Andrew Lee Nicole Cardoza Andrew Lee Nicole Cardoza

Redistribute your stimulus.

On March 11th, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. Among its provisions was a $1400 stimulus which most of us have already received. This check was only the third direct federal payment to Americans since the beginning of the pandemic. With four in ten households reporting lost wages due to COVID (CBS) and millions of tenants thousands of dollars behind in rent (Time), those $1400 came not a moment too soon.

Happy Monday everyone, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! A couple people asked how they could pay their stimulus forward to those that are unhoused, based on the action items in that newsletter from last week. I realized that, although I posted some options on Instagram, that we never outlined the inequities on the stimulus distribution in full. Andrew joins us today to walk through the details.

If you don't have the funds to give right now, or if you're in need, bookmark the resources provided below. Redistributing capital – either by taking or receiving – is powerful not just now, but any day throughout the year.

This newsletter is a free resource and that's made possible by our paying subscribers. Consider giving $7/month on Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community. Thank you to all those that support!

Nicole

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By Andrew Lee (he/him)

On March 11th, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. Among its provisions was a $1400 stimulus which most of us have already received. This check was only the third direct federal payment to Americans since the beginning of the pandemic. With four in ten households reporting lost wages due to COVID (CBS) and millions of tenants thousands of dollars behind in rent (Time), those $1400 came not a moment too soon.

For many, the sense of relief was palpable. Others found their feelings tinged with bitterness because Biden had declared in January that $2000, not $1400, stimulus checks were coming (CBS). After months of isolation and economic crisis, however, something was certainly better than nothing. 

It’s important to remember here that nothing is precisely what millions of people living in the United States received. Though the $1400 stimulus payments were widely distributed, they were not universal. And those who missed out were those with the least resources and social power to begin with. 

Only citizens or legal residents were eligible for the stimulus check. International students and teachers on J or Q visas did not qualify for the $1400 payment. Nonresident aliens who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead of a Social Security number did not qualify either (Forbes). Every undocumented immigrant working in this country missed out on the stimulus check, as well (Huffington Post). Though Biden campaigned on a promise to “welcome immigrants in our communities,” his American Rescue Plan consciously blocks millions of immigrants from receiving economic relief in a time of unprecedented hardship (Biden Harris).

Incarcerated people were technically eligible to receive the third stimulus check (CBS). But they faced a number of obstacles in actually receiving their rightful stimulus money. First, they had to acquire the forms to apply for the stimulus, which was impossible for inmates such as those in solitary confinement. In other cases, forms mailed to incarcerated people were seized by prison staff (Marshall Project). Finally, some people received stimulus payments – only to have part of the funds withheld by the prison in which they are incarcerated as supposed “payment” for imprisoning them. The United States has just 5% of the world’s population but locks up nearly 25% of its incarcerated people (ACLU). Many of them are effectively blocked from receiving their full stimulus check. 

Even for unincarcerated people with Social Security numbers who ought to be receiving checks, not all stimulus payments are created equal. Weeks, after other people received their money, Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefit recipients were still waiting (Newsweek). And in a country where the average person is tens of thousands of dollars in debt, people with unpaid medical or credit card bills could have their stimulus checks garnished by debt collectors (CNBC).

The wide disparities among stimulus eligibility reflect deep divisions in American society. There are somewhere between 10.5 and 12 million undocumented people in the United States (Brookings) and 2.3 million people in prison (Prison Policy Initiative). Some undocumented people are not adults. Some people in prison may receive their full stimulus despite the hurdles place in their way, and it’s hard to say how many nonresident visa holders may have left the country in recent months. However, given these numbers, it’s not absurd to think that there might be 8 or 9 million people in this country who miss out on the stimulus payment purely because of their immigration status or incarceration. That’s roughly the population of New York City. 

If each and every New Yorker missed out on a $1400 check the government sent to everyone else, we would all recognize the injustice of the situation. Incarcerated people and immigrants do not experience the pandemic and recession less than anyone else. On the contrary, prisons and jails are hotbeds for COVID-19 (CNN), and immigrants are more likely to be exposed to infection as essential workers (fwd.us). 

