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“Books Build Bridges: Stop Banning Books”

Join us this Saturday, May 13th at 5:30pm at Allendale United Methodist Church for a screening of Ruby Bridges, including a panel discussion on St. Pete’s own Black history and the hurdles Pinellas educators, students, and families now face in teaching and learning full and accurate history. From challenging biographies on Black, Latinx, Native, AAPI, and LGBTQ+ heroes, to stripping library shelves of books addressing today’s toughest social issues, to the recent local incident banning (and, after broad public outcry, ‘unbanning’) Ruby Bridges—the madness of book banning must stop!

Dinner and childcare will be provided, and children will be provided copies of “Ruby Bridges: She Persisted” and “This is Your Time,” so please bring your family for a night of entertainment, education, and empowerment!

When: Saturday, May 13th, 5:30pm

Where: Allendale United Methodist Church (3803 Haines Rd N, St. Petersburg)

Facebook event:  https://fb.me/e/1g9CIUYcH

Register here:  https://forms.gle/aWiGQazHUbz3zfHM7

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Storytelling & Narrative as Advocacy Tools

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Storytelling & Narrative as Advocacy Tools

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Storytelling &  Narrative as advocacy Tools 2022

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Join the Florida Council of Churches, USFSP,BHEA and The Connection Partners for A Neighborhood Conversation

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Join the Florida Council of Churches, USFSP,BHEA and The Connection Partners for A Neighborhood Conversation

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To Register - go to EVENTBRITE

Besides our jobs, our neighborhoods are where we have the most invested.  Our homes are there.  Our families.  Our sense of peace, belonging, identity and even pride. Yet, so many of us have lost our connection with where we choose to sink our roots, spend our time, and call home.

Wouldn’t it be great to re-activate our neighborhoods?  Know who lives next door? Look out for each other? Work together to address common challenges or realize mutual desires and goals?

To jumpstart that possibility, a group of citizens of St. Pete, trained in hosting World Café Conversations, are helping launch a series of conversations in historic neighborhoods.

Our goal:  to deepen relationships across our community. To build vibrancy, connection, and trust.

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Join the Florida Department of Health, Pinellas and their Celebration of Health 2022...

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Join the Florida Department of Health, Pinellas and their Celebration of Health 2022...

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April 23, 2022 from 10am-2pm at the James B. Sanderlin Center, 2335 22nd Avenue South, St. Petersburg.

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The latest update from the CDC on high risk individuals...

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The latest update from the CDC on high risk individuals...

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If you test positive for COVID-19 and have one or more health conditions that increase your risk of becoming very sick, treatment may be available. Contact a health professional right away after a positive test to determine if you may be eligible, even if your symptoms are mild right now. Don’t delay: Treatment must be started within the first few days to be effective.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Medical Conditions

Cancer

Having cancercan make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. Treatments for many types of cancer can weaken your body's ability to fight off disease. At this time, based on available studies, having a history of cancer may increase your risk.

Get more information:

Chronic kidney disease

Having chronic kidney disease of any stage can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Chronic liver disease

Having chronic liver disease can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. Chronic liver disease can include alcohol-related liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, and cirrhosis (or scarring of the liver).

Get more information:

Chronic lung diseases

Having a chronic lung disease can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. Chronic lung diseases can include:

Asthma, if it's moderate to severe

Bronchiectasis (thickening of the lungs' airways)

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (chronic lung disease affecting newborns)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis

Having damaged or scarred lung tissue known as interstitial lung disease (including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis)

Pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs)

Pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs)

Get more information:

Cystic Fibrosis

Having cystic fibrosis, with or without lung or other solid organ transplant (like kidney, liver, intestines, heart, and pancreas) can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Dementia or other neurological conditions

Having neurological conditions, such as dementia, can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Diabetes (type 1 or type 2)

Having either type 1 or type 2 diabetes can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Disabilities

People with some types of disabilities may be more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 because of underlying medical conditions, living in congregate settings, or systemic health and social inequities, including:

Get more information:

Heart conditions

Having heart conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, and possibly high blood pressure (hypertension) can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

HIV infection

Having HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system)

Some people are immunocompromised or have a weakened immune system. For example, people on chemotherapy or who have had a solid organ transplant, like a kidney transplant or heart transplant. Being immunocompromised can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. Many conditions and treatments can cause a person to be immunocompromised or have a weakened immune system. For example, some people inherit problems with their immune system. One example is called Primary immunodeficiency. Other people have to use certain types of medicines for a long time, like corticosteroids, that weaken their immune system. Such long-term uses can lead to secondary or acquired immunodeficiency.

People who are immunocompromised or are taking medicines that weaken their immune system may not be protected even if they are up to date on their vaccines. They should continue to take all precautions recommended for people who are not vaccinated people, including wearing a well-fitting mask, until advised otherwise by their healthcare professionals.

Get more information:

Mental health conditions

Having mood disorders, including depression, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Overweight and obesity

Overweight (defined as a body mass index (BMI) is 25 kg/m ² or higher, but under 30 kg/m ²), obesity (BMI is 30 kg/m ² or higher, but under 40 kg/m ²), or severe obesity (BMI is 40 kg/m ² or higher), can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. The risk of severe COVID-19 illness increases sharply with higher BMI.

Get more information:

Physical inactivity

People who do little or no physical activity, or exercise, are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 than those who are physically active. Being physically active (or exercising regularly) is important to being healthy. Get more information on physical activity and health, physical activity recommendations, how to become more active, and how to create activity-friendly communities:

Pregnancy

Pregnant and recently pregnant people (for at least 42 days following end of pregnancy) are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant people.

Get more information:

Sickle cell disease or thalassemia

Having hemoglobin blood disorders like sickle cell disease (SCD) or thalassemia can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Smoking, current or former

Being a current or former cigarette smoker can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. If you currently smoke, quit. If you used to smoke, don't start again. If you've never smoked, don't start.

Get more information:

Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant

Having had a solid organ or blood stem cell transplant, which includes bone marrow transplants, can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Stroke or cerebrovascular disease, which affects blood flow to the brain

Having cerebrovascular disease, such as having a stroke, can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Substance use disorders

Having a substance use disorder (such as alcohol, opioid, or cocaine use disorder) can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

Tuberculosis

Having tuberculosis can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Get more information:

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If you have any of the following medica conditions on this list, you can be more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. It is especially important for people at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and those who live with them, to protect themselves from getting COVID-19.

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The BHEA Celebrates Board Member, Dr. Brittany Peters' father, Dr. Learotha Williams...

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The BHEA Celebrates Board Member, Dr. Brittany Peters' father, Dr. Learotha Williams...

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Tennessee State University history professor, Dr. Learotha Williams has been working closely with Apple to create a new app that highlights the Civil Rights history of North Nashville and the role that Tennessee State University played in it.

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Tennessee State University Professor Partners with Apple for new Civil Rights History Centered App - American Urban Radio Networks

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Tennessee State University history professor, Dr. Learotha Williams has been working closely with Apple to create a new app that highlights the Civil Rights history of North Nashville and the role that Tennessee State University played in it. The app somewhat functions as an extension of previous pr…

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A Discussion of Structural Racism in St. Petersburg. Wednesday, February 16th at 6:30pm. 

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Community Conversations w/ Tombolo Books & the African American Heritage Association of St. Petersburg, FL, Inc.  

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Community Conversations w/ Tombolo Books & the African American Heritage Association of St. Petersburg, FL, Inc.  

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In honor of Black Historv Month, Februarv's Community Conversation will focus on
structural racism in St. Petersburg. This conversation will highlight findings made
through the USF Institute on Black Life's Study of Structural Racism in St. Petersburg
commissioned by the city.
The stud's aim is to "examine both the historical and modern-dav impact that
structural racism has had on the lives of Black people in the City of St. Petersburg
Florida.as they relate to education, the criminal-legal system, and economic
development" Click here to learn more about the studv from USF's website.

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2022 All4HealthFL Community Health SurveyImproving Health Outcomes for Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk Counties

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2022 All4HealthFL Community Health SurveyImproving Health Outcomes for Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk Counties

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This community health survey is supported by the All4HealthFL Collaborative comprised of local not-for-profit hospitals and the departments of health in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties. Our goal is to understand the health needs of the community members we serve. Your feedback is important for us to implement programs that will benefit everyone in the community.

