San Diego Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe: “We have to deal with the direct harm that occurred to the enslaved.” Dr. Cheryl Grills, a psychology professor at Loyola Marymount University: “How will we possibly be setting people up to be left out of reparations because they cannot establish that lineage? We’re going to reduce ourselves yet again to the masters’ tools.”
Black Californians have the lowest vaccination rate in the state at 55%. The rate of Black Californians dying from COVID-19 has increased tenfold since last summer, from one death per 100,000 people last July to 10.4 deaths this week. That surpasses all races except Pacific Islanders , who are dying at the rate of 14.7 per 100,000, according to state data .Black children are the second most likely to die from COVID among Californians younger than 18 , with a rate of 1.2 deaths per 100,000. Pacific Islander kids are twice as likely to die from COVID as Black children, while all other races have less than one COVID-19 death per 100,000 children. Dr. Kim Rhoads, a UCSF associate professor of epidemiology :“It’s about a historical relationship between Black people and public health and health care. Instead of saying lack of trust, I’m saying there’s no relationship there, so there should be no expectation of trust.”
And 82% of Black registered voters said they approve of school mask mandates — the highest percentage of any racial group surveyed.
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Ahead of the state’s expected Monday update to school masking rules ,that political polarization is extending into student life, with kids on both sides being harassed for their beliefs and education officials struggling to strike a balance between enforcing COVID protocols and ensuring all students get an equal education, CalMatters’ Joe Hong reports .Kinsey Hage, a junior at Bella Vista High School in Sacramento County who refuses to wear a mask at school one day a week: “I’ve had kids at school literally tell me to kill myself.” Michael Lee-Chang, a senior at Redondo Union High School in Los Angeles County, who’s been harassed by parents who oppose his activism for stricter COVID safety protocols: “Every time I pass them, they yell, ‘Unmask the kids!’”
Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to significantly loosen federal mask rules .Santa Clara County health officials announced Thursday they plan to end the county’s indoor mask mandate on March 2. Due in part to the “extreme cost,” Los Angeles Unified School District is contemplating scaling back its weekly universal COVID testing program.
Oleh Kuzo, a Ukrainian American who lives in Roseville :“The war actually began in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea and occupied two Ukrainian territories. It’s been the same experience that we’ve seen for the last eight years. … It’s like a numb pain now becomes an acute pain.”
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Lakewood Democrat, told CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal in a Thursday statement: “My thoughts at this moment are limited to the toll on the people of Ukraine. California’s budget process is ongoing, and the Assembly still assessing proposals on how best to support Californians.”
