a seven-year-old black girl, that he would buy her a ticket back to Africa, that she needed to go back to Africa. And then he comes out, and he says that healthcare is the beginning of reparations. I mean, this guy plays the race card on a weekly basis. He does it very aggressive—you know, in a very hateful way.”

Recall, first, that Van Jones is one of the most important and thoughtful men in America—however, the FOX (Fascist Oddball Xenophobic) news network chose to support a man, like Glen Beck, rather than seeing that tens of millions of Americans need to get health care from promoters like Jones and that our America economy needs to move starting today to the kind of economy that its competitors worldwide are already doing.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/95963/what_will_the_green_economy_look_like/

Let’s quote the wisdom and influential words of Van Jones on the absolute necessity to green the American economy NOW!

“I think it’s really important to point out that we’re sort of at the end of an era of American capitalism, where we thought we could run the economy based on consumption rather than production, credit rather than creativity, borrowing rather than building, and also, most importantly, environmental destruction rather than environmental restoration.”

Jones continued, “We’re trying to make the case in this book that that era is over. We now have to move in a very different direction. And key to that will be basing the US economy not on credit cards, but based on clean energy and the clean energy revolution that would put literally millions of people to work, putting up solar panels all across the United States, weatherizing buildings so they don’t leak so much energy and put up so much carbon, building wind farms and wave farms, manufacturing wind turbines. We argue you could put Detroit back to work not making SUVs to destroy the world, but making wind turbines, 8,000 finely machine parts in each one, twenty tons of steel in each wind tower, making wind turbines to help save the world.”

Finally, Van Jones wisely noted, “So we think that you can fight pollution and poverty at the same time. We think that you can actually power our way through this recession by putting people to work, but we’re going to have to start building things here and re-powering, retrofitting, retooling America, and that that’s the way forward both for the economy, for the earth and for everyday people.”

Note: These statements came from a program on DN from October of last year:

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/28/van_jones_on_the_green_collar

Van Beck has written a book of the same title, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems.

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061650758/The_Green_Collar_Economy/index.aspx

America needs such voices as Van Jones in government leadership in America—not Fascist Oddball Xenophobic (FOX) types.

Clean up the American airwaves of all its fascism and racism, today.

http://www.pittsburghurbanmedia.com/a-petition-against-fox-conservative-host-glenn-beck.aspx

NOTE: One way to change the noise of Fascist Oddball Xenophobic (FOX) media moguls is to support alternative media organizations

http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/index

and alternative monitoring websites.

http://americas.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/64380

Another way, is to demand that local radio and TV channels put better programming on, such as Democracy Now or news sources promoted by serious progressive journalists:

http://www.tacomapjh.org/progressive_news.htm

Covid Risen’ : Kansas City Area This Weekend–Raytown Urgent Care Rejects new Patients because everyone

by Kevin Stoda

For weeks I have been warning people not to get too relaxed about Covid here in Missouri and Kansas. (Even if you have a vaccine, you can still get Covid and you can surely pass it on to the 60 to 80% unvaccinated others–including small children!)

It has been bad in rural areas and worse in cities, like Springfield and Joplin, for most of the last year. However, now it is hitting both the St. Louis and Kansas City metroplexes again as people return home from places, such as Branson. All Springfield’s hospitals are full.

Yesterday, afternoon my wife and I had to drive over to an Urgent Care in Raytown, Missouri. (My wife had hurt herself working outside and needed stitches & a tetanus shot.)

When we arrived at the Urgent Care, we were told immediately that that Urgent Care was only accepting appointments online.

However, the receptionist told us in the same breath: “WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY MORE PATIENTS. Everyone coming here is testing positive for Covid.“

This is tragic, Missouri !

Hey, Show-Me-Staters! What’s going on at your Urgent Care or hospitals?

Create a Petition and Speak Out!

Dear Kevin, 

When I learned that Costco was selling millions of dollars worth of MyPillow products, I was overwhelmed with confusion, disappointment, and anger. I love Costco and am a regular customer, but MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is a massive supporter of far-right political activity and pushes conspiracy theories, including those espoused by the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.

I didn’t want one of my favorite companies, Costco, helping right-wing extremists make millions of dollars—especially as the gravity of the attack on the Capitol grew more clear by the day.