We encourage you to take 15 minutes to fill out the survey below.

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This community health survey is supported by the All4HealthFL Collaborative comprised of local not-for-profit hospitals and the departments of health in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties. Our goal is to understand the health needs of the community members we serve. Your feedback is important for us to implement programs that will benefit everyone in the community.

We encourage you to take 15 minutes to fill out the survey below. Survey results will be available and shared broadly in the community within the next year. The responses that you provide will remain anonymous and not be attributed to you personally in any way. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary and greatly appreciated.

This survey is offered in English, Spanish, and Creole. You may select your language preference at the top of this survey before you begin.

Thank you for your time and feedback. Together we can improve health outcomes for all.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this survey, please contact Corinna Kelley by email at corinna.kelley@conduent.com.

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All4HealthFL Community Health Survey 2022

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This community health survey is supported by the All4HealthFL Collaborative comprised of local not-for-profit hospitals and the departments of health in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties. Our goal is to understand the health needs of the community members we serve. Your feedback is important for us to implement programs that will benefit everyone in the community.

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Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Seeks Input From Local Residents

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Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Seeks Input From Local Residents

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The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council is looking for input from local residents. You are invited to take their Resilient Communities and Homes Survey, and share your experiences with flooding, storms and heat.

The group is seeking feedback from people who live in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties, and their goal is to define priorities to help the region become more resilient to natural disasters.

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Regional Resiliency Action Plan Survey Home > Resiliency >

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Need help finding a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S.? Call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489)

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Find COVID‑19 vaccine locations near you

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Vaccines.gov helps you find clinics, pharmacies, and other locations that offer COVID‑19 vaccines in the United States.

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Every home in the U.S. can soon order 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests will be completely free—there are no shipping costs and you don’t need to enter a credit card number.

Ordering begins January 19.

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COVIDtests.gov - Free at-home COVID-19 tests

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Every home in the U.S. can soon order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests will be completely free-there are no shipping costs and you don't need to enter a credit card number.

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White scholars can complicate research into health disparities : Short Wave Podcast

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White scholars can complicate research into health disparities

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White scholars can complicate research into health disparities

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The COVID-19 has exposed longstanding and massive health disparities in the U.S., resulting in people of color dying at disproportionately higher rates than other races in this country. Today on the show, guest host Maria Godoy talks with Usha Lee McFarling about her reporting — how new funding and interest has led to increased attention to the topic of disparities in health care and health outcomes, but also left out or pushed aside some researchers in the field — many of them researchers of color.

You can follow Maria on Twitter @MGodoyH. Email ShortWave@NPR.org.

This episode was produced by Thomas Lu, edited by Gisele Grayson, and fact-checked by Rasha Aridi and Margaret Cirino.

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subscribe to Short Wave podcast

subscribe to Short Wave podcast

The COVID-19 has exposed longstanding and massive health disparities in the U.S., resulting in people of color dying at disproportionately higher rates than other races in this country. Today on the show, guest host Maria Godoy talks with Usha Lee McFarling about her reporting - how new funding and interest has led to increased attention to the topic of disparities in health care and health outcomes, but also left out or pushed aside some researchers in the field - many of them researchers of color.

You can follow Maria on Twitter @MGodoyH. Email ShortWave@NPR.org.
This episode was produced by Thomas Lu, edited by Gisele Grayson, and fact-checked by Rasha Aridi and Margaret Cirino.

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White scholars can complicate research into health disparities : Short Wave

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The COVID-19 has exposed longstanding and massive health disparities in the U.S., resulting in people of color dying at disproportionately higher rates than other races in this country.

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BHEA October Monthly Meeting, A Conversation with PCSB Member, Mrs. Caprice Edmond

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BHEA October Monthly Meeting, A Conversation with PCSB Member, Mrs. Caprice Edmond

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Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83723603644?pwd=TFZvOG9va0xOd3JhV3NLYitGUjNDQT09

Meeting ID: 837 2360 3644
Passcode: 895940

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Community Conversation to Build Bridges and Support Racial Equity. 

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Community Conversation to Build Bridges and Support Racial Equity. 

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The City of St. Petersburg commissioned a study to examine the historical and modern-day impact of structural racism on the lives of Black people in the city. The study team held a virtual community conversation to engage residents of St. Petersburg on their thoughts regarding the research and recommendations.

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Community Conversation - Supporting Racial Equity in St  Petersburg Florida

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Register for this important conversation on Racial Equity in St. Petersburg, coming up Thursday, October 14th at 6:00 p.m. 

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Community Conversation to Build Bridges and Support Racial Equity

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Community Conversation to Build Bridges and Support Racial Equity

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To learn more and register, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-conversation-to-build-bridges-and-support-racial-equity-tickets-187706865287?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

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Empowering Communities, COVID-19: Myths & Facts 

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Empowering Communities, COVID-19: Myths & Facts 

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Health care for U.S. mothers shows little improvement, new report says

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Health care for U.S. mothers shows little improvement, new report says

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The racial gaps in maternal health outcomes have grown over the past few decades and Black women face higher likelihood of mortality compared to other groups.

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Maternal mortality rates have fallen across the globe over the past two decades, but not in the U.S. Those rates have shown little improvement, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Today, an American woman is 50 percent more likely to die during childbirth than her mother, the report says. And the racial gaps in maternal health outcomes have grown over the past 30 years in the U.S. Since the 1990s, rates of maternal mortality for Black moms have increased.

Black women in the U.S. are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, the report says, making the risk for Black moms so high it's comparable to developing countries.

Native American women are more than twice as likely than white moms to experience pregnancy-related death.

The report, which looks at the federal government's role in addressing these disparities, used Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey as case studies.

In 2018, more than 650 women died of maternal causes across the country. One year later, that increased to more than 750, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

In Florida, the number of deaths followed a similarly stark trend, increasing from 40 in 2018 to more than 60 fatalities the following year, state Department of Health data shows. A disproportionate number of the women who died in 2018 were Black.

Studies show wealth and education levels don't reduce the risk for Black mothers. Differences in the quality of care women receive explain part of disparity, the report says. Other factors including social determinants of health - such as access to healthy foods, employment opportunities and mental health services - and structural racism and bias within the health care system have a profound impact on the health of moms and babies.

The majority of maternal deaths are preventable, the report says, and the consequences can ripple across families for generations.

Florida's move to extend Medicaid from 60 days postpartum to 12 months in June marked a significant step forward in addressing the disparities, experts say. The new law is a $240 million endeavor that garnered bipartisan support in the Legislature. The state will fund $92 million of that.

Some of the report's recommendations align with the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021, a series of 12 bills aimed at saving mothers' lives and reducing the racial gaps in maternal health outcomes. U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist and Val Demings have urged Congress to pass the legislation.

On the federal level, efforts should be made to ensure hospital quality, commission chair Norma Cantú wrote in the report.

"One recommendation for improving safety in maternal healthcare is to implement standardized care practices across hospitals and health systems and to standardize data collection systems."
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg provides partial funding for Times stories on equity. It does not select story topics and is not involved in the reporting or editing.

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Health care for U.S. mothers shows little improvement, new report says

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Maternal mortality rates have fallen across the globe over the past two decades, but not in the U.S. Those rates have shown little improvement, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Today, an American woman is 50 percent more likely to die during childbirth than her mother, the report says.

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What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?

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What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?

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Rebecca Onie asks audacious questions: What if waiting rooms were a place to improve daily health care? What if doctors could prescribe food, housing and heat in the winter? At TEDMED she describes Health Leads, an organization that does just that -- and does it by building a volunteer base as elite and dedicated as a college sports team.

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Rebecca Onie: What if our healthcare system kept us healthy?

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AET/BHEA Sociological Initiatives Foundation Grant Concept Proposal: Creating a Trusted Index for Identifying and Reversing Structural Inequities in Communities of Color

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AET/BHEA Sociological Initiatives Foundation Grant Concept Proposal: Creating a Trusted Index for Identifying and Reversing Structural Inequities in Communities of Color

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The AET/BHEA concept proposal, Creating a Trusted Index for Identifying and Reversing Structural Inequities in Communities of

Color. Submitted/received by the Sociological Initiatives Foundation on 8/16/2021.

