SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE
WINTER ISSUE 2021
DAY THE THE
SUN WAS BLOCKED FEBRUARY - APRIL 2021
❋ FASHION Culture
LIFESTYLES
Music&Art
IT’S A MOVEMENT NOT A MOMENT BLACK LIVES MATTER
U.S. vs BILLIE HOLIDAY BLACK CINEMA
EXOTIC BY JIMMA On Our Radar Victor Madrid
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SWAGGA DIGITAL MAGAZINE
THE APOCALYPTIC FASHION ISSUE FEATURING MALIK HARDCASTLE
LOOK GREAT ❇ DRESS SHARP ❇ LIVE WELL
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It’s all about the content
Inside this issue. . . . . .
On the Cover
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ON THE COVER
Malik Hardcastle
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Styled by Pharaoh Brand
Entertainment
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Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine
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United States vs. Billie Holiday Every time Billie Holiday laughs in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” it cracks the air, scratchy and ephemeral, fading just as quickly as it began.
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It’s a Movement not a Moment Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.
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SDM Magazine is proud to once again feature electic, sensual and visually strking photography by Seth London a NYC based photographer.
“Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 Vaccine. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. Two doses are needed. Depending on the specific vaccine you get, a second shot 3-4 weeks after your first shot is needed to get the most protection the vaccine has to offer against this serious disease.
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Biden Administration seeks to buy 200 Million doses: President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration is working with coronavirus vaccine makers to buy another 200 million doses that would arrive this summer -- raising the total to 600 million and ensuring the U.S. will eventually have two shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for nearly every American.
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Westcoast Leather San Francisco
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Fashion
EDITORIAL
SETH LONDON NYC
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BLACK LIVES MATTER it’s a Movement Not a Moment
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Pharoah Brand
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ART BY: RENALDO OSHEA OsheaArt
Exotic by Jimma, Exotic – Is a cannabis lifestyle brand designed by Oaksterdam’s own Horticulture cultivator/instructor, Arthur Chiles. Andre also an Oakland community influencer, sought-after-cultivator, activist, speaker and is the former hoset of the renowned series “Stories from the Underground”.
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‘Our Existence Social Distancing’ With social distancing rules in place and strictly adhered to, along with intensive testing and contact tracing of new infections, the simulations show it is possible to contain the spread of a virus. However, with more than 2 million confirmed cases impacting countries around the world, the researchers believe this is an unlikely outcome.
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Spotlight
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ON OUR RADAR
VICTOR MADRID
ON OUR RADAR: Introducing Victor Madrid, a newcomer to the modeling world. And SDM Magazine. Very inspirational individual who has a passion for people and living his dreams.—
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On the cover is the amazing Malik Hardcastle sytled by Phararoh Brand Fashions On September 20, 2020 there was an apocalyptic phenomon when the sun was blocked out from and a orange haze had gripped the bay area. So we took advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity and shot a cover editorial and cover for our 26th Issue. Featuring Malik Hardcastle.
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BEHIND THE PAGES
MEDIA GROUP™ VOLUME XXV, NO. 26 | WINTER ISSUE
PRINT • MOBILE • SOCIAL • ONLINE • TABLET
MANAGEMENT TEAM DIRECTOR OF PUBLICITY GRAPHIC DESIGN & CREATIVE SERVICES PUBLISHING PHOTO EDITING ART DIRECTION EDITORIAL CONSULTING ADVERTISING MANAGER
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FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RON FULCHER PHOTO EDITING RON FULCHER GRAPHIC DESIGN SDM MEDIA MODEL MALIK HARDCASTLE STYLING PHAROAH BRAND
BACK COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RON FULCHER PHOTO EDITING RON FULCHER GRAPHIC DESIGN SDM MEDIA GROUP MODEL MALIK HARDCASTLE STYLING PHAROAH BRAND
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EDITOR’S NOTE This publication is dedicated to my mom whose courage, strength, tenacity and love has been a rock for me in the production of this magazine. There are so many people who are instrumental in the production of this publication, and I could not possibly name them all in this writing but I just want to thank all of you and you know who you are for assisting me with this issue. Many thanks to all of the wonderful and talented models, photographers, MUA’s, and Hair Stylists. Reproduction of any material within this publication in whole or in part is, prohibted without expressed consent of publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility to any party of the information, claims or ads herein to include errors, inaccuracies or omissions. By advertising the advertisers agree to indemnify the Publisher against all claims relating to or resulting from said advertisements and or promotional material.