That’s when I thought of MoveOn and—inspired by previous experiences signing petitions—decided to start a petition of my own in January.

Within weeks, my petition grew to tens of thousands of signatures from people across the country, and over 250,000 MoveOn members signed onto my campaign in the following months. In April, I burst out in simultaneous laughter and tears of joy when I heard the good news that Costco stores stopped selling MyPillow products!¹

This would not have been possible without the help of MoveOn members and our collective power. For that, I am eternally grateful.

I encourage you and all MoveOn members to find something that motivates you to start your own petition.

It’s incredibly frustrating at times for me to be living in a “red” state and unsure of who else will share my progressive values. It’s also frustrating to see the national news about how Congress is often slow to act on such massive problems as the rising cost of health care, obstacles to voting rights, fixing racism in the criminal justice system, and implementing immediate action on climate change.

However, my incredible experience working with MoveOn’s team and the free petition platform made the process of promoting and winning my campaign a lot more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.

Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members who signed my petition, and remember that each of us has the power to create change when we work together.

Start a petition

Thank you!

–Dennis C.
MoveOn member in Tennessee

Source:

1. “MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says Costco has pulled his products. It’s the second-largest retailer to cut ties with him,” Insider, April 13, 2021.
https://act.moveon.org/go/153738?t=10&akid=302564%2E4797084%2EiYzzjv

Want to support our work? Together, we made Donald Trump a one-term president! Now, it’s time to expand access to health care, fight for citizenship for the undocumented, reform policing, and tackle the climate crisis.

Will you chip in to power the fight for bold, progressive change?

Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.

Contributions to MoveOn Civic Action are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes. This email was sent to Kevin Stoda on July 25, 2021. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here.

National Geographic: How can Families Enjoy National Parks?

THE BIG QUESTION: HOW CAN FAMILIES BEST EXPERIENCE NATIONAL PARKS?Sunday, July 25, 2021

Confession time: I’ve never been much of an outdoorsy person. Sure, I’ve hiked, biked, dived, climbed, skied, paddleboarded, and—on one particularly painful occasion—snowboarded, but my preference has always leaned more toward museums, theaters, bookstores, and other indoor spaces. Until COVID hit. Now my family and I have gotten into nature-based pursuits like trail walking, bird watching, and lake swimming. And parks have become our go-to weekend destination. We’re not alone, as these images of crowding at national parks show. But there are things we can do to keep family-whining to a minimum and help protect our wild spaces at the same time. (Tell me what your tips are!) Of course, heading to lesser-known parks, ones that don’t have TV series named after them, allows you to avoid the lines but not the natural wonders. It also helps to ask park rangers their tips. At Indiana Dunes National Park (pictured above), for example, they urge beachgoers to stick to the West Beach area, which has more parking than the entire east section of the park combined. To keep kids engaged and learning, the National Geographic Society recently launched Summer Adventures on the Road, a free, immersive educational experience that takes kids on virtual journeys to U.S. national treasures. This year, the guides help families explore three different wildernesses—Yellowstone National Park, Everglades National Park, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The materials can be used for at-home virtual learning or during in-person trips. Printable activity guides tell stories of Indigenous peoples’ history and teach how to read park maps; blank pages leave room for creative minds to sketch wildflowers or recount the day’s adventures. Access the guides on the road and kids can find links to Kahoot trivia games (“Wyoming’s flag depicts what animal that can be found in Yellowstone?”) and Nat Geo wildlife videos. My favorite aspect of the guides are the lists of age-appropriate recommended reading. (Because I believe kids can travel the world via books.) Nat Geo Kids’ Junior Ranger Activity Bookis also a good way to keep them busy, with puzzles, games, and fun facts, and is inspired by the National Parks’ outdoor-based Junior Ranger Program. Once you’re out of the car, help kids discover wildlife clues to spot animals, but read these tips to avoid disrupting wildlife and having awkward animal encounters. Sometimes the issue is less about what to do at national parks, but how to imagine yourself welcome there in the first place. Groups such as Outdoor Afro and the teen-focused Rainbow Conservation Crew help make our national parks more accessible and inclusive. As for me, I’ve learned that I don’t have to give up my indoorsy interests to be outdoors. After all, I can always find art in nature, drama in sunsets, and stories in the stars. If you want to get this newsletter every week, sign up here. If you want your children to get Nat Geo Kids or Nat Geo Little Kids magazines, subscribe here.