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We carry history within us: Anti-Black racism and the legacy of lynchings on life expectancy in the U.S. South.

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We carry history within us: Anti-Black racism and the legacy of lynchings on life expectancy in the U.S. South.

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A B S T R A C T The United States lags in life expectancy compared to most of the world’s similarly wealthy nations, driven by pronounced regional disparities particularly between the South and the rest of the country. The U.S. South has a violent history of lynchings of Black Americans by White mobs after the ending of slavery and up to the Civil Rights Era. Building on critical race scholarship, the objective of this study was to determine whether there exists an association between historical lynchings and overall life expectancies in the U.S. South....

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Health and Place 2021 Kihlstrom and Kirby We Carry Our Past Within Us

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Race and the Patient-Physician Relationship in 2021 by David Satcher, MD, PhD; Daniel E. Dawes, JD

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Race and the Patient-Physician Relationship in 2021 by David Satcher, MD, PhD; Daniel E. Dawes, JD

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"Although nearly 50 years have passed since the article entitled “Does Race Interfere With the Doctor-Patient Relationship?” was published in JAMA in 1973, the question is as relevant today as it was then. In some ways, many aspects of health care and society have changed, yet in other important ways they have not."

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Sharing the message "Enough is Enough". Building relationships and encouraging others to end the violence. 

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The Sons of Allen, Board of Christian Education, and Mt. Zion A.M.E. Youth Ministry invite you to their “Not My Son” initiative. A Community intersection rally TONIGHT, Friday, August 6, 2021 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM. 

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The Sons of Allen, Board of Christian Education, and Mt. Zion A.M.E. Youth Ministry invite you to their “Not My Son” initiative. A Community intersection rally TONIGHT, Friday, August 6, 2021 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM. 

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The Sons of Allen, Board of Christian Education, and our Youth Ministry would like for you to join them for their “Not My Son” initiative. It is a Community intersection rally TONIGHT,Friday, August 6, 2021 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM. They will share the message "Enough is Enough". Building relationships and encouraging others to end the violence.

Listed below are things that will also be happening:

·        Heavy's Food Truck will be providing 50 free meals (FOR INDIVIDUALS TAKING THE SHOT)

·        TASCO will bring the Music

·        Free COVID-19 vaccines will be provided by Florida Department of Health Pinellas to all Community members

12 years and up with no appointment needed

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8/14/21 Back to School Immunizations/Physicals Event w/ The Department of Health, The Society for Diversity in Medicine & the Black Health Equity Alliance @ Friendship Baptist Church.

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8/14/21 Back to School Immunizations/Physicals Event w/ The Department of Health, The Society for Diversity in Medicine & the Black Health Equity Alliance @ Friendship Baptist Church.

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School immunizations for 7th grade, High School & All college students, including COVID 19 vaccines. Physicals, school supplies and more! Saturday, August 14th from 9:30am-3pm.

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Florida leads the nation in COVID infections, hospitalizations…

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Florida leads the nation in COVID infections, hospitalizations…

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July 30, 2021

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Florida leads the nation in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations as the Sunshine State becomes the epicenter of the delta-driven fourth pandemic wave.

The state saw 110,477 new coronavirus infections over the most recent seven day period from July 23 through Thursday, according to the weekly COVID-19 report released Friday. Florida averaged more than 15,780 infections a day during that period.

It's the first time since early January that the state surpassed 100,000 infections in a single week.

Florida accounts for nearly one out of every four new infections and hospitalizations in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State hospitals saw 8,855 COVID-19 related admissions over that seven-day period, the CDC says. It's the largest spike in hospital admissions since the beginning of the pandemic and a nearly 60 percent jump in admissions from the previous seven-day reporting period.

But this is no longer a pandemic affecting mostly Florida seniors or those with pre-existing conditions. Now it is younger, healthier, unvaccinated adults who are falling ill.

New Florida infections and hospitalizations are being driven by adults in their 20s to 40s, who now account for 53 percent of infections and about 34 percent of hospitalizations, according to federal data.

Florida led the country with 22 percent of the nearly 470,000 new COVID-19 infections detected last week, the CDC says. That's the same number of cases as the next three highest states combined. It's also double the number of infections in Texas, the state with the second-highest caseload.

Adjusted for population, Florida is only behind Louisiana with 481 cases per 100,000 residents.

Those infections are sending Florida residents to the hospital at the highest rate in the country. Nearly one out of every four new COVID patients in the U.S. was admitted to a Florida hospital.

The fast-moving delta variant spurred Florida's biggest corporations to take action Friday. Disney gave all its U.S. employees 60 days to get vaccinated. Publix ordered its supermarket employees to wear masks again starting Monday. And Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, will require all corporate staff to get vaccinated and all frontline store workers to wear masks.

Hillsborough County says that starting Monday it will require everyone using county facilities to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

In Pinellas and Pasco County court facilities, everyone will be required to wear masks starting Monday, according to an order from Chief Judge Anthony Rondolino.
Times staff writer CT Bowen contributed to this report.
* * *

VACCINES Q&A: Have coronavirus vaccine questions? We have answers, Florida.

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A TRIBUTE TO FLORIDIANS TAKEN BY THE CORONAVIRUS: They were parents and retirees, police officer and doctors, imperfect but loved deeply. We're working hard to bring you the latest news on the coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven't already subscribed, please consider buying a print or digital subscription.
HAVE A TIP?: Send us confidential news tips

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Florida leads the nation in COVID infections, hospitalizations

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Florida leads the nation in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations as the Sunshine State becomes the epicenter of the delta-driven fourth pandemic wave. The state saw 110,477 new coronavirus infections over the most recent seven day period from July 23 through Thursday, according to the weekly COVID-19 report released Friday.

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Delta variant substantially more contagious than other variants, CDC presentation warns...

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Delta variant substantially more contagious than other variants, CDC presentation warns...

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Evidence is mounting about the dangers of the delta variant and how mask-wearing is essential to bring it under control, according to a government slideshow dated Thursday.

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Evidence is mounting about the dangers of the delta variant and how mask-wearing is essential to bring it under control, according to a government slideshow dated Thursday.

The presentation, compiled by a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lays out what is known about the delta variant, which now accounts for the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Earlier this week, the CDC recommended that people in COVID-19 hotspots resume mask-wearing in indoor public spaces.

The agency had been criticized for making the recommendation without adequately supporting its reasons for the policy shift. But the presentation, first made public by The Washington Post, appears to do just that.

CDC declined to comment late Thursday on the slideshow or its contents.

The presentation shows that those who are vaccinated are three times less likely to catch COVID-19 and 10-times less likely to die from it than those who are unvaccinated.

Once infected, though, vaccinated people are just as contagious as those without that protection - meaning they need to wear a mask and keep their distance to avoid passing on the virus.

"The data makes a pretty compelling justification for why we need to go back to mask wearing and other public health measures," said Dr. Charles Chiu, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. "I do think it's because of the delta variant."
'I thought I did everything right':The fully vaccinated are frustrated by CDC's changing mask advice
Mapping CDC's new guidelines: High transmission areas where you need to wear a mask indoors The vaccines still work extremely well and are an essential part of eventually winning the battle against COVID-19, Chiu and other experts emphasized.

If more people had been vaccinated earlier this year, cases would not be rising now and a return to masking wouldn't be necessary, said Dr. Eric Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California.

"We wouldn't be in this pickle if we'd had 70% of the population vaccinated," he said. "When you have more than half your population not (fully) vaccinated, you're vulnerable."

People who are vaccinated should wear a mask and socially distance, he and others said, largely to protect those who haven't been vaccinated or who have a weakened immune system and so can't get full protection from the vaccine.

Vaccines remain effective and preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19, though they worked better against the original strain and the alpha variant than they do against delta, data finds.
CDC mask recommendations have changed: What's required in your state?
In one Israeli study, vaccinated people over 60 were shown to be 97% protected against the alpha variant, but only 85% protected against delta. "Ninety-seven percent is phenomenal, but 81%?" Topol said. "We've got a bigger challenge than ever before."

The delta variant is known to be substantially more contagious than other variants - as contagious though deadlier than chicken pox, according to the CDC presentation. Among common infectious diseases, only measles is more contagious.

