July 2020
Volume 16 No.8
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper
by Gaddier Fine Art Studio
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Editorial / Editorial
We are Not a Trend Puerto Rican supermodel Joan Smalls shared her thoughts about the death of George Floyd, the massive and continuous protests across the nation, and the issue of racial injustice on a video message posted on Instagram on Thursday, June 11, 2020. Her post titled, We are Not a Trend, eloquently articulates the frustrations that Blacks experience in the fashion business world. What Joan Smalls describes is, unfortunately, very common in other industries as well, such as media, the non-profit sector, academia, entertainment, and others. We present some of the highlights of her Instagram post. “I see agencies, magazines and brands posting black screens on their Instagram accounts. What does that really mean? What is the fashion industry actually going to do about it? Is this just another trend?” “This industry that profits from our black and brown bodies, our culture for constant inspiration, our music and our images for their visuals have tip-toed around the issues. You are part of the cycle that perpetuates these conscious behaviors. Many who claim to be all about diversity and
inclusivity jumped on a bandwagon because social media was holding you accountable for your lack of acknowledgement of us.” “You have continually let us down with your insensitivity and tone-deafness and damage control apologies of ‘we will do better.’ You fall short trying to narrate our stories by toning us down or having us be curated by people who have not lived or walked a day in our shoes. Well, now it’s time to give us a real seat at the table because we are worthy, because we are talented, because we are unique and I stand by my words. I live them as a Black and Latina woman.” “I don’t need validation…What I need is recognition of the systematic issues, the issues that arise from top to bottom within the industry. From photographers not wanting to shoot me because there’es no need to shoot a black girl, to the magazines and agencies who continue to work with people of that mindset…You feed the beast. The beast of racism and inequality.” Joan Smalls has pledged to donate 50% of her salary for the remainder of 2020 to Black Lives Matter organizations. She encourages brands within this industry to do the same and give back. #WeAreNotATrend #blacklivesmatter
In the Pioneer
OT Valley…there TINTNAT E H INK are a good number of CALIE
Cita del Mes/ Quote of the Month
FRAU RAMOS
Hispanic politicians, community leaders, and business owners who claim to be all about diversity, inclusivity, equity and social justice. However, it is disappointing to see the tepid interest and at times, undervalue, given to our newspaper, the only Latinxowned local newspaper in the Pioneer Valley. por MANUEL
Sad but true that the vast majority of our financial support during the past 16 years of our existence has come from non-Latinx sources. We think that if you preach about diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice, then you should acknowledge and value Latinx-owned resources that enrich our community. Show by your actions that you support your statements and mean what you say.
contents
2 Editorial / Editorial We are Not a Trend
3 Portada / Front Page ‘Just Make It Home’: The Unwritten Rules Blacks Learn To Navigate Racism in America 4 Breonna Taylor was shot by police in a city held up as a beacon of racial progress 5 Officials Seek To Shift Resources Away From Policing To Address Black ‘Public Health Crisis’ 6 To fight US racism, research prescribes a nationwide healing process 7 Health Disparities are a Symptom of Broader Social and Economic Inequities 8 Ramón Cruz Elected First Boricua / Latinx President of the Sierra Club 9 Opinión / Opinion Statement on Racial Justice in Higher Education Compatriotas: Exilio y retorno de Luis Muñoz Marín 11 Libros/ Books Revolution Around the Corner The Case against the Jones Act 12 Finanzas / Finances Agencia de Seguros Latina abre oficina en Holyoke What’s Inside “The Con$umer Toolbox?” 13 Educación / Education STCC plans mix of on-campus low-density labs and online courses for fall STCC student honored as ‘29 Who Shine’ recipient 14 Ciencias / Science La importancia de las vacunas a nivel individual y global 15 ¿Por qué debemos seguir usando la mascarilla y respetar el distanciamiento social?
Founded in 2004
BlackGirlsVote@facebook
Foto del Mes/Photo of the Month
White House Intership Program 2019
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Volume 16, No. 8 n July 2020
Editor Manuel Frau Ramos manuelfrau@gmail.com 413-320-3826 Assistant Editor Ingrid Estrany-Frau Managing Editor Diosdado López Art Director Tennessee Media Design Business Address El Sol Latino P.O Box 572 Amherst, MA 01004-0572
Editorial Policy
El Sol Latino acepta colaboraciones tanto en español como en inglés. Nos comprometemos a examinarlas, pero no necesariamente a publicarlas. Nos reservamos el derecho de editar los textos y hacer correcciones por razones de espacio y/o estilo. Las colaboraciones pueden ser enviadas a nuestra dirección postal o a través de correo electrónico a: info@elsollatino.net. El Sol Latino welcomes submissions in either English or Spanish. We consider and review all submissions but reserve the right to not publish them. We reserve the right to edit texts and make corrections for reasons of space and/or style. Submissions may be sent to our postal address or via electronic mail to: info@elsollatino.net. El Sol Latino is published monthly by Coquí Media Group. El Sol Latino es publicado mensualmente por Coquí Media Group, P.O Box 572, Amherst, MA 01004-0572.
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino July 2020
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‘Just Make It Home’: The Unwritten Rules Blacks Learn To Navigate Racism in America by CARA ANTHONY | KAISER HEALTH NEWS | June 17, 2020 Speak in short sentences. Be clear. Direct but not rude. Stay calm, even if you’re shaking inside. Never put your hands in your pockets. Make sure people can always see your hands. Try not to hunch your shoulders. Listen to their directions. Darnell Hill, a pastor and a mental health caseworker, offers black teenagers these emotional and physical coping strategies every time a black person is fatally shot by a police officer. That’s when parents’ worries about their sons and daughters intensify. “They’re hurting,” Hill said. “They’re looking for answers.” Hill, who is African American, learned “the rules” the hard way. When he was 12, he and a group of his friends jumped a fence to go for a swim in a lake. That’s when two officers approached them. One of the cops, a white man, a white man, threatened to shoot Hill and everyone else if he ever caught them there again. In his work with black teenagers, pastor and mental health caseworker Darnell Hill teaches an unofficial guide to what he calls “living while black.” Though many black families have their own sets of rules to navigate others’ racist assumptions, Hill says he hopes that following his “do’s and don’ts” will allow kids to survive as unscathed as possible to realize their life ambitions. “Let’s just make it home,” Hill tells them. (Cara Anthony/KHN)
“I was so afraid,” Hill, now 37, recalled. “He made all of us sit down in a line right by the lake.”
The conversations Hill was having grew more complicated, though, after Floyd’s killing. Two months before Floyd’s death, Breonna Taylor was killed in Kentucky after officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department entered the black woman’s apartment dressed in plainclothes. Taylor’s boyfriend thought the officers were intruders, so he fired a single shot. Officers responded by shooting Taylor at least eight times. Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was chased down and fatally shot while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia. Three white men were arrested. The mental anguish for some black families exploded as they saw these images and stories repeatedly on the news. “When these happen, we have to address them,” said Lekesha Davis, vice president of the Hopewell Center. “It’s having a direct impact on [black families’] mental and emotional well-being.” Hill offers coping skills as he makes his rounds every week. His conversations during regular visits now include discussions about police brutality, civil unrest and how to survive. Part of Hill’s work is teaching the mechanics of navigating everyday encounters — from walking in a public space like a park to being stopped by the police or entering a business. Don’t make any sudden moves. Watch your body language. Don’t point your fingers, even if you’re mad. Don’t clap your hands. Listen. Know the law. But don’t say too much. Make eye contact. While many black families have their own sets of rules, he hopes that following his “do’s and don’ts” will allow kids to survive as unscathed as possible to realize their life ambitions. “Let’s just make it home,” Hill tells them. “We can deal with what’s fair or not fair, what’s racial or not racial at a later date.” White children and teenagers, meanwhile, aren’t generally taught these sometimes futile survival skills with the same urgency. They’re just as unlikely to learn about the systemic racism that continues to create the problems, and almost certainly not what it would take to undo it.
Hill and his family moved to a small, mostly white town in Florida. He rarely left the house at night, but one day when he was a sophomore in high school, his grandmother, who wasn’t feeling well, asked him to take their car and drive to a convenience store for ginger ale.