TRAVEL TIPS FOR FAMILIES

PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK T. FALLON, AFP/GETTY IMAGESClose encounters. I’m not the only one who wants to believe E.T. is out there (or at least Baby Yoda). A Gallup poll discovered that a third of Americans do, too. They flock to events like the family-friendly AlienFest (shown above), in Roswell, the New Mexico city that bills itself the “UFO Capital of the World,” after an alleged UFO crash landing there in 1947. But families can also visit places where scientists work to detect life beyond Earth, such as the Allen Telescope Array, in California, and the Green Bank Observatory, in West Virginia. “The question is not if we will find life on other planets,” says Ravi Kopparapu, planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, “but when.” We asked, you responded. Last month, when we wrote about how fairy tales inspire travel, I loved hearing back from readers about their own favorite fables, including Viking tales that had sparked one reader to book a cruise to Scandinavia. Another reader recommended the Russian tale “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship,” which, he writes, has “(interestingly enough) religious underpinnings and a heavy slice of gratitude that was tastefully done.”

DESTINATION OF THE MONTH

PHOTOGRAPH BY LUTZ JAEKEL, LAIF/REDUXPhoenix’s Salt River. Most visitors to heat-stricken Phoenix aren’t aware that the Arizona city is home to the Salt River and its wealth of watery adventures, from kayaking and tubing to fishing for rainbow trout to picnicking at Pebble Beach Recreation Area. And that’s not even the most surprising bit. The humble Salt River (pictured above) actually helped create modern Phoenix, thanks to the ancestors of the contemporary O’odham peoples, who, starting in the 7th century, used stone tools to dig hundreds of miles of sophisticated irrigation canals which transformed the desert valley agriculturally, making it easier to create a settled community. Yup, file that under “who knew?” Seoul for K-pop fans. BTS’s stress-busting hit “Butter” is in heavy rotation in our family car this summer. My kids all have their “bias”—their favorite of the seven-member South Korean supergroup (mine is RM)—and they pretty much know all the lyrics to many of the songs, even the ones wholly in Korean. BTS’s global fan base, known as ARMY, is millions strong—and they actually help drive tourism to South Korea, as Mickey Rapkin reports for Nat Geo. According to one study, 10.41 million people visited South Korea in 2017. Of those, 7.6 percent cited BTS as the primary reason. Although tourism numbers have plummeted due to COVID, once pandemic restrictions are lifted, the devoted ARMY is ready to dance.

TRY THIS: BOREDOM BUSTERS FOR KIDS

PHOTOGRAPH BY VITALY TKACH BFFs. Friendships have looked a little different over the past year-plus, but Friday’s International Friendship Day is a great excuse to celebrate the important pals in your kids’ lives. (And here’s an article about how to be the best friend ever.) If your child is out and about, activities like making musical instruments out of food can help them get the band back together, or they can socially distance with this printable neighborhood safari game. For those still socializing over video, virtual activities like some of these crafts and science experiments can help feed their friendships. For a sillier celebration, have kids check out this photo gallery of wild animal friendships (like the cat and deer above) or read about this rabbit that tried to “hatch” its duck BF’s egg. And this just-for-fun personality quiz will show kids which character from our Explorer Academy books series they should be BFFs with. This newsletter was edited and curated by Amy Alipio and Rachel Buchholz, with David Beard, Monica Williams, Jen Tse, and Heather Kim. Have a healthy and a sane (as possible) week ahead!

Robert Reich Tells it Right

Dear Kevin Stoda and fellow MoveOn members,

I need to be honest with you, Kevin. I’m appalled.

After returning from his multimillion-dollar 10-minute joyride in space earlier this week, Jeff Bezos got laughs and cheers from the gathered crowd when he said, “I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all this.”¹

How could this man, who gained billions of dollars in personal wealth during the pandemic while millions of American families couldn’t afford to keep food on the table, whose company used an army of lobbyists to ensure that special tax breaks for Amazon were built into President Biden’s plan to raise corporate taxes, and who deployed fearmongering tactics and lies to prevent Amazon workers from unionizing, joke about how the exploitation of his workers paid to fuel a private space race between billionaires?

