II. Highlights of the Month

Highlights of the Month

The long-awaited “2020” Summer Olympics this year has put a spotlight on the racism, and more specifically, misogynoir that is entrenched in the sports industry. First, Sha’Carri Richardson was banned from the Olympics after a positive cannabis test, even though it is not a performance-enhancing drug (and let alone the fact that many white athletes have been excused of much worse accusations). This past week, Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka stepped down from their Olympic events to protect their physical and mental health. And as a result, these champion athletes have faced immense discrimination and judgment. These three instances (among many others at this year’s Olympics) begs the question of whether the Olympics and its fans care about their Black athletes beyond the entertainment and talent they provide.

This summer, indigenous water protectors and allies have been tirelessly protesting the construction of Line 3, a pipeline being built by the Canadian oil company Enbridge. The pipeline is being constructed in Northern Minnesota even though it violates several treaties made with the Ojibwe people of the area. Furthermore, the pipeline is set to cross 200 bodies of water and its carbon footprint would exceed that of all of Minnesota. The influx of Enbridge workers into Ojibwe territory has also heightened COVID-19 cases and led to the assault of some indigenous community members. For ways to help, please see stopline3.org. Three months ago, the CDC announced that vaccinated people were free to enter public indoor places maskless without fear of contracting or spreading COVID-19. This month, however, due to several outbreaks of the Delta variant of the virus (the most revealing of which occurred in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where most of the population is vaccinated) the CDC announced that vaccinated individuals can, in fact, contract and spread the disease. As a result, it is now recommended that everyone, regardless of vaccination status use masks indoors. The Delta variant is near twice as transmissible as the first strains of COVID-19, yet less than half of the U.S. population is vaccinated.

In response to financial difficulties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC established a moratorium that protected Americans from evictions. This month, even though the pandemic and its subsequent financial obstacles are far from over, the moratorium was lifted, leaving many Americans in the lurch for affordable housing. With the moratorium lifted, many Americans across the country now owe months of past-due rent with little to no support. This already very present issue has been exacerbated by the pandemic and will not dissolve unless established, permanent change is made by the federal government.