No, the coronavirus is not an “equalizer.” Black people are being infected and dying at higher rates. Here’s what Milwaukee is doing about it — and why governments need to start releasing data on the race of COVID-19 patients.

The coronavirus entered Milwaukee from a white, affluent suburb. Then it took root in the city’s black community and erupted.

As public health officials watched cases rise in March, too many in the community shrugged off warnings. Rumors and conspiracy theories proliferated on social media, pushing the bogus idea that black people are somehow immune to the disease. And much of the initial focus was on international travel, so those who knew no one returning from Asia or Europe were quick to dismiss the risk.

The back up of cars spilled out far beyond the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis' (St. Louis, MO) parking lot and onto Jennings Station Road. 

"Right now, we're trying to feed 1,000 families," Jamie Dennis with the Urban League told 5 On Your Side, "We're giving them fresh produce, dry goods, toiletries, napkins. Everything that makes a household into a home."

The giveaway came at a time when some families found themselves suddenly out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tamara Wiggins and her husband were in Thursday's pick-up line.

"It helps out a lot because my husband and I are temporarily unemployed and we need all the help that we can get," Wiggins said.

Help is exactly what the Wiggins and hundreds of others received from the Urban League and all their community partners, but from a safe distance. 

Hundreds of thousands of small business owners, many of whom already operate on very narrow margins, are struggling with questions about how their businesses will survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only do these businesses provide necessary services in communities all over the country; they provide employment, job training, and other benefits. Their survival is essential to strong neighborhoods.

To support these small businesses, Lawyers for Good Government Foundation is building a nationwide coalition of law firms and non-profit organizations.

To register for the legal clinic, click here.

NEW YORK (April 18, 2020) -- National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said the world of Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs has lost its greatest champion with the passing of Black Enterprise Founder Earl G. Graves, Sr.

“Black Enterprise has helped to launch and nurture the careers of two generations of African American professionals and innovators,” Morial said. “Earl Graves was not just a chronicler of Black businesses and entrepreneurs, but a leader, and a role model for excellence in his own right.”

Get the latest. We're here to inform and support you during this crisis. Watch Marc Morial's Facebook Live video for more and visit our COVID-19 hub online. | Protect workers of color! A new order makes it easier for companies contracting with the federal government to discriminate. Here's what we mean. | Work from home tips. Has work-life balance been a struggle for you? Learn the keys to balance when working from home, with guest speaker Tiffany Southerland. | Make Black Count. This weekend, take 10 minutes to fill out your Census form. And if you already did, remind others to do so. Here's everything you need to know. | Millions unemployed. The coronavirus pandemic has caused record job losses. Our senior economic advisor, Dr. Bernard Anderson, explains the extent of the problem. | What's in the CARES Act? Congress passed legislation to protect unemployed and underemployed Americans. See how it could help you.

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE DENOUNCES ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE & HARASSMENT, URGES OFFICIALS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST BIASED RHETORIC & MISINFORMATION

National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to the surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans:

MARC MORIAL ON THE PASSING OF ELLIS MARSALIS: “NEW ORLEANS LOST PART OF ITS SOUL TODAY”

NEW YORK (April 1, 2020) -- Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League and former Mayor of New Orleans, issued the following statement in response to the death of Ellis Marsalis:

“New Orleans lost part of its soul today.  There are few musicians on Earth who have been as influential as Ellis Marsalis. He was a genius, a master, an innovator and a musical evangelist. Jazz is the language of New Orleans, and he was our chief linguist.

“I mourn him as a friend, as an admirer, and as a New Orleanian. He will be counted among the great icons who were swept away by the tide of this disease.

“My heart is with his family, my city, and all who grieve his loss.”

By Dr. Bernard E. Anderson 
Professor Emeritus, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Senior Economic Advisor, National Urban league

Marc H. Morial 
President and CEO
National Urban League
 

“Indisputably, due to historic inequities, this crisis disproportionally burdens Americans of Color and Women. They need continued Federal protections and oversight, not abandonment. The suspension of Equal Opportunity requirements in this crisis would not only penalize those protected by the civil rights laws, but it would also hinder the government’s work. The research is clear and compelling – diverse workforces produce better results. This Government policy should be reversed at once.” -- National Bar Association President Alfreda Robinson

The Trump era has seen a relentless erosion of civil rights protections. The Administration pivoted from defending voting rights to enabling suppression. It shifted resources from investigating discrimination and violence against racial minorities toward the protection of white Americans. 

By Kurtis Lee, Sandhya Kambhampati, Los Angeles Times

CAÑON CITY, Colo. —  

Jhil Marquantte lived behind the sandstone walls of the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility in a 6-by-9-foot cell.

Marquantte, 46, spent years here in this mountain town, but always behind bars — locked inside Territorial, and most of the half-dozen other state prisons that dot this rural stretch of Colorado. If you asked him about home, he’d tell you it was two hours north in Denver where he grew up and his family still resides — and where he long dreamed of returning after serving his sentence.

To read the full article Click Here.