If the two separate space flights by Bezos and Richard Branson in the last few days should show us anything, it is simply this: We must tax the ultra-wealthy, and we must do it right now.

And we have to get rid of the Republicans in Congress who are using every trick in the book to protect their billionaire donors while throwing the rest of us to the wolves.

That’s why MoveOn is preparing to launch a huge television ad campaign targeting Republican senators who are up for re-election—like Ron Johnson and Marco Rubio—to remind their constituents that instead of working for the people, the GOP is working for Jeff Bezos, Rupert Murdoch, and corporations that exploit workers for their own profit.

Will you chip in $5 a month to help get these ads on the air, keep them running for as long as it takes, and defeat the GOP in 2022?

Yes, I’ll chip in monthly.

No, I’m sorry, I can’t make a monthly donation.

Just days before Bezos launched into space, a sobering new report was released showing that a full-time worker would need to make at least $24.90 an hour to afford rent for a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country. Which means that many of those workers who paid to send Jeff to space can’t afford to pay for housing with the paycheck they receive from Amazon.²

Make no mistake: We are living in a Second Gilded Age, where America’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few billionaires who are using their riches to take joy rides to space while thousands of Americans sleep on the streets and millions more, especially people of color, ration their medication just to get by. It’s far past time to raise the federal minimum wage and implement a wealth tax to rein in this rampant inequality.

If Democrats are able to hold on to or expand their majority in the Senate in 2022, we can pass legislation to undo the trillion-dollar tax scam passed under the Trump administration, close the loopholes that companies like Amazon use to shirk their responsibilities, and ensure that billionaires and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.

Getting this message out to voters now will help build the movement we need as we head into 2022. Will you chip in $5 a month to help MoveOn run television ads in critical Senate states and win in 2022?

Yes, I’ll chip in monthly.

No, I’m sorry, I can’t make a monthly donation.

I will never forget what it felt like to watch the United States launch astronauts into space, or the pride I felt when Neil Armstrong took that “one small step for a man.” The promise and possibility for our future seemed endless.

I still believe in that possibility, and I want to see our government invest in NASA and the space program for generations to come.

Those critical programs that advance scientific knowledge cannot be replaced by billionaires running luxury private trips to space for those who can afford the tickets and no one else.

We must put a stop to the increasing wealth gap and unbridled greed by the few. It’s time to tax the rich. Will you help by chipping in $5 a month to MoveOn, Kevin?

Yes, I’ll chip in monthly.

No, I’m sorry, I can’t make a monthly donation.

Thanks for all you do.

–Robert Reich

Sources:

1. Tweet by MSNBC, July 20, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154847?t=8&akid=302623%2E4797084%2EOtbQ_a

2. “Minimum wage workers can’t afford rent anywhere in America,” CNN, July 15, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154848?t=10&akid=302623%2E4797084%2EOtbQ_a

Want to support MoveOn’s work? The GOP is launching an all-out campaign to take down the Democratic majority in Congress and reinstall Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader in 2022. To defeat the GOP, MoveOn is going all-in with TV ads, a nationwide grassroots organizing campaign, and more.

Will you chip in to power our effort to defeat McConnell and the GOP in 2022?

Yes, I’ll chip in $5 a month.

The deceptive message of “Promising Young Woman,” “Westworld,” and other #MeToo-era wish-fulfillment fantasies.

July 22, 2021

The GOP Doctors Caucus, a group of Republicans with medical backgrounds, staged a press conference today promoting COVID-19 vaccines as the Delta variant ravages unvaccinated communities across the United States. 

While any support for vaccines, albeit even the tepid, much-delayed, and confusing kind we’re seeing from other Republicans right now, is welcome, the GOP Doctors Caucus deserves a special mention for some of the irresponsible talking points that came with their vaccine push. Take a look at what speakers had to say today:

“Speaker Pelosi refuses to hold a hearing on how this started,” Rep. Steve Scalise, who on Sunday revealed that he finally received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine after months of resistance, told reporters. “If we’re ever going to be able to get through this and especially prevent something like this from happening again, we need to be able to find out at least how this happened.”