Hill knows his training sessions don’t guarantee a win. He’s a husband, father, nonprofit board member and the president of the parent-teacher organization at his youngest child’s school. His voice is friendly and his demeanor is calm. Still, sometimes none of that matters when Hill drives in a predominantly white neighborhood. While he knows not all white people stereotype him, he remains aware that his height and weight (he’s 5-foot-10 and over 300 pounds) and the color of his skin could turn him into a target — even when he’s trying to order lunch.
He got lost along the way and asked two white men for directions. Instead of offering help, the men tormented him, Hill said. When he tried to drive away, the men followed him in their vehicle, chasing him around in the dark. He thought surely they would kill him if they caught him.
It’s impossible for him to prevent an officer from invading the wrong apartment. He can’t teach black boys how to sleep, jog or bird-watch in non-threatening ways. And he can’t stop a prejudiced cop from firing shots at an unarmed black man.
“They told me it was [N-word] season,” Hill recalled. “I was terrified.”
Hill’s just glad he can fill in the gaps when families need him. And he knows it has helped on occasion: A 16-year-old client recently told him he’d channeled his advice when he was stopped by two police officers near Ferguson, Missouri. The teenager had been walking around with his lawn mower to make some money cutting grass. On his way home, the officers stopped him and asked why he was outside and how he had obtained the lawn mower. The teen told Hill the next day his advice had helped him stay calm and defuse the situation so he could get home safely.
He still tells himself that the officer didn’t mean what he said that day. But Hill’s tone changes when he thinks about the second time white men threatened him with a gun.
The traumatic event is hard to talk about, Hill said. His voice still shakes as he describes how the night unfolded. That’s one reason he’s helping teenagers unpack their trauma — and guard against experiencing more — as they try to cope with the mental health burden of other people’s racist assumptions. His unofficial guide to what he calls “living while black” can be tough to remember under pressure. But Hill said the survival skills feel essential to many who grow up feeling that the color of their skin makes them vulnerable to becoming the next George Floyd, a black man killed in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25, an event that has prompted civil rights protests around the world. But well before Floyd’s death, Hill’s phone began to ring more. It was the start of the coronavirus pandemic and his young clients from the Hopewell Center, a mental health agency in St. Louis, needed help processing the closing of schools, loss of jobs, social isolation and loss of loved ones. So instead of working from home, Hill put a folding chair in the back of his car and started making house calls. He planted his seat in front yards and sidewalks while his clients stayed on their front porches.
Another teen Hill has worked with, Isaiah McGee, 18, has aged out of Hopewell’s youth mental health program, but Hill still checks in with him every other week. The teen recently graduated from high school and plans to study music in college this fall. “I’m just trying to make it somewhere in life,” McGee said. “Leave my thumbprint on the world, become a legend.” KAISER HEALTH NEWS, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation produced this story. California Healthline is a free, daily publication featuring health care news, opinion and original reporting, designed to meet the information needs of busy health care professionals, decision makers, media organizations and consumers.
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino July 2020
Breonna Taylor was shot by police in a city held up as a beacon of racial progress by SARAH GARLAND | THE HECHINGER REPORT | June 22, 2020
but not really that many.
Breonna Taylor is one of the names inspiring a massive national movement to overturn racist policing practices. She was shot by police in her home in Louisville, the only big city in the United States that has stood by racial desegregation since 1975.
Sarah: Did your sons have a different experience than you did? Delquan: Totally. So [segregation inside schools] is a little better. My oldest son, he has way more white friends than I did. Obviously, because I grew up in public housing. Now he has friends of all races. Sarah: The Black-white achievement gap in Louisville has only gotten wider. And on the flip side, one of the selling points of desegregation is that it changes white attitudes, but it’s still a very racist place. What else needs to happen? What else can the schools do?
It’s a place that’s proud to be a progressive blue dot in a deeply red state: The school district fought all the way up to the Supreme Court to ensure that white and Black students could still be bussed across town to attend school together. Since then, voters have fended off state-led efforts to dismantle the county-wide desegregation program. But Taylor’s death lays bare another reality. Louisville may be a place that’s made progress, but it still has problems with systemic racism that lie bone-deep. Schools are integrated, but classrooms often are not because of gifted programs like the district’s Advance Program, which has historically served mostly white students. And in recent years the achievement gap between Black and white students has actually grown in Louisville. Perhaps dismantling systemic racism is a task beyond what schools can do. Housing segregation in Louisville has declined somewhat in recent years, but the city is still divided and Black Louisvillians are left out of economic opportunities; Black poverty in the city and its surrounding county is three times that of white poverty. I attended the Jefferson County Public Schools — which encompass Louisville and the county — from first grade to senior year, when I graduated from Atherton High School, located in a mostly white neighborhood. Another Atherton alum, Delquan Dorsey, is now the district’s community engagement coordinator for the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Poverty Programs. For the last four years, he’s pushed JCPS to embrace deeper changes, including new requirements that schools make racial equity plans to reduce suspensions of students of color and increase their numbers in higher level courses, among other things. I am white and lived in the middle-class suburbs. Delquan is Black and grew up in housing projects downtown. This week, we talked about what it was like to be bussed to schools outside our segregated neighborhoods and how the experience changed our lives. We also talked about why school desegregation wasn’t enough to remake the city into a place where Black lives matter as much as white ones, and what needs to be done to change that. Sarah Garland: What was Atherton like for you? Delquan Dorsey: We only had to ride maybe 15 or 20 minutes max to get to Atherton. If I was late or I missed the bus or I stayed after, I could actually catch the [bus] directly to Smoketown. But a lot of my friends from the neighborhood, we joked that we didn’t know we were poor until we started going to Atherton. We didn’t have that context. Kids got bussed to school, but inside the building everything was segregated. Sarah: I was in the Advance Program and I was bussed to Coleridge-Taylor [an elementary school in a mostly Black, low-income neighborhood in downtown Louisville]. We had two Black kids in our class from second grade through 12th grade and that’s it. I remember having a class at Atherton that anybody could take. I’d never been with kids who weren’t in advanced classes. We had been completely separated. Delquan: Right. Personality-wise, I’ve always been considered easy to deal with. I remember my counselor, right before my junior year, moving me over to some pre-calc classes and calculus classes. I had white friends in class,
Delquan: We’ve had a racial equity policy about two years now focused on curriculum. It focuses on teacher training. It focuses on access to programming. It focuses on hiring as well. And now the lights are coming on, because of everything that’s going on. We have an opportunity, a tremendous opportunity. People can actually use this as a turning point. I think the younger generation of white Americans are pushing on older generations. It may be the benefits of integration. It has to be, you know what I’m saying? It has to be. Sarah: There are a lot of people like me whose lives were very impacted by desegregation. Going to Coleridge-Taylor changed my life. I just wonder how much more work to take it deeper? Delquan: It’s a lot of work. There’s a lot of work to be done. I went to protests Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You worked 27 years and you get so close. And that is for this moment. We don’t get these windows. You know, I didn’t think I was going to see it in my lifetime, this type of tipping point. Sarah: And now each school is supposed to have a racial equity plan? Delquan: Yes. Now it’s time to revisit those plans. JCPS for the first time in its history has a majority of students of color. But the majority of the workforce — 84 percent — are white teachers. So you’re going to naturally have, because we come from segregated communities, this contrast [between the teachers and their students]. But the problem is the [students] need diversity in order for the whole thing to work. The Black community also has to have economic opportunities outside of education. If that doesn’t work, then everything falls apart. Sarah: Yes, this is bigger than the schools. And one of the reasons I think you haven’t seen that much change in Louisville housing segregation, the police … Delquan: There’s police brutality, but … we know it’s a bigger thing. JCPS has the biggest budget in Louisville. It has almost the second biggest budget in the state. But we spend less than 1 percent of our procurement with minority-owned businesses. You are a district that says poverty is your No. 1 barrier for students to be successful academically. Yet you don’t practice that in the way you spend your money. Imagine if [Black-owned businesses received] 15 percent [of those funds]: the student does better when the parent does better economically. If you apply that to your construction contracting, to your overall procurement and into your hiring, imagine. Even if you just kept doing school the way it is now, if you just [spent more school funds on Black-owned businesses and hired more Black teachers], you’re going to see a bump. Sarah: Do you think this is a moment when we’re going to see some of these deeper systemic changes? Delquan: I’m praying. I’m getting emails. I believe in being behind the curtain and not only exposing [the problems], but being a solution in fixing them, too. I try to understand people’s self-interest. With the teachers, it’s saying if you could get this cultural competency training down, your students are going to be great. And then they’ll turn around and make a high wage. And you know, and that high wage will go into your pension. continued on page 9
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino July 2020