Ron Fulcher Editor-In-Chief
COPYRIGHT ©2009-2021 SDM PUBLISHING ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction in whole or in part without the permission of SDM The Magazine is prohibited. SDM The Magazine does not accept and cannot be held responsible for any kind of unsolicted materials. Published Quarterly, Four (4) Times a year. Available in Print, Mobile, and available for download to Apple, Android, Ipad and Tablets. Visit our website at www.swaggadigitalmagazine.com Need to send a email to the EDITOR: sdm_magazine@yahoo.com. For subscription information email us at: sdm_magazine@yahoo.com Printed in the USA, CALL 1.213.986.8351 CUSTOMER SERVICE: swaggamediagroup@gmail.com
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ON OUR RADAR
VICTOR MADRID
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UNITED STATES VS. AGAINST BILLIE HOLIDAY
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mong the country’s preeminent dramatists, Suzan-Lori Parks has won a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for her play Topdog-Underdog and a 2012 Tony for an adaptation of Porgy and Bess. Along the way Parks, 57, has dipped a toe in Hollywood, as far back as 1996’s Girl 6, which she wrote for Spike Lee. In recent years, she’s ramped up her screenwriting efforts — first with Native Son, the 2019 film adaptation of Richard Wright’s landmark 1940 novel, and next with The United States vs. Billie Holiday (out Feb. 26 on Hulu). The biopic, with Grammy-nominated singer Andra Day in the title role, follows the unlikely romance between the jazz giant and Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), the federal agent assigned to nab her on a drugs charge during a sting operation. Parks spoke to THR about the art of conjuring a legend on the blank page. You have written for stage, TV and film over the years. How do you choose? I tell people it’s like the difference between corduroy and velvet. A film just feels differently than a play does. And right away I saw this as a film. And they both feel differently from a limited series, for example, because I’m also working on Genius: Aretha right now [for National Geographic, starring Cynthia Erivo]. I remember seeing some of your early plays in New York. They were very experimental with
ENTERTAINMENT
narrative and language. Does working in Hollywood rein in some of those creative impulses? It’s funny — I’ve grown since then. The ’90s were a while ago. With every project I tell truth. I feel no more hemmed in or constrained by film than — look, I’m married and I’m a parent now. Is that hemming me in? Does monogamy hem one in? Well maybe, but it gives me a chance to flower in a whole new way. And that’s what film is allowing me to do. A real artist, when she goes into a different genre, a different medium, a different kind of art making, a different kind of truth telling, is acting of herself to flower in a whole new way. Has telling a Billie Holiday story been something you’ve always wanted to do? Billie is such an iconic figure. When [producers] Mark Bomback and Jeff Kirschenbaum brought the project to me, I could see it right away. I could see this love affair that she has with Jimmy Fletcher, because it tells the story of the love affair that Black Americans have with America. [It’s about a] Black American woman living in America who’s been in love with her country her whole life. Black Americans love this country, often at our peril. In the film she poses a threat to the U.S. government over the song “Strange Fruit.” Who found that song threatening? I think lots of people found that song threatening. Me and my husband have a son in fourth grade. I sat with him today and watched how Martin Luther King got arrested in Birmingham in ’63. I
said, “What’s he doing when he got arrested?” And our son said, “He’s walking down the street.” This is a 9-year-old who had just seen the storming of the Capitol, the Trump rioters. And King got arrested for what? “Walking down the street.” The powers that be can call anything threatening, and conversely they can call anything nonthreatening. It depends on who is doing it. There were plenty of jazz musicians doing all sorts of things back then. But because Billie Holiday, a Black American woman, was singing about lynching, the feeling among the powers that be — [FBI director J. Edgar] Hoover, [Federal Bureau of Narcotics commissioner Harry J.] Anslinger and others — is that if the song gets airplay, folks might get up in arms, folks might start to protest. It might be a wake-up call for people. We’ve got to keep that suppression, we’ve got to keep the lid on this. We’ve got to come down hard on the woman who is defying us. How we can do that? Well, she has a drug problem. Let’s go after that. Holiday singing “Strange Fruit” is not unlike Colin Kaepernick taking a knee. It hurts no one, but it upsets a lot of people.