Many Americans who received the stimulus check used it to pay outstanding debts or buy household necessities. About 19% were able to put most of it in savings (CNBC). Others looked into how they might invest their stimulus in stocks or financial instruments to reap future profit (The Motley Fool). 

If you were one of the stimulus recipients with enough financial security to use it for savings or investment, consider donating that money in whole or in part to people who received no stimulus at all. By practicing mutual aid and demanding more for oppressed communities, we can not just fight against the inequities that have emerged with COVID but also work to create a society better than the one we had before the pandemic.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Millions of people in America missed out on their stimulus checks.

  • Though eligible, incarcerated people face severe obstacles to actually receiving their money.

  • Undocumented immigrants and many visa holders received nothing. 

  • Those who missed out on stimulus checks included groups with some of the least social power and wealth to begin with.

  • Instead of saving or investing, people with resources who don’t need their stimulus checks can instead redistribute their money to those who received nothing.

RELATED ISSUES

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Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza

Learn how air pollution exacerbates COVID-19.

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Happy Sunday,

I had hoped that our COVID-19 reporting would be a reflective take on a global pandemic that was fading away; a distant memory from spring. But as the U.S. continues to hit single-day records for most of July, I'm still overwhelmed by how it persists. 

This week we also learned that George Floyd said "I can't breathe" more than twenty times while Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck, once retorting "it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk" (The Guardian). 

I've been thinking a lot about how difficult it is right now for my community to breathe – because of a disease that's stealing our lungs, because of police brutality that chokes us, and because of the environmental racism that smogs our communities. Today's newsletter on the relationship between COVID-19 and air pollution is just another example of how the most essential part of life – our birthright to breathe – has been systemically robbed from so many; become a privilege for so few. The notion itself is suffocating.  

I hope today's newsletter, and all of the content we review here, encourage each of us to take deep breaths and appreciate the simple fact that we are all still here, breathing through it all – and to use that energy to take action so all of us can breathe.

Nicole

ps – your support is greatly appreciated. You can make a one-time contribution on PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or contribute monthly on Patreon.

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View the state of the air quality in your community, compared to surrounding communities. U.S. residents can use State of the Air for U.S., data, or explore worldwide trends on this map.

GET EDUCATED

The correlation between COVID-19 and air pollution.


Populations that experience high levels of air pollution are more likely to get and die from COVID-19. A team of Harvard data scientists recently determined that a person living in areas with high particulate pollution is 15% more likely to die from COVID than someone living in an area with only slightly less air pollution (Harvard). And this isn't surprising; studies have shown that the SARS outbreak of 2002-2004 and yearly spread of influenza are also associated with pollution levels (Stanford), so it would only make sense that this disease would act similarly.

We also know that areas with communities of color are more likely to experience high levels of air pollution than white people, contributing to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in the Black and Hispanic communities (Futurity). A longitudinal study measured the exposure of various U.S. cities to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a transportation-related pollutant, and found that exposure was 2.7x higher in non-white neighborhoods than white ones. And although overall exposure to NO2 dropped between 2000 and 2010 because of various environmental initiatives, the racial disparities in exposure increased (Futurity).

“At any income level—low to medium to high—there’s a persistent gap by race, which is completely indefensible. It says a lot about how segregated neighborhoods still are and how things are segregated”.


– Julian Marshall, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington, in Futurist

This isn't accidental. Pollution isn't distributed evenly across the country. In fact, although white people create more pollution on average, communities of color are statistically more likely to be impacted by it. In fact, African Americans are 75% more likely to live in communities adjacent to sources of pollution (Futurist). Because of our long history of economic inequity and housing discrimination, low-income and minority neighborhoods are "clustered around industrial sites, truck routes, ports and other air pollution hotspots" (Scientific American).

Air pollution alone doesn't just increase the likelihood of contracting and dying from COVID-19. It's a major contributor towards those pre-existing conditions that make COVID-19 more dangerous. Diabetes, for example, may be aggravated from small pollution particulates that increase insulin resistance (Stanford). Asthma rates are as much as four times higher in the Bronx than the rest of the country, mirroring data from other cities (Scientific American). Individuals who live in predominately Black communities suffered from a higher risk of premature death from particle pollution as compared to those who live in predominantly white communities (Forbes). And another study concludes that 14% of all cardiovascular events, and 8% of cardiovascular deaths, are attributable to air pollution (NYTimes).