Officials Seek To Shift Resources Away From Policing To Address Black ‘Public Health Crisis’ by ANNA ALMENDRALA | KAISER HEALTH NEWS From Boston to San Bernardino, California, communities across the U.S. are declaring racism a public health crisis. Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impact on communities of color, as well as the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police, cities and counties are calling for more funding for health care and other public services, sometimes at the expense of the police budget. It’s unclear whether the public health crisis declarations, which are mostly symbolic, will result in more money for programs that address health disparities rooted in racism. But officials in a few communities that made the declaration last year say it helped them anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic. Some say the new perspective could expand the role of public health officials in local government, especially when it comes to reducing police brutality against Black and Latino residents. The declarations provide officials a chance to decide “whether they are or are not going to be the chief health strategists in their community,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “I’ve had a firm view [that] what hurts people or kills people is mine,” said Benjamin, a former state health officer in Maryland. “I may not have the authority to change it all by myself, but by being proactive, I can do something about that.” While health officials have long recognized the impact of racial disparities on health, the surge of public support for the Black Lives Matter movement is spurring calls to move from talk to financial action. In Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh declared racism a public health crisis on June 12 and a few days later submitted a budget that transferred 20% of the Boston Police Department’s overtime budget — $12 million — to services like public and mental health, housing and homelessness programs. The budget must be approved by the City Council. In California, the San Bernardino County board on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis. The board was spurred by a community coalition that is pushing mental health and substance abuse treatment as alternatives to incarceration. The coalition wants to remove police from schools and reduce the use of a gang database they say is flawed and unfairly affects the Black community. The city of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, made similar declarations in June and May, respectively, while Ingham County, Michigan, passed a resolution June 9. All three mention the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate toll on minority residents. Those localities follow in the footsteps of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, which last year became the first jurisdiction in the country to declare racism a public health crisis, citing infant and maternal mortality rates among Blacks. The county’s focus on the issue primed officials to look for racial disparities in COVID-19, said Nicole Brookshire, executive director of the county’s Office on African American Affairs. Milwaukee County was training employees in racial equity and had launched a long-term plan to reduce disparities in health when the pandemic hit. “It was right on our radar to know that having critical pieces of data would help shape what the story was,” said Brookshire. She credits this focus for the county’s speedy publication of information showing that Black residents were becoming infected with and dying of COVID-19 at disproportionate rates. Using data to tell the story of racial disparities “was ingrained” in staff, she said.
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| June 24, 2020
On March 27, the county launched an online dashboard containing race and ethnicity data for COVID-19 cases and began to reach out to minority communities with culturally relevant messaging about stay-at-home and social distancing measures. Los Angeles County and New York City did not publish their first racial disparity data until nearly two weeks later. Declaring racism a public health crisis could motivate health officials to demand a seat at the table when municipalities make policing decisions, and eventually lead to greater spending on services for minorities, some public health experts say. The public is pressuring officials to acknowledge that racism shortens lives, said Natalia Linos, executive director of Harvard’s Center for Health and Human Rights. Police are 2½ times as likely to kill a Black man as a white man, and research has shown that such deaths have ripple effects on mental health in the wider Black community, she said. “Police brutality is racism and it kills immediately,” Linos said. “But racism also kills quietly and insidiously in terms of the higher rates of infant mortality, maternal mortality and higher rates of chronic diseases.” The public health declarations, while symbolic, could help governments see policing in a new light, Linos said. If they treated police-involved killings the way they did COVID-19, health departments would get an automatic notification every time someone died in custody, she said. Currently, no official database tracks these deaths, although news outlets like The Washington Post and The Guardian do. Reliable data would allow local governments to examine how many homeless or mentally ill people would be better served by social or public health workers than armed police, said Linos. “Even symbolic declarations are important, especially if they’re accurately capturing public opinion,” said Linos, who is running to represent the 4th Congressional District of Massachusetts on a platform of health and equity. “They’re important for communities to feel like they’re being listened to, and they’re important as a way to begin conversations around budgeting and concrete steps.” Derrell Slaughter, a district commissioner in Ingham County, Michigan, said he hopes his county’s declaration will lead to more funding for social and mental health as opposed to additional policing. Slaughter and his colleagues are attempting to create an advisory committee, with community participation, to make budget and policy recommendations to that end, he said. Columbus City Council members coincidentally declared racism a public health crisis on May 25, the day Floyd died in Minneapolis. Four months earlier, the mayor had asked health commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts for recommendations to address health issues that stem from racism. The recent protests against police brutality have made Roberts realize that public health officials need to take part in discussions about crowd control tactics like tear gas, pepper spray and wooden bullets, she said. However, she has reservations about giving the appearance that her office sanctions their use. “That definitely is one of the cons,” she said, “but I think it’s better than not being there at all.” KAISER HEALTH NEWS, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, produced this story. California Healthline is a free, daily publication featuring health care news, opinion and original reporting, designed to meet the information needs of busy health care professionals, decision makers, media organizations and consumers.
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino July 2020
To fight US racism, research prescribes a nationwide healing process by BENJAMIN APPEL and CYANNE E. LOYLE This article was originally published in THE CONVERSATION | June 24, 2020 As the U.S. prepares to celebrate another year of its independence, the country is paying renewed attention to the founders, and how their legacy of slavery is linked to systemic racism. Calls for reform to policing across the nation can help to directly reduce police violence against civilians but don’t address the centuries-old underlying problems in American society. Our research indicates that the country is not likely to escape its historic cycles of violence and racial oppression without addressing this painful and troubled history. Sparked by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, protests have emerged across the United States demanding police and criminal justice reform. Reform efforts abound – including Minneapolis city councilors declaring they will dismantle the police department, school districts cutting ties with local police and states banning the police use of chokeholds. Those efforts can make meaningful differences in individuals’ lives, but they do not address the systemic injustices perpetrated throughout the nation’s history. Our research into how war-torn, and fractured nations find peace, justice and societal reconciliation offers one possible approach. Truth commissions and reparations programs can effectively involve all perspectives in a conflict in a national-level discussion about longstanding political and economic grievances. In other countries, those efforts have led to sustainable and lasting peace in divided societies.
How do truth commissions work? Truth commissions are investigations into past wrongdoings by a group of authorities, such as community or church leaders, historians or human rights experts. There is great variation in how truth commissions are designed, but their missions are the same. These investigations include the voices of those who experienced the wrongdoings as well as those alleged to have done harm. Typically, truth commissions create a forum where wrongs can be disclosed, examined and confronted through education, prosecution, compensation or other forms of redress.
Commissions also educate other members of society about the suffering incurred by victims through the publication of summary reports, public dissemination of findings and education campaigns. In the wake of Floyd’s death and the resulting protests, California Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat, has introduced legislation calling for the establishment of a national Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission to “fully acknowledge and understand how our history of inequality continues today.” In recent years, others have suggested similar efforts to address antiSemitism, racism and other social injustices.
When are truth commissions effective? Our work provides specific guidance about making these processes most effective. First, they must include all parties to the dispute. In a U.S. discussion of racial injustice, that means white and Black Americans must participate together. The commission’s hearings would be an important opportunity for Black Americans to heal through discussing their shared experiences. But it is at least as important, or possibly more so, for white Americans to hear this information, which is likely to be unfamiliar to many of them – and acknowledge the long-term effects of slavery and systemic racism in U.S. society. In South Africa, for instance, research found that the commission was most effective at changing the racial attitudes of white South Africans by teaching them about the abuses Black South Africans suffered. This facilitated reconciliation because once the truth was shared, people could apportion blame and responsibility. Second, our research suggests that national-level processes are an important component of durable peace, as measured by the lack of a return to violence following civil conflict. Structural injustice is a nationwide problem in the U.S. Larger social change therefore requires an approach at the national scale.