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black cinema
Yes, and a Trumpster who rioted in the Capitol would point to Kaepernick and say, “He’s disrespecting a flag.” Meanwhile, Trumpsters are breaking windows and threatening people and hitting a cop with a fire extinguisher, who then dies. But Colin Kaepernick by taking a knee during the football game is disrespecting the flag. That’s exactly what we’re talking about. In Billie’s case, they made sure she shut up. The thing is, they couldn’t do it alone. Her friends had to give her up like Jesus’ friend gave him up. Her husband gave her up. So that’s how they got to her — and let us remember that, too. Sometimes the weakest links are sometimes right in the community. Who killed Malcolm X? Who pulled the trigger? We need to wake up to that.
culture
NOW STREAMING
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DIGITAL MEDIA
In the Spotlight
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MUSIC
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PRINCE RAY POPE
n our music spotlight for this 26th Installment of Swagga Digital Magazine is the oh so smooth, charismatic and good looking on the eyes, Prince Ray Pope with his freshman album entitled the “Final Score”. With rhythmic beats, club sounding, and eclectic vocals executive produced by Prince Ray Pope and musical collaborations with “The Mekanix”, and “Blaq Tuxedo” we welcome you. Now let’s dive in . . . . . SDM: What genre of music do you think has contributed to your sound? And how would you describe your sound? HipHop & Rap SDM: How long have you performing your music? 7 Years. SDM:What do you think your audience expect to hear, see at your performances? And Why? My audience should expect the hear high energy, relatable music that is authentic to the listener, because of past EP’s and my new listeners have come to expect positive vibes, heartfelt songs, and relatable lyrics. SDM: What do you mean authentic? To me a lot of rap artists, follow trends of what the sound is now. In my music I try not to follow trends, I endeavor to release music that is authentic to me, not the main rap cul-
ture. An example, of my authenticity is my lyrics on the song entitled “4 AM”, “because you get up at “4 AM” and I start my day, go about my grind”. “In the opening bar and the first verse, it says “4AM” for the hustle nonstop its non-stop I go hard for the bundle I touch guap”. SDM: When performing, how do you get the audience to engage with you and interact with the performance and the music and you? When I walk out, I talk with the audience, regarding a song on the album entitled “All Night” and normally I would open up with the song, and have the audience repeat the chorus with me. I come out, do my spill, say who I am, where I’m from and every time I point the mic in the direction of the audience, I have them chant “All Night” which is the main phrase in the hook, so when I start performing it’s my way having the audience learn the hook, and already be engaged with the vibe of the song and my performance. SDM: Do you feel a connection, either spiritually, emotionally, and possibly physically with anyone or thing when performing, creating and ultimately releasing your music? My connection is with my truth, and life experiences. My truth would be my life experiences, because I do not
Final Score!
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fabricate so it’s appealing to the audience or my listeners, when I sing and write my music. It’s real for me and that’s my narrative in a nutshell! This is a debut album, and as of now it could be the last album, however this is definitely worth listening to because it embodies the persistent, hard work, struggle and success of an artist with a dream who has given everything to realize one of his dreams of becoming musically relevant as a music artist. Life is a game, and this is the . . . . . . . .
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It’s a Movement Not a Moment
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In the final days after the killing of George Floyd, as the world erupted with scenes of protest, anger, solidarity, and hope, a young Harlem photographer named Flo Ngala began documenting the energy in the streets of NYC. They marched for five days and nights, capturing an intense and sometimes chaotic tug-of-war over the soul of the city—and of the nation itself.
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culture
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‘Style Is Everything Westcoast Leather SAN FRANCISCO
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SETH LONDON NYC
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SETH LONDON NYC
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See Eyewear
Fashion SAN FRANCISCO
SETH M I A M IPHOTOGRAPHY N E W Y BY OR K LONDON NYC
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STYLE MATTERS
MORE THAN A MAGAZINE IT’S A LIFESTYLE
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Everything you Need to Know about the COVID-19 Vaccine edical history was made on Tuesday, as a 90-year-old U.K. woman became the first person in the country to receive the COVID19 vaccine. While this represents a major win in the world’s battle against the COVID19 pandemic, there are still plenty of lingering questions about how the vaccine works, who will receive it, and when. Here, find answers to all those queries and more. How many vaccines are there? As of now, two pharmaceutical companies— Pfizer and Moderna—have produced vaccines that have been self-reported as close to 95% effective in clinical trials. The biotech firm AstraZeneca, in partnership with Oxford University, and others are also working on vaccines and are likely to seek authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in the upcoming months. When will vaccines start being administered in the U.S.? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first supply of vaccines will become available in the U.S. before the end of 2020, with a shipment of 170,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine expected to reach New York City by December 15. Those doses will be administered to high-risk health care professionals and nursing-home residents and staff. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that vaccine shipments would be coming in weekly, with priority going to those New York neighborhoods most affected by COVID-19. If you’re curious about when you might be eligible to receive the vaccine, you can check your approximate status via a public tool recently developed by The New York Times. (For context, I—a 27-year-old Brooklyn resident who is not an essential worker and does not have any COVID-related health risks— am in line behind approximately 8.7 million other New Yorkers at higher risk than I am.)What will the process of getting the
vaccine look like? Almost all of the vaccines currently in development require two shots to be effective, meaning that a person would need to get one shot and follow it up with another one several weeks later. The specifics of the vaccine’s rollout will vary state by state, but federal health officials recently reached a deal with drugstores to distribute the vaccines once they are approved and widely available. Will the vaccine be free? Yes, vaccine doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars will be free, but according to the CDC, vaccination providers will be able to charge an administration fee for giving the shot to someone. Is the COVID-19 vaccine a one-and-done thing, or does it require yearly vaccinations, like the flu? Likely the latter, due to fast-growing mutations in the coronavirus. The coronavirus doesn’t mutate as fast as the flu does, but it’s still likely that we’ll need regular immunizations from it (although it’s too soon to be sure). What percentage of people have said they’ll get the COVID19 vaccine? According to a Pew Research Center study, 60% of people questioned in November said they would “definitely or probably” take the vaccine if it were available today, a number that rose from 51% in September (and will likely continue to rise as people across the world gain increased familiarity with the vaccine.) About how many people in the U.S. need to get the vaccine for it to provide effective immunity on a large scale? It’s still somewhat unclear, but in order for us to return to some semblance of normal life, we’ll first need to achieve what’s called herd immunity, which occurs when a critical mass of people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to dramatically curb its spread. In the U.S., between 197 million and 230 million citizens would have to be immune for that to happen.
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
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See Eyewear
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haroah Brand, creative director and runway trainer, has been actively involved in the fashion industry. Brand has experience in fashion merchandising, image consulting, and sketching creations. His experience consists of coaching models, photographing, designing, wardrobe arranging, styling and much more. His dedication to fashion has led him to foster meaningful relationships with other talented artists, with whom he has collaborated to produce high-end work. Pharoah is fully committed to making a mark in the fashion industry and officially establishing himself as a recognized, versatile
fashionista.
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See Eyewear
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FASHION CULTURE
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Our Existence LIFESTYLE
SOCIAL DISTANCE
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See Eyewear
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E XOTIC
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BY JIMMA
xotic – Is a cannabis lifestyle brand designed by Oaksterdam’s own Horticulture cultivator/instructor, Andre’ Chiles. Andre also an Oakland community influencer, sought-after-cultivator, activist, speaker and is the former host of the renowned series “Stories from the Underground”. A native of Lubbock TX, Andre’ was one of the many victims of the War on Drugswho served time on cannabis-related offenses. He migrated West to California to become a cannabis cultivator within the newly legalized cannabis marketplace. Andre’ wanted his personal style to express the dynamic energy and vibrancy of California’s cannabis industry. He just couldn’t find what he wanted so, he turned his strong sense of style and passion for design into the creation of his own line of apparel, EXOTIC JIMMA. At OU, part of the mission is to serve our community and support local businesses. Andre’ is one of our Gladiators, fighting for his rightful place in an industry he’s been a part of for so long. Andre’s custom handpressed designs are now proudly featured in the OU gift shop and in stores in SF. “Tell Yo Friends” Andre’ Chiles
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On the Cover
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ON OUR RADAR
VICTOR MADRID
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SAN
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STYLED BY PHARAOH BRAND
Featuring Malik Hardcastle
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See Eyewear
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RonLee Gemstone premium stone jewelry for men. HA N D MA D E J EW E L RY
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ON THE COVER Malik Hardcastle
How long have you been modeling? For about three years now.
