Black History Month Highlights

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, A Black woman from North Carolina will go down in history for leading the effort to solve the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is a research fellow and scientific lead at the National Institut of Health. She was on the frontlines working with a team of scientists, studying Moderna's vaccine, one of the two COVID-19 vaccines shown to be effective by more than 90 percent. Finding a vaccine to combat COVID-19 has been crucial to saving lives on a national and global level.

Black Americans and other people of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, increasing the urgency among health experts and community leaders to build confidence and trust in the vaccine. But skepticism among some people of color, especially Black Americans, remains high.

A study released by the COVID Collaborative, the NAACP and UnidosUS found that only 14% of Black Americans trust that a vaccine will be safe and 18% trust it will be effective. Their concerns stem largely from a history of racism in medical research and healthcare that includes incidents like the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, the study found.

Corbett has seen vaccine hesitancy in Black communities firsthand and recognizes that rebuilding trust in medical institutions will take time, which is something that health experts have to accept. Thankfully, Dr. Corbett, being a black woman herself and the one behind the vaccines development, has been able to reassure some of black community of the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness and it being safe for individuals to take. Corbett did however say to people who are hesitant about the vaccine that, “You've earned the right to ask the questions that you have around these vaccines and this vaccine development process, ” but she is working hard to help earn back that trust.

Dr. Corbett has been outspoken on the role systemic racism has played in the pandemic, and has criticized the Trump administration for a lack of diversity on its coronavirus task force.

"Trust, especially when it has been stripped from people, has to be rebuilt in a brick-by-brick fashion, " she said. "And so, what I say to people firstly is that I empathize, and then secondly is that I'm going to do my part in laying those bricks. And I think that if everyone on our side, as physicians and scientists, went about it that way, then the trust would start to be rebuilt. "

