With the November election just around the corner, anti-racism protests continuing, and COVID-19 cases on the rise across the United States, there’s a lot to process in our world right now. There’s also a sense of whiplash between feeling inspired by the demand for justice, while simultaneously feeling anxious about our personal health, the health of our families and communities, and wondering when the pandemic will be brought under control.
Read more below on how voting in a COVID-19 world will add a new layer of complexity we must be prepared for, particularly for vulnerable communities and communities of color. Also, learn more about our partnership with Project N95 to discover how they are supplying critical PPE to frontline workers in the continuing fight against the pandemic.
Tides Perspectives
Protecting Our Democracy in the Time of COVID-19: Closing the Turnout Gap
As election season heats up, one thing on many people’s minds is what the voting process will look like come November. When we take part in the democratic process and vote for representatives who push for positive social and environmental change, collectively, we move towards a better world for all. But what if getting out to vote is marred by voter suppression or other tactics? And what will the pandemic do to complicate our voting process even further, particularly for communities of color? Read more.
Project N95’s Rapid Rise to Support Frontline Healthcare Workers
The new surge in COVID-19 cases across the country is cause for alarm, particularly for healthcare workers who are, once again, faced with a daunting and potentially life threatening dilemma -- enough access to PPE. Learn more about Tides’ partnership with the Project N95 Fund and read about how the Project is helping to bridge these critical gaps.
Tides Community Updates
Opportunity Youth United
Tides partner Opportunity Youth United (OYU) is organizing a national movement of young leaders and adult allies to become civically engaged and drive systems change. The pandemic has hit some of OYU’s low-income communities the hardest while they were already battling another pandemic—racism. The mass killing of African Americans is deeply impacting OYU’s national young leaders and they are now raising their voices, hitting the front lines, and risking their safety, health, and freedom for the greater good. OYU is guiding their Community Action Teams across the country toward bolstering movements like Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero, and the Obama Foundation. Police reform was a key strategy OYU identified in their "Recommendations to Increase Opportunity and Decrease Poverty.” Learn more.
Cities United
To create the safe, healthy, and hopeful communities that Black and Brown folks deserve, mayors and other city leaders must take bold steps to redefine public safety. Cities United, a Tides partner, strongly believes we must move away from police, jails, and detention centers—systems designed with racist intentions. Cities United supports moving towards a more just model anchored in the public health approach that focuses on addressing the root causes of state and community violence. As a network of 90 partner cities working to equip mayors with tools and resources, Cities United recently published a “Strategic Resource for Mayors on Police-Involved Shootings and In-Custody Deaths”, providing a framework to help mayors move towards a version of public safety that allows us all to thrive. Stay connected with Cities United.
On Our Radar
Tides Stronger Together Fund has empowered 32 Social Ventures during the pandemic
The María Fund: Taking Action for Black Lives in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has a long history of slavery and racism, and the María Fund stands in solidarity with the actions in defense of All Black Lives. Tides partner, The María Fund, was borne out of 2017’s Hurricane María, fueled by the earthquakes in early 2020, and is now fighting to save the most vulnerable from COVID-19 by supporting and making grants to a community of social justice organizations in Puerto Rico. At this moment, the María Fund is supporting and uplifting antiracist, Black-led organizations on the island that have been doing this important work locally for many years: Revista Éthica, Colectiva Feminista, Colectivo Ilé, and Espicy Nipplez. Join the María Fund in supporting these organizations and sharing their wins.
Health officials in Latin America are calling the region the new epicenter of the pandemic as cases and deaths continue to rise.
Layla F. Saad, speaker and author, offers an excellent anti-racist reading list for those who are ready to do the work from Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider to Ijeoma Olu’s So You Want to Talk About Race.
Where We'll Be
Upcoming Virtual Events:
Tides partner Eyewitness Palestine is hosting Beyond Connecting the Dots: Virtual Summit on Building a United Racial Justice Movement, from the U.S. to Palestine on July 18, 2020 from 12:00PM to 7:30PM Eastern.
Interim CEO Tuti Scott is speaking at Professional Businesswomen of California’s Annual Conference on August 11, 2020.
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