Edition 27: A moment to learn about lifetimes of injustices
(This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on June 5, 2020.)
This isn’t our usual Below The Fold newsletter, muggles. While we’re still digging up stories you probably missed, we’re focusing solely on the disparities, discrimination, and violence Black people face in the U.S.
As a company, Acciyo stands in solidarity with the victims of racial injustice and with those who are pushing for change through protests across our country. As a nation, we have a lot of learning to do and we hope more education and knowledge can be one of the ways we work towards progress.
However you choose to participate in this movement is up to you. If you choose to join us in learning, below you’ll find some stories, events, and statistics that are incredibly important, illuminating, and largely left out of our breaking news headlines. Our topics this week include:
- Black Health
- Policy Discrimination
- Bias in Tech & Entrepreneurship
- Black History
We must warn: Some of these stories are heavier than newsletters of the past. We hope you read with a prepared and open mind. We’ve also included action items for each story, hoping a next step can help us all work towards change together.
BLACK HEALTH
Black patients are 3x more likely to lose a limb
May 19, 2020
Diabetes, which is a disease that affects your blood sugar levels, can reduce blood flow to your legs and feet to such extremes that amputation becomes necessary. Here in the U.S., these amputations grew by 50% between 2009 and 2015 with around 130,000 amputations per year.
Black patients, however, were 3x more likely to lose a limb than others.
Why? Some factors include:
- Unequal health care access
- Racist biases
- Cuts in public health funding
Meanwhile policies from hospitals, insurers, and the government don’t require surgeons to consider other limb-saving options before amputating.
TAKE ACTION:
Donate to the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health.The center leads the nation in conducting community-engaged research to identify, investigate and explain how racism and other social inequalities may influence the health of diverse populations.
Medical experiments and false beliefs of Black pain tolerance
Aug 14, 2019
Thicker skin, a higher tolerance for heat, smaller skulls, and larger sex organs — these are some of the myths about Black Americans that still exist today.
It began in the 1800’s …
Around 1820, John Brown, an enslaved man in Georgia, was experimented on by Dr. Thomas Hamilton. In an effort to prove that there were physiological differences between Blacks and Whites, Hamilton disfigured Brown with scars. Hamilton was a respected physician at the time, and believed all the myths mentioned. These false beliefs were presented as facts in medical journals by Hamilton and other doctors at the time, which contributed to and further supported racism.
Flashforward to today …
These fallacies about pain tolerance have now existed for centuries, even leading to modern gynecology experiments on Black women. They’ve also led doctors today, in the 21st century, to fail to properly treat pain for Africans Americans. In fact, as recently as 2016, medical students were being told to prepare for the racial stereotypes that still existed on their exams.
Related to Black Health: A national study found that Black people account for over 50% of coronavirus cases and nearly 60% of deaths. Some reasons for this included socioeconomic conditions (such as employment status) and access to health care.
TAKE ACTION:
Sign the petition to end medical racism.The petition aims to bring attention to this critical issue, fight for patients’ rights everywhere, and demand anti-racism training for medical professionals treating COVID-19 before it’s too late.
POLICY DISCRIMINATION
The police killing in Florida you didn’t see on the news last week
May 29, 2020
A few days after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Tallahassee police shot and killed Tony McDade, a Black transgender person. While there isn’t video and the details are a little unclear, an eyewitness told a local news station that police didn’t try to deescalate the situation. Police claim McDade had a handgun.
Why haven’t we heard more about this?
Part of the reason might be because we don’t know the name of the officer responsible. In fact, a law in Florida allows officers involved in a shooting to be classified as victims, thereby protecting them from such scrutiny.
TAKE ACTION:
Look up how many police policies your city has enacted.The 8 CAN’T WAIT campaign calls for eight actions that, implemented together, can decrease police violence by 72%. The website allows you to look up your city, see which policies are not enacted, and provides contact information for local government and police to take action.
Restricting former prisoners’ right to vote in Florida
Mar 17, 2020
In 2018, Florida voters passed a state constitutional amendment to allow most ex-felons to vote. Before this, Florida was one of four states that had a lifetime ban on voting for people convicted of felonies.
How many people did this affect?
This change would allow around 1.5 million people to vote, with Black men as the largest group affected. This is because despite being less than 20% of the population, Black people made up 70% of the prison population in Florida.
What happened next?
After that amendment passed, Florida Republicans tried to add restrictions. They added a law that required former felons to pay all fees from their cases (including the costs of having a public defender) before they voted. Plus, those who didn’t pay could face another felony charge.
Isn’t this a poll tax?
Yes, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund along with other groups sued on those grounds. A federal judge ruled just last week (after the primary, but before the general election) that the restrictions and fees were unconstitutional.
