• Health and Wellness

by Dana Givens

April 24, 2020

A Group of Philadelphia Doctors Are Giving Free COVID-19 Testing To Underserved Communities

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Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, hospitals have been overwhelmed by the rising number of new cases coming in. Healthcare professionals have been forced to work around the clock to provide medical treatment to the infected, and major cities have converted large venue spaces into treatment centers to accommodate more patients. One group of doctors in Philadelphia are taking matters into their own hands to provide free testing and treatment to underserved communities in the city.

Pediatric surgeon and North Philly native Ala Stanford runs a medical consulting firm and a private practice. She says she noticed more and more deaths were being recorded in the city and has become increasingly frustrated with the response. The surgeon worries about the city’s black population as the pandemic continues.

“In Philadelphia, African Americans represent 44% of the population, but at last check, 52% of the deaths,” Stanford said to WHYY PBS. “For me, that was unacceptable.”

Stanford formed the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium—an affiliation that includes a number of doctors and churches in Philadelphia’s black neighborhoods. As a part its initiative, the group took some medical supplies and went out into the community to start making house calls in West Philadelphia and eventually the rest of the city. The group has been able to test around 200 people per day.

“We are many of the forward-facing employees,” she said. “We’re driving the buses, we’re driving … the subways and the trains. We are the post office workers, we are in the grocery stores, we’re ringing people up at the pharmacies.”

The group has set up a  GoFundMe account and has raised more than $2,200 of its $50,000 goal. Stanford said Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Einstein Medical Center, and the city health department have also expressed interest in partnering with the group but for right now, she plans to keep doing independent tests in the meantime.

“It takes time with systems and bureaucracy,” she said. “I just couldn’t stand watching it on the news every day and not doing anything.”

• Education

by Derek Major

April 24, 2020

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Blocks DACA Students From Receiving Coronavirus Grant Aid

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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos blocked students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program from receiving emergency grant aid as part of the CARES Act Monday.

According to Forbes, the CARES Act allocated $14 billion to colleges and universities to address the unique impact the virus has had on college campuses. Half of the funds must be in the form of emergency grant aid directly to students to address living expenses such as housing, food, healthcare, and more.

Universities and colleges were waiting for DeVos to release guidance to detail how exactly schools could allocate the grant money, including who is eligible. In the guidance, released Monday, DeVos limited the students eligible for the grant aid to those who are only also eligible for federal student financial aid.

That means undocumented immigrants participating in the DACA program are not eligible to receive funds.

“The CARES Act makes clear that this taxpayer funded relief fund should be targeted to U.S. citizens, which is consistently echoed throughout this law,” an Education Department spokesperson said Monday.

The aid, however, is not considered normal student aid—something DeVos acknowledged by excluding it from the 90-10 rule, which limits the share of federal student aid dollars that make up for-profit colleges’ revenues. Additionally, DACA students are taxpayers themselves and the CARES Act does not prohibit DACA students from receiving the emergency aid.

The financial impact of coronavirus may affect students in the DACA program harder than others. Students in the DACA program, most of which are Hispanic, may be forced to get jobs to hold them over or to help their family.

According to a JPMorgan Chase Institute study, for every $1 lost in income, African American families cut spending by $0.46 and Hispanic families cut spending by $0.43. Additionally, many Hispanic families are already dealing with the reality of lower-paying jobs and a lower likelihood of working from home than white families.

• News

by Derek Major

April 23, 2020

African Nations Quick Moves Are Helping To Beat The Coronavirus

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Four African nations that have imposed the most stringent restrictions on the continent are seeing early signs that rapid measures to contain the coronavirus are working.

According to Bloomberg News, other African nations are now following suit. Nigeria, the most populous nation on the continent, has imposed strong containment measures in the commercial hub of Lagos and in the capital, Abuja. Ethiopia, which ranks second in population, declared a state of emergency without a strict lockdown.

Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, commended the continent for taking the coronavirus seriously.

“It’s important to put in place mitigation measures from the very beginning,” Moeti told Bloomberg. “And in a number of countries, this is being done.”

South Africa responded to the virus quickly once it was discovered in the region—mobilizing healthcare workers to go out, some going door-to-door, taking down people’s travel histories, temperatures, and other risk factors, even setting up pop-up clinics. According to scientists, it bought the government valuable time to allow hospitals to prepare in the event positive cases skyrocket. A travel ban came into effect 13 days after the first coronavirus case was confirmed on March 5, and a lockdown was imposed on March 27.

Because of the quick action, the region now has less than 3,500 coronavirus cases. Almost 127,000 tests have been conducted out of a population of 59 million.

“The trajectory in South Africa is different from anywhere else,” said Salim Abdool Karim, chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the outbreak, in a televised presentation. “We want to focus on the small flames so we never get to the raging flames.”