Another compounding issue? Stress. Stress from social and economic conditions actually exacerbates the effects of pollution – meaning that people that experience the same amount of pollution can be impacted differently based on other stressful factors of their lives, like poor people v. those more affluent, or communities of color v. white people (Scientific American).

“So if I’m exposed to air pollution but I otherwise live in a pretty nice neighborhood, I don’t have a very stressful life… how does that differ from, I’m exposed to air pollution and I live in a cruddy house in a cruddy neighborhood and I have a very stressful life? How do the social factors in my life affect my resiliency to environmental exposure?”


– Marie Lynn Miranda, dean of University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and director of the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, in Scientific American

We know that the lockdowns from COVID-19 had a positive impact on outdoor air quality, differences that could even be seen from space (IEEE). But as cities around the world have eased restrictions, air pollution has returned. The air quality in Chicago has been "worse than Los Angeles" for most of July, prompting the EPA to label it as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” (Chicago Tribune).

Protecting our environmental health, particularly for those disproportionately impacted, needs to be a priority to achieve health equity in our society, and prevent the disparities in the impact of future diseases like COVID-19. Unfortunately, this administration isn't prioritizing regulations necessary to create change (you can read a comprehensive overview at the NYTimes). It will take policy to create the systemic change necessary for all of us to breathe easy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Air pollution is a contributing factor to COVID-19 contracting and death rates

  • Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by air pollution

  • Air pollution causes a series health complications

  • Stress not related to air pollution can compound the impact of air pollution on certain populations

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Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

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Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza

Support the Navajo Nation through COVID-19.

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Happy Sunday,

This week looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation, and the systemic marginalization that has created vast inequities in basic infrastructure. This is part of our recurring Sunday series analyzing how racism exacerbates the impact of this global pandemic – you can catch up in the archives.

As our team of writers grows, you'll see new bylines within the newsletter to celebrate the diverse voices carrying the conversation forward. This team is possible because of your contributions – you can invest one-time on Paypal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza) or monthly on Patreon to keep this community growing. Thank you for your support! 

Nicole

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TAKE ACTION

  1. Donate to the local mutual aid fund Families to Families Ajooba’ Hasin, a grassroots mutual aid fund organized by ThunderVoice Eagle and his sister Alicia to support in the Bodaway / Gap area of Navajo Nation.

  2. Visit the Tribal Communities COVID-19 Action Doc, organized by Diné poet Kinsale Hueston to stay up to date with recent needs on the ground in Navajo Nation. 

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza

As COVID-19 continues to ravage the country, none have felt its impact more acutely than the Navajo Nation, (the Diné People) the second largest Native American tribe. Although reported cases have slowed over the past few days, the community has been disproportionately impacted. Over 8,200 people have tested positive for the virus (according to the IHS), resulting in a higher per capita infection rate than New York and New Jersey (Native News). The death toll equates to a death rate of 177 per 100,000 (latest states show 375 total)– more than 16 states including Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota (The Guardian).

This is because of long-time systemic racism against the Native community. After the expansion of the U.S. westwards forced thousands of Navajo to leave their homes, America reserved a stretch of land where they could maintain an illusion of sovereignty. The federal government pledged to support Navajo Nation with necessary infrastructure – like funding for education, healthcare, and other services. But as coronavirus has swept through the reservation, it has underscored many of the unkept promises that have created social and economic inequalities that continue to affect the tribe, exacerbating the impact of the virus (BBC).

As a result, the Navajo community has limited access to the essentials. The Navajo Nation is a food desert with only 13 grocery stores (NPR). One-third of residents do not have running water, and in some towns, it’s 90% (Bloomberg Law). Staying at home and social distancing become problematic when residents have to travel and congregate frequently to get access to basic needs. And preventative measures like handwashing become incredibly difficult to practice without running water at home.

Beyond that, information – particularly the rapid developments of COVID-19 – is difficult to access. According to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, 60% of Navajo lack Internet access, which means many people can’t hear regular announcements from public health officials or tune in to frequent Facebook Live town halls with the Nation's president (NPR).