What's your occupation? Videographer What inspired you to model? After being behind the camera as a videographer/photographer: I decided to try it out myself. Describe yourself in three words: Mystique, Multifaceted, Adventurous Stylist Pharoah Brand Fashion Model Malik Hardcastle Visuals SDM Magazine
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Stunning ‘Field of Flags’ Light Up in National Mall During the Biden Inauguration
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POLITICAL closed, and fences have gone up around the Capitol and White.The flag display lit up Monday night with 56 pillars of light, symbolizing every U.S. state and territory. The “America United” theme will follow the message Biden campaigned on, calling for unity amidst some of
arly 200,000 flags are on display, representing the American people unable to attend.The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, which will take place amid a devastating pandemic and war zone-like security levels, will
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look strikingly different from anything the nation has seen before. Close to 200,000 flags stand in the National Mall ahead of Wednesday’s event in Washington, D.C. The display is intended to honor the nearly 400,000 people who have died in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those unable to attend in person. Normally, hundreds of thousands of people would flock to the Capitol for Inauguration Day. The festivities will be dramatically pared back to limit the spread of the virus and following the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol by rioters seeking to overturn election results, thousands of National Guard troops guard the capital’s streets and landmarks. The National Mall is
the nation’s most divided times in modern history. rior to Inauguration Day, the president-elect will name a Presidential Inaugural Committee. This committee is the legal entity responsible for fundraising for and the planning and coordination of all official events and activities surrounding the inauguration of president and vice president (other than the ceremony), such as the balls and parade. Evolution of the Peaceful Transfer of Power Since 1801, the peaceful transfer of power has remained a hallmark of U.S. government, joining the twoparty system as key aspects of ensuring a healthy transfer of power. Three other inaugurations— Franklin D. Roosevelt 's fourth (1945), Harry S. Truman 's first (1945), and Gerald Ford 's (1974)—were held at the White House. Presidential inaugurations (not including intra-term ceremonies following the death or resignation of a president) have traditionally been outdoor public ceremonies.
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‘BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SEEKS TO BUY 200 MILLION MORE DOSES NEW SUPPLY THIS SUMMER would be enough to vaccinate most americans’
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he Biden administration said Tuesday it was on the cusp of securing an additional 200 million doses of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States.The purchases would increase available supply by 50 percent, bringing the total to 600 million doses by this summer. Because both products — one developed by Pfizer and German company BioNTech and the other by Moderna — are two-dose regimens, that would be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million people. An estimated 260 million people in the United States are currently considered eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine, though Pfizer and Moderna have initiated trials for children as young as 12, the results of which could expand the pool.The deals promised by President Biden would not immediately speed up vaccinations. But they would greatly boost his chances of returning the nation to some semblance of normalcy by late summer or the fall. The president said Monday he expects the general public to gain access to shots by the spring — as he seemed to elevate his administration’s goal from 1 million vaccinations a day to 1.5 million — though aides said that was aspirational. And Biden drew back Tuesday to his earlier ambition of administering 100 million shots in his first 100 days, insisting it would be a good start.Biden, in remarks Tuesday evening, said he expected the additional doses to be delivered through the summer.“This is an aggregate plan that doesn’t leave anything on the table or anything to chance, as we’ve seen happen in the past year,” the president said.He added, in a further effort to distinguish his approach from that of his predecessor, “This is a wartime effort."The companies were more cautious in public statements, though people knowledgeable about the negotiations said formal deals were imminent because the government was using options built into existing contracts to receive the additional doses. Those people, like several others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe in-
ternal matters.Moderna spokesman Ray Jordan declined to comment. Pfizer spokeswoman Amy Rose said the company “has engaged in regular communications with the Biden administration and we stand at the ready to start negotiations should the White House choose to execute their option for additional doses.”Each company has already agreed to deliver 200 million doses to the federal government by the end of June. Pfizer has said it can deliver 120 million of those doses by the end of March, at a price of $19.50 per dose, while Moderna has pledged 100 million by then, with each dose sold for $15. Manufacturing has steadily ramped up, in pace with those targets. As a result, federal allocations to states and other jurisdictions will increase by about 16 percent next week, easing shortages that have intensified nationwide without immediately alleviating supply problems. Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House’s coronavirus response, informed governors of the increase on a call Tuesday afternoon, according to two people who participated and spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the conversation.The weekly allocation is forecast to go from about 8.6 million doses to about 10 million. The vaccines are distributed on a population basis among 64 jurisdictions, including 50 states, eight territories and six major cities. New information is around the corner about a third vaccine, though its efficacy is not publicly known. Health officials are awaiting data from a trial by Johnson & Johnson, which will probably arrive in the next week. That data may also suggest how a vaccine performs against one of the virus variants spreading alarm globally, because some of the trial was conducted in South Africa, where a more transmissible variant has been identified. The federal government has already paid $1 billion for the first 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which, if it proves effective, would be a boon because it is a single dose. The effort to buy additional Pfizer and Moderna doses vaccines represents a shift in strategy, as the Biden administration doubles down on two highly effective products authorized by federal regulators. The Trump administration worked to spread its risks over many vaccine
