by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 10, 2020

Black Attorney Launches ‘Hood Court’ on Instagram Live

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Well, they aren’t lying when they say you can find anything online!

Attorney Tiffany M. Simmons has launched a new online reality court TV show on Instagram Live. Hood Court, under her moniker @theplugslawyer, goes live four days a week: Sunday, 11 p.m., Monday, 6 p.m., Tuesday, 9 p.m. and Friday, 6 p.m. All times are EST. 

Simmons is real-life attorney based in Atlanta who boasts an undefeated record in more than 10 years of cases. 

Hood Court is an in-your-face show featuring blunt conversation and provocative arguments as lawyers and jurors utilize expletives to win a case if needed. In each episode viewers can expect to have their legal questions answered live They can actually serve as part of the live jury for docketed cases being heard by Simmons, also known as Judge TIP.

“As a lawyer, I’m known for my results, honesty, integrity, & always being me! I created Hood Court because people need help getting through problems, ” Simmons told Black News. But this isn’t a new idea: “I conceived this show years ago, but with everyone home sheltering-in-place and courts being closed, now is the best time to help the hood mediate and navigate their issues.”

Her more recent cases have included:

(1) Should the Florida pastor who violated a COVID-19 social distancing order be charged with attempted murder?

(2) Should “Tiger King” Joe Exotic receive more jail time for his use of the “n-word”?

(3) Should Bill Cosby or R. Kelly be released from jail due to COVID-19 concerns?

Unlike the typical traditional court TV shows, Hood Court allows members of the jury to argue for or against any case being mediated by Judge TIP.

To join the jury, follow @theplugslawyer on IG or visit @theplugslawyer to view the topics on docket for the next episode.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 10, 2020

Report: Black Americans the Only Ones to Die From COVID-19 in St. Louis

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The sad reality emerging from many reports ls that the novel coronavirus, once rumored not to affect black people, is ravaging black communities. Based on one report, every coronavirus victim in St. Louis, MO, who has died in this pandemic has been a black American, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Officials in St. Louis stated that those in the city who’ve died from complications related to COVID-19 were African American. As of Wednesday, the city has more than 480 cases of infected individuals and 12 deaths.

“If you look at the health disparities in the city of St. Louis, they’re not unique,” city health director Dr. Fredrick Echols said during a briefing Wednesday. “Inequities exist across the U.S. and across the world, and it’s posed a challenge for public health agencies, (which) have to address those issues and ensure all individuals, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, income, or educational attainment have access to quality health-related resources.”

According to Statistics Atlas, St. Louis has the most black people in the state. More than two of every three people living in Missouri are white, while blacks make up 24% of the state’s population. 

The city of St. Louis has a stay-at-home order that expires April 22. Echols said it will likely be extended because of the increased cases of COVID-19. “However, things may change,” he said. “We will continue to monitor the situation.” Echols added that state officials have agreed to provide the city with a rapid testing machine so those potentially exposed to the virus can be tested more quickly.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams has said that preexisting conditions that are prevalent in the black community are a reason for the influx of deaths. He cited particular health conditions like asthma, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Adams also acknowledged the impact the coronavirus has had on the black community, saying “many black Americans are at a higher risk for COVID.”

by Derek Major

April 10, 2020

Joe Biden Calls For Student Loan Forgiveness, Medicare Changes

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Democratic presidential presumptive nominee Joe Biden released a new plan Thursday to forgive and eliminate student loan debt for millions of student borrowers.

According to Forbes, Biden’s plan would forgive all undergraduate federal student loan debt for borrowers who attended public colleges and universities, historically black colleges and universities, and private minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Borrowers that make less than $125,000 would also be eligible for loan forgiveness.

“I would finance this new student debt proposal by repealing the high-income ‘excess business losses’ tax cut in the CARES Act,” Biden wrote. “That tax cut overwhelmingly benefits the richest Americans and is unnecessary for addressing the current COVID-19 economic relief efforts.”

Additionally, Biden also supports Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to restructure the bankruptcy code allowing student loan debt to be easily discharged in bankruptcy. Currently, student loan debt is treated differently from other forms of consumer debt in bankruptcy. Many feel that it’s time-consuming and difficult to meet the difficult “undue hardship” standard needed.

Biden’s new plan goes further than a previous plan he released last year. Political analysts see the new plan as an olive branch to align supporters of Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and to consolidate the Democratic base.