A book published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada details the abusive treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada/Wikimedia Commons
Perhaps the most recognized example was South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in 1995 at the end of apartheid. The commission collected personal statements from 21,000 victims of gross human rights violations at the hands of South Africa’s government and police. Much of this testimony was broadcast on national television. The commission later compiled and published a seven-volume report into the abuses suffered under apartheid, which included recommending reparation payments to victims and prosecutions for those denied amnesty.
Other countries have had similar processes aimed at righting wrongs. For instance, a Canadian truth commission documented the legacy of physical and sexual abuse inflicted on thousands of Indigenous Canadians in a program of forced assimilation and education. The findings led to a formal government apology, saying “Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.” Its work also sparked reforms to the national education curriculum. Truth commissions promote reconciliation when they help victims heal from the wounds of the past by publicly acknowledging those wrongs.
Those processes can often lead to wider public understanding of how and why reparations, financial compensation payments to victims of wrongdoings, can be a vital part of national healing. These programs directly address the material and personal losses inflicted on the victims of prejudice and injustice. Some notable leaders like author Ta-Nehisi Coates and media magnate and BET founder Robert Johnson have made the case for financial payments to Black Americans. That is one way to approach the wrongdoings. Our work, however, finds that community reparations, such as funding for community development programs like public spaces and hospitals and educational scholarships, can also be effective when they are adopted as part of an effort that reveals truth and acknowledges grievances. Reparations can bring about social healing because they send a strong signal to the population that the government is committed to addressing historical wrongs. But a word of caution is also in order. Our work has found that reconciliation efforts can be susceptible to political manipulation and hijacking. Truth commissions and reparations can fail to bring about reconciliation when they do not incorporate diverse perspectives and experiences. Overcoming these challenges requires a national process with widespread participation across communities as well as strong community organizations and a free press to monitor its progress. The killing of George Floyd has once again revealed the racism and racial oppression that continue to plague America. The protesters and their broad-based group of supporters also make clear that many in the country are ready for leaders to finally adopt a fundamentally new approach to racial equality. continued on page 8
Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino July 2020
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Health Disparities are a Symptom of Broader Social and Economic Inequities by SAMANTHA ARTIGA | KAISER HEALTH NEWS | June 1, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic and killing of George Floyd along with other recent deaths of Black people at the hands of police have laid bare stark structural and systemic racial inequities and their impacts on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. While these events have brought health and health care disparities into sharp focus for the media and public, they are not new. These longstanding and persistent health disparities are symptoms of broader social and economic challenges that are rooted in structural and systemic barriers across sectors — including housing, education, employment, and the justice system — as well as underlying racism and discrimination. Amid this difficult time for our nation, the increased recognition and understanding of disparities could provide a catalyst for the challenging work required to address them. Despite being recognized and documented for many years, disparities in health and health care have persisted and in some cases widened over time. Our analysis finds that Black and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) individuals continue to fare worse compared to White individuals across most examined measures of health status, including physical and mental health status; birth risks; infant mortality rates; HIV and AIDS diagnosis and death rates; and prevalence of and death rates due to certain chronic conditions (Figure 1). For example, the infant mortality rate for Black and AIAN individuals is roughly two times higher than the rate for White individuals. Black teens and adults have an over eight times higher HIV diagnosis rate and a nearly ten times higher AIDS diagnosis rate compared to their White counterparts; the HIV and AIDS diagnosis rates for Hispanic teens and adults are more than three times higher compared to the rates for those who are White.
Figure 1: Number of Measures for which Group Fared Better, the Same or Worse Compared to Whites The disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of color mirror and compound these broader underlying racial/ethnic disparities in health. Data across states show that, in the majority of states reporting data, Black people account for a higher share of COVID-19-related deaths and cases compared to their share of the population. Similarly, Hispanic individuals make up a higher share of confirmed cases relative to their share of the population in most states reporting data, and there have been striking disproportionate impacts for American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people in some states. The resulting economic crisis has also had an unequal effect on people of color. Health disparities, including disparities related to COVID-19, are symptoms of broader underlying social and economic inequities that reflect structural and systemic barriers and biases across sectors. Though health care is essential to health, it is a relatively weak health determinant. Research shows that social determinants of health—the conditions in which people
are born, grow, live, work and age—are primary drivers of health. They include factors like socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care (Figure 2). For example, children born to parents who have not completed high school are more likely to live in an environment that poses barriers to health such as lack of safety, exposed garbage, and substandard housing. They also are less likely to have access to sidewalks, parks or playgrounds, recreation centers, or a library. Further, evidence shows that stress negatively affects health across the lifespan and that environmental factors may have multi-generational impacts.
Figure 2 -Social Economic Factors Drive Health Outcomes The heightened focus on and understanding of disparities can serve as a catalyst for the challenging work required to address them. Steps can be taken within the health care system that would help address health disparities. For example, actions to expand health coverage, such as adoption of the Medicaid expansion to low-income adults in the 14 states that have not yet expanded; increasing accessibility to health care providers; increasing access to linguistically and culturally appropriate care; and diversifying the health care workforce could help reduce health disparities. However, efforts to address health disparities also require cross-sector approaches beyond health care to affect the broader social and economic factors driving health. For example, actions to increase access to healthy food options and improve food security; improve affordability and quality of housing; enhance educational opportunities; improve built environments and provide more green spaces and recreational opportunities; and increase financial security and economic opportunity may all positively affect health and reduce health disparities. Beyond these factors, any effort would be woefully incomplete if it does not also recognize and address racism and discrimination and long histories of stress and trauma affecting the health of individuals and communities and how they shape our systems and policies. Such efforts are challenging and complex and require strong leadership, community engagement, resources, and cross-sector collaboration to achieve progress forward. KAISER HEALTH NEWS, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, produced this story. California Healthline is a free, daily publication featuring health care news, opinion and original reporting, designed to meet the information needs of busy health care professionals, decision makers, media organizations and consumers.
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Portada / Front Page
El Sol Latino July 2020
Ramón Cruz Elected First Boricua / Latinx President of the Sierra Club OAKLAND, CA | SIERRA CLUB | May 18, 2020 — The Sierra Club has elected a new national Board of Directors for the upcoming board term, 2020-2021. Ramón Cruz of Puerto Rico, currently residing in New York City, was elected President, becoming the first Latino President in the organization’s 128-year history. The Sierra Club’s National Board of Directors is democratically elected by the organization’s membership and serves the organization’s 3.8 million members and supporters.
our organization’s youngest chapter” said Cruz. “I recognize that my term comes during the enormously difficult and unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during the dark threat to the environment of the Trump administration. While the challenges we face are daunting, the magnitude of our response must meet the moment with a responsibility to ensure that we advocate effectively for policies that put front and center protecting the most vulnerable among us.” Cruz’s top priorities as President include: • Advancing the Sierra Club’s movement toward equity and justice, especially by ensuring that the organization is an inclusive space for all people to contribute to a safe environment, working in partnership with local groups nationwide in accordance with the Jemez Principles. • Doubling down on the organization’s work to defeat the anti-environmental agenda of the Trump administration and the fleet of industry lobbyists and associates he has put in charge of the most important agencies of government. “Ramón Cruz is a leader who has dedicated his life to protecting and preserving our environment, and the Sierra Club is thrilled to have him as our President” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune.
Cruz has over 20 years of experience and advocacy at the intersection of sustainability, environmental & energy policy, urban planning, and climate change. He has worked in the public sector as the Deputy Director of the state environmental regulatory agency in Puerto Rico and held senior positions at the Environmental Defense Fund, the Partnership for New York City and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Ramón is a graduate of American University in Washington D.C. and Princeton University in New Jersey. “I am honored and humbled to be elected President, and especially excited to be the first Puerto Rican President of the Sierra Club and to come from
Other newly elected officers for 2020-2021 are Ross Macfarlane of Washington state (vice president); Natalie Lucas of Ohio (secretary); Mike O’Brien of Washington state (treasurer); and Debbie Heaton of Delaware (5th officer). Newly elected directors are Rita Harris of Mississippi, Marion Klaus of Utah, and Patrick Murphy of Texas. THE SIERRA CLUB is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.8 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www. sierraclub.org.