People may also be infectious for longer with the delta variant, 18 days instead of 13, the presentation says. This suggests official guidance on quarantining when sick may need to be changed, too, said Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

"None of it is good news," he said by email. "Clearly (we) need more vaccinations, resumption of non-pharmacologic interventions ASAP even for vaccinated people, and probably boosters."

The federal government has said there is not yet enough data to support booster shots, even for the elderly and immunocompromised, though Israel is now recommending them for those groups.

In a study posted online this week by Pfizer and its collaborator BioNTech, but not yet peer-reviewed, the companies found their vaccine to be effective for at least six months. Effectiveness topped 90% for that period, according to the study, which was largely conducted before the delta variant became widespread.

Data beyond six months isn't yet available because the shots are so new.

Several researchers questioned why the information in the CDC's presentation was not released two days earlier, when the agencymade its new mask recommendations.

In a Tuesday briefing, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky downplayed the possibility that a vaccinated person could pass on the virus, without giving the details about the viral load contained in the slideshow.
Related: The CDC is reconsidering a mask mandate: Here's how it could affect you
Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and former Baltimore health commissioner, said the slideshow suggests CDC is worried about the risks of delta to the vaccinated, but that's not what Walensky focused on during her Tuesday briefing, Wen said.

"I don't know what to make of it, honestly," she said after seeing the slideshow. "Why wasn't this level of data revealed to the American public two days ago?"

And, she wondered aloud, why countries like the United Kingdom and Israel are still generating so much more COVID-19 data than the U.S.

It would be simple, for instance, to ask people as they're tested for COVID-19 whether they'd had their shots, she said - but the CDC doesn't collect the data, so it's not clear what percentage of transmissions are from the vaccinated.
Contact Karen Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com. Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.
Dr. Paul Offit, who directs the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said he's very concerned about the current state of America's pandemic.

Last summer, before there was a vaccine, there were about 80,000 new COVID-19 cases reported every day and nearly 500 deaths - almost exactly the same count as today although half the population is vaccinated and many other have immunity because they've already been infected.

Why haven't things gotten better, Offit asked rhetorically. "The answer is we have enough people in the population that are susceptible - and we have a virus that is clearly more contagious."

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Delta variant substantially more contagious than other variants, CDC presentation warns

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Evidence is mounting about the dangers of the delta variant and how mask-wearing is essential to bring it under control, according to a government slideshow dated Thursday. The presentation, compiled by a doctor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lays out what is known about the delta variant, which now accounts for the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

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Back to School Immunizations Event w/ Florida Department of Health, Pinellas County @ Friendship Baptist Church, 7/31/21.

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Back to School Immunizations Event w/ Florida Department of Health, Pinellas County @ Friendship Baptist Church, 7/31/21.

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School immunizations for incoming Kindergarteners, 7th grade & New to the State, including COVID 19 vaccines. Saturday, July 31 from 9:30am-3pm.

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Join the Shades of Blue Project this week from July 19 - 25th for the 2021 Black Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week!

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Join the Shades of Blue Project this week from July 19 - 25th for the 2021 Black Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week!

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All week long, the Shades of Blue Project, will share self-care resources for Black birthing people that can be utilized for themselves and their families.

Together, we will move through 7 days using the INSPIRE method to highlight why each component is essential to changing the lives of Black birthing people in our community. Be sure to sign up as an ambassador and see our lineup of events by visiting www.shadesofblueproject.org

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COVID causes largest decline in U.S. life expectancy since World War II

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COVID causes largest decline in U.S. life expectancy since World War II

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The nation’s average life expectancy fell by 1.5 years in 2020, a sobering reminder of the pandemic’s toll on the nation.

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In the wake of more than 377,000 COVID-19 deaths last year, the average life expectancy in the U.S. fell by 1.5 years, new federal data shows.

Life expectancy at birth for the total population declined from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.3 years in 2020. That is the lowest level since 2003, according to provisional data released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics.

The decline was even greater among minorities. The average life expectancy of Hispanics in the U.S. plummeted by three years to 78.8 years, the report shows.

Theaverage life expectancy of Black people fell by 2.9 years to 71.8 years, ending a trend that saw that demographic's average lifespan inch closer to those of whiteAmericans. The average life expectancy of that group fell 1.2 years to 77.6, its lowest since 2002.

Public health experts expected the coronavirus pandemic would significantly alter life expectancy, butthey weresurprised at the impact on a metric that normally shifts in small increments over many years. The sudden 1.5 year drop is the largest since World War II, when life expectancy fell 2.9 years as U.S. military personnel fought in World War II between 1942 and 1943.

University of Florida epidemiologist Cindy Prins.

COVID-19 deaths contributed to 74 percent of the 2020 decline, the report states. The numbers are a sobering reminder of the devastating effect of the pandemic, said Cindy Prins, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida's College of Public Health and Health Professions.

"We think of World War II as a catastrophic event; now we've got a comparison with COVID-19," she said. "This is a catastrophic loss of life."

The report is seen by some public health experts as another sign of how the U.S. has mismanaged the pandemic.

The coronavirus was the third leading cause of death in the U. S. in 2020 behind heart disease and cancer, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The current U.S. COVID-19 death toll of more than 609,000 represents the the fifth worst per capita fatality rate in the world, behind South American nations Peru, Brazil, Columbia and Argentina, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Medicine.

Other wealthy nations have also reported declines in average life expectancy, but not as great as in the United States. One study in the British Medical Journal found that the 2020 decline in life expectancy in the United States was 8.5 times more than the average of 16 high-income peer countries that included Denmark, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

It means the average life expectancy in the U.S. is now almost five years shorter than in its peer countries.

"It's a wake up call for all of us," said Ali Mokdad, a professor and chief strategy officer of population health at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. "We had a pandemic that we didn't control. We have people who are attacking science and people who refuse to shutdown the country."

Since the 1.5 year fall in life expectancy is a national average, the true impact of the pandemic will be much greater in poorer and minority communities. That is already reflected in the greater slump in average life expectancy for Black and Hispanic residents, Makdad said.

Factors such as a poor diet, food deserts and higher stress can lead to chronic health conditions that put people at higher risk from severe coronavirus symptoms. Those same neighborhoods also tend to have more blue collar, "essential" and service industry workers who could not work from home during the pandemic, Mokdad said, therefore they were exposed more often to the coronavirus.

At the same time,he said, those communities have higher rates of uninsured and underinsured people and less access to health care while also having a greater chance of receiving poorer quality of care.

"We need to address to the gaps in health care system," Mokdad said. "We need to do it right."

The"alarming" drop in life expectancy will also mean a corresponding loss of spending and productivity that could hinder the economic future of many families and the overall economy, said John Sinnott, chairman of internal medicine at the University of South Florida and an epidemiologist at Tampa General Hospital. More families may struggle economically because of the loss of wage earners.

There is also uncertainty about how the long term health of so-called "long-haul" coronavirus patients, who make up roughly 10 percent of those infected.

"If someone can't work because their lungs or heart or kidneys are damaged, that's a huge drain on society and the medical profession and their families," Sinnott said.

He is also concerned that there may be long-term effects from COVID-19 that have yet to be discovered. Von Economo encephalitis and chronic lung disease emerged as side effects from the 1918 influenza pandemic, Sinnott said.

The pandemic may have indirectly also contributed to other factors that led to the fall in average life expectancy.

The National Center for Health Statistics attributed an estimated 11 percent of the decline to increases in deaths from accidents and unintentional injuries. Roughly one third of the latter category were drug overdose deaths.

Last week the agency reported a record high of more than 93,000 overdose deaths in 2020 that experts believe was driven by isolation, mental health issues and unemployment all caused by the pandemic.

* * *
CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: Find the latest numbers for your county, city or zip code.
NEED A VACCINE? Here's how to find one in the Tampa Bay area and Florida.

VACCINES Q&A: Have coronavirus vaccine questions? We have answers, Florida.
A TRIBUTE TO FLORIDIANS TAKEN BY THE CORONAVIRUS: They were parents and retirees, police officer and doctors, imperfect but loved deeply. We're working hard to bring you the latest news on the coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven't already subscribed, please consider buying a print or digital subscription.
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COVID causes largest decline in U.S. life expectancy since World War II

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In the wake of more than 377,000 COVID-19 deaths last year, the average life expectancy in the U.S. fell by 1.5 years, new federal data shows. Life expectancy at birth for the total population declined from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77.3 years in 2020.

