99% of Kern’s Covid-19 Cases are Amongst Unvaccinated Residents
Leon Bridges Shares His Evolution to ‘Gold-Diggers Sound’
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News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 47 Number 47
Serving Kern County for Over 47 Years
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
Civil Rights Legend Bob Moses Dies at 86 “We have lost one of the most courageous organizers of our time,” wrote activist and teacher, Zellie Imani, on Twitter. “As a field organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Bob Moses was the architect of the Mississippi Freedom Project, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the Algebra Project.” By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Robert Parris Moses, one of America’s foremost civil rights leaders who stood fearless in the face of violence to register African American voters in the South, has died at the age of 86. His daughter, Maisha Moses, announced his death. Often clad in denim overalls, Moses drew comparisons to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The depth and scale of Moses’ courage proved legendary. His activism drew the ire of White supremacists, but minorities and the oppressed hailed him as a pioneer. Moses famously noted the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s (SCLC) Ella Baker as an inspiration. In a tribute released by the Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on Sunday, July 25, SNCC officials said Moses was key to the SNCC launching its voter registration campaign in Mississippi. That work led to Freedom Schools, the 1964 Summer Project, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the Poor People’s Campaign, and the Mississippi Freedom Labor Union. “And these not only began to alter the face of
Mississippi but also challenged the country to be true to the best in itself,” the SNCC wrote in its tribute. They continued: “At the heart of these efforts was SNCC’s idea that people – ordinary people long denied this power – could take control of their lives. These were the people that Bob brought to the table to fight for a seat: maids, sharecroppers, day workers, barbers, beauticians, teachers, preachers, and many others from all walks of life.” The statement continued: “The Algebra Project [Moses] founded in 1982 is a direct outgrowth of this early work in Mississippi. The project’s work aims to prepare those still kept on the bottom rungs of our society for success in the information economy of the 21st century. “Finally, the SNCC Legacy Project want to issue a call on behalf of Bob and other SNCC veterans like Julian Bond, John Lewis, Chuck McDew, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ruby Doris Robinson, James Forman, Marion Barry, Ms. Ella Baker, Amzie Moore, Unita Blackwell, and the local people with whom they worked to continue to raise the banner of the continuing struggle for a better world.” Noted Civil Rights leader and National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., saluted the life and legacy of Moses on behalf of the Black Press of America. “Bob Moses’ entire life was dedicated to freedom, justice, and equality for African Americans and all people,” Dr. Chavis reflected. “The Black Press of America pauses to express our condolences to the Moses family and to rededicate our journalistic efforts to keep alive the legacy and the vision of Bob Moses. “SNCC does not get enough credit for all of the transformative work that SNCC accomplished in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Long live the spirit of Bob Moses.” Filmmaker and famed television producer Topper
Carew also counted as a friend and admirer of Moses. “Bob Moses wasn’t a drum major. Bob Moses was the drummer,” Carew told NNPA Newswire. “I will miss his presence. Being around him made you stronger,” Carew remarked. Continued on page A2
July 23, 2021 and over the following weeks. While the Department determines eligibility, claimants should continue to certify for benefits if they remain unemployed or working reduced hours. The fastest way to certify is through UI online. EDD will continue to pay conditional benefits so long as claimants continue to certify. Claimants who are paid conditionally under this new program must still be found eligible for unemployment benefits. The Department will be sending notices to these claimants to explain this requirement. Claimants should still participate in any eligibility interview and answer any questions from the Department regarding eligibility. Due to the unprecedented increase in claims during the pandemic, including the rise in new claims after the end of the benefit year, the Department is now scheduled weeks out for eligibility interviews with some claimants. Today’s move helps ensure the Department continues to pay claimants who already cleared fraud filters and identity verification and certified they are eligible for benefits. Any benefit paid during EDD’s eligibility review will be an overpayment if the Department later determines the person did not meet eligibility requirements. An
Despite the violence that African Americans routinely faced when trying to vote, Bob Moses helped register thousands of voters. He trained countless organizers inside the walls of so-called freedom schools to carry out the mission of civil rights. (Photo: Bob Moses and Julian Bond, “Fifty Years After Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Act of 1964” 2/26/14. Visit millercenter.org / Miller Center / Wikimedia Commons
overpayment can be waived if the claimant demonstrates a financial hardship and the overpayment was not the claimant’s fault or due to fraud. While there is no ability to opt-out of the conditional payment program according to federal guidance, claimants can stop certifying for benefits if they no longer want to receive benefits. Further updates and information about the conditional payment program will be posted on the Claim Status webpage. EDD has taken a number of steps to improve customer service and speed payments this year. The Department is making multi-million dollar investments in multi-lingual services and launching programs to help staff research and resolve issues more quickly. Other actions the Department has taken to improve the customer experience include: running the call center 12 hours a day, seven days a week; calling customers directly from the remote virtual call center to seek clarifying information and resolve claims; and allowing callers to hold their place “in line” at the call center, eliminating the need to wait on hold. Through these and other efforts the Department has paid over $45 billion in benefits this year.