“What does Speaker Pelosi have to hide? Why is Speaker Pelosi actively fighting to get the facts out?” he continued. “Why is she trying to do the work of the Chinese Communist Party in covering this up?”

The same talking point was repeated by virtually everyone who spoke at the news conference, including the party’s new No. 3 in the House, Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Ronny Jackson, former President Trump’s White House physician, went one step further, falsely suggesting that Democrats have resisted disclosing their vaccination statuses. (Indeed, they have and with a 100 percent vaccination rate.) Jackson also claimed, without evidence, that the delegation of Texas Democrats who fled the state for DC last week of spreading COVID to the White House.

Sure, the dominance of China-Pelosi-Democrat-bashing at the news conference isn’t exactly surprising! But it should alarm those concerned that another wave of lockdowns and mask mandates may be around the corner. It should also make everyone pretty skeptical that the GOP is serious about their new vaccine push.

—Inae Oh

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Why is Missouri Closing Down its Vaccine Navigator as Covid Cases Rise?

Vaccination Navigator Updates
7/23/2021

Hello Kevin Stoda,

Missouri’s Vaccine Navigator will be phasing out as we’ve seen access to vaccines increase significantly since early 2021. The MOStopsCovid.com website has also been realigned to highlight ways you can continue finding vaccines in your local community. Today, more than 80% of Missourians have access to a COVID vaccine within 5 miles of their home.
 
You will still be able to find and schedule vaccine appointments through Vaccine Navigator until July 31; however, the platform will be discontinued on August 1.  After Aug 1, if you have not yet received your COVID Vaccine and wish to do so, please visit MOStopsCovid.com to find vaccination opportunities in your area.  We will work with vaccinators to include events previously scheduled through Vaccine Navigator on MOStopsCovid.com.   
 
If, during your registration, you indicated you were homebound, your information has been provided to your local Area Agency on Aging. They will be contacting you directly if they have not already done so. If you wish to follow up with your local Area Agency on Aging, their contact information can be found on our website.
 
If you indicated you need transportation to and/or from a vaccine appointment, and have not already received the vaccine, please visit MOStopsCovid.com/ride for transportation options. If you are over the age of 60, your local Area Agency on Aging may be able to assist.  Their contact information can be found on our website.
 

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Please click here to indicate if you have received a previous dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine. 

Cities grapple with homelessness, as tent clusters proliferate

The WeekenderJuly 24, 2021 When a Nobel Peace Prize winner wages war, who loses?By Ryan Lenora BrownStaff writer | @ryanlenorabrownRead now Cities grapple with homelessness, as tent clusters proliferate By Francine KieferStaff writer | @kieferfRead now Paging through summer: 10 cool books for hot daysBy Monitor reviewers Read nowFor this Las Vegas performer, when all else fails? Reinvent yourself.By Jessica Mendoza Multimedia reporter | @_jessicamendozaRead now Special ProjectsFlorida brought back its panthers. Can people live with them?Read now

The Christian Science Monitor is a trademark of The Christian Science Publishing Society, registered in the United States and in other countries.The Christian Science Monitor210 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA, 02115-3195, United States© 2021 The Christian Science Publishing Society

IMF Can Sell Gold Reserves to Extend Aid to Developing Countries

IMF Extends Zero-Interest Lending to Poor Countries

Blog the Debt

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IMF Extends Zero-Interest Lending to Poor Countries Posted: 23 Jul 2021 02:02 PM PDT By Olivia Engling IMF Can Sell Gold Reserves to Extend Aid to Developing Countries The IMF announced increased zero-interest lending for poor countries. IMF member countries further committed to investigate additional options to extend pandemic aid through 2029, including the selling of IMF gold reserves.“ Poor countries need more support to confront the health and economic devastation caused by the coronavirus,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. “While the IMF action is helpful, it still falls short of delivering the support developing countries need.”  The Fund’s announcement means zero-interest poor country lending increases through the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust. Last year the IMF facility boosted lending for poor country COVID response. An IMF paper listed a limited sale of IMF gold reserves as a way to meet funding shortfalls.“In the past IMF gold reserves were sold to support poor countries,” stated LeCompte. LeCompte’s organization Jubilee USA organized nearly 270 religious and development groups to sign a letter to the IMF calling for COVID response aid including the selling of IMF gold. “Most of the world’s people face incredible suffering because of the pandemic. All funding options must be on the table.”Read Jubilee USA’s IMF COVID response letter with nearly 270 signatories here. Read the IMF policy paper on zero-interest lending here.