To fight US racism… continued from page 6 It may be tempting for people to work locally to address these injustices, and those efforts can indeed make changes. But our research shows that a national solution would be the best way to heal from America’s “original sin” of slavery and longstanding institutional racism, and achieve lasting peace and justice. BENJAMIN APPEL (Ph.D., University of Maryland, 2012) is an assistant professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. His research and teaching interests include world politics, conflict processes, international law and institutions, and research design and statistical issues. CYANNE E. LOYLE (Ph.D., University of Maryland) is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Pennsylvania State University and a Global Fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Her research is motivated by a desire to better understand and contribute to the prevention of violent conflict and the violation of human rights. She does this through assessing the intersection of violent behavior, political institutions, and political participation.
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Opinión / Opinion Statement on Racial Justice in Higher Education Washington, DC | American Association of University Professors | June.24.2020 The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued the following statement on June 24, 2020: As the ongoing demonstrations of the past few weeks have shown, our nation is once again being called on to reckon with systemic racism and its impact on Black, Latinx, indigenous, and other people of color. Black lives matter, and the AAUP stands in solidarity with all those who are protesting racism and police brutality. We stand ready to support faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education whose affiliated institutions take or threaten to take negative action against them as a result of their exercising their right to protest. We recognize that our BIPOC members and colleagues are considerably more vulnerable when they exercise this right, and, as such, are most in need of support and protection. We call on our chapters, our members, and campus administrations to stand firm in their support of members of the campus community who speak out in the name of anti-racism and racial justice, and we offer the following guidance and recommendations. Freedom of extramural speech, including comments made by faculty outside the classroom and on social media, is essential to the American conception of academic freedom that the AAUP has played a central role in defining and refining. All members of the academic community have a responsibility to defend academic freedom and freedom of speech and assembly. Calls for civility and campus speech codes have the potential to restrict extramural speech of faculty. These calls are often deployed against faculty of color, and faculty of color are more likely to be disciplined for “uncivil” behavior. As we recognize in our statement On Freedom of Expression and Campus Speech Codes, “offensive style or opprobrious phrases may in fact have been chosen precisely for their expressive power.” Faculty must not be disciplined for engaging in “uncivil” or “offensive” speech. In the current political climate, faculty who engage in protest are more likely than ever to face targeted online harassment as a result of their activities— harassment that, again, disproportionately targets non-white faculty. Institutions must recommit to the defense of academic freedom and institutional autonomy, which includes protecting the institution from undue public interference. We call on administrations and governing boards, in particular, to condemn targeted harassment and intimidation and to reject calls for dismissal or suspension of faculty members who have exercised their right to protest. We further recognize that in the current political climate, Black studies, Latinx studies, indigenous studies, and other ethnic studies programs are especially vulnerable to political interference, including cuts to funding and program elimination. Threats to these programs have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. We call on our chapters, our members, and campus administrations to defend these programs from cuts and undue interference and to affirm the importance of programs that challenge systemic racism to fulfilling higher education’s fundamental contribution to the common good. The AAUP is a nonprofit membership association of faculty and other academic professionals. Headquartered in Washington, DC, we have members and chapters based at colleges and universities across the country. Since our foundation in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country’s colleges and universities. We define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, advance the rights of academics, particularly as those rights pertain to academic freedom and shared governance, and promote the interests of higher education teaching and research.
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Breonna Taylor was shot by police continued from page 4 Sarah: For so long, everybody voted for desegregation maybe because it never really pushed them too hard. I had to take a bus a long way, but I still got to be in the Advance Program. Is this the point where that will change? Can we push harder? Delquan: Hopefully. Because justice matters. Education and economics are turnkeys that impact everything. If I make a decent income, I can impact my health. I can impact my housing. And those who have more resources do better in the court system. We think law enforcement is a solution to crime. It’s not. [The police] have been able to get away with [brutality] because it’s been race based. The history of the police department was to find runaway slaves. You approached a Black person and they had to produce their papers. It’s no different now. After 400 years of that, there’s a traumatic impact on your psyche. We’re doing some things in JCPS. But we’ve got to work harder. I’m praying that this attitude from the powers that be remains in place when it comes to addressing systemic racism. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. THE HECHINGER REPORT, a nonprofit, independent news organization, focused on inequality and innovation in education produced this story about systemic racism and education. SARAH GARLAND is the executive editor of The Hechinger.
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Medios / Media
El Sol Latino July 2020
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¡Únase a la Conversación! Las Escuelas Públicas de Springfield solicitan la aportación (input) de la comunidad para ayudar a construir un Retrato de un Graduando (Portrait of a Graduate) - una visión de las habilidades y atributos que los estudiantes de Springfield necesitan para encontrar éxito en la universidad y en sus carreras profesionales. Visite www.springfieldpublicschools.com, busque la sección Portrait of a Graduate y responda a la encuesta comunitaria para expresar su opinión.
Libros/ Books
El Sol Latino July 2020
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Revolution Around the Corner | Voices from the Puerto Rican Socialist Party edited by JOSÉ E. VELÁZQUEZ, CARMEN V. RIVERA, and ANDRÉS TORRES • Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press | February 2020 | 408 pages Description: Active from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s, the U.S. branch of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP) worked simultaneously to build support for Puerto Rican independence and to engage in radical social change within the United States. Revolution Around the Corner chronicles this unique social movement, describing various mass campaigns and the inner workings of the organization. The editors and contributors—all former members, leaders, and supporters of the PSP— offer a range of views and interpretations of their experience. Combining historical accounts, personal stories, interviews, and retrospective analysis, Revolution Around the Corner examines specific actions such as the National Day of Solidarity (El Acto Nacional), the Bicentennial without Colonies, the Save Hostos struggle, and the Vieques campaign. Testimonies recount the pros and cons of membership diversity, as well as issues of loyalty and compañerismo. In addition, essays describe the PSP’s participation in coalitions and alliances with Left and progressive movements. The book concludes with the editors’ reflections on the PSP’s achievements, mistakes, and contributions. Contributors: Maritza Arrastía, Teresa Basilio Gaztambide, Rosa Borenstein, Ted Glick, Alfredo López, Pablo Medina Cruz, Ramón Jimenez, Lenina
Nadal, José-Manuel Navarro, Alyssa Ribeiro, Olga Iris Sanabria Dávila, Digna Sánchez, América “Meca” Sorrentini, Zoilo Torres, and the editors
About the Authors JOSÉ E. VELÁZQUEZ is a lifelong activist for social justice in the United States and Puerto Rican independence, and is co-editor with Andrés Torres of The Puerto Rican Movement: Voices from the Diaspora (Temple). His opposition to the Vietnam War in the early 1970’s resulted in an important legal case in United States v. José Emiliano Velazquez. José is a retired educator and curriculum writer from the Newark Public Schools. A presenter at the founding of the Amistad Commission of NJ, he often lectures on Afro-Latino issues. CARMEN V. RIVERA recently retired after having served as a Certified Life Coach and capacity building consultant for over 25 years. A public health policy advocate, she held top ranking positions in New York City government and for the City of Boston. Her activism has centered on women’s rights, national liberation and social justice movements. One of her personal passions is documenting the history of Puerto Rican political activism in the United States from the 1960s to early 1990s. She directs the Recovering History Project and its archival collection on the Puerto Rican Socialist Party in the U.S. ANDRÉS TORRES is a retired Distinguished Lecturer from Lehman College, City University of New York. Previously he was professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is the author or editor of Between Melting Pot and Mosaic: African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the New York Political Economy, The Puerto Rican Movement: Voices from the Diaspora, and Latinos in New England (all Temple). He is also the author of the memoir Signing in Puerto Rican: A Hearing Son and His Deaf Family.