Ghana banned travelers from places with high rates of coronavirus in early March and as cases began to rise in the region, the government locked down its main cities and increased its testing. Ghana has tested more people than any other region other than South Africa. President Nana Akufo-Addo lifted the lockdown on Monday but said lifting the order “does not mean we are out of the pandemic,” adding stringent social distancing policies will remain in place.

Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Ghana’s presidential adviser on health, said the number of coronavirus cases will rise, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“When we start testing a lot of people, you will realize that the figure of positives will likely go up,” he said. “There is no cause for alarm. It means we’re doing our work very well.”

Uganda shut its borders and banned commercial flights starting March 23, less than 48 hours after the East African country identified its first coronavirus case. Two weeks later the government initiated a 14-day lockdown, which has been extended to May 5.

Despite all the good news, medical experts are warning fragile healthcare systems on the continent could create problems.

African Americans dealing with the coronavirus in the U.S. have not had the same good outcomes. Black Americans in the U.S. are being infected and dying at higher rates than other races in the U.S.

• News

by Dana Givens

April 23, 2020

Joe Biden Says He Would Choose Michelle Obama As His Vice President ‘In A Heartbeat’

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Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has come under pressure to elect a person of color and a woman as his running mate. Critics have suggested that he elect a black person to be his VP pick, which he hasn’t committed to. Recently, Biden told KDKA Pittsburgh that he wished former FLOTUS Michelle Obama was interested in politics because he would choose her as his running mate “in a heartbeat.”

“I’d take her in a heartbeat. She’s brilliant. She knows the way around,” Biden told reporter Jon Delano in an online interview. “She is a really fine woman. I don’t think she has any desire to live near the White House again.”

The discussions around Obama pursuing a political career aren’t new. The former first lady experienced very high approval ratings, including Republicans who weren’t in support of her husband. Over the years, she has repeatedly denied any interest in getting involved in politics after spending eight years in the White House with her husband. Instead, she’s used her platform toward voting efforts, philanthropy, and writing. In her best-selling 2018 memoir Becoming, she wrote blatantly, “I’ll say it here directly: I have no intention of running for office, ever.”

Obama talked about her lack of political aspirations during an event in Orlando in 2017 where she spoke candidly about why she never wanted to go back into politics despite her near-universal appeal among Americans.

“It’s all well and good until you start running, and then the knives come out. Politics is tough, and it’s hard on a family … I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because, when you run for higher office, it’s not just you, it’s your whole family,” she said during a Q&A session at the American Institute of Architects’ annual conference, according to The Orlando Sentinel. “Plus, there’s just so much more we can do outside of the office because we won’t have the burden of political baggage.”

• Money

by Derek Major

April 23, 2020

Americans Already Need Another Coronavirus Relief Payment

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Almost a third of Americans believe the stimulus checks delivered due to the coronavirus pandemic will last them less than a month or won’t help them at all.

According to MSN news, in a recent Bankrate.com survey, another 64% of respondents said $1,200 and $2,400 stimulus checks would cover expenses for less than three months.

A separate WalletHub survey of 350 Americans found that 84% want another wave of stimulus checks, with 43% of respondents saying they plan to use their payment to pay rent or mortgage.

This isn’t surprising considering more than 20 million people nationwide are currently unemployed, with 4.4 million applying for unemployment last week. Additionally, rent and mortgage payments are typically more than $1,200 in most of the country. As a result, nearly a third of American renters missed their April rent payments due to a lack of funds and other issues.

One of the reasons so many people are struggling now is that they were struggling even before the coronavirus outbreak. According to Bankrate, 4 in 10 Americans didn’t have enough money saved to cover a $1,000 emergency expense before the outbreak. Additionally, 74% of all American employees were living paycheck-to-paycheck before the coronavirus outbreak occurred and now can’t replace lost income.

The coronavirus’ damage on the economy has been so significant, both high- and low-income earners are feeling it. 71% of families earning more than $100,000 a year are claiming their income has taken a hit—which is the same as the 71% of families making less than $50,000 claiming the same financial struggles.

The coronavirus has also split Americans by political parties. Republicans are more likely to be worried about the economic effects of the coronavirus, while Democrats are more worried about the public health impact of the virus.

A second stimulus payment is more than likely the next issue for politicians to take up, but there are still varying issues holding up the first payments. Everything from delays to debt collectors are leaving Americans broke and angry.

Some help is on the way as the Senate passed a second coronavirus relief bill, allocating $484 billion to assist businesses, individuals, and the medical industry to deal with the economic and health-related issues brought by the coronavirus.

Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is entrepreneur Maci Peterson Philitas.

Maci Peterson Philitas

CEO and Co-founder, On Second Thought

My first job was retail sales at Limited Too.

I’ve had to work hardest at embracing and accepting praise and success.

I never imagined I would live in Morocco.

