Community Organization Works to Rebuild
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Michigan Chronicle Vol. 85 – No. 23 | February 9-15, 2022
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Biden Nominates Black Female Michigan Judge for U.S Court of Appeals President Joe Biden announced his judicial nominee on Wednesday, February 2, by tapping U.S. District Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis as part of his prestigious selection today. Judge Davis is Biden’s nominee to the Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. She currently serves as the U.S District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. Historically, Judge Davis would be the first Black woman to serve on the Sixth Circuit from Michigan and only the second Black woman to serve. Devoted to the rule of law and Constitution, Judge Davis is part of Biden’s plan to ensure that the country’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of America’s “greatest assets.” The Kansas City native received her B.S. in healthcare administration from Stephanie Dawkins Wichita State University in Davis 1989, Judge Davis received her Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in 1992. Judge Davis began her career in products liability and commercial litigation at Dickinson, Wright PLLC. According to her bio, she left private practice to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office, E.D. Michigan, in 1997, where she served in both the civil and criminal divisions. Judge Davis prosecuted cases at trial and appellate levels and spent part of her career as a deputy unit chief, high-intensity drug trafficking area liaison, and the Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney before joining the bench in January 2016. Judge Davis has served as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan since December 2019, previously serving there as a Magistrate Judge from 2016 to 2019. In 2019, she was sworn in as the judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, The Detroit News reported. Her career highlights and recognition honors include the State Bar of Michigan naming her a 2015 Champion of Justice. This selection is Biden’s 14th announcement of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 84. Biden has spent decades committed to strengthening the federal bench, which is why he continues to move rapidly to fill judicial vacancies. A total of nine Black women are federal circuit court nominees (before the Biden administration), including Judge Janice Rogers Brown, Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and Judge Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson. Biden’s total number
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WHAT’S INSIDE
Detroit Celebrates
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Pandemic Fatigue:
The weight of COVID-19 begins to wear down the world By Sherri Kolade Nearly two years into the pandemic, who isn’t tired of hearing, talking or reading about COVID-19? Yet people are still dying by the hundreds of thousands -- with millions more infected across the United States alone. Those who are still working, attending school, rearing children and trying to stay alive and thrive might face the invisible, heavy load of pandemic-related pressures that make even simple tasks like going to the grocery store a stress-inducer. With these less-than-ideal circumstances, many in the medical field and elsewhere have announced how it’s more important than ever for people to know about coping mechanisms to better manage stress, protect their immune system and increase their chances of staying healthy. Living in Fight or Flight Mode “COVID is maximizing stress for so many people,” said Dr. Nammy Patel, author of “Age with Style: Your Guide to a Youthful Smile & Healthy Living.” “It has a far-reaching impact into every part of our lives, and if we don’t manage the stress, it severely affects our bodily systems – causing burned-out adrenals, high cortisol and thyroid issues, to name a few consequences of high-stress levels. Thus, the immune system is lowered, and we are more vulnerable to illness. “This era we are living in is very traumatic, and it’s very concerning. In den-
tistry, gum disease, sleep disturbances or apnea and teeth breakage can all be evidence of stress. Poor oral health, as studies show, can be a gateway to medical issues. People often don’t identify how much stress they’re under, and how it’s affecting them physically until they actually get sick.” From keeping a healthy diet to creating a morning ritual (like deep-breathing exercises) -- it doesn’t have to be a rigorous daily regimen to get one’s mind back right, even amidst the external factors that might make people panic. “Deep breathing exercises can be calming and get you out of the hyper state,” Patel said. “You want to get rid of the ‘fight or flight’ mode and enter the ‘rest and digest’ state of mind.” From the Omicron variant to hundreds of health officials getting COVID19, there seems to be no rest for the weary looking for some respite from the situation. Some local hospitals were forced to cancel or postpone their procedures due to the rising number of COVID-19 patients, according to a local publication. Jacqueline Pflaum-Carlson, M.D., critical care and emergency medicine physician at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, said the overwhelming number of COVID patients have taken its toll on her and her colleagues. “With each passing day and each increased patient load and each death, it gets harder and harder to maintain that positive attitude,” she wrote on the hospital’s website. “Things are hard and we’re doing everything we can and doing
our best to keep patients in good care. Have a little grace and consideration in how devastating things are right now.” The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) reported that others across the nation are also feeling the lingering effects of the pandemic, like Registered Nurse Currine Smith who feels a sense of doom and anxiety when headed into work. “The scene is quite grim,” she said of the Level I trauma hospital where she works in Delaware. “People feel like the light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t exist anymore. I’m feeling burnout,” said Smith in the article, who saw her medical floor skyrocket with COVID cases amid the current surge. “The stress and anxiety I feel wears down on me mentally, emotionally and physically.” She says being a Jehovah’s Witness helped her and other health care workers in her religious community face the pandemic head-on. Michelle Cabrera, executive director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA), was quoted in another NNPA article about the health needs of minority youth. She noted that around the nation — and in California — young people are suffering from a mental health problem, explaining the rising numbers of suicide and high levels of anxiety in schools. “The pandemic has also changed the statistics about drug and substance abuse in America,” Cabrera continued.
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Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. Pens Powerful Book Former Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. is a man of courage, with a renewed mission. In his new book, THE FINGER OF GOD: FROM THE LINEAGE OF DAVID TO THE PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES (Archway Publishing – 2021), Jackson takes readers on a historical Constitutional odyssey intertwined with Biblical and scholarly quotes, along with illuminating transparencies about his personal, political and prison life. In his points of references in THE FINGER OF GOD Jackson relies upon his theological wisdom and the foundation of the forefathers of our nation. Jackson dissects the U.S. Constitution and educates readers while invoking his vision for America. He also shares his unwavering strengths, his frailties, and his unguarded reflective moments.
As a graduate of North Carolina, A&T State University (BS), Chicago Theological Seminary (MDiv), the University of Illinois College of Law (JD), the eldest son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. garnered respect and honor while rising as an esteemed Congressman during his political career serving 17 years in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District. Having served as the national co-chairman during Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, Jackson was an influencer amongst his colleagues and in his community who had crossover appeal and eloquent oratorical magnetism. His career was also riddled with controversy after
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Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.