The Case against the Jones Act edited COLIN GRABOW and INU MANAK • Washington, DC: CATO INSTITUTE | June 2020 | 250 pages How has an archaic, burdensome law been able to persist for a century? Passed in 1920, the Jones Act restricts the waterborne transport of cargo within the United States to vessels that are U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-built. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime sector, this protectionist law has instead contributed to its decline. As a result, today’s U.S. oceangoing domestic fleet numbers fewer than 100 ships. Beyond leaving a shrunken and uncompetitive maritime sector in its wake, the law has also inflicted considerable damage on the broader U.S. public that range from higher transportation costs to increased pollution. The chapters in The Case against the Jones Act delve into some of the act’s founding myths and the false narrative its supporters have helped to perpetuate. The book evaluates the law’s costs, assesses its impact on
businesses, consumers, and the environment, and offers alternatives for a way forward. The Jones Act’s failures reveal that the status quo is untenable. Contributors to this volume hope that the evidence presented will spark discussion about the Jones Act and lay the groundwork for the repeal or significant reform of this outdated law.
About the Editors And Contributors Colin Grabow is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, where his research focuses on U.S. trade with Asia as well as domestic forms of trade protectionism, such as the U.S. sugar program and the Jones Act. His writings have been published in a number of outlets, including USA Today, The Hill, National Review, and the Weekly Standard. Inu Manak is a research fellow at the Cato Institute. She is an expert in international political economy, with a specialization in international trade policy and law. Manak’s research focuses on the World Trade Organization, non‐judicial treaty mechanisms, technical barriers to trade, regional trade agreements, and development. With an introduction by Anne O. Krueger. Contributors to this volume include: Keli’i Akina, James W. Coleman, Andrew G. Durant, Steve Ellis, Timothy Fitzgerald, Thomas Grennes, Daniel Griswold, Howard Gutman, Daniel J. Ikenson, Taylor Jackson, Logan Kolas, Ted Loch‐Temzelides, Nicolas Loris, Robert Quartel, Manuel Reyes, and Bryan Riley.
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Finanzas / Finances
El Sol Latino July 2020
Agencia de Seguros Latina abre oficina en Holyoke HOLYOKE, MA | GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | 2 de julio de 2020 - Los propietarios de Rewarding Insurance Agency, Miguel Rivera y Lidia Rodríguez, se complacen en anunciar su nueva oficina ubicada dentro de la Cámara de Comercio de Greater Holyoke en 177 High Street en el centro de Holyoke. Tanto Miguel como Lidia tienen 10 años de experiencia compartida y están dedicados a proteger financieramente a familias, individuos y empresas en Massachusetts y Connecticut. “Estamos orgullosos de poder abrir nuestras oficinas para atender a nuestros más de 500 clientes de Holyoke y de las ciudades aledañas desde donde ayudamos a nuestros clientes a evaluar sus opciones, revisar sus pólizas y procesar sus reclamos”, afirmó Miguel Rivera, copropietario y miembro del Comité de Negocios Latinos de la Cámara. La directora ejecutiva de la Cámara, Andréa Marion, agregó: “Es maravilloso tener a Rewarding Insurance Agency dentro de nuestra oficina. Vemos una gran cantidad de personas que vienen a nosotros para comenzar un negocio en Holyoke, muchos de ellos latinos. Los seguros son
una gran parte de la operación de un negocio y es una combinación perfecta y una oportunidad para todos. Esperamos ver florecer su negocio y abrir nuevos negocios en nuestra comunidad gracias a ellos”. Rewarding Insurance Agency ofrece a los clientes una amplia gama de productos que incluyen: Reemplazo de ingresos, Protección de ejecución hipotecaria y Servicios notariales. Para programar una consulta gratuita y obtener más información sobre los productos que ofrecen, puede enviar un correo electrónico a RewardingInsuranceAgency@gmail.com o llamarlos al 413-317-0043. También puede encontrarlos en Facebook e Instagram: @ RewardingAgency.
Lidia Rodríguez y Miguel Rivera
Durante la epidemia de coronavirus, solo habrá consultas virtuales disponibles. Una vez que el gobernador Baker levante su prohibición, puede encontrar a Miguel y Lidia en la Cámara de Comercio de Greater Holyoke, 177 High Street, Holyoke, de lunes a viernes de 9 am a 5 pm.
What’s Inside “The Con$umer Toolbox?” by MILAGROS S. JOHNSON Perpetrators prey on vulnerable consumers and make this their practice to gain your trust, personal information and money. Did you know that “Education is the Best Prevention” in avoiding scams, fraud and identity theft? Welcome to The Con$umer Toolbox, El Sol Latino’s new consumer column. First, let me introduce myself. I am Milagros S. Johnson and I represent the (Springfield) Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information (MOCI), a Local Consumer Program working in the Cooperation with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO). Our program serves residents and consumers of Hampden County and parts of Worcester County. For the past 19½ years, I have dedicated my work to consumer education and advocacy.
Each month The Con$umer Toolbox will provide you with knowledge and confidence so that you can make informed decisions. Because we are at the forefront for you, the Con$umer Toolbox will bring awareness about scams and fraud targeting our local consumers, as well as how to avoid falling victim to one. Other topics will include buying a car (not a lemon), home improvement, credit, retail sales, and so much more. While we are not lawyers, we are well-versed on consumer protection and regulations. In other words, we are your source of information and want to keep you informed. If it’s important to you, it’s important to us! We are currently in the midst of an unprecedented coronavirus pandemic which has caused insurmountable financial harm to millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. Many of you are unemployed and afraid how you will recover once the Massachusetts Temporary Moratorium on evictions and foreclosures is lifted, while others have deferred automobile loans and credit card payments. The best advice we can offer you right now is: 1) don’t panic 2) don’t ignore the letters and telephone calls from creditors and utility companies, 3) avoid disregarding your situation. Remember you’re not alone, there are resources available for you. Seek immediate help! To learn more about our program or to request assistance, please visit us at springfield-ma.gov, email us at moci@springfieldcityhall.com or call us at (413) 787-6437 (se habla Español). Please note that we are currently not accepting walk-ins, however teleconferences are welcomed and strongly encouraged. Stay safe, be well…and stay informed. MILAGROS S. JOHNSON is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information - Springfield
Publish your bilingual ad in El Sol Latino! Call us today at (413) 320-3826.