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St. Petersburg: Help pass the Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis. 

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St. Petersburg: Help pass the Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis. 

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Racism is a systemic issue in St. Petersburg and it's affecting our public health.

🗣 Let the Youth and Family Services Committee know: You SUPPORT the Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis. We need them to vote YES and advance the resolution to City Council!

The resolution is currently scheduled to be discussed this Thursday, July 22nd, 2021 at 9:30am. These are the councilmembers that sit on this committee:

☑️ Contact the committee chair, Councilmember Deborah Figg-Sanders: deborah.figgs-sanders@stpete.org | 727-551-3305

☑️ Committee Vice-Chair Council Member Lisa Wheeler-Bowman: lisa.wheeler-bowman@stpete.org | (727) 551-3305

☑️ Council Member Robert Blackmon: robert.blackmon@stpete.org | (727) 551-3528

☑️ Council Member Amy Foster: amy.foster@stpete.org | (727) 893-7148

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Health Equity Tracker - Advancing Health Equity

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Health Equity Tracker - Advancing Health Equity

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We know that the data we collect can be imperfect and at times even worsen health inequities many people face if not reported or analyzed correctly.

We work to change that narrative by identifying, understanding, and responding to health inequities in our communities in a way that will allow every person to live well and long from generation to generation.

Join us in powering transformational action!

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Health Equity Tracker is a free-to-use data and visualization platform that is enabling new insights into the impact of COVID-19 on marginalized groups in the United States.

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Black women are three times more likely to die after giving birth than white women. That disparity is prompting Black women to seek Black ob-gyns, and medical schools are adding antiracist training.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Last month, the CDC declared racism as a serious public health threat. It affects people's health in big ways, like where they live, where they work, whether they can afford treatment. It also affects how doctors talk to patients of color. For Black women, systemic medical racism shows up starkly in childbirth. They are three times more likely to die after giving birth than white women. As a result, many Black women are seeking out Black doctors. From member station WLRN in Miami, Veronica Zaragovia reports.

VERONICA ZARAGOVIA, BYLINE: When people in South Florida want to find a doctor who is Black, they often end up contacting Adrienne Hibbert.

ADRIENNE HIBBERT: Oh, my gosh. The No. 1 call that I get is a Black OB-GYN.

ZARAGOVIA: Hibbert isn't a doctor. She works in marketing. But she has a website called Black Doctors of South Florida, which she wants to turn into a comprehensive, searchable directory.

HIBBERT: There are a lot of Black networks that are behind the scenes. I don't want them to be behind the scenes, so I'm bringing it to the forefront.

ZARAGOVIA: Hibbert says she got the idea about 15 years ago, when she gave birth to her son. Her obstetrician at the time was white, and the suburban hospital outside of Miami didn't feel welcoming to her as a Black woman pregnant with her first child.

HIBBERT: They had no singular photos of a Black woman and her Black child. I want someone who understands my background. I want someone who understands the foods that I eat. I want someone who understands my upbringing and things that my grandma used to tell me.

ZARAGOVIA: Dr. Nelson Adams is a Black OB-GYN in the Miami area. But he says, here's the problem.

NELSON ADAMS: If every Black woman wanted to have a Black physician, it would be virtually impossible. The numbers are not there.

ZARAGOVIA: Adams says boosting the number of Black doctors alone won't be enough. He is calling on medical schools to teach all students to treat patients as they would want to be treated themselves. At its heart, it's just the golden rule. After George Floyd's death, the University of Miami revamped its entire four-year medical school curriculum to incorporate anti-racism training. And over at Florida Atlantic University, med students are now learning to talk to patients about their entire lives, not just their bodies, with questions like...

SARAH WOOD: Have you ever felt discriminated against?

ZARAGOVIA: That's Dr. Sarah Wood, a dean at Florida Atlantic's med school.

WOOD: Do you feel safe communicating your needs? You know, different things that were questions that we maybe never historically ask but we need to start asking.

ZARAGOVIA: Wood says the medical students start learning about racism in health care during their first year. As they go, they also learn how to communicate with patients from various cultures and backgrounds. These changes come after decades of racist teachings in medical schools across the U.S. Dr. Nelson Adams did his residency in obstetrics and gynecology in Atlanta in the early 1980s. He says they were taught that if a Black woman came in with pain in her pelvis...

ADAMS: The assumption was that it was likely to be a sexually transmitted disease, something we refer to as PID, pelvic inflammatory disease. The typical causes there are gonorrhea and/or chlamydia.

ZARAGOVIA: But if a white woman came in with the same symptoms...

ADAMS: The assumption would be not an STD, but endometriosis.

ZARAGOVIA: Endometriosis is not sexually transmitted, and therefore it was less about the patient's own behavior. That's no longer taught, but Adams says that doctors still bring unconscious racial bias to their patient encounters.

Michelle Wilson is a Black doctor who just graduated from Florida Atlantic's medical school. She benefited from a partnership between the med school and the historically Black university where she did her undergraduate studies.

MICHELLE WILSON: I didn't have a Black doctor growing up. I'm kind of paving a way for other little Black girls that look like me that want to be a doctor. I can let them know, like, it's possible.

ZARAGOVIA: Wilson is going to specialize in family medicine, which will also allow her to deliver babies. She wants to focus her future practice on the needs of Black families.

For NPR News, I'm Veronica Zaragovia in Miami.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUILTY GHOSTS' "THE END OF AKIRA")

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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Black Women Try To Avert Medical Racism By Searching For Black Doctors

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Black women are three times more likely to die after giving birth than white women. That disparity is prompting Black women to seek Black ob-gyns, and medical schools are adding antiracist training. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Last month, the CDC declared racism as a serious public health threat.

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Too poor to pay, Florida protester sat in jail for months

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The protester had been locked up in the Pinellas County Jail for four months. He'd been arrested during the tumultuous first week of the George Floyd protests. Police accused him of throwing rocks at the St. Petersburg Police Department and threatening to shoot an officer.

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Percentage of Doctors Who Are Black Barely Changed in 120 Years

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Gasparilla once rose above racism. Would it have the same fate in today’s ‘cancel culture’?

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Members of the Buffalo Soldiers prepare for the start of the 2012 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates. The all-black krewe joined the parade after it was integrated in 1992. [Times (2012)]

On Saturday, thousands of Tampa Bay residents would have marched the streets of Tampa dressed as pirates, catching beads and likely drunk in broad daylight, during the city's signature Gasparilla Parade of Pirates.

That won't happen now thanks to the pandemic. The annual event, scheduled for Jan. 30, was rescheduled for April 17 but later canceled.

Event organizers are holding off until January 2022.

Rather than sulking over it, let's use this time to reflect on how far the parade, which was once known to be racially divisive, has come.

The parade was established in 1904 and was exclusively white, from the bands that marched, to membership in the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, which stages the event each year. The crowds, too, were all white.

Integration came in 1992, and today, the Gasparilla parade shows few signs of the racism that existed.

Instead, it shows signs of diversity.

Getting there was no easy feat.

Tampa Bay Times reporter Paul Guzzo outlined the change best in his work from 2017.

Every time Gasparilla season comes around, I think of it.

Now, it's worth noting that in my nearly five years of living in Tampa Bay, I've participated once in a Gasparilla parade. It's also worth noting that I was absolutely ignorant of this history at the time.

Aside from that, I've only returned for a work assignment. The task: test whether some of Tampa Bay's pirates could guess their blood alcohol concentration levels.

No, seriously, we took a breathalyzer to Gasparilla. Here's how that went.

Anyway, although my reason for skipping the celebration most years isn't tied to past racism, I often wonder if it is for others.

I wonder how many Black people are troubled by the event's history? Or how it strikes newbies to the area?

And if this exclusionary behavior would fly in today's "cancel culture?" For those wondering, that's the popular term for "canceling" someone, typically a business or activity, for unacceptable behavior. (See below for more on the evolution of "cancel culture.")

Social media wasn't around back then, but could you imagine the backlash if it was?