Delta Variant Now Makes up 83% of all U.S. COVID Cases Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The delta variant of the coronavirus now accounts for roughly 83 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced on Tuesday, July 20. “The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease, and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have,” Dr. Walensky asserted during a U.S. Senate hearing. On July 3, the CDC noted that the delta variant accounted for about half of U.S. COVID cases. That number has dramatically increased. The latest delta surge also has led to increases in hospitalizations and deaths, Dr. Walensky stated. She remarked that deaths have risen by about 48 percent over the past week, and the U.S. now averages 239 COVID-related fatalities each day. Dr. Walensky insisted that the surge could have been prevented. “Each death is tragic and even more heartbreaking when we know that the majority of these deaths could be prevented with a simple, safe, available vaccine,” she demanded. About two-thirds of U.S. counties have vaccinated less than 40 percent of their residents. That has allowed for the emergence and rapid spread of the highly transmissible delta variant,” Dr. Walensky continued. President Joe Biden previously set a vaccination goal of reaching 70 percent of eligible adults by July 4, but the U.S. fell short. Medical experts have warned that the delta variant is highly contagious and easily transmitted compared to
On July 3, the CDC noted that the delta variant accounted for about half of U.S. COVID cases. That number has dramatically increased. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)
other strains. “The reason it’s so formidable is the fact that it has the capability of transmitting efficiently from human to human in an extraordinary manner, well beyond any of the other variants that we’ve experienced, up to now,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical advisor, said during the Senate hearing. Dr. Ebony J. Hilton, the medical director for GoodStock Consulting, LLC, and Associate Professor, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Virginia, repeatedly warned that the combination of vaccine hesitancy, the refusal to wear masks, and the delta variant would create the perfect storm for a worsening pandemic.
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Civil Rights Museums Open for Free on Emmett Till’s Birthday JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Two Mississippi civil rights museums are marking what would have been the 80th birthday of Emmett Till on Sunday by letting people in for free. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and Museum of Mississippi History in Jackson are also having guided tours from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. The museums currently also have an exhibit called “I AM A MAN: Civil Rights Photographs in the American South, 19601970.” Till was 14 years old when two white men kidnapped, beat and lynched the Black teen from Chicago who was visiting family in Mississippi. The men said Till flirted with a white woman inside a store and were acquitted by an all-white jury. Till’s mother insisted on an open casket funeral and photos of the teen’s horribly beaten body were shown in magazines across the country making him an important person in the fight for civil rights and against racism.
Empowering Black Men Focus of Barbershop Competition
EDD Takes Further Action to Speed Unemployment Benefits SACRAMENTO (July 22nd, 2021) — The Employment Development Department (EDD) today announced that it will begin paying unemployment insurance claimants who certified for benefits and already received at least one week of benefits in the past, but whose payments have now been pending for at least two weeks. This new conditional payment program, which is consistent with recent federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, benefits people with a continued claim who previously had at least one payment but then went into a pending status for more than two weeks. This pending status occurs for many reasons, such as a claimant’s answer to a biweekly certification question that triggered the need for an eligibility interview. “We know many claimants who cleared fraud filters and verified identity have been waiting too long for payment,” said EDD Director Rita Saenz. “In response, we are launching a new program that will help many Californians get benefits faster.” The Department will begin sending notices this week to claimants who will benefit from this pay-now policy. Payments will be reaching claimant accounts starting
Free!