candidates. Once the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines late last year showed such high efficacy — about 95 percent — some government experts argued the administration should quickly acquire as much of those vaccines as possible, even if the United States ended up with more vaccine than needed. That argument has gained currency with the Biden administration, according to people familiar with the government’s thinking, partly because of the emergence of variants that appear to be more transmissible and possibly more lethal than the original coronavirus. Early data shows that the two vaccines may be effective against the British variant of the virus that already is causing infections in the United States. And scientists believe they may possibly be effective against other variants, including ones identified in Brazil and South Africa. The South African variant has not appeared in the United States, but the Brazilian one was recently found in a case in Minnesota. In addition, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which use a platform known as mRNA to elicit a potent immune response, are the easiest type of vaccine to change to counter threatening new variants. Biden and his top aides have stressed that vaccine supply is only one aspect of the challenges involved in executing the immunization campaign. The administration is seeking additional resources for state and local health departments and has vowed greater federal coordination of the efforts, including plans to augment the public health workforce and set up mass vaccination sites. The administration has also pledged to increase transparency for state and local officials overseeing ground-level planning and for members of the public waiting to be vaccinated. Biden administration officials are also seeking to have more data related to vaccination efforts posted on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a federal health official. Ideally, that would include data about manufacturing, supply and allocation to the states. Information about production and supply is not currently publicly available. The vaccine rollout has been marked by a lack of transparency about stockpiles, short-term rollout schedules and contradictory statements from government officials. Companies producing vaccines have issued broad statements about vaccine goals, based on quarterly projections. In Pfizer’s case, production estimates were recently accelerated by the Food and Drug Administration’s recognition of a sixth dose in each vial, which previously had been considered to be “over fill’’ beyond the initial fivedose capacity. The change resulted in an instant 20 percent increase in Pfizer’s quota. The companies said they have been giving more detailed information about vaccine availability to the government, which then relays the information about weekly shipment expectations to state officials. But the lack of accurate and consistent information has been a major complaint at the state level, as the initial shipments of vaccine have not matched the volume of vaccines local systems are
demanding. The Biden administration appeared to put pressure over the weekend on Pfizer and Moderna to improve the flow of information about vaccine manufacturing and supply. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,’’ Biden’s director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, said, “I can’t tell you how much vaccine we have, and if I can’t tell it to you then I can’t tell it to the governors and I can’t tell it to the state health officials.’’ Asked to respond to Walensky’s concerns this week, Moderna and Pfizer said they have been reporting on a daily and weekly basis the amount of vaccine that will be ready. “We have and are continuing to work closely with the U.S. government on our production, release and shipping schedules — to ensure Americans receive their first and second doses of the vaccine on time,’’ Pfizer said in a statement this week. “We have provided them with a specific schedule, and we foresee no issues in delivering on the commitments we have made.” Jordan, Moderna’s spokesman, said the U.S. government is in charge of relaying fine-grained information to states. “The U.S. Government is our customer, and they are free to communicate as they wish,” he said. A former Trump administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address sensitive matters, said Moderna has been more forthcoming about its vaccine production than Pfizer. “With Moderna, we always had a pretty clear sense of what was further ahead, and any potential issues, a better ability to accurately predict what was coming,” the official said. “With Pfizer, we didn’t have as much insight. It was a byproduct of their unwillingness to work as collaboratively with Warp Speed as other companies.” Pfizer did not respond to a request to address the criticism. Along with other vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer last summer signed an advanced purchase contract with the Trump administration. But the company did not accept research and development money or backing for clinical trials from the government. Pfizer also opted to distribute its vaccine to states on its own, rather than permit its vaccine to be shipped by national wholesaler McKesson, the government’s designated distributor for vaccine and supplies. Its shipments are nonetheless following the federal government’s allocation guidance. Much of Pfizer’s supply is obligated to other countries. But the pharmaceutical giant has recently delayed or reduced shipments to Canada and Europe as it retools a factory in Belgium, frustrating foreign governments.
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CORONAVIRUS
A VIRAL VIDEO FORCED A WEALTHY TEXAS SUBURB TO CONFRONT RACISM. A 'SILENT MAJORITY ' FOUGHT BACK . SOUTHLAKE IS KNOWN FOR ITS TOP-RANKED PUBLIC SCHOOLS. BUT A HEATED FIGHT OVER A DIVERSITY PLAN HAS SOME PARENTS QUESTIONING THEIR FUTURE IN THE CITY.