My inbox awaits your thoughts. Email me at

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Members of the Buffalo Soldiers prepare for the start of the 2012 Gasparilla Parade of Pirates. The all-black krewe joined the parade after it was integrated in 1992. [Times (2012)] On Saturday, thousands of Tampa Bay residents would have marched the streets of Tampa dressed as pirates, catching beads and likely drunk in broad daylight, during the city's signature Gasparilla Parade of Pirates.

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Obtaining generational wealth: a dream for families of color?

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Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Lou Brown, 64, stands outside his childhood home, which also houses his real estate business in St. Petersburg. [IVY CEBALLO | Times]

Obtaining generational wealth: a dream for families of color?

By Ileana Najarro
Tampa Bay Times reporter

Generational wealth, or a financial asset passed down through generations of a family, is something I've always been curious about, both as a reporter and as the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants. Many families of color in this country face systemic hurdles when trying to accumulate those assets.

After the summer of protests and wide-ranging calls for racial justice last year, I wanted to hear directly from local Black residents about their thoughts and challenges with accumulating generational wealth.

In a stroke of serendipity, the nonprofit Cortico, which works with the media and communities to bring underrepresented voices and perspectives into public dialogue through its Local Voices Network, reached out to the Times newsroom at about the same time. They offered to record online discussions among folks who wanted to speak openly on a news topic. It was our job to pick the topic we wanted to explore and to invite the participants.

After lots of phone calls and email invites, about a dozen Black residents of St. Petersburg graciously agreed to participate. We held three group sessions - one for people under 50, one for people 50 and older and an all-ages group to get a mix of generational perspectives. Some of these people had known each other for years. Others "met" for the first time. We kicked off the conversations, and they took it from there.

The stories they shared about their families, their neighborhoods and the economic futures they hoped to see for their community were moving. They touched on everything from learning to appreciate why they should spend their money at Black-owned businesses to being a Black woman in the workplace. For this piece, we decided to highlight two participants and let their own voices drive the story. In fact, you can listen to audio clips of their conversations online.

So if you're curious to hear about what generational wealth means in some parts of St. Petersburg's Black community, let Lou Brown, a longtime real estate agent, and Esther Eugene, who runs the consulting firm All Administrative Solutions and serves as president of the St. Petersburg chapter of the NAACP, take you on their journeys . And thanks for taking the time to read and share their words.

From the Times

Trauma in Atlanta felt locally: Shortly after the massage parlor shootings that killed eight people, most of them Asian women, staffers of a student-run USF magazine met virtually to try to make sense of what happened. But they couldn't. Although Tampa Bay hasn't seen a spike in hate and violence against Asian Americans like larger cities have, anti-Asian incidents are familiar to some local residents.

Under independent review: Six Black players have entered the transfer portal since the USF men's basketball season ended. Now, the university is looking into "troubling concerns" about an associate head coach. Outside reports allege the staffer has made "racially charged" comments.

Unresolved questions raised: Students at Tampa's Middleton High School are standing by Delvin White, a Black school resource officer who was ousted after he used the n-word. Police Chief Brian Dugan defended the firing, saying he had to be consistent under city policy banning discriminatory language. White's supporters call his punishment unfair and counterproductive. Queue up the debate: Should a person's skin color play a role in penalties for using the racial slur, and does context matter?

Not an endorsement: In a video from one firm in the running to reimagine St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field site, Esther Eugene, a business owner who is also president of the local NAACP, spoke highly of the company's proposal. But the firm incorrectly implied her comments were made on behalf of the civil rights organization rather than on a "personal and professional level." Given the sensitive, complex nature of the redevelopment project in an area once home to a prominent Black community, this was not a good look.

All eyes on Congress: The House of Representatives recently passed two measures that would give millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S. some hope. A third bill aimed at protecting essential workers is still awaiting debate. One Brazilian-born essential worker in Ruskin describes a "stressful year" but remains optimistic about the future.

Beyond the Times

Prayers aren't enough: Many Asian-American church leaders want their congregations to do more than just pray after the Atlanta massage parlor shootings. They say it's time to take action as communities everywhere grapple with the national uptick in violence against people of Asian descent. (The Associated Press)

Is history repeating itself? Unfortunately, anti-Asian attacks and discrimination aren't a new phenomenon. The U.S. has an ugly history of this type of racism dating back to the mid-1800s ( more on that here). The Atlantic spoke with poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, about how today's surge of hate and violence feels different. ( The Washington Post and The Atlantic)

Plot twist: Remember Alexi McCammond, the former Axios reporter-turned- Teen Vogue editor-in-chief who was fired for decade-old racist and homophobic tweets? One of the staffers who supported McCammond's termination has now come under fire for her own defamatory tweets in which she used the n-word. (The Grio)

Time for a change: An effort to remove a Chicago school's racist name took years to achieve. But say goodbye to Louis Agassiz Elementary School, named for a biologist who believed Africans and African Americans are inferior to others, and hello to Harriet Tubman IB World School. (The Associated Press)

Taking the first step: Here's a new development in a controversial nationwide debate: A city in Illinois has approved a reparations program addressing the housing discrimination faced by its Black residents. Could other states follow suit? (The Associated Press)

Contact Monique Welch at mwelch@tampabay.com. Follow @mo_unique_.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Lou Brown, 64, stands outside his childhood home, which also houses his real estate business in St. Petersburg. [IVY CEBALLO | Times] Obtaining generational wealth: a dream for families of color?

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Due to barriers in bone marrow registries, people of color struggle to find a match

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Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Sue Brandy, 49, and Keiayna Mayers, 9, volunteer during a February event in Tampa to help find a bone marrow match for Jakobe "Kobe" Washington. [IVY CEBALLO | Times]

Due to barriers in bone marrow registries, people of color struggle to find a match
By Monique Welch

When getting a gift for a couple's wedding or baby shower, all you have to do is locate the store where someone is registered. A simple search of the first and last name, occasionally adding the city, usually does the trick. DeMitrious Wyant, an Orlando resident who is Black, has been living with sickle cell anemia for 33 years and has had to wait weeks for blood at times. And for a Black couple in Punta Gorda, a bone marrow transplant is the last resort for their son, Jakobe "Kobe" Washington, who is fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

If only it were that easy for bone marrow registries. Nearly 18,000 people across the country need a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant every year, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

And who's affected the most? Minorities and patients with mixed racial backgrounds.

Times health equity reporter Margo Snipe recently addressed the obstacles these patients face.

She writes:

Beyond the Times

No harm, no foul: A year ago, a group of University of Texas athletes demanded the school drop The Eyes of Texas, typically sung at games and campus events, in support of racial injustice protests. The school has released an extensive report declaring that there was "no racist intent" for a number of reasons . (Associated Press) History repeating itself: In 1930, police attacked Blacks and whites protesting unemployment as joblessness spiked after the 1929 stock market crash. The rally was one of the first nationwide demonstrations where whites and Blacks stood together against injustice. Based on the George Floyd protests, not much has changed in 90 years. ( The Washington Post) Team backs player: William Peace University's women's basketball team has forfeited their conference championship game in support of a teammate. The player was suspended after a member of an opposing team allegedly gave her the middle finger and called her racial slurs. (Associated Press)
Spotlight on interracial couples: Interracial couples with biracial children are driving the advertisements of more and more companies. The uptick has sparked both positive and negative reactions. (Voice of America)
Compassion goes a long way: Northern California activists, organizers and residents are taking matters into their own hands amid a spike in attacks on Asian Americans. Putting out a call on social media, one man offered to help escort community members who were feeling unsafe. Later, 700 people joined him, and the support didn't end there. ( USA Today)

Missing in schools: As students prepare to resume in-person learning, some Asian and Asian American families are sticking to remote education at disproportionately high rates. Why? The move is largely due to a distrust in promised safety measures, and fears that their kids will face racist harassment. But the list goes on. (The Washington Post)

Farewell to Dr. Seuss: Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that six of its illustrated children's books would be discontinued due to racist imagery. Then the titles saw a big boost in online sales. However, if you're a Dr. Seuss fan, good luck finding the banned books now . ( New York Daily News)

Contact Monique Welch at mwelch@tampabay.com. Follow @mo_unique_.

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Regarding Race | Solving transplant disparities

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Tuesday, March 16, 2021 Sue Brandy, 49, and Keiayna Mayers, 9, volunteer during a February event in Tampa to help find a bone marrow match for Jakobe "Kobe" Washington.