30 days after being nominated by President This October, Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis Trump, Amy Coney Barrett was officially has reached higher stakes after a fatal shooting sworn-in as a Supreme Court Justice on October That e thde ay beforeMother F Newrancis York City publica Internationalc schoolsBilingual On Wednesday, July 29, Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN) halted a tremendous milestone for abortion rights by voting against an injunction in Veracruz. The injunction, approved by a judge in Xalapa, Veracruz ordered the state’s congress to remove articles 149, 150, and 154 of the local penal code. This decision would have decriminalizeed abortions within 12 weeks, allowed for abortions due to health risks, and abolished the time limit on abortions for cases involving rape. The plan for removing these three This past March, officers Brett Hankinson, Myles Cosgrove, and Jonathan Mattingly, barged into Breonna Taylor’s house under a “no-knock warrant” as she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping and fired a barrage of 32 bullets that killed Taylor. This month, a Jefferson County grand jury only indicted one of the three officers, Hankinson, and only charged him for endangering Taylor’s neighbors. None of the officers were charged for the death of Breonna Taylor. In addition, recently leaked 27th. Based on her judicial record on gun rights and immigration as well as her public statements on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, it is clear that Barrett’s nomination will shift the nation’s highest court severely to the right. The backlash against Barrett’s nomination is two-fold: Many Americans are concerned about how Barrett’s stance will play out in court cases dealing with LGBTQ+ rights and abortion (particularly in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia), Amanda Gorman will undoubtedly go down in history for being the poet that stole the show for her performance of “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ inauguration this year. Gorman, the United States’ first Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet at the age of 22 years old, has already had a lifetime’s worth of achievements, but she’s only going up from Jena Faith, a 43-year-old trans woman, has just made history in Steuben County, NY by filing a lawsuit against the county for the abuse she experienced in jail. Faith was arrested back in 2018 for allegedly buying a meal with counterfeit money. While she was originally placed in a women’s facility, she was abruptly moved to a men’s facility she was misgendered, denied her hormone replacement treatment, and sexually assaulted. The lawsuit Faith filed upon her release, however, has now led to multiple reforms were scheduled to open, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) declared a “No Confidence” vote against Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza due to their failure to come up with a safe plan for schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the vote, the CSA is calling on de Blasio and Carranza to relinquish control of the city's Department of Education for the remainder of the pandemic and to seek out the assistance of the New York State education Academy in Kumba that resulted in the deaths of six children under 14-years-old. Unfortunately, the shooters have not been identified yet. The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon first emerged in 2016 as Anglophones in Cameroon started to protest their oppression at the hands of the Francophone government. Since then, due to the government’s violent suppression of these protests, tensions have continued to rise and Cicely Tyson, a beacon of light and a major role model in the film and theater industry, suddenly passed away last month at age 96. A native of Harlem, New York, and born to Caribbean immigrants, Tyson lived an incredibly extensive 65-year-long career filled with masterfully impactful performances, like her first lead role as “Rebecca” in Sounder (1972). Tyson was also revolutionary for the way that she demanded articles was originally introduced by the women’sbody-cam footage reveals Brett Hankinson andand people are furious with the Trumphere. This month, she has already made history dedicated to protecting trans inmates. As a resultdepartment. According to CSA leaders, schoolover 5,000 soldiers, separatist fighters, andrespect in the industry: She was not only a rights Mylesadminagain organizations National Commission toCosgrove returning to Taylor’s residenceistration for fast-tracking Barrett’sas the first poet to perform at the Super of these reforms, trans inmates in Steuben Countyofficials want to get school’s reopened as safelycivilians have been killed. Not only has thisleader of the Black is Beautiful movement, but Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Womenand commenting on potential evidence afternomination rather than allowing the AmericanBowl where she delivered her poem “Chorus of will andconfshe have access to gender-affirming care, will be as quickly as possible. lict resulted in immense