To view this message in a browser:
[link removed]

Image:
To see the original, click here:
[link removed]
Target URL: [link removed]

[link removed]

Last week after reaching his initial COVID-19 vaccination goal of 100
million doses in his first 100 days a month early, President Joe Biden
announced he would be doubling this goal

[link removed]

. Currently, vaccine doses are being administered around 2 - 3 million
shots per day, a significant improvement in distribution that could see
the majority of Americans being vaccinated by July 4th

[link removed]

. However, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director
Rochelle Walensky has issued a warning

[link removed]

for a potential "fourth wave" due to states relaxing restrictions

[link removed]

, and the multiplying numbers of coronavirus variants

[link removed]

.

In March, Race Forward released a statement calling for the
prioritization of vaccinations for communities of color against the
coronavirus, which includes distribution, education, and the expansion
of outreach efforts.

Black, Latinx, Indingeous, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander
communities have been more severely impacted by COVID-19 than any other
communities in our country. This tragic outcome is not random; it is the
result of long standing historical racist practices and current day
systemic racism putting Black, Latinx and indigenous people at
dramatically higher risk of death and morbidity. An equitable vaccine
distribution strategy requires taking this history into account and
prioritizing those made vulnerable for receiving the vaccine as soon as
possible.

Read: Black Health Professionals Pen 'A Love Letter to Black America'
Re: Coronavirus, via Colorlines

[link removed]

Not only must we prioritize speedy distribution, given the long history
of institutional abuse — from the Tuskegee research study of human
experimentation on Black men to the widespread forced sterilization of
women of color - we must also combat inevitable and understandable
mistrust with education and outreach at the scale needed to protect
human life.

According to a study by the National Foundation of Infectious Disease

[link removed]

, despite evidence showing that vaccination can prevent contracting

[link removed]

and dying from the coronavirus, more than half of black Americans remain
hesitant about getting the vaccine, and of those who say they will get
the vaccine, only 19% say they will get it right away with 31%
preferring to wait.

We encourage communities of color to look to our Black, Latinx and
indigenous public health leaders, such as Dr. Aletha Maybank, MPH, Chief
Equity Officer and Group Vice President for the American Medical
Association (AMA)

[link removed]

; Dr. David Malebranche, MPH, Associate Professor and Internal Medicine
Physician at Morehouse Healthcare

[link removed]

; and Dr. Uche Blackstock, founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity

[link removed]

, for guidance and information during this period of crisis in order to
safeguard the lives and health of loved ones and neighbors.

Race Forward commends the Biden Administration for measures it has taken
to advance vaccine confidence, and equitable access to and distribution
of the vaccination among communities of color, namely:

Passage of H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

[link removed]

, which, in addition to providing much needed relief to Americans
suffering from the pandemic, provides $1 billion in funding to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen vaccine
confidence and improve rates of vaccination in the United States.

The Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Response to
COVID-19 initiative

[link removed]

, providing $250 million in federal grants to localities partnering with
community organizations to encourage underserved populations to get
COVID-19 vaccinations and adopt safety practices to help them avoid
contracting the virus.

Race Forward and its Government Alliance on Racial Equity (GARE)

[link removed]

, which works with local and regional government jurisdictions across
the country to ensure racial equity in all of their policies and
practices, also applauds the growing and effective community-government
partnerships to address the vital challenge of creating equitable
vaccine access.

The CDC COVID Data Tracker

[link removed]

shows more than 30 million cases and almost 550,000 deaths from COVID-19
as of March 31, with Black, Latinx, Indigenious, and Asian-American and
Pacific Islander individuals accounting for more than ⅓ of all cases and
close to 30% of deaths.

Yet, CDC data

[link removed]

for the same period shows that of those who have received at least one
dose of the vaccine or have been fully vaccinated, Whites outnumber
communities of color combined by 2 to 1.

High levels of COVID deaths in communities of color is one more
catastrophic outcome of systemic racism. We must address the systemic
nature of racism in order to implement equitable solutions that
prioritize the health and well being of our most vulnerable — those in
communities of color. When we do so, we can make powerful progress in
fighting this pandemic and we all benefit.

Check out our latest below!

Image:
To see the original, click here:
[link removed]
Target URL: [link removed]

[Listen] Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast Returns

[link removed]

Check out new episodes with Debra Gore-Mann and Fatima Goss Graves!