The underfunded healthcare system isn’t designed to meet basic needs, let alone a global public health crisis. The United States allocates just $3,943 per person for health care for Native Americans through the Indian Health Service, less than half the $8,602 spent by the Bureau of Prisons for health care per prisoner (NYTimes).

Fatality rates from COVID-19 are higher partially because of higher levels of pre-existing conditions, like asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease (NYTimes). As the virus peaked, the Navajo Nation sent the direst patients from the reservation to hospitals equipped with ICUs in neighboring states. But this may not be possible in the future, given that over 80% of Arizona’s adult ICU beds are full – almost 40% with Covid-19 patients (The Guardian). It will continue to prove difficult as the virus surges (NPR).

On March 27, the Trump administration pledged $8 billion in CARES Act funding to tribal governments across the country, which was desperately needed; by March 20, less than a month after the pandemic hit the reservation, the tribe already had spent $4 million on COVID-19 response efforts (AZ Central). But it took over 80 days, numerous lawsuits and public pressure for the Trump administration to pay tribal nations the COVID-19 relief they were promised by the federal government (Indianz). The Navajo Nation only received $600 million in May, a “Band-aid” to fix the systemic issues preventing adequate support for the community (NPR).

Despite this, about 25% of the population on the reservation have been tested, one of the highest rates anywhere. In comparison, Arizona has tested 5% of its population, and nationwide the figure stands at 8%, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Mutual aid – community-driven, volunteer support that benefits all – have made this possible.

ThunderVoice Eagle, an artist and local leader of Navajo (Diné) and Totonoc descent, shares more about how his community is responding to the impact of COVID-19.

By ThunderVoicee Eagle

The rapid response of the Navajo Community to build emergency mutual aid relief groups has been incredible. Rather than waiting on the government to fail the Diné people once again, the local communities have organized and mobilized to take care of one another, primarily led by women (a nod to the history of a matriarchal community).

From Ordenda Tribe and designer BYellowtail’s collaboration to get thousands of masks to remote parts of Navajo Nation, to Ethel Branch’s massive COVID-19 Relief fund that’s raised over four million dollars for mutual aid, to Kinsale Hueston’s social media campaign highlighting the disparities Navajo Nation faces in every sector of society and raising support for a wide range of mutual aid groups, to the Families to Families fund initiated by my sisters on the frontlines in my home Chapter of Navajo Nation (Bodaway / Gap), we have seen an overnight response that has transformed our community and saved lives.

“Though the systems that my people face are often stacked against us intentionally, we have come together to care for each other when others have once again failed. As we move into the next phase of Covid-19 response, along with aligning with our Black brothers and sisters, we as Diné and as Native people are working together to combat the systems that oppress us”. 

Following in the push for the change of racist names and terminology in pop culture (BBC), along with the removal of colonizing statues (Indian Country Today), just this week’s traction has grown to get rid of dehumanizing mascots (Illuminatives). On July third and fourth the Sioux Nation has once again mobilized to put pressure on the government to return the sacred Black Hills land that was promised to them in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 (Newsweek). Discussions have been elevated around food sovereignty, access to adequate healthcare, Tribal Sovereignty, land rights, land reparations, combatting appropriation, and water rights.

The Diné people, along with many other sovereign Native Nations, will use the momentum our mutual care during COVID-19 has grown, to push further for equity for our people.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

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Nicole Cardoza Nicole Cardoza

Learn how racism is a public health crisis.

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Happy Sunday,

There's been so much urgent news lately it's almost easy to forget that we're living in the midst of a global pandemic. And even as states across the U.S. ease restrictions, infection rates are rising both here and around the world. I'm dedicating space each Sunday to highlight why Black people are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, because it highlights how widespread and fatal systemic racism is in our society. 

And a hearty welcome to all the new faces! If you can, make a contribution via PayPal, Patreon or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza). Your support helps keep this a free resource for everyone who can't financially contribute.