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obin Cornish was at work in the fall of 2018 when she got a text message from another parent. It was a link to a video showing several white high school students laughing as they filmed themselves shouting the N-word at a party. One of the students in the video had shared it on Snapchat, and now it was going viral. Cornish, a 51-year-old Black mother of five, recognized the girl leading the chant as the younger sibling of one of her son’s former friends. Cornish was upset as she watched the 8second clip, she said, but she wasn’t surprised.This was Southlake, Texas, after all.The elite, mostly white suburb 30 miles northwest of Dallas has a reputation as one of the best places in the country to raise a family, thanks in large part to its highly ranked public school system: The Carroll Independent School District, home of the Dragons, where the median home costs $650,000 and average SAT scores are good enough to get students into top-tier universities. But the video of Carroll high schoolers shouting the N-word was about to expose another side of the fast-growing and quickly diversifying community, one that Cornish and other Black parents quietly referred to as Southlake’s “dirty secret.”This was the city where, on the day after Rosa Parks died in 2005, elementary school children told Cornish’s four oldest kids “now you have to sit in the back of the bus,” she said. It’s where a sixth grade boy once joked with her son: “How do you get a Black out of a tree? You cut the rope.” It’s where, weeks after her husband died suddenly in 2008, a white boy on the football team told her son, “Your mom is only voting for Obama because your dad is dead and she's going to need
welfare.” Ever since Cornish moved to Southlake more than two decades earlier, these were the types of stories that were discussed among a small group of Black parents and otherwise swept under the rug. But the 2018 video couldn’t be ignored. Within days, it attracted millions of views on social media and seemed to trigger genuine soul-searching by school leaders.The district hosted listening sessions with parents and students, gathering numerous accounts of racist, xenophobic and anti-gay comments like those described by Cornish’s children. Afterward, the school board created a diversity council of more than 60 parents, teachers and students to come up with a plan to make Carroll more welcoming and inclusive.“I was hopeful,” Cornish said. “It felt like there was a real dialogue in the community.” Then came the backlash. In hindsight, Cornish said, she should have seen it coming.This past summer — nearly two years after the viral video — the school board unveiled a plan that would require diversity and inclusion training for all students as part of the K-12 curriculum, while amending the student code of conduct to specifically prohibit acts of discrimination, referred to in the document as “microaggressions.”Within days, outraged parents — most of them white — formed a political action committee and began packing school board meetings to voice their strong opposition. Some denounced the diversity plan as “Marxist” and “leftist indoctrination” designed to “fix a problem that doesn’t exist.” The opponents said they, too, wanted all students to feel safe at Carroll, but they argued that the district's plan would instead create “diversity police” and amounted to “reverse racism” against white children. The dispute grew so heated that parents on both sides pulled children out of the school system, while others
raise their children.“Everybody used to always think of him as the unofficial mayor of Southlake,” Robin Cornish said. “He knew everybody, and everybody loved him. He eventually wanted to run for mayor.” But when Frank died of a heart attack in 2008 at the age of 40, Robin Cornish faced a difficult decision. She thought seriously about moving her five children to Chicago, where she'd grown up. Despite Southlake’s many accolades, she’d grown troubled by the steady drumbeat of racially insensitive remarks — some subtle, some overt — that Black people often endure in affluent communities where the vast majority of residents don’t look like them. One example: Every year when Cornish’s children were small, Carroll fifth graders were required to participate in Colonial Day, an educational celebration in which students dress up like characters from the 1600s. But little thought seemed to go into what that meant for Black children, Cornish said, an oversight that became all too clear when a classmate told one of her daughters that she couldn’t dress up like a nurse; she would have been a slave. But after her husband’s funeral, Cornish decided to stick it out. Although it would be a struggle to cover the high cost of living on a nurse's salary,
she had a support system in Southlake, and Cornish didn’t want to add to her children’s trauma by taking them from their friends. Custom Made Gemstone Bracelets Now on Etsy Ron Lee Creations
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made plans to move out of town. One mother sued the district, successfully putting the diversity plan on hold. As the fight intensified, Cornish, whose youngest child graduated in 2018, began to think differently about Carroll’s official motto, stamped on T-shirts and yard signs across Southlake.“Protect the Tradition.”