Tag: black Americans

Virus, racism pose more mental health risks for black Americans

The twin challenges pose a problem as mental health providers are in shortage

Kendrick Sampson attended a peaceful protest in Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles two weeks ago, which left him scarred in more ways than one.

During that protest against police brutality, he was shot by officers seven times with rubber bullets and beaten with batons, leaving him with lingering mental and physical wounds.

“We have never prioritized mental health in this country,” said Sampson, an actor and activist, speaking Monday at a Los Angeles City Council meeting where he and other Black Lives Matter Los Angeles representatives advocated for changes to the city’s budget. “Black and indigenous and brown folk in this country need healing, deserve healing, but instead are met by more trauma by these systems.” Continue reading.

Trump was asked how to restore black Americans’ trust in police — but he could only talk about himself

AlterNet logoDonald Trump is not an ideas man. This has been a defining feature of his presidency. He’s not a learned policy wonk, understanding the complex nuances of law and governance. He is, at his core, just a former game show host and a con man.

Never is this more clear than when reporters ask him about public policy problems he’s not prepared for. (Of course, even on topics where Trump should be prepared, like health care, he struggles to put together a coherent thought.)

This happens even with friendly outlets. On Wednesday, Trump appeared with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on his radio show. And in an exchange flagged by CNN’s Daniel Dale, Kilmeade asked a surprisingly decent and provocative question. Continue reading.

Black Americans are deeply pessimistic about the country under Trump, whom more than 8 in 10 describe as ‘a racist,’ Post-Ipsos poll finds

Washington Post logoPresident Trump made a stark appeal to black Americans during the 2016 election when he asked, “What have you got to lose?” Three years later, black Americans have rendered their verdict on his presidency with a deeply pessimistic assessment of their place in the United States under a leader seen by an overwhelming majority as racist.

The findings come from a Washington Post-Ipsos poll of African Americans nationwide, which reveals fears about whether their children will have a fair shot to succeed and a belief that white Americans don’t fully appreciate the discrimination that black people experience.

While personally optimistic about their own lives, black Americans today offer a bleaker view about their community as a whole. They also express determination to try to limit Trump to a single term in office. Continue reading.

Black Dems take lead in push to impeach Trump

The following article by Cristina Marcos and Mike Lillis was posted on the Hill website Feruary 1, 2018:

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are proving central to efforts to impeach President Trump.

Black lawmakers say that’s the result of Trump repeatedly stirring racial controversies, from personally attacking two members of the caucus to casting equal blame on white supremacists and counterprotesters for fatal violence in Charlottesville, Va., last summer. Continue reading “Black Dems take lead in push to impeach Trump”