Ciencias / Science
El Sol Latino July 2020
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STCC plans mix of on-campus low-density labs and online courses for fall SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | June 1, 2020 - Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Springfield Technical Community College this fall will offer a combination of on-campus low-density labs using social distancing protocols as well as online instruction. Dr. Geraldine de Berly, Vice President of Academic Affairs, outlined summer and fall semester instruction plans in an email shared with the campus community today. Instruction plans were made in light of the Commonwealth’s four-phased approach to reopening the Massachusetts economy. Dr. John B. Cook, STCC President, said students will continue to receive a high-quality educational experience from the most affordable college in the city. “Our efforts to adapt given the COVID-19 pandemic have been comprehensive,” Cook said. “I am confident this plan offers the best set of options for our students; the decisions we made were difficult, but thoughtful, and were driven by the health and well-being of STCC students, faculty and staff.” STCC, the only technical community college in Massachusetts, offers upwards of 90 programs, many of which are unique to the region. In addition, students avoid student loan debt, and find opportunity and more in STCC’s multiple bachelor’s degree transfer options. The college is known for its state-of-the art laboratories and equipment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, as well as a nationally recognized patient simulation facility used by students in its acclaimed health programs. “STCC has no intention of becoming a fully online institution. The pivot to online is driven by a health pandemic,” de Berly said. “COVID-19 has forced the college to adjust, and we do hope in the future to return to the robust utilization of campus facilities which include our labs, specialized equipment, unique technologies and the rewarding in-person experiences STCC faculty generate with and for students.” STCC will offer fully online Summer Session classes, which begin today. Some online classes may include virtual meetings between instructors and students while the remainder will be “asynchronous” – not delivered in real time, an approach that affords flexibility. Some programs in the School of Health and Patient Simulation (SHPS) will include low-density, on-campus labs that could begin as soon as June 8 as part of a Phase 2 pilot, and will include necessary social distancing,
personal protective equipment and sanitizing protocols. For the fall semester, SHPS will deliver courses and programs using a combination of low-density instruction and online, with gathering size set in accordance with state and federal social distancing guidelines. Programs in the school include nursing, dental, respiratory, medical imaging, rehabilitation studies and medical laboratory technician. The School of STEM will offer courses that include online, online with video conferencing in real time, and on-campus low-density labs. Programs in the School of STEM include fields of study such as engineering transfer, computer and IT security, mechanical engineering technology, energy systems, optics and photonics, electrical engineering technology/robotics, architecture building technology, graphic design, and digital media. All courses in the School of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LAPS) will be taught online. Administrators decided to convert all classes in LAPS to online as a response to the need to limit campus density and population. Many of the classes in the School of LAPS are lecture-oriented, which lend to the decision to go fully online, Vice President de Berly said. Two-year programs include business transfer, criminal justice, early childhood education, urban studies, applied psychology, social work and more. In certain instances, STCC will use “synchronous” teaching strategies, which means students gather with their instructor at a specific date and time through video conferencing. But most of the classes will be taught using an asynchronous approach, which gives students greater flexibility to set their own hours to complete their studies and assignments. “Many of our students have childcare obligations, work commitments, and a host of other complicated circumstances,” Cook said. “We know that our students benefit from having flexibility in their classwork, and online is yet another way STCC lives its mission of ensuring access to higher education.” Cook said he was impressed with the way the faculty transitioned during the spring semester when the COVID-19 emergency forced the college to make sudden adjustments. STCC offers professional development resources for faculty, including support and training through the Center for Online and Digital Learning. “I applaud our faculty for their resiliency over the past several months,” Cook said. “They showed tremendous dedication and commitment to our students, and were resolved during an unprecedented time in our history as an institution. I truly appreciate their efforts to help students transform their lives.” Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333. About Springfield Technical Community College
STCC student honored as ‘29 Who Shine’ recipient SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | June 1, 2020 – A Springfield Technical Community College student from Agawam was named one of the state Department of Higher Education’s “29 Who Shine,” a program that recognizes an outstanding graduating student from each public college and university in Massachusetts. Delia Fuentes said she was thrilled to be selected. She received the news from STCC in mid-May, a time when she was mostly confined to her home with her family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It came as a huge surprise,” she said. “It actually brightened my whole family’s month. We were pretty low because of the quarantine. Then I got the email, and I thought, ‘This is amazing!’ I never in a million years thought I would win an award like that.” Andrea Tarpey, coordinator of student activities at STCC, and Lidya RiveraEarly, director of community engagement, nominated Fuentes for the 29
Who Shine award. “Her hard work, dedication and commitment to the community, STCC and her peers made her the perfect candidate for this recognition,” Tarpey said. “I’ve been impressed with Delia since she came to STCC and became one of our student leaders. We’re proud of her and wish her success in the future.” continued on page15
Delia Fuentes
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Ciencias / Science
El Sol Latino July 2020
La importancia de las vacunas a nivel individual y global por JESSICA CABALLERO-FELICIANO Se ha escuchado mucho acerca de la búsqueda de la vacuna para el coronavirus. Científicos a través del mundo están trabajando arduamente para conseguirlo ya que éste será lo que pondrá fin a la pandemia. Sin embargo, hay mucha polémica asociada a las vacunas de parte de grupos de activistas. En este artículo hablaremos de cómo funcionan las vacunas, un poco acerca de la historia del movimiento anti-vacunas, y como se relaciona al COVID-19. Para entender cómo funcionan las vacunas, primero tenemos que entender cómo funciona el sistema inmunitario de una persona saludable. Nuestra sangre contiene células inmunitarias llamadas linfocitos. Cuando un patógeno (ej. un virus o una bacteria) entra a nuestro cuerpo, los linfocitos lo reconocen como algo externo y deciden atacarlo. Para poder atacar a ese patógeno y destruirlo, los linfocitos crean anticuerpos que rodean al patógeno y son específicos para ese patógeno en particular. Se dice que es específico porque ese anticuerpo funciona básicamente como una llave. Esa “llave” o anticuerpo solo puede reconocer a ese patógeno en particular para que pueda ser penetrado, descompuesto y desechado. Por ejemplo, si te da un catarro común, los doctores te dicen que descanses, tomes muchos fluidos y tomes medicinas para los síntomas. Esto es porque durante esa semana, tu cuerpo estará creando anticuerpos para combatir ese catarro. Pero, si los síntomas continúan por mas de una semana, puede haber algún problema que tu sistema inmunitario no lo está combatiendo de manera apropiada. En la actualidad no hay una vacuna para el catarro.
Crédito / La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de los Estados Unidos (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés)
Ahora, ¿Cómo funcionan las vacunas? Una vacuna es una sustancia que contiene un patógeno en una forma muerta o debilitada (al punto que no puede causar la enfermedad). Al entrar la vacuna al cuerpo, nuestro sistema inmunitario ataca a ese patógeno, formando así anticuerpos contra el patógeno. De este modo, si mas adelante llega a entrar el patógeno de manera activa, nuestro sistema inmunitario lo reconoce y lo ataca con los anticuerpos que ya están presentes por la exposición previa a la vacuna. La meta de las vacunas es introducir un patógeno a tu cuerpo sin que te enferme para que tu cuerpo esté preparado para atacar al patógeno cuando éste entre a tu cuerpo y así evitar la enfermedad. Sin embargo, hay personas que tienen un sistema inmunitario débil, como por ejemplo las personas que reciben quimioterapia, personas con enfermedades autoinmunes, entre otros. Para estas personas, los linfocitos no están trabajando adecuadamente. Por lo tanto, no pueden recibir una vacuna ni estar expuestos a enfermedades porque su cuerpo no podrá producir los anticuerpos para combatirlo. Si su cuerpo no puede producir anticuerpos, hasta un catarro común puede ser letal. Pero si las personas que están a su alrededor están vacunadas, habrá menos probabilidad de que ellos se enfermen y estarán protegidos. A esto se le llama “inmunidad de grupo” (o “herd immunity” en inglés). Es por esto que las vacunas
trabajan a nivel del individuo y también a nivel global. La vacuna del sarampión es un ejemplo claro de cómo funcionan las vacunas. En el año 2000, el CDC anunció que el sarampión fue erradicado en los Estados Unidos debido a su vacuna que es 99% efectiva. Este logro fue altamente celebrado. Sin embargo, para el año 2019, los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, (CDC por sus siglas en inglés) reportó que habían 695 casos de sarampión en 22 estados. Se entiende que este brote comenzó porque un turista que nunca fue vacunado viajó a un país con incidencias de sarampión. Al contagiarse y regresar a los Estados Unidos y entrar en contacto con otras personas que tampoco estaban vacunadas o que tenían sistemas inmunitarios comprometidas, se propagó el sarampión que anteriormente había sido erradicado. Analicemos este caso un poco mas de cerca. Hay dos maneras en que este brote pudo haber sido evitado: 1. Si el turista hubiera estado vacunado contra el sarampión, no se hubiera contagiado al ir a ese otro país y no lo hubiera propagado en los Estados Unidos al regresar. 2. Si el turista al regresar hubiera entrado en contacto solamente con personas que si estaban vacunadas contra el sarampión, no se hubiera propagado el brote debido a la inmunidad de grupo. Parte de lo que llevó a que algunas personas decidieran no vacunar a sus hijos contra el sarampión es por el movimiento anti vacunas o “anti-vaxx”. Este movimiento ha puesto mucho esfuerzo en propagar un mensaje de que las vacunas están relacionadas al autismo. Hasta el momento no hay ningún estudio científico que valide ese mensaje. Por el contrario, los expertos dicen una y otra vez que no hay ningún vinculo entre la vacuna del sarampión y el autismo. Entonces, ¿por qué este mensaje y movimiento anti-vacunas? Resulta que en el 1998 un doctor llamado Andrew Wakefield y sus colegas publicaron un artículo en una revista llamada Lancet donde publica que 12 niños tuvieron problemas de desarrollo después de ponerse la vacuna del sarampión. Inmediatamente hubo dos reacciones a este artículo: 1) muchos padres se preocuparon y decidieron no vacunar a sus hijos y 2) la comunidad científica criticó al artículo de Wakefield porque era notable que su artículo tenía muchas fallas lo cual invalidaban sus resultados. Sus colegas inmediatamente publicaron un articulo retractando la interpretación de Wakefield diciendo que en realidad no habían encontrado un enlace entre la vacuna y el autismo. Poco después, salió a relucir que Wakefield estaba recibiendo dinero de parte de un grupo de abogados para que falsificara la data con tal de que los abogados pudieran usar su estudio para ganar un caso contra la compañía que creaba las vacunas. Sin embargo, no fue hasta el 2010 que el articulo original de Wakefield fue retractado de la revista Lancet. Luego de esto, se han impuesto regulaciones mas estrictas para poder publicar en revistas científicas. Sin embargo, esto no resuelve el daño causado por el estudio fatulo de Wakefield. Volviendo al COVID-19. Usualmente, se puede tardar años en crearse una vacuna. Pero en el caso del COVID-19, los científicos no están empezando de cero en su búsqueda. El COVID-19 no es el primer coronavirus que hemos visto en la historia moderna. Hay diferentes coronavirus que han sido fatales, pero que no llegaron a convertirse en pandemia (como el MERS y el SARS). Por lo tanto, los estudios que se han hecho para conseguir la vacuna del MERS y el SARS ya han identificado posibles enfoques para la vacuna del COVID-19. Aunque todavía no hay una vacuna para el COVID-19, los científicos están en búsqueda de la vacuna y es cuestión de tiempo de que la tengamos disponible. Pero, no solo es importante que la vacuna esté disponible. También es imperativo que todas las personas contribuyan a erradicar esta enfermedad al vacunarse. JESSICA CABALLERO-FELICIANO (jcaballerof@umass.edu) es estudiante en el Neuroscience & Behavior Graduate Program - UMass Amherst.