‘She started to wonder: What was the tradition her neighbors were fighting to protect?Everyone smiles in Southlake’ Robin and Frank Cornish moved to Southlake in 1993, shortly after Frank was signed as an offensive lineman by the Dallas Cowboys. Back then, the city was more rural than suburban — little more “than a two-lane dirt road,” Robin liked to joke. There weren’t many other Black folks when the Cornishes arrived, but Frank fell in love with the wide open space. And with their first son soon on the way, Robin Cornish liked the prospect of sending their children to top-notch public schools. Like many small towns in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in the early 1990s, Southlake was on the cusp of explosive population growth. In the nearly three decades since the Cornishes arrived, Southlake’s population has tripled to more than 31,000 residents, driven in part by a surge of immigrants from South Asia. Hundreds more Black people also moved in, though they still make up less than 2 percent of the population in a city where 74 percent of residents are white. With its proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and the headquarters of several Fortune 500 companies, the city became a magnet for wealthy professionals, with the median household income now topping $230,000.As it grew, Southlake gained a reputation in the Dallas area as a sort of suburban utopia, with master-planned neighborhoods and dominant high school sports programs. A 2007 D Magazine article about the Carroll football team’s run of state championships described the city’s “otherworldly” charm.“They’re good at everything in Southlake,” the magazine said. “If you’ve never been, there’s something a little Pleasantville about it. The streets are cleaner than your streets, the downtown more vibrant, the students more courteous, their parents more prosperous. Everyone is beautiful in Southlake. Everyone smiles in Southlake.”After retiring from the NFL, Frank Cornish immersed himself in the place. He began volunteering as a coach for youth football teams and later served as chairman of the city’s parks and recreation board. He even convinced a couple of ex-Cowboys teammates to move to the city to
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Why everyone should understand 'racial trauma' right now
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acial trauma is what happens when a Black man like Jacob Blake is shot seven times in the back by a police officer. It's how a Black person's heart and mind may seize upon seeing the video of the recent attack in Kenosha, Wisconsin, or reading about it in the news. They may feel increasingly jittery, exhausted, or numb, fearful they or a loved one will meet the same fate. These psychological wounds are both direct and vicarious: Someone who experiences racism or racially-motivated violence suffers, as do those who bear witness to such harm.
Who wants to live in a society where so many people routinely experience racial trauma?" The concept of racial trauma, or race-based stress, is decades old but has emerged as a mainstream idea in the months since George Floyd's death. It affects people of color and Indigenous people, sometimes dramatically altering the path of their life. Some may be resilient, seek healing, recover, and even experience post-traumatic growth. Others will continue to struggle. Regardless of those individual outcomes, the pervasiveness of racial trauma means that it also shapes our relationships, culture, and politics, even if some haven't known what to call it. Like with any other mental health issue, naming racial trauma helps lessen its stigma for people who might otherwise feel weak or paranoid. Similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, race-based stress produces hyper-vigilance and a familiar set of symptoms, including increased heart rate, higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, disrupted sleep, and irritable bowel syndrome. An extreme incident, like being shot by a police officer, can create racial trauma.
But so can a daily onslaught of microaggressions, like being tailed by a store employee while shopping, being mistaken for cleaning staff when you're a senior partner, and being told you're articulate. These range of experiences can set off the body's fight-or-flight system to varying degrees. Yet unlike in many cases of PTSD, which stem from an isolated event, the stressor that triggers racial trauma may be ever-present. There's no escaping it. Another difference is how America collectively responds to racial trauma. When the government sent services members to war in Iraq and Afghanistan and some returned home only to experience emotional and psychological crises, the public acknowledged their sacrifice with sympathy and the government spent billions on researching PTSD and providing them with mental health treatment. There is an argument for responding to racial trauma as if it's also America's responsibility to heal it through investment in research and treatment. People of color, particularly Indigenous and Black people, have fought for their lives and livelihood on their own soil for generations. They, too, have been sent into battle, just not in a war against a foreign adversary. Instead, their government permitted systemic racism to thrive in every aspect of American life. Liberation from oppressive systems, and the mental health anguish they inflict, will look different for everyone. While racial trauma is not a defense or justification for destructive protesting tactics seen in Kenosha and elsewhere, it does provides context for such anger. In general, social justice work can create opportunities for healing from racial trauma, says Lillian Comas-Diaz, a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Comas-Diaz co-edited a special issue of American Psychologist on the subject of racial trauma and healing last year. The question before America today, she says, is: "Who wants to live in a society where so many people routinely experience racial trauma?" The answers to that question are becoming clearer. Black people in Kenosha march in the streets because they refuse to accept the persistent threat of discrimination or violence in their lives.
Yet there are those who deny or downplay racial trauma, even as one video after the next offers a chilling depiction of why Black people might live with enduring fear. Some are even willing to use force and violence to thwart protests under the guise of protecting law and order.
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Allies who march with them see the injustice and put their bodies on the line in their defense. People who support the cause from afar understand that racial trauma is unfair and untenable.
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