Biden also released a plan to lower the age of eligibility for Medicare from 65 to 60. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll from January 2019 almost 90% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans believe citizens as young as 50 should be allowed to buy into Medicare.

“It reflects the reality that, even after the current crisis ends, older Americans are likely to find it difficult to secure jobs,” Biden wrote of the plan. He added the plan would be financed “out of general revenues to protect the Medicare Trust Fund.”

Biden also supported a $10,000 federal student loan forgiveness plan as a response to the coronavirus outbreak. Senate Democrats proposed this idea, but Senate Republicans eliminated it from the final version of the CARES Act.

College students and the elderly are among the most impacted by the outbreak. College students were forced to rush off campus quickly and the elderly have been told in some states not to go outside. Luckily both have received some help. U-Haul provided free storage for students and celebrities have reached out to the elderly.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 10, 2020

Rihanna and Jack Dorsey Collectively Fund $4.2 Million for Domestic Violence Programs in L.A.

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The philanthropic efforts of Robyn Rihanna Fenty keep growing as she continues to contribute to several coronavirus relief programs. The talented singer and businesswoman has made an announcement that she and Twitter/Square CEO Jack Dorsey will be funding a Los Angeles-based domestic violence program together for a combined $4.2 million.

Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation announced on April 9 that they are partaking in a joint funding effort with Twitter/Square CEO Jack Dorsey to address the big surge in domestic violence in Los Angeles. The combined $4.2 million in funds will be given to the Mayors’ Fund for Los Angeles to enable them to provide 10 weeks of support for victims of domestic abuse. The funds used will go toward providing shelter needs, meals, and counseling for individuals and their children affected by the sudden uptick in domestic violence cases since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Typically, an estimated 10 million people experience domestic violence in the United States each year. The Los Angeles Housing Authority has determined that dozens of individuals (and their children, in many cases) are being turned away from at-capacity domestic violence shelters every week. This has been a more recent issue as incidents have been on the rise since the Safer at Home Order was issued last month in March.

Clara Lionel Foundation and Dorsey, who have previously worked together on other impact projects, knew that swift action was required and decided to address the issue together. Clara Lionel Foundation’s $2.1 million commitment follows two previous rounds of COVID-19 emergency response grants, bringing the foundation’s total to over $8 million in coronavirus-related support.

In a Twitter post, The Clara Lionel Foundation announced its partnership with Dorsey.

We’re joining forces with Twitter/Square CEO @Jack today by co-funding $4.2 million grant to the @MayorsFundLA to address the current crisis for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles as a result of the COVID-19 Safer at Home Order. #startsmall #CLF pic.twitter.com/JKoKb60N3n

— Clara Lionel Fdn (@ClaraLionelFdn) April 9, 2020

If you’d like to contribute and join the organization’s efforts, you can make a donation here.

• News

by Justin Barton

April 10, 2020

Kamala Harris Calls Trump a ‘Drug-Pusher’ for Touting Hydroxychloroquine

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Former presidential candidate and U.S. senator from California, Kamala Harris took to The View recently to give her thoughts on President Donald Trump pushing the anti-malaria and lupus drug hydroxychloroquine as a miracle treatment for COVID-19.

“The president keeps taking the stage and as opposed to what Dr. [Anthony] Fauci and medical health professionals are telling us, pushing this drug,” Harris said on The View. “He’s got to stop — he’s not — we don’t want a drug pusher for president.”

Trump has been touting the drug during his daily press conferences concerning the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

“I certainly understand why the president is pushing it,” Dr. Joshua Rosenberg of Brooklyn Hospital Center said in a Times article on Monday. “He’s the president of the United States. He has to project hope….So I’m not faulting him for pushing it even if there isn’t a lot of science behind it, because it is, at this point, the best, most available option for use.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, who frequently joins Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at coronavirus press conferences, has repeatedly said that all reports of the successful treatments of COVID patients with hydroxychloroquine are anecdotal and have not been proven successful by a peer-reviewed scientific study.

“I think we’ve got to be careful that we don’t make that majestic leap to assume that this is a knockout drug,” Fauci told Fox News on Friday. “We still need to do the kinds of studies that definitively prove whether any intervention, not just this one, any intervention is truly safe and effective.”

In New York State, doctors have been treating patients with hydroxychloroquine, but also caution about the expectations of successful treatment.