TAKE ACTION:
Donate to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.The NAACP LDF fights for racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and public education. The LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 75 years through the civil rights struggle.
BIAS IN TECH & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Facebook’s algorithm censored Black political expression
June 28, 2017
In documents uncovered by ProPublica, it seems Facebook’s algorithms filtered out speech that was aimed at general groups — but allowed for specific subsets to be targeted. For instance, attacking whites (in general) was not okay, but “radicalized Muslims,” “Black children,” or “female drivers,” passed the test.
Facebook has reportedly been trying to fix its algorithm for detecting hate speech, but it’s unclear how much is still getting through.
TAKE ACTION:
Sign the petition to stop censoring accounts of Black & Trans activists.This Change.org petition calls for Facebook to stop censoring and banning the accounts of Black and Trans activists.
Black entrepreneurs struggle to make it in the legal weed industry
Fed 22, 2019
We’ve heard how — despite marijuana use being almost equal between races — Black Americans are 4x more likely to be arrested for pot possession. What’s worse? This same group is also being largely left out of the legal marijuana industry.
While the weed industry is projected to grow to $50 billion by 2026, a 2017 survey found Black people made up just 4% of ownership in the cannabis industry. Many Black entrepreneurs have cited a lack of access to capital and systemic economic racism as barriers to the business. In fact, 99% of marijuana dispensaries are White-owned.
TAKE ACTION:
Support Black-owned cannabis companies.Check out and support (which can be as easy a social media follow) Black-owned cannabis companies. You can also donate to the Minority Cannabis Business Association, which supports equality and diversity in the cannabis industry through policy, empowerment, and connection.
Facebook sued over housing discrimination
Mar 28, 2019
Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments sued Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act. It said Facebook allowed advertisers to restrict housing based on race, gender, and other characteristics.
How long was this going on for?
In 2016, ProPublica first reported on the discriminatory practices. Facebook said it would make changes, but then again in 2017, the company was still found to be letting advertisers exclude people based on their race, ethnicity, family status, etc. In 2018, the National Fair Housing Alliance sued Facebook for these same practices before HUD filed its formal complaint.
In Related News: Airbnb was also called out for racial discrimination on its platform. In 2018, in an effort to change its image, the home-sharing company announced that hosts could no longer request photos of guests before accepting a booking. The company also said it was working with local chapters of the NAACP to increase racial diversity on its platform as well as within the company.
TAKE ACTION:
Learn how to file a complaint with Department of Housing.If you believe your rights have been violated, file a complaint with HUD. Also know that it is illegal to retaliate against in any way for making or participating in HUD’s complaint process.
BLACK HISTORY
Hundreds of Blacks were massacred in Tulsa 99 years ago
Feb 27, 2019
In the early 1900s, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma was known as “Black Wall Street,” a community rich with Black-owned businesses. But on May 31, 1921 White mobs burned down the neighborhood. This led to an estimated:
- 300 people killed
- 35 city blocks burned
- 1,200 buildings destroyed
- 1,000 people left homeless
It is considered one of the worst racist attacks in America, but it was largely left out of history. Many Black Tulsans left the city, and the ones who stayed were silenced for decades. No one was convicted of any crimes and to this day many questions remain. Though just this week, it was announced that Lebron James is set to produce a documentary on the massacre.
TAKE ACTION:
Learn more by watching the 10-minute Vox video.
Vox’s video, “The massacre of Tulsa’s ‘Black Wall Street,’” allows us to learn more about the attack and why it still matters in Tulsa. Warning: The images and descriptions might be disturbing and hard to watch.
Ferguson elects its first Black, female mayor
June 3, 2020
Ending on a more positive note: Ella Jones will be the new mayor of Ferguson, Missouri. The city sparked nationwide protests in 2014 after a white officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager. Jones was previously the first Black member of the Ferguson city council when she was elected in 2015.
TAKE ACTION:
Make sure you’re registered for the upcoming election.Whether you need to register or check to make sure you’re registered, be sure you’re ready to make your voice heard — especially if you live in any of the upcoming deadlines:
June 9: West Virginia, Georgia, North Dakota, Nevada, South Carolina
June 23: New York, Kentucky, Virginia
June 30: Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma
Black Stories Previously on Below the Fold
- In Illinois, drivers were losing their licenses due to a buildup of non-moving traffic violations, such as parking tickets or vehicle compliance issues. ProPublica found that these suspensions disproportionately affected motorists in largely black sections of Chicago and its suburbs. A new law was signed into law in January reissuing licenses for 55,000 people.
- A college student in Illinois filed a lawsuit against six police officers who, the year prior, forced him facedown in the snow, pressed a gun to his forehead, and then detained him in a police car. The student was singled out from a bus full of white teammates by police.
That’s all for this week. Have a magical weekend of learning, action, and hope.✨