Expressly, Dr. Hilton has noted that Covid-19 deaths in predominately White communities have continued to rise at dramatic rates. She said the snapshot provides a glimpse into just how bad the pandemic remains in African American neighborhoods. “We see the disparity starting to close, but not because Black people are dying less, it’s because White people are dying more,” Dr. Hilton remarked. “Between February and March, 58,000 White Americans died of COVID, and it’s largely because of the ‘I don’t want to wear a mask,’ crowd.” Dr. Hilton concluded that all should strongly consider getting vaccinated, and everyone should continue wearing masks. “People are dying today, and they are likely leaving behind orphans,” Dr. Hilton determined. “We know that one in nine Black children were already likely to see foster care in their lifetime. Because of COVID, imagine how many now if we are not taking it seriously and not getting vaccinated? It is not worth the risk. We have an agent, an intervention that has been proven safe, and it works.” Dr. Hilton concluded: “Look at the studies. We have 77 percent of people saying that they are not fully back to being themselves after they have experienced COVID. “They have brain fog and other problems. It is not worth the risk, especially when we think about how the Delta variant has shown to be more contagious and more transmissible for our younger generation. We are setting ourselves up for a crisis.”
DETROIT (AP) – Community focused barbershops in the Detroit area can compete for a $10,000 grant as part of program designed to educate and empower African American men. Applications are being accepted through Aug. 9 from state-certified barbershop owners for the Ford Men of Courage Barbershop Challenge. Barbershop owners are asked to submit innovative community proposals designed to stimulate positive social economic mobility in their community. Up to three finalists will compete over a six-month period by developing community engagement programming for adults and youth. The runner-up will be eligible to select a local nonprofit to receive a $5,000 grant. The challenge is part of the Ford Men of Courage initiative aimed at building communities by advancing the narrative of Black men through storytelling, educational events, intergenerational forums, community visioning sessions and other curated events. The Ford Motor Co. Fund and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit are partnering on the competition. “The challenge centers on a keystone in African American communities _ the barbershop _ and encourages owners to utilize this as a launch pad to turn ideas into community outreach and success,” said Pamela Alexander, Ford Motor Co. Fund community development director. “Detroit is a city filled with men who change and improve our world every day and we are excited to celebrate and honor them with this program.” The Barbershop Challenge also is designed to complement the upcoming exhibit, Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth. Exhibition opening this fall at the Charles H. Wright Museum. The exhibition was created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Rep. Hank Johnson Arrested in Washington Voting Law Protest
ATLANTA (AP) – A suburban Atlanta congressman was among nine people arrested Thursday for blocking the door of a Senate office building in Washington while protesting inaction on Democratic voting law proposals. U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a Lithonia Democrat, said in a statement after his arrest that he was protesting “Senate inaction on voting rights legislation & filibuster reform. In the spirit of my dear friend and mentor - the late Congressman John Lewis - I was getting in good trouble.” A number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus had spoken at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court urging Congress to change filibuster rules that allow a minority of 41 or more senators to block legislation. They say such changes were needed to pass laws creating nationwide standards to mandate early voting and automatic voter registration, limit gerrymandering and put back in place reviews of voting rules in areas with a history of discrimination. Congressional Republicans oppose the proposals. Johnson and others later marched to the Senate office building. U.S. Capitol Police confirmed they arrested two men and seven women. The statement from Capitol Police said demonstrators were arrested for “illegal demonstration activity” after being warned three times to stop. Demonstrators often seek to be arrested on U.S. Capitol grounds as part of civil disobedience actions. Video posted online shows the demonstrators blocking a door while chanting “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The filibuster has got to go!” and “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Francys Johnson, the former head of the Georgia chapter of the NAACP, was also among those taken into custody.