violence, it alsoalso refused to play characters that (Conavim) and thethe incident took people to let theirthe Captains. ” National Institute for Womenplace. Needless to say, folksvote for president influence able to wear clothing thatprevented almost oneportrayed demeaning oraligns with their gender,million children fromflawed images of Black(InMujeres) in 2016. Unfortunately, four out of five judges voted against upholding the injunction. While this decision would have only affected the state of Veracruz, activists hoped that it would set across the country are furious that Taylor’s death occurred at all, and that now, Taylor is being denied justice. the justice to fill the place of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, considering Republicans prevented former president, Barack Obama, and legally must be referred to by their correct names and pronouns. attending school right now.identity. Cicely Tyson’s legacy lives on in the thousands of Black artists that she has inspired, and her work will undoubtedly be remembered the precedent for other states to do the same.from replacing Justice Scalia in 2016. for years to come. After winning the Democratic nomination this July, Candace Valenzuela could now make history by becoming the first Black Latina in Congress. Information on President Trump’s long-awaited tax-returns has finally been released by the New York Times. According to their report, Trump, the only president in recent history to not release his tax-returns, paid $750 the year he won the presidential election and his first In a seismic shift in governmental leadership, Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has resigned from her government This January, Senator Raphael Warnock made history as Georgia’s very first Black senator, the first Black democrat senator to represent a southern state, and as the 11th Black senator ever in the United States. Warnock’s win was made possible by Stacey Abrams and the many In the past few months, the Greek government has secretly expelled over 1,000 asylum seekers by sending them off in occasionally malfunctioning life rafts. Despite the many outcries against Greece’s illegal actions, the government has denied the allegations. Some experts suggest that this recent humanitarian Days before a major UN biodiversity summit, 64 world leaders signed the Leader’s Pledge for Nature, among them Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Jacinda Ardern, and Boris Johnson. The document is a 10-point pledge that plans to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The pledge warns that humanity is facing a climate crisis North Carolina’s “I Am Change” march began as a peaceful protest to encourage voter turnout but quickly devolved into violence when law enforcement arrived in riot gear and gas masks and demanded that protestors move to the Nia Dennis has once again gone viral for an incredibly engaging floor routine celebrating Black history and culture. The routine Valenzuela is an educator, a member of her school board, and a mother of two. Her campaign was supported by EMILY’s List, End Citizens United, year in office. In 10 of the past 15 years, however, he didn’t pay any income taxes because he reported losing more money than position to run against her former party, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), in the next election. Fiame’s decision to resign and run other trailblazing voting rights activists that successfully flipped Georgia blue in this year’s presidential election. violation is a result of other European countries not providing enough assistance to Greece for taking in a high influx of Syrian refugees. Also, and declares that it will reduce deforestation and unsustainable fishing practices, eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies, and sidewalk. Despite the fact that the protestors had applied for the permit to be there, officers quickly resorted to the use of pepper spray, incorporated music by Beyoncé, Missy Elliot, Tupac Shakur, and Kendrick Lamar, and the Congressionalhe made. In addition,against her party is a Hispaniche is currenrejection of Caucus, thetly in a disputecurrent Prime rising tensions between Greece and Turkey haveencourage sustainable food productionharming the children, elderly folks, and disabledincluded aspects of popular dances throughout Congressional with the IRSMinister, Tuil Black overaepa Caucus, the Congressionalthe legitimacy of a $72.9Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi’s led people tosystems. Thefolks that wereBlack history, believe that both nations arepledge also puts pressure onin the crowd. taking a knee in tandem with Asian American Pcific American Caucus, andmillion tax refund. Unsurprisingly, Trumprecently established laws that critics cl was hasaim weaponizing Syrian refugees to placecountries that contribute the mostColin Kaepernick, and stepping, a fo pressure ongreenhouserm of dance endorsed by the late John Lewis. referred to the report as “fake newsundermine Samoa’s constitution. . ” one another. gasses like the US,practiced by Black Brazil, China, anfraternities and d Russia.sororities.