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More than a century later, a memorial recalls a dark chapter in St. Petersburg

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Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Gwendolyn Reese, 71, president of the African American Heritage Association and a lifelong resident of St. Petersburg, poses near the intersection where, in 1914, the public lynching of John Evans occurred. On Feb. 23, a memorial was placed near the site. [JOHN PENDYGRAFT | Times]

More than a century later, a memorial recalls a dark chapter in St. Petersburg

By Monique Welch

By now, you may have heard of the notorious 1914 lynching of John Evans, a black laborer from Dunnellon who was hanged and fatally shot by a white mob in St. Petersburg.

If you haven't, it could be because this ugly piece of history was more or less erased - until now, thanks to a new memorial.

Take Tampa Bay Times enterprise reporter Leonora LaPeter Anton, for example. She has lived in St. Petersburg for two decades and said she never heard about the lynching. Not once.

More than a year ago, Anton stumbled across a 40-year-old history paper online called "Days of Fear: A Lynching of John Evans," written by former St. Petersburg Times reporter Jon Wilson and printed in the Tampa Bay History journal.

She mentioned it to her editor.

Then Evans' name came up briefly during a Black Lives Matter protest last year.

Anton learned recently that there was an effort to install a marker with details of Evans' death. It would be provided by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., but had been delayed because of the pandemic.

"I knew I needed to quickly educate myself on what had happened," Anton said.

She started reporting:

I contacted the Pinellas County Heritage Village and obtained a handful of oral histories of early St. Petersburg residents. I talked with historians Ray Arsenault and Gary Mormino of the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg and Rui Farias at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.

I called members of the African American Heritage Association and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and other local organizations. I read several books, a few cover to cover, including: Arsenault'sSt. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950, St. Petersburg Florida, Black America Series by Sandra W. Rooks, Lil' Colored Rascals in the Sunshine City by Archie Boston, and St. Petersburg's Historic 22nd Street South by Wilson and Rosalie Peck.

I learned how Black people had built the railway, the original pier and many of the houses in St. Petersburg, though few markers note that history. Nothing to help present-day residents understand the full scope of the Black experience in this Southern town.

St. Petersburg in 1914, its vibe and views, comes alive in the detailed accounts of newspaper reporters and others whose voices appear in the pages of theSt. Petersburg Evening Independent, the St. Petersburg Daily Times, the Tampa Morning Tribune and the Ocala Evening Star.

Racism was vocalized harshly and openly then. Here's one shocking editorial about Evans that ran in theOcala Evening Star and was printed in the St. Petersburg Daily Times:

"The officers here say he was a bad character, and it was probably safe for the people of St. Petersburg to lynch him on general principles whether he was guilty of the crime he was accused of or not," the editorial said.

I walked away from this research with a new understanding of what it meant to be a Black person in St. Petersburg in the early 20th century and a whole lot more informed about the roots of racism that exists today.

I learned that at lynchings, white people would take pictures, cut off fingers and toes as souvenirs and later send postcards. Many brought their children, who were allowed to shoot at the body and poke it with sticks. As Gwendolyn Reese, president of the African American Heritage Association, said, "What does that say about the value of a black body?

Click here for Anton's full story on Evans and the memorial recognizing his gruesome murder.

Ironically, on Feb. 23, the very same day the Evans memorial was placed in St. Petersburg, Tampa dedicated a memorial of its own. MacDill Air Force Base honored Port Tampa Cemetery, a Black cemetery erased in the early 1900s when the base was built. Read more.

From the Times

His latest project, part of the "Marking Monuments" exhibit at Tampa's USF Contemporary Art Museum, Demanding change: For years, Sarasota-based artist, writer and activist John Sims has confronted Confederate iconography through his writing and art. takes aim at a local plantation.

John Sims' works, including his AfroConfederate Flag: 12 Foot, are on display in "Marking Monuments" at USF Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa. [Courtesy of Will Lytch]

Glimpses into the past: Nearly a century later, drawings made by late Brandon artist Karl Moseley during the Great Depression can be seen online. Today, they're more than works of art. They're history lessons providing a rare look at Tampa's historic Black neighborhoods.

Learn their stories: They fought to improve conditions in their communities, inspire others and create lasting change. Their names are on roads and bridges, libraries and schools. But do you really know these pioneers? Meet the Black Floridians behind several Tampa Bay landmarks.

Pinellas County native makes history: Gibbs High alum Calvin Royal III has become a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in New York. He's the second Black man to attain the iconic ballet company's highest rank, and the first to do so in decades.

Beyond the Times

Hit hard by food insecurity: Before the pandemic, Hispanic children, roughly one-third of all children in Florida, were more likely to experience food insecurity than other children, with nearly one in five living in a food-insecure household. The nationwide rise in Latino unemployment during the pandemic only made existing food disparities worse. Tampa advocacy groups are helping fill meal gaps. (Medill News Service)

Remembering Ahmaud Arbery: It's been a year since three white men armed with guns pursued and killed the 25-year-old Black man as he ran through their neighborhood in Brunswick, Ga. Now, those closest to Arbery want to make sure his death isn't overlooked again as the men await trial. (Associated Press)

Sanford seeks racial injustice reform: Nine years after the fatal killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer, city commissioners will form an advisory committee to study how race, class and gender can lead to social inequities. (Associated Press)

Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up to get Regarding Race in your own inbox next time. Subscribe for free here.

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Tampa Bay Times * 490 First Avenue South * St. Petersburg, FL 33701 * 727-893-8111

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Regarding Race | Acknowledging a racist past

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Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Gwendolyn Reese, 71, president of the African American Heritage Association and a lifelong resident of St. Petersburg, poses near the intersection where, in 1914, the public lynching of John Evans occurred. On Feb. 23, a memorial was placed near the site.

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With odds stacked against them, mothers of color are seeking better care to bring life into the world

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ST. PETERSBURG - Courtney West stepped into the house and ran with her arms wide open to greet Samara Jackson.

Moments later, Jackson's 8-year-old son, Orion, strolled down the hall, past the familywedding portraitsand toward the pair who were laughing and hugging like lifelong friends.

"How are you baby boy?" West asked Orion as she turned and wrapped her arms around him, too. "Well, I can't call you baby boy anymore, can I?"

Orion is a big brother now. Two weeks earlier, Peace Jackson - just over 6 pounds the last time his mother checked - was born at home.

"When's the last time you ate?" West asked Jackson during her visit that Friday afternoon. Then she checked on how mother and baby were sleeping.

The day before, West had assisted with another delivery. She's booked until June, she said. When she makes plans, they come with the disclaimer, "unless I'm at a birth."

West sees doulas as the "mothers of mothers." In her own practice, she serves as caretaker, chef, masseuse and often times advocate for families in hospitals and doctor's offices. She assists with home births and hospital deliveries, offering additional comfort and expertise for families. The vast majority of the mothers she cares for are women of color.

Pregnant with her second child in the midst of the pandemic and the intensity of last summer's Black Lives Matter protests, Jackson, 30, shied away from the hospital where Orion was born. They had induced her, and she felt forced into using formula instead of breastfeeding.

This time, she sought the care of a Black midwife and a Black doula. This time, she wanted more support.

A persistent disparity

Zulgeil Ruiz Ginés, who headsthe only Hispanic-owned midwife practice in Hillsborough County, is booked until August. She receives a handful of calls every week from women of color who are scared, determined to avoid traditional health systems that have discriminated against them.

But with limited capacity, "I'm turning people away," said Ginés, whose own childbirth was rife with mistreatment.

"It's no way to come into the world with trauma," she said.

Black women once dominated the field of midwifery in southern states. Their enslaved forbears had passed down West African childbirth techniques through generations.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, the Florida Department of Health recruited midwives for women who had no access to medical care due to poverty and segregation, according to Sharon Hamilton, former president of the Midwives Association of Florida. Back then, Black people were often not allowed in hospitals.

Since then, the number of Black maternal health care providers has dwindled.

And the rates of maternal mortality and preterm births have increased in the U.S., even as medicine and technology have advanced, according to an analysis by theKaiser Family Foundation, which noted trends since the 1980s.