Nicole

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TAKE ACTION

1. Research the racial and ethnic disparities of COVID-19 in your state. 

2. Reflect on the following questions if you can – I acknowledge and respect that losing someone to COVID-19 is painful and difficult, and this may not be a good time to reflect:
Do you know someone that has contracted COVID-19?
If so, what underlying factors noted below may have increased the likelihood of contracting the disease?
Which underlying factors didn't affect their relationship to COVID-19?
Which underlying factors could have been more or less severe based on this person's ethnicity?

GET EDUCATED

Systemic racism is everywhere.


The protests over the past week have brought acute attention to the relationship between systemic racism and our law enforcement. Most conversations and protests have been focused on how Black people, particularly Black women and Black trans people, are disproportionately impacted by police violence and harsh incarceration. Calls for reform have been centered on defunding the police, eliminating cash bail, and holding police accountable for their actions. (All links in this paragraph refer previously sent Anti-Racism Daily emails, if you want a refresher)!

But as we push this work forward, we have to remember that systemic racism is pervasive. It's just as present in our criminal justice system as it is in healthcare, in education, in housing, and employment opportunities. It decides who gets to vote and who gets to become a CEO. It's a difficult and complex issue that is easier to understand in specific instances, but has an accumulative impact. Although here at ARD we're breaking down daily actions against specific instances, we also have to remember that all of it is affecting all of us all the time with devastating consequences.

And it's also important to remember that racism doesn't just affect Black people. Although right now we've focused mainly on Black lives, there are so many other people of color affected by racism each day. And remember when we talked about intersectionality? How we are impacted is compounded by other aspects of our identity. And those identities – like our academic background, for example – are also shaped by opportunities based off of race. Whew!

Nothing has exposed this more drastically than COVID-19. This unprecedented global pandemic does not discriminate. People across the globe are affected. But some of us here in America are affected a lot more than others – people of color, particularly Black people. And how can that be? As Kerri Kelly, founder of CTZNWell stated: "this virus doesn't discriminate, but systems do". And because our systemic is inequitable, so is the impact of the disease. Today we'll offer an overview of the relationship between COVID-19 and racism. And for the next few Sundays, we'll dive deeper into some of the specific aspects of society and how they prevent all of us from being well – whether there's a global pandemic or not.

“We know that these racial ethnic disparities in COVID-19 are the result of pre-pandemic realities. It's a legacy of structural discrimination that has limited access to health and wealth for people of color.”

Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, director of the Equity Research and Innovation Center at Yale School of Medicine, via this NPR article

African–Americans and COVID-19

First off, let's look at COVID-19 in America. COVID-19 is here and isn't going anywhere. With over 2 million confirmed cases and 113,000 deaths, US is now leading in worldwide tallies, accounting for a total of 26% in confirmed global cases (based on data pulled from here the morning of June 14). And cases aren't slowing. According to this article by TIME magazine, 25 states are continuing to see case counts grow day by day. Four of those states—Arizona, California, Mississippi and North Carolina—have had cases steadily rising since COVID-19 started.

But how is it disproportionately impacting Black people? According to the CDC, almost 1/3 of infections nationwide have affected Black Americans, despite the fact that Black people represent about 13% of the U.S. population. A Yale study found that black Americans are 3.5 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white Americans. In addition, the team found that Latinx people are almost twice as likely to die of the disease, compared with white people.

And remember that not all states have been reporting data by race/ethnicity this whole time. In fact, this article from John Hopkins' Coronavirus Research Center says racial and ethnic information is currently available for only about 35% of the total deaths in the U.S., which makes it even more difficult to see the full scope of the disparities.

Researchers and medical experts often cite underlying factors that may increase the likelihood of contracting and overcoming the disease. The CDC lists several on their website. We're going to dive into each over the coming weeks, but here's a quick recap below to start reflecting for today's action:

  • Some medical conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, lung, liver and kidney disease

  • People living in densely crowded areas, including dense neighborhoods, multi-family homes, and jails and prisons

  • Certain occupations that place people in more direct exposure to others, and/or occupations that are deemed essential

  • Pregnancy

  • People experiencing homelessness

  • Not having health insurance

It may not be clear just yet how race and ethnicity play into each of these spaces. We'll unpack them next week. But notice the broad categories. When underlying factors are inherently inequitable, everything becomes more difficult to overcome.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.

Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza

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