I wish I’d learned sooner the importance of practicing gratitude on a daily basis.

The risk I regret not taking is trusting my gut when making decisions.

If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent praying, hiking, journaling, and going to the spa for hammam and massage treatments.

New business ideas and the impact I want to make on the world keep me up at night.

When I’m struggling, I say to myself, “I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious, and happy,” and “I have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.”

I am unapologetically Maci.

Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.

• Entrepreneurship

by Dana Givens

April 23, 2020

Memphis Hairstylists Propose Reopening Salons Under New Guidelines To Save Their Businesses

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp caused controversy when he announced that the state would allow certain businesses including hairdressers and massage parlors to reopen on Friday, April 24. The move comes with many other governors throughout the South pushing ahead to begin easing restrictions to restart the economy. In Memphis, Tennessee, a group of hairstylists in the area are coming together to propose easing restrictions to allow their customers to return under the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luster Products is shifting its business operations to produce hand sanitizer to combat supply shortages due to the COVID-19 virus.

A provider of daily haircare and styling products, the brand is best known for Luster’s Pink and Luster SCurl. The Chicago-based black-owned company is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of personal care products for black Americans. Its brands cater to black men, women, children, and the stylist industry.

Further, the firm is looking at expanding its personal care product production and researching that strategy.

The demand for hand sanitizer has grown immensely since the coronavirus outbreak as the product is known to be effective in erasing harmful germs and bacteria that may cause illness.

“We have the technology, the capability, as well as an incredible in-house team of chemists, so this was a natural next step for us to partially shift our operations to produce hand sanitizer at a time of great need in Chicago and around the country,” Jory Luster Sr., president of Luster Products, stated in a news release.

Luster Products reports its hand sanitizer is formulated with 70% ethyl alcohol to sterilize the hands and Vitamin E to replenish moisture. The first batch, produced within two weeks, was provided to all Luster Products’ employees working at its headquarters. The company has now started shipping out cases. Plans call for the development of a consumer sales program and to identify local organizations for hand sanitizer distribution.

The global hand sanitizer market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2019, according to Grand View Research. The firm states shifting consumer preference toward convenient hygiene products is expected to drive the market. And the demand for hand hygiene products has been exceeding the supply in both online and brick-and-mortar sites worldwide given the global outbreak of the virus in a short period.

For Luster Products, entry into the hand sanitizer space shows how the black family businesses that have been operating for 63 years is navigating its operations through today’s uncertain times.

The company was launched by the late Fred Luster Sr., a successful Chicago barber who developed haircare products specifically for the health and maintenance of the hair, according to the company’s website. He initially sold his products exclusively in his barbershop.

But as demand rose—and word spread about his products’ effectiveness— Luster sold his products to other hairstylists. His early success prompted him to start Luster Products Inc. in 1957. The company has grown from a modest storefront into a multimillion-dollar worldwide enterprise. It has appeared on the BE 100s, a listing of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses.

Currently, the company employs more than 250 people globally.

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 23, 2020

Dr. Anthony Fauci Speaks to Will Smith About the Effects of COVID-19 on the Black Community

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Actor, entrepreneur, and rapper Will Smith has taken to Snapchat to bring some entertainment into our lives. But, this week, he decided to have a conversation with the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci and he came through with why black people have been greatly affected by COVID-19, according to The Root.

Dr. Fauci made an appearance on the latest episode of Smith’s recently launched Snapchat show Will at Home. The two spoke about what’s going on with the coronavirus and black people.

“It’s really terrible, because it’s just one of the failings of our society, that African Americans have a disproportionate prevalence in incidents of the very comorbid conditions that put you at a high risk,” Dr. Fauci tells Smith of the staggering number of COVID-19 deaths among black Americans. The “comorbid conditions” include hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and obesity.

“If you get infected, you’re going to have a poor outcome,” Fauci said, adding that the coronavirus is “a bright shining light on what disparities of health mean.” He also described the four main types of coronaviruses humans can get, from the common cold to what is affecting us now.

“It has the characteristics of very efficiently transmitting from human to human,” he explains of this particular outbreak. But, he feels that all isn’t lost and the future will be better for the fight against the coronavirus.

“When we have a vaccine, and we have enough baseline immunity, this is something you are not going to worry about for the rest of your life,” Fauci stated. “It’s tough now, and it may be tough for another year, but this is something that will go away, I promise you.”

Dr. Fauci also talked to some children during the Will at Home episode. Seven-year-old Ava asked him, “Can the tooth fairy still come if I lose my tooth, because of the coronavirus? And can she catch the virus?”

To which he responds, “I’ve got to tell you, Ava, I don’t think you have to worry about the tooth fairy,” Fauci said. “So when your tooth falls out, you stick it under your pillow, and I guarantee you, that that tooth fairy is not going to get infected and is not going to get sick.”