NséThe Ufot long-awaited distribution of the COVID-19 In 1947, penicillin was discovered as an effective vaccine this past month has shed a brighter light treatment for syphilis. But the treatment was on the painful history of the mistreatment of never administered to the study’s participants, Black Americans and other communities of color and the participants were never explicitly given by the medical industry in the United States. the option to leave the study. While many Americans are excited about the 30 days prospect afof ter the being nominated by Presivaccine, reports indicate thatdent trust ThInis October, Cameroothe late 1960s and n’s Anglophearly 1970s, one Crisis concerned Trumpin the , Amy vaccine Coneyin many Barrett was ofBlack communities ficiallyis fairly has reached higher stakes after a fatal shootipublic health professionals, including the late ng Bill sworn-low; ain as a direct Supremeresult of Court Jus historicaltice on Octobermedical racism. The day beforeat the Mother FJenkins, began New York City publirancisca Internationalto write letters to c schoolsBilingualthe lead On Wednesday, July 29, Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN) halted a tremendous milestone for abortion rights by voting against an injunction in Veracruz. The injunction, approved by a judge in Xalapa, Veracruz ordered the state’s congress to remove articles 149, 150, and 154 of the local penal code. This decision would have decriminalizeed abortions within 12 weeks, allowed for abortions due to health risks, and abolished the time limit on abortions for cases involving rape. The plan for removing these three articles was originally introduced by the women’s rights organizations National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women (Conavim) and the National Institute for Women (InMujeres) in 2016. Unfortunately, four out of five judges voted against upholding the injunction. While this decision would have only affected the state of Veracruz, activists hoped that it would set This past March, officers Brett Hankinson, Myles Cosgrove, and Jonathan Mattingly, barged into Breonna Taylor’s house under a “no-knock warrant” as she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping and fired a barrage of 32 bullets that killed Taylor. This month, a Jefferson County grand jury only indicted one of the three officers, Hankinson, and only charged him for endangering Taylor’s neighbors. None of the officers were charged for the death of Breonna Taylor. In addition, recently leaked body-cam footage reveals Brett Hankinson and Myles Cosgrove returning to Taylor’s residence and commenting on potential evidence after the incident took place. Needless to say, folks across the country are furious that Taylor’s death occurred at all, and that now, Taylor is being denied justice. 27th. Based on her judicial record on gun rights and immigration as well as her public statements on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, it is clear that Barrett’s nomination will shift the nation’s highest court severely to the right. The backlash against Barrett’s nomination is two-fold: Many Americans are concerned about how Barrett’s stance will play out in court cases dealing with LGBTQ+ rights and abortion (particularly in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia), and people are furious with the Trump administration for fast-tracking Barrett’s nomination rather than allowing the American people to let their vote for president influence the justice to fill the place of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, considering Republicans prevented former president, Barack Obama, Chief Executive Officer of The New Georgia Project (NGP) and New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGP AF), Nsé Ufot, and her team successfully registered almost 425,000 voters in Georgia this year. Ufot’s work is trailblazing for the way that she utilizes technology (specifically the video game science, blockchain and cryptocurrency, and building and designing mobile apps) to empower voters and make voter education more accessible. Ufot states that NGP’s outstanding success this year was a result of their focus on expanding the electorate, voter education, voter mobilization, and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the resurgence in the Black Lives Matter Movement. One example of this medical racism that has been cited by many resources and platforms as of recent is the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, intended to study the progression of untreated syphilis in Black men, was initiated in 1932 by the US Public Health Service at the Tuskegee Institute in Macon County, Alabama, an area made up of This month, Mary Wilson, a founding member of The Supremes, passed away at age 76. Wilson was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and was raised by her aunt, uncle, and mother in Detroit up until the beginning of her career as a singer and member of The Supremes. After nearly 20 years with The Supremes and some time out of the spotlight, Wilson released her memoir Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme (1986). She would later go on to release music of her own including her album “Walk the Line. ” Wilson will be remembered for paving the way in the industry for many other Black female musicians like herself. Jena Faith, a 43-year-old trans woman, has just made history in Steuben County, NY by filing a lawsuit against the county for the abuse she experienced in jail. Faith was arrested back in 2018 for allegedly buying a meal with counterfeit money. While she was originally placed in a women’s facility, she was abruptly moved to a men’s facility she was misgendered, denied her hormone replacement treatment, and sexually assaulted. The lawsuit Faith filed upon her release, however, has now led to multiple reforms dedicated to protecting trans inmates. As a result of these reforms, trans inmates in Steuben County will have access to gender-affirming care, will be able to wear clothing that aligns with their gender, and legally must be referred to by their correct names and pronouns. were scheduled to open, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) declared a “No Confidence” vote against Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza due to their failure to come up with a safe plan for schools in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the vote, the CSA is calling on de Blasio and Carranza to relinquish control of the city's Department of Education for the remainder of the pandemic and to seek out the assistance of the New York State education department. According to CSA leaders, school officials want to get school’s reopened as safely and as quickly as possible. Academy in Kumba that resulted in the deaths of six children under 14-years-old. Unfortunately, the shooters have not been identified yet. The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon first emerged in 2016 as Anglophones in Cameroon started to protest their oppression at the hands of the Francophone government. Since then, due to the government’s violent suppression of these protests, tensions have continued to rise and over 5,000 soldiers, separatist fighters, and civilians have been killed. Not only has this conflict resulted in immense violence, it also prevented almost one million children from attending school right now. scientists of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment urging them to reconsider