El Sol Latino July 2020
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¿Por qué debemos seguir usando la mascarilla y respetar el distanciamiento social? por ANA PAMELA TORRES OCAMPO La pandemia sobre el coronavirus sigue siendo un peligro muy real. Gracias a las medidas estrictas del estado de Massachusetts, el número de infecciones ha decaído en el último mes. Sin embargo, es muy importante recordar que todavía hay personas con infecciones activas, es decir, que actualmente están enfermas del COVID-19. Y al mismo tiempo, pueden infectar a otras personas. ¿Que hacen las mascarillas? El COVID-19 se contagia como cualquier otra enfermedad respiratoria, a través de las gotas que producimos al hablar y estornudar. La influenza y gripe se contagian de esta manera. Al usar la mascarilla evitamos que estas gotas puedan llegar a otras personas, especialmente personas que están cerca de nosotros. Esto puede ser en el supermercado, o cualquier otro lugar donde tengamos que estar cerca de otra persona.
www.freepik.es ¿Que hace el distanciamiento social? Debido a que sabemos que podemos producir estas gotas al hablar o estornudar, un grupo de científicos hizo un estudio donde midieron hasta donde pueden llegar las gotas que producimos al hablar. Ellos llegaron a la conclusión que estas gotas pueden llegar hasta 6 pies de distancia de donde una persona esta parada. Debido a esto, se recomienda guardar el distanciamiento social de seis pies. De esta manera aunque una persona no tenga mascarilla, sus gotas no puedan llegar a otra persona e infectarla.
En este momento el número de personas infectados es bajo, por lo menos en Massachusetts, pero aun hay un peligro de que se pueda desatar otra ola de contagios. Sobretodo porque las personas que no presentan síntomas aún pueden contagiar a otras personas y crear otra crisis como la de los pasados meses. A pesar de que hay científicos en todo el mundo tratando de entender el cómo y el por qué es que COVID-19 puede enfermar severamente a algunos y apenas presentar síntomas en otros, aún sabemos muy poco. De hecho, su esfuerzo puede verse al apreciar toda la información que tenemos disponible en tan solo 6 meses. Lo que podemos hacer de nuestra parte es seguir manteniendo el distanciamiento social en lugares cerrados y seguir usando la mascarilla para evitar contagiar a las poblaciones mas susceptibles, personas de la tercera edad y personas inmunocomprometidas. Usar mascarilla es tedioso y molesto, especialmente con el clima caloroso que hemos tenido en la última semana. A pesar de ello, debemos seguir en vigilancia y seguir usando la mascarillas y usar el distanciamiento social. Si pensamos en cómo empezó la pandemia en diciembre en Wuhan, solo se necesitaron unas cuantas personas infectadas para regar el virus a todo el planeta. En este momento sabemos mas de lo que sabíamos sobre la enfermedad hace seis meses y sabemos que si mantenemos las medidas sugeridas, podemos mantener el número de infectados en un número bajo en donde los hospitales no sobrepasen su capacidad de atender a los enfermos y no exponer a nuestros abuelos y abuelas a esta infección, o a nuestros familiares y amigos que son inmunocomprometidos. El verano y la reapertura de negocios puede que haga parecer que todo ha vuelto a la normalidad, pero una vez el otoño esté a la vuelta de la esquina puede que este virus vuelva a reaparecer y que se vuelva a establecer un toque de queda. Si somos cuidadosos desde ahora, podemos juntos evitar que esto pase. Todos tenemos que cuidarnos los unos a los otros. Todos tenemos que poner un granito de arena que puede salvar a nuestros seres queridos pero también a nuestros vecinos y amigos. ANA PAMELA TORRES OCAMPO (a.torres.ocampo@gmail.com) is a PhD student at the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) Program - UMass Amherst.
STCC student honored as ‘29 Who Shine’ recipient continued from page 13 Each year, the state honors outstanding students who show promise as future leaders and demonstrate a strong record of academic achievement. Students also are chosen based on their intent to pursue a career in a field where there is a demonstrated need in Massachusetts, among other criteria.
minority women to computer and IT science, and get them into the field,” Fuentes said. “There are not a lot of minority women in my field right now, and we can do so much if we were just introduced them to it. I want to inspire women and people of color the way I was inspired at STCC.”
Normally, students and their families are invited to a State House awards ceremony in Boston, where they are honored by the governor and other dignitaries. The ceremony was canceled this year due to the coronavirus emergency. Students will receive a citation.
Fuentes, 24, who was born in Springfield, chose STCC because it was the most affordable option. She has loved the experience. “STCC was cheaper and had all the courses I could dream I wanted to take,” she said.
Fuentes expects to graduate at the end of the summer with a degree in computer information technologies. She studied computer and IT (information technology) security and hopes to transfer to the College of Our Lady of the Elms to pursue a bachelor’s degree. STCC and the Elms have partnered to offer accelerated online degree completion programs in Computer Science and Computer Information Technology and Security. She wants to one day earn a master’s degree in computer IT science. “My ultimate goal is to create a business in Massachusetts to introduce
“When I was growing up, not a lot of people believed in me except for my mom and my family,” she said. “Then I came to STCC, and I met Andrea Tarpey and Brian Candido (chair of the Computer Information Technologies program) and they believed in me. They said of course you can do computer IT.” Fuentes has been active as a volunteer helping with Springfield’s revitalization. At STCC, she has been one of the Student Ambassadors, serving as a role model, advocate and peer advisor to fellow students. Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.
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El Sol Latino July 2020
Black Lives Matter
Afro-Latina supermodel Joan Smalls to fashion industry:
It tells people what you are against without having to commit to being for anything. Perhaps now more than ever, talk is cheap, and you need to guard against this saying at your company: When all was said and done, there was a lot more said than done!
Stop feeding the ‘beast of racism’ Do We matter for Corporate America Is Your Company Actually Fighting Racism, or Just Talking About It
and saying so is objective journalism By Editorial Board
The Student Life is the oldest college newspaper in Southern California. Founded in 1889, it serves as the newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California. It publishes a newspaper every Friday during the academic year and content online daily.