Munduruku Victory: Anglo American Agrees to Withdraw 27 Mining Research Permits in Territories Following Sustained Pressure by Indigenous Movement

• JULY 21, 2021
• ROSANA MIRANDA

Photo credit: Cícero Pedrosa Neto / Amazônia Real

After months of pressure campaigns in solidarity with our partners, British mining company Anglo American finally responded to the demands of Indigenous peoples and took action. It withdrew 27 mining research permits which were slated to overlap Indigenous lands in Brazil, including the Munduruku territory of Sawré Muybu. These permits were a major threat to Indigenous peoples, as well as their territories and livelihoods. It’s been seven months since we first told Anglo American to stay out of Munduruku territory and refrain from mining in Indigenous lands altogether. This victory resulted from our sustained campaign with the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB).

Now, we need to make sure its words are converted into action. We remain vigilant to confirm the applications were removed from the official Brazilian mining database, and that no new requests are filed in these areas. Right now, mining is one of the most significant and growing threats against Indigenous peoples and their lands.

The Bolsonaro administration made opening up Indigenous land for mining and extractive industries a political priority, and even tried to co-opt Indigenous leaders’ support for mining in their lands. Illegal mining activities have soared since the beginning of this year, particularly in Munduruku and Yanomami lands. Over the last few months, we’ve documented and challenged the violence against Indigenous peoples confronting illegal mining, as well as the impacts and destruction the industry leaves behind, such as deforestation and water contamination.

Due to the success of this campaign, we also successfully arranged a meeting between the mining company and Indigenous leaders from APIB. In a direct letter to Anglo American, APIB explained to the company why it is crucial that it publicly commit to withdrawing all the requests for mineral research that overlap with Indigenous lands. This request specifically targeted the Indigenous territory of Sawré Muybu, of the Munduruku people, in Pará state, where Anglo American had 13 mining research permits. These authorizations to research minerals in that area would deepen the impacts already felt by the Munduruku as a result of illegal logging, agribusiness, and illegal gold mining.

In May, Anglo American held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) with its shareholders, and alongside APIB and the Latin American Network on Anglo American, we made sure to send the message that Indigenous territories in the Amazon are to be protected, not exploited.

During the AGM, Anglo American told its investors that they “have not undertaken any activity” and “nor is any activity intended” in the Sawré Muybu land. It was the first time that the company made a public statement regarding its intentions in the area, and now one for whih they can be held accountable.

On May 24, we received confirmation from Anglo American that, after reviewing the 27 research permits that Amazon Watch and APIB brought to its attention as the most critica, it decided to withdraw all of them. Then the company informed the Brazilian National Mining Agency of its decision. Besides the Sawré Muybu Indigenous territory, these research permits impacted four other territories in the states of Pará and Mato Grosso: Apiaká do Pontal e Isolados, Escondido, Kayabi and Panará.

Right after being questioned publicly during their AGM about plans to mine inside or in the proximity of Indigenous territories in the Amazon, Anglo American confirmed its withdrawal from the permits we pointed out as problematic. Our pressure worked. While it is a great victory, we will not let up on this strategy to ensure large-scale mining, including by Anglo American, stops hiding behind weak regulation and licensing, and instead actively respects Indigenous peoples’ rights, especially the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

There is still a lot to be done to ensure that Indigenous territories, especially in the Amazon, are protected against mining exploitation. With the threat of bill 191/2020 – which opens up Indigenous lands for mining, among other activities – ever glooming, and Bolsonaro’s new allies in Congress vowing to put it to a vote as soon as possible, we continue to call on Anglo American to take a stance that in line with its stated principles and to live up to its own so-called “responsible miner” standard.