their methods and tried to expose the experiment for its unethical and outwardly racist process. Jean Heller finally broke the story of the experiment in 1972, and an Ad Hoc advisory panel demanded that the study be shut down. Only 74 of the participants had survived. This summer, in response to the resurgence of Black Lives Matter protests, Columbia University alumni Chelsea Miller and Nialah Edari, with the help of Miller’s sister Nia White, founded Freedom March NYC. Founded in May 2020, Freedom March is a grassroots organization designed to organize non-violent protests, push for effective policy change, and provide training and resources for young activists that might want to do the same. Moving forward, these young, trailblazing activists plan on holding the Biden administration, as well as their local governments, accountable for acting on behalf of the people. the precedent for other states to do the same.from replacing Justice Scalia in 2016. Helen Butlerpredominantly Black sharecroppers. The study involved 600 Black men, 399 with syphilis and 201 Since the termination of the Tuskegee Syphilis without, all of whom were Helen Butler is thepromised free medical Experiment, the U.S. government has made exams, free meals on the Executivedays of their Directorexams, and multiple attempts at reparations, including burial insurance. These of theparticipants were Georgiatold that promising lifetime health benefits to the study’s they were being treated Cofor alition for“bad blood,” the and Days befosurvivors re aand majortheir UN biod families.iversButity suthe mmit, 64 Tuskegee After winning the Democratic nomination this July, Candace Valenzuela could now make history by becoming the first Black Latina in Congress. Valenzuela is an educator, a member of her school board, and a mother of two. Her campaign was Information on President Trump’s long-awaited tax-returns has finally been released by the New York Times. According to their report, Trump, the only president in recent history to not release his tax-returns, paid $750 the year he won the presidential election and his first year in office. In 10 of the past 15 years, however, he didn’t pay any income taxes In a seismic shift in governmental leadership, Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has resigned from her government position to run against her former party, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), in the People’s Agenda, an advocacy organization with voter empowerment, criminal justice, education, and environmental justice programs. The Coalition were never explicitly informed that the study was investigating syphilis. At this point in the study, the cure for syphilis had yet to be discovered. In 1936, it was decided that the experiment would follow these men until their death. Since the participants who had contracted syphilis were still Dorothy Jean Tillman II, nicknamed “DJ, ” has just graduated from Unity College with a master’s degree in environmental science and sustainability at the age of 14 years-old. DJ, a Chicago native, earned praise from the college president Melik Peter Khoury for being an exemplary leader, which she has further proved In the past few months, the Greek government has secretly expelled over 1,000 asylum seekers by sending them off in occasionally malfunctioning life rafts. Despite the many outcries against Greece’s illegal actions, the government has denied the allegations. Some experts suggest that this recent humanitarian violation is a result of other European countries not providing enough assistance to Greece for world leaders signed the Leader’s Pledge for Nature, among them Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Jacinda Ardern, and Boris Johnson. The document is a 10-point pledge that plans to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. The pledge warns that humanity is facing a climate crisis and declares that it will reduce deforestation and unsustainable fishing practices, eliminate North Carolina’s “I Am Change” march began as a peaceful protest to encourage voter turnout but quickly devolved into violence when law enforcement arrived in riot gear and gas masks and demanded that protestors move to the sidewalk. Despite the fact that the protestors had applied for the permit to be there, officers Syphilis experiment is only one instance of medical racism in a horrific history that extends back to the unjust examinations of enslaved Black women and continues to perpetuate medical racism today. Therefore, there is an urgent need for not only retroactive but proactive reparations for Black people in the medical industry, and the supported by EMILY’s List, End Citizens United,because he reported losing more money thannext election. Fiame’s decision to resign and runfor the People’s Agenda’s voter empowermentnot informed of their true condition, many wouldby organizing a STEM summer camp for taking in a high influx of Syrian refugees. Also,environmentally harmful subsidies, andquickly resorted to the use of pepper spray,impact of the coronavirus is yet another indicator the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Asian American Pcific American Caucus, and was endorsed by the late John Lewis. he made. In addition, he is currently in a dispute with the IRS over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund. Unsurprisingly, Trump has referred to the report as “fake news. ” against her party is a rejection of current Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi’s recently established laws that critics claim undermine Samoa’s constitution. program is multifaceted and includes voting rights education, voter registration education, and resources to help voters evaluate candidates. go on to infect their wives, and when their wives became pregnant, their children would then inherit the disease. early-learners in Chicago and publishing her book Unlocking the Jeanius Within, to inspire young people to follow their passions. rising tensions between Greece and Turkey have led people to believe that both nations are weaponizing Syrian refugees to place pressure on one another. encourage sustainable food production systems. The pledge also puts pressure on countries that contribute the most greenhouse gasses like the US, Brazil, China, and Russia. harming the children, elderly folks, and disabled folks that were in the crowd. at how imperative these changes are.

Deborah Scott

Deborah Scott is the executive Director of the Georgia Strategic Alliance for New Directions and Unified Policies (STAND-UP), an organization of community leaders dedicated to “alleviating poverty and encouraging regional equity through the empowerment of leaders and the inclusion of community benefits. ” STAND-UP’s many programs and initiatives include leadership and empowerment training (particularly for Black women and Black youth), and civic education. In addition, STAND-UP has a voter engagement and education program known as STAND-UP & Vote!, which especially focuses on educating registered voters on elections at all levels of government.

Tamieka Atkins

With years of organizing, advocacy, and protesting under her belt, Tamieka Atkins, Executive Director of ProGeorgia, leads a vital network of organizations that helped Georgia get the vote out this election. ProGeorgia is a “civic engagement table, ” that connects a large network of nonprofit, non-partisan organizations that work towards voter engagement, issue organizing, and economies of scale.