n communities across the country, families are striving to give their children a good start in life. They share a common desire for their babies to be healthy, happy, and secure. Yet far too many families face considerable obstacles.
According to a new report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies on the state of Black students at community colleges, an alarming 70 percent of Black students experienced food or housing insecurity or homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlighted that while Black students remain disproportionately represented in community colleges, policy barriers prevent the system from producing equitable outcomes.
While the study takes a somewhat different approach in examining disparities in air pollution exposure by examining consumption of goods and services, “its findings once again reveal blacks and Hispanics bear a disproportionate ‘pollution burden’ or costs, while Whites experience ‘pollution advantage’ or benefits,” Dr. Bullard said.
That range highlights the need for federal intervention — both continuing the moratorium, which happened this morning, and additional assistance that will help not only struggling renters but also their landlords, such as the $45 billion in rental assistance in the recently passed federal stimulus bill.
policymakers have examined and talked about the “digital divide,” the shorthand term for the disparities in internet access that has contributed to many being excluded from the benefits of the Information Age. But it has taken the COVID-19 pandemic to bring home the seriousness and urgency of the problem.
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Chair of the House Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee, recently introduced a bill (H.R. 8595) to invalidate Executive Order 13950 and preserve diversity and inclusion training programs at federal departments and agencies as well as in the private sector.
“At 9:22 p.m. this evening, April 6, my father and hero, Earl Graves, Sr., the founder of Black Enterprise, passed away quietly after a long battle with Alzheimer’s,” Earl Graves Jr. wrote on Twitter. “I loved and admired this giant of a man and am blessed to be his namesake. Love you, dad.”
The annual report, based on U.S. Census Bureau data adjusted by Gross Domestic Product data, found that women-owned businesses continue to trend above all others. Over the past five years, the number of women-owned businesses increased by 21 percent, while all enterprises increased by only 9 percent.
Known as “surprise medical billing,” these unexpected costs arise when a patient goes to a hospital for emergency or non-emergency care, only to find out afterwards that one of the medical providers who administered care was not covered in the patient’s insurance network.
“Systemic racism drives both poverty and the mass incarceration of low-income people, especially people of color. This cycle of poverty and criminal justice involvement feeds on itself and creates herculean barriers to achieving economic and social advancement, for those who have been justice involved and for their loved ones,” said Jennifer Jones Austin, FPWA CEO and executive director.