“There has been anecdotal evidence that it is promising,” Cuomo told reporters while noting the drug’s effectiveness has not yet been scientifically proven.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has shut down entire industries, forced millions of Americans to shelter-in-place, and completely upended the labor market.

According to a U.S. Labor Department report released Thursday, another 6.6 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims last week. That brings the total claims to nearly 17 million in the past three weeks, which is about 1 in 10 workers in the labor force. The staggering new figures also mark a historic high as the second largest number of initial unemployment claims on record since the Labor Department started tracking the data in 1967.

Many of those claims were filed by restaurant workers along with healthcare and social assistance employees. California, New York, and Michigan — three of the states suffering most from the pandemic — saw the largest increase in claims last week.

The ongoing surge in filings for unemployment insurance has been exacerbated by self-employed and independent contractors who are now allowed to file for claims under the $2.2 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill enacted last month.

Economists say the numbers will only get worse as up to 20 million people are expected to be out of work by the end of April and the unemployment rate is expected to hit 15% by June.

Meanwhile, some economists say the actual unemployment rates for minorities are probably much worse. Dean Baker, the senior economist at the Center for Economic & Policy Research, told CNN that the true rate is likely 20.7% for African Americans and 18.7% for Hispanic workers.

According to CNN:

About 30% of workers at hotels in 2019 were Hispanic, and another 19% are black, according to the BLS. Restaurants, bars and other food services, which have been particularly hard hit, had 27% of workers last year who were Hispanic, and 13% who were black.

 

At department stores, most of which have shut down because of the crisis, 19% of employees were black and another 19% were Hispanic. The catchall labor department category that includes temporary workers, custodial help and landscaping services lost 61,000 jobs in the official March labor report. About half of those workers are minorities.

Prior to the global health crisis, the American job market had been strong. In February, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, following 113 straight months of job growth. Recovery from the economic downturn will only be determined by how quickly the novel coronavirus can be contained.

by Lydia Blanco

April 10, 2020

JPMorgan Chase Announces Brian Lamb as Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion

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Today, JPMorgan Chase announced Brian Lamb as the Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion. Beginning May 4, Lamb will assume the newly created position and report to the firm’s co-presidents, responsible for executing a strategy that builds on the firm’s existing work and further incorporates a diversity lens into how the firm develops products and services, serves clients, helps communities, and supports employees.

The new role will strengthen and improve coordination of the firm’s existing strategy to support underserved communities as well as elevate the firm’s existing Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, including Advancing Black Pathways, Advancing Black Leaders, Military & Veterans Affairs, Women on the Move, the Office of Disability Inclusion, Global Supplier Diversity, and regional and line of business diversity functions. These focused efforts to-date have strengthened the firmwide culture in important and measurable ways.

In a statement released by JPMorgan Chase, Lamb shared his excitement about joining the company at such a pivotal time in corporate America.

“I’m excited to join JPMorgan Chase and help to further foster a culture where diversity and inclusion are a central and driving force. A company that is diverse and inclusive can better serve our customers, employees and communities—and that is good for business.”

Gordon Smith, co-president for JPMorgan Chase and CEO for Consumer & Community Banking said that JPMorgan is grateful to have Lamb on the team.

“Brian’s deep experience is precisely what we need to help our firm build on our diverse and inclusive culture, and drive it into every corner of our company. Building a culture where all employees and customers are treated equally and feel welcome is a business imperative, and we’re fortunate to have Brian’s leadership in this critical area.”

Lamb has a track record of leadership and is joining JPMorgan from Fifth Third Bank where he served as executive vice president and head of Retail Banking. Over the span of his 13-year career, he has led Fifth Third Bank as head of Wealth & Asset Management and chief corporate responsibility & reputation officer. He has also served as chair of the Tampa Bay Partnership and held board positions with the Florida Bankers Association and Florida Council of 100.

Some of Lamb’s notable work includes a former partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which was a $30 billion community commitment that focused on access to capital for small businesses, first-time homeownership, and educational opportunities for underserved communities and people of color.

Daniel Pinto, co-President for JPMorgan Chase and CEO, Corporate & Investment Bank is equally as excited to have Lamb spearhead the company’s efforts to become more inclusive.

“Applying a diversity lens to everything we do is critical to running a successful business,” said Pinto. “We are more effective when we take a diverse and inclusive approach to our work, and with Brian on board, I believe we’ll be more successful all around.”