Black women face death rates related to pregnancy that are over three times those for white women. For American Indian and Alaska Native women, pregnancy-related death rates are more than twice as high as white counterparts. The rate for Hispanic women was similar to white women, the Kaiser analysis found.

The outlook is somewhat brighter in Florida, which has seen a significant dropin the rate of maternal mortality over the last 10 years, particularly among Black and Hispanic women, said Dr. William Sappenfield, a University of South Florida professor and the director of the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative.

Still, disparities persist, Sappenfield said.

For so long, researchers studied race as a physiological cause for the disparities, said Jessica Brumley, director of the division of midwifery in USF Health's department of obstetrics & gynecology. But "it's really racism and the social and systematic effects of that over generations that are affecting health outcomes."

Patients who are cared for by a provider who looks like them have better outcomes, said Brumley, and if you're Black or brown, you're less likely to have a provider who looks like you.

Noticing differences in care

Throughout her pregnancy, Delaine Williams mastered the art of dropping hints in conversations with nurses and doctors.

She'd mention her college degree and say her husband's name in passing. She'd bring up the clients she worked with as a group insurance consultant. She'd let them know about her journey with in vitro fertilization.

"I felt like I needed to wear that privilege on my sleeve in order to be treated with kindness," Williams said.

Still, it didn't protect her.

After the birth of her daughter, an awful headache took hold, a side effect of her C-section. Williams could hardly walk, her vision blurred, she could barely hold her baby, she said. She returned to the hospital and, after hours of begging for medication, the pain management team refused, saying her pain wasn't as severe as she let on.

"Everyone was working really hard to convince me that what I was experiencing was not what I was experiencing," said Williams, a Tampa native and Florida A&M University graduate. "I had a lot of trouble advocating for myself."

Delaine Williams, 35, and Michael Williams, 39, with their 7-month-old daughter, Nandi, at their home in Tampa earlier this month.

With the pandemic raging, her husband couldn't stand by her side at the hospital. And as a Black woman, not having a partner with you "changes the way you're perceived," said Williams, 35. At the hospital, attendants assumed she was on welfare.

After her mother called demanding to speak with the administrator on duty, the head of the emergency team came to her room. Deeply apologetic, the doctorexplained his wife had experienced the same issue and offered medication to ease the pain.

Since then, Williams has steered clear of the hospital and used a doula for postpartum care.

Black emergency room patients were 40 percent less likely to receive pain medication than white patients, and Hispanic patients were 25 percent less likely, according to a study published in 2019 by a researcher at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Dismissing Black and Hispanic women's pain is one of many ways implicit bias affects their quality of care, experts say.

West, the doula, says she cares for many second-time moms afraid of hospitals after their first experiences: womenstitched up wrong after surgery, or consistently talked down to. She's heard from Black and brown fathers who said they were removed from the delivery room for asking why their partners werebeing mistreated. A mother of 10 who said she sought her help after bad experiences during every pregnancy, finally hoping to have a good birth.

The traditional medical structure traumatized West, much as it does her clients.

When her blood pressure increased throughout her pregnancy, doctors threw medication at her, she said. And when her baby was delivered, no one checked on her. "I could be bleeding out right now," she recalled thinking. "Where's the care?"

Then came severe postpartum depression and sleep deprivation. Again, "they threw me on some meds and that was it," said West. During that period, West was offered a copper intrauterine device for birth control and an allergic reaction left her sterilized.

In response, nurses made remarks suggesting she didn't need to have more children anyway.

"I trusted them," West said. "How dare you take something so precious from me?"

When Ciara Tucker of St. Petersburg started having chest pain, she went to a community health clinic. After four visits, a multitude of tests and repeated radiation, doctors took a urine specimen. Tucker, 38, was pregnant. A complication with her twins was causing her heart problems.

At 17 weeks, she lost one of the babies due to causes she says were unrelated to the radiation. Still, Tucker describes her care at the clinic as "total chaos" and is angry her babies were put at risk.

Another St. Petersburg resident, registered nurse Briana Hickman, was aware of the disparities facing mothers of color when she got pregnant with her son. So she recruited West as her doula for additional support.

"Being a nurse kind of works in your favor," said Hickman,27, who noticed the gaps in care firsthand as a Blackpatient. Having West as her advocate allowed Hickman to ask doctors more questions and push back when she felt pressured into taking certain medications.

A week before Ni'Chelle Lawson gave birth, harsh contractions forced her to check into the hospital. With no rooms available when she arrived, Lawson, 27, said she sat in the lobby with West as nurses walked by "almost like they were smirking and making fun of what I'm going through."

In the Black community, "we're pushed to get an epidural, to get a C-section. We're pushed to feel like there is no other option than the option that is given by the doctor," Lawson said. But throughout the pregnancy, West helped her speak up when she didn't want to go with what the doctor was pushing on her, she said.

"I had more of a voice than I thought that I had."

A systems problem: 'The numbers don't lie.'

As doctors become more aware of the discrimination and communication barriers permeating maternal health care, some hospital systems are looking to bridge the gap by incorporating midwives and doulas into their operations.

"There are certainly differences in philosophy" between the practice of obstetrics gynecology and midwifery, said Brumley, the USF professor. While obstetrics and gynecology specialists are experts in the management of medical complications and surgery, midwives are experts on the physiology of pregnancy and birth. They complement one another, she said.

Hospitalmidwives traditionallytreat high-risk patients who may have multiple conditions, she said. The personalized care families may find with licensed midwives who work outside hospitalsis difficult to recreate in a facilitybecause of the sheer volume of patients.

Licensed midwives don't see high-risk patients. So, to ease the concerns of women who are high-risk but do not feel safe in hospitals, some hospitals offer team-based care that includes nurse midwives.

In Hillsborough County, ReachUp Inc., an organization working toward equality in health care, has been incorporating the use of doulas to chip away at maternal health disparities for the past two decades.

"We need to listen to women," said Estrellita "Lo" Berry, ReachUp's president and CEO, "and really, truly be able to have dialogues about implicit bias."

As the disparities persist, advocates are pushing for structural change and - in some cases - starting to make them on the grassroots level.

"The numbers don't lie," said Yamel Belen, owner of One Love Doula Services,which serves women across the region. "Every provider should be very well-versed in diversity and inclusion."

Belen's practice offers free planning sessions to families of color in hopes of combatting the disparities. While she doesn't have the funding to offer all of her services at no cost, a single session can help families feel empowered, Belen said.

It "gives us an opportunity to educate you," she said.

Back inside Samara Jackson's kitchen, West, the doula, gazed at baby Peace in her arms. "He's the most precious thing," she said. "I'm so proud of you."

Jackson said she was going to miss her.

"You don't have to miss us," West said. "We're here. We're not going anywhere."

"I want to be at all the birthdays."
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg provides partial funding for Times stories on equity. It does not select story topics and is not involved in the reporting or editing.

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Florida mothers of color, seeking better care, turn to midwives and doulas

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ST. PETERSBURG - Courtney West stepped into the house and ran with her arms wide open to greet Samara Jackson. Moments later, Jackson's 8-year-old son, Orion, strolled down the hall, past the familywedding portraitsand toward the pair who were laughing and hugging like lifelong friends. "How are you baby boy?"

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The Political          Determinants of Health  

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The Political          Determinants of Health  

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The Political Determinants of Health - Jessica's Story

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Debunking COVID-19 Vaccine Myths: Dr. Bill Morice

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Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41

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Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41

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Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41

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The Racial Wealth                 Gap in America 

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The Racial Wealth                 Gap in America 

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Racial Wealth Inequality Explained in 60 Seconds (Animated Video)

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Racial Wealth Inequality Explained in 60 Seconds (Animated Video)

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Racial Wealth Inequality Explained in 60 Seconds (Animated Video)

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How Structural Racism is Magnifying the Public Health Crisis

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How Structural Racism is Magnifying the Public Health Crisis

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How structural racism is magnifying the public health crisis

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In this book, Daniel E. Dawes argues that political determinants of health create the social determinants that affect all other dynamics of health

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COVID-19 vaccines recall decades of deception and pain for Black Americans

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COVID-19 vaccines recall decades of deception and pain for Black Americans

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COVID-19 vaccines recall decades of deception and pain for Black Americans

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Tyler Perry talks BET special on COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine hesitancy in Black community