[link removed]

We're back in the full swing of Season 2 of Momentum: A Race Forward
Podcast

[link removed]

and the timing for continued important conversations about racial
justice couldn't be more critical.

On Episode 6: New Year, New Administration, and New Opportunities

[link removed]

, Hiba and Chevon address the insurrection at the US Capitol and talk
about the work being done by the Biden Administration. Fatima Goss
Graves, President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center joins our
hosts to talk about the importance of the new historically-diverse
administration, what it means for the future of women and communities of
color, the persistent work, mobilization, and legislative efforts it
took to get to this moment –– and why we need to continue pushing even
further

[link removed]

.

On Episode 7: Policy is Local, Local, Local!

[link removed]

, Debra Gore-Mann, President and CEO of The Greenlining Institute

[link removed]

joins Chevon to talk about Greenlining's "The Solution to Redlining"
work! Debra talks about growing up in a biracial Black and Japanese
family, the history of The Greenlining Institute, as well as discusses
the fraught topic of recent racial attacks by Black youths against Asian
elders and the systemic ways violence is perpetrated, Greenlining's
ongoing work supporting the Green New Deal and advocating for an Office
of Racial Equity in California, and the clear ways advocating
for/implementing racial equity policy at the local level can influence
federal policy.

Catch up on all the latest episodes of Momentum, Season 1 and 2, on
Apple Podcasts

[link removed]

, Spotify

[link removed]

, and Pandora

[link removed]

, and see why Momentum was named on Yahoo!/USA Today's list of 100
resources to take action against racism, help Black organizations, and
learn to be anti-racist

[link removed]

.

Image:
To see the original, click here:
[link removed]
Target URL: [link removed]

New –– Save The Date: #RaceAnd: Our Present, Our Future 

[link removed]

Registration for the September 2021 event opens up later this month!

[link removed]

Race Forward is excited to present, on Saturday September 25, 2021 , an
interactive half-day intergenerational event, "#RaceAnd: Our Present,
Our Future."

[link removed]

This virtual event will center the solutions-driven racial justice
movement-making work of Black & Indigenous youth and young adults .

This past summer thousands of young people took to the streets joining
in the protest for racial justice. Race Forward believes young people
are a vital part of the movement for racial justice and represent the
future for demanding changes to institutions, systems, and structures
that have been steeped in racism for hundreds of years. As we celebrate
40 years of working at the intersections of "#RaceAnd" we are inspired
to uplift the ideas, strategies, and solutions of youth and young adults
who have and continue to lead racial justice work across the country.

We hope you will join us as we:

Highlight the critical role youth organizing takes in the movement
toward racial equity.

Elevate the ways youth and young adult activists (ages 13-25) are using
organizing, art, cultural, narrative, and policy strategies to strike
powerful blows to structural racism in the US and continue the global
movement to defend Black Lives.

Strengthen the dialogue between our emerging and seasoned agents of
change.

Save The Date

[link removed]

and stay tuned for more information as registration opens later this
month –– make sure to follow Race Forward on Facebook

[link removed]

, Twitter

[link removed]

, and Instagram

[link removed]

for all the latest updates!

Staff Picks

During these trying times, it's important to share the small things that
keep us going. In this edition, we hear from our Web Developer, Cecelia
Sullivan

[link removed]

.

[link removed]

[link removed]

"Neurodivergent YouTube and Twitter has been giving me life. I've been
getting insights into understanding my experiences (and those of
others). For example, this video, "What It's Like to Be ADHD and Black"

[link removed]

discusses the intersection of neurodiversity and being Black. Human
brains are so diverse, and I would love to incorporate some of these
teachings/ learnings in our racial justice work."

Credit: How to ADHD (YouTube)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What are you listening to, watching, reading and learning? Tell us on
Twitter

[link removed]

or Facebook

[link removed]

.

In solidarity,

Team Race Forward

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're receiving this because you have submitted a form at raceforward.org
[link removed]
or colorlines.com
[link removed]
.
Manage your email subscriptions
[link removed]
, or  unsubscribe from all Race Forward and Colorlines emails.
[link removed]

Copyright © Race Forward, 145 East 57th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10022, USA
Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser
[link removed]
.