As JPMorgan Chase continues its efforts to diversify the company and support communities of color, Lamb is ready to help lead the charge.

• Lifestyle

by Selena Hill

April 10, 2020

Rapper Quavo Launches New Record Label, Clothing Line Collaboration, and Fundraiser

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While much of the nation has been sheltering in place for the past few weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic, Quavo has been busy securing all the bags.

Best known as one-third of the rap group Migos, Quavo announced the launch of his own record label, Huncho Records, on Monday in an Instagram post. The first artists signed to the label include young hip-hop acts like 904 Reebock, the Popout Boyz, and Street Bud.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

You Can Rap, Produce, Or Be A Athlete. Be All You Can Be! @hunchorecords

A post shared by QuavoHuncho (@quavohuncho) on Apr 7, 2020 at 9:51am PDT

Days later, the Atlanta-born songwriter and producer dropped his second limited-edition clothing line with boohooMAN on April 8. The highly anticipated collection boasts vibrant colors and fun streetwear inspired by Huncho’s striking signature style. It comes a year after the rapper partnered with the global menswear online retailer last April.

“Collaborating with boohooMAN is special because they just really are the first team that let me open my creative mindset and just bring my ideas to life,” said Quavo in a statement to BLACK ENTERPRISE. “When I met the team they were young and represented the culture so I thought, OK, we can collaborate and do something special. I’m happy for it to come around again. This time it’s better!”

The line consists of 100 items of denim, sweats, footwear, and accessories like sunglasses, socks, and even matching face masks. Price points range from $12 – $80.

“The success of the first drop was huge. After persistent demand from our consumers and Huncho’s fans, Quavo and I knew we had to drop a part 2,” said Samir Kamani, boohooMAN’s 22-year-old billionaire CEO.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

SEASON 2 Is Out Now Get Ya Hands On The Latest Huncho Drip!! Go follow @boohoomanofficial And Comment 🥶 For A Chance To Win 5 Racks!!! Yessirrr 5k!

A post shared by QuavoHuncho (@quavohuncho) on Apr 8, 2020 at 9:43am PDT

Born Quavious Keyate Marshall, the multiplatinum-selling artist celebrated his 29th birthday on April 2 by launching a fundraising campaign through his to Quavo Cares Foundation to support the fight against the coronavirus. The organization partnered with the Ohana One Foundation and Georgia’s Emory Healthcare to provide masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

“Huncho Day Was About Giving Back On My Birthday Unfortunately Weren’t Able Too! So Instead I Ask My Family Friends Supporters To Please Donate To Quavo Cares Foundation!!!!” he on Instagram. “I am partnering with [Ohana One] and [Emory Healthcare] to provide needed masks, isolation gowns and face shields to ensure health care professionals are safe during this pandemic.”

• Lifestyle

by Selena Hill

April 10, 2020

15,000 Hotels Are Offering Rooms for Healthcare Workers And Those in Quarantine

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Despite their business coming to a screeching halt, hotels are doing their part to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) announced that more than 15,000 hotels have joined the “Hospitality for Hope” initiative, which connects healthcare professionals to hotel chains and independent properties that are offering rooms as temporary housing. Through the program, emergency and healthcare workers will be connected to 2.3 million rooms located in close proximity to established healthcare facilities around the country. In addition, some of the hotels will be turned into emergency hospitals or spaces called “Alternative Care Sites” for those who are quarantined.

“It has been so impressive to see hotel after hotel join this important initiative as a way of giving back to the communities in which they operate,” said Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO, in a statement. “As an industry of people taking care of people, the hotel industry is uniquely positioned to support our communities by caring for the first responders who are on the frontlines of this public health crisis.”

As a result, healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders will be able to find lodging to reduce their commute to and from work and protect their families from possibly being exposed to the novel virus.

To streamline the process, the AHLA is working to create a national “Hospitality for Hope” database to assist the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and help properties connect with federal, state, and local governments.

“The number of hotels wanting to be part of the program is growing by the hour,” Michael Jacobson, CEO and president of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association said. “Our hotels are answering the call to action, and they want to be helpful to the city and the state.”

Last week, Airbnb announced that it will offer free or subsidized housing to 100,000 healthcare workers on the front lines in the battle to stop the spread of COVID-19.