Dinamam Tuxá, from the Executive Coordination of APIB and a leader in this campaign, shared, “We continue to monitor and pressure Anglo American to commit to environmental protection, and particularly to respect the rights of indigenous peoples, as defined by international treaties and agreements. As Indigenous peoples, we understand our responsibility to protect and preserve the forest, but this is a shared responsibility. Consumers and businesses alike have socio-environmental obligations and Anglo American cannot escape its responsibility to all of humanity,” he stressed.

This win is the result of the resistance and joint work between Munduruku leaders, our partners at APIB, and our allies – we are all counting on your continued support and solidarity! Together, we will maintain the pressure not just on Anglo American, but the entire mining sector. In this way the industry will be forced to cease harmful practices such as mining in Indigenous lands, which can have a great toll on livelihoods, biodiversity, and the protection of the Amazon rainforest. We are united for an Amazonia free of mining on all Indigenous territories!

Decades before Motown ruled the radio, labels like Black Swan and Black Patti put out records that didn’t stereotype African American music

ARTS & CULTURE

The History of Black-Owned Record Labels

Decades before Motown ruled the radio, labels like Black Swan and Black Patti put out records that didn’t stereotype African American music.

Black Swan record label of Alberta Hunter recording, 1921. via Wikimedia CommonsBy: Ashawnta Jackson  July 19, 2021  3 minutes Share Tweet Email Print

Black Swan Records, the first large-scale Black-owned record label in the United States, is getting a lot of attention lately. Started by Harry Pace in 1921, Black Swan only lasted three years, but its legacy laid the groundwork for many Black-owned labels to come.

As historian David Suisman explains, Black Swan was “designed to utilize the combined power of music and business as vehicles of uplift and racial justice.” The label’s releases wouldn’t deal in the stereotypical sounds and images of Black performance of the time, but would instead produce music that challenged them.In those seven months, Black Patti released nearly sixty records.

After Black Swan got its start, the 1920s saw the arrival of more Black-owned record labels. There was Sunshine Records, run by the Spikes brothers out of Los Angeles, which specialized in jazz and blues. Chicago’s Black Patti Records got into the game in 1927. Founded by music producer Mayo Williams, the label was named for classical music singer Matilda Sissieretta Jones, also known as the Black Patti. The label, releasing jazz, blues, spirituals, and vaudeville, went out of business the same year it opened, but in those seven months, Black Patti released nearly sixty records.

According to researcher Reebee Garofalo, “the role of the music business is fundamentally to transform its cultural products into financial rewards,” and Black-owned record labels were no different. Like all businesses, the recording industry took a hit following the Great Depression. Garofolo notes, “annual record revenues in the United States declined immediately and then plummeted to an all-time low of $6 million in 1933.” But would-be entrepreneurs weren’t discouraged from trying to put their own stamp on the industry. By the 1940s and ’50s, more labels began to appear on the musical landscape, due to changes in technology as well as economics.

Indie labels began popping up in the North and South due to both the Great Migration and what geographer Howard Harrington III calls “the introduction of independent record pressing or manufacturing facilities during the post-war period.”

These allowed the small labels to break free from the major players. In 1949, music producer and club owner Don Robey began Peacock Records, scoring their first hit with Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog.” John Dolphin, a Los Angeles record store owner, started Recorded in Hollywood Records in 1950. This era would also see the birth of Vee-Jay Records, a rock, jazz, and R&B label owned by a husband-and-wife team, Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, who would later see huge success with their release of early Beatles singles.

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Perhaps the most well-known Black-owned label, Detroit’s Motown Records, got its start in 1959. Motown wasn’t the only Black-owned label in the city, though. Golden World, started by Ed Wingate and his business partner, Joanne Jackson Bratton, opened its doors in 1961. And House of Beauty, started by Carmen Murphy—who ran a recording studio in her beauty salon—and Johnnie Mae Matthews’s Northern Records actually predate Motown, both starting about a year earlier.

Of course, Black record-label ownership would continue far beyond these early days, with names too numerous to mention. But like Black Swan before them, each of these, in ways large and small, have changed the musical landscape of the US. As Harrington writes, “mass marketing, mass distribution and promotion of musical products based on Black music remain the industry’s most essential and salient features and components.”