Weathering the Curve: May 2020

Hey Teen Resisters!

Hope that everyone is staying safe, sane, and healthy — sending love & support to anyone whose family or friends have been affected.  Our advice remains the same: forgive yourself, find any and all silver linings, stay connected! Take care of yourself: exercise, sleep, eat, do something, or do nothing. We've included some quick COVID-19 actions via a link to an earlier list (volunteer, donate, stay updated, stay busy) and some urgent info on NYC Mayor De Blasio's atrocious new budget plan, which guts funding for public schools. We also linked a few good articles/websites, in case you want to read something but opening the news is too overwhelming. Happy activisting :)

Peace & power,
Teens Resist

before you dive in: 

​Some Quick Resources: What can you do re: COVID-19, in general? We outlined a ton of feasible and impactful actions in our first quarantine list — including how to find places or sites to volunteer, places to donate to, how to stay updated, and how to stay busy. Check it out here: Quaranteens Resist. And here’s the link for places to get aid from, if you need a quick reference.**

NYC: Mayor De Blasio's Proposed Education Budget Cuts
NYC is doing some budget adjustment, and the mayor's proposal cuts 827 million dollars from the NYC education system. This cut would get rid of tons of much-needed resources and important programs for a school system that people rely on for education, food, and many other resources. Obviously, now is a particularly bad time for the cut to happen; more than ever, public schools need adequate funding to continue to support people through this pandemic. Other city departments are receiving far smaller budget cuts. Education must be prioritized. The idea that when kids return to school they will have even fewer resources than they had pre-COVID, at a time when so many need more, is simply wrong. 

After months of compromised learning and, for many students, tremendous loss in their families and communities, children will need additional academic and socio-emotional support - but the proposed budget cuts will guarantee they get less.

There are many competing needs in our city right now. If school funding is not prioritized in the upcoming budget, it will be an unmitigated disaster - not only for the next school year, but for the long term.  Please read & sign this petition, directed to Corey Johnson, Speaker of City Council, to stop Mayor DeBlasio's proposed cut, and circulate it far and wide. ​

Some Notable Links

• This website is tracking instances where people have invoked antisemitism during the COVID-19 outbreak. You can look through the instances as well as actions to take. An essential read is Eric Ward’s “Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism Animates White Nationalism.”
• “These Are the Things That New Yorkers Most Achingly Miss"
• "College Campuses Must Reopen in the Fall. Here's How We Do It," by Christina Paxson, president of Brown University

what went down

Ahmaud Arbery’s Murder
Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was out jogging near his home in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23, 2020, when two white men — Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael — rode up behind him in their truck, wrestled him, and shot him twice, killing him. Gregory McMichael used to be an officer for the Glynn County Police Department, the county that Brunswick is in. William Bryan, a third accomplice in the case, recorded a video of the murder. In the video, he can be heard cocking his gun as he drives up behind Gregory and Travis McMichael’s truck, boxing Ahmaud in.

After a massive public outcry and pressure from millions in the nation, Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested on Thursday, May 7th, over a month after Ahmaud was killed. They are both being charged with murder and aggravated assault. Bryan has not yet been arrested. 

Although this horrifying act was clearly one of white supremacy, Georgia is one of only four states that do not have a hate crime prevention law, meaning it can only be investigated and charged as a hate crime on a federal level.

That the McMichaels were arrested is a testament to the power of the people. But there is so much more work to be done: 

• Sign the petition here to pressure officials to arrest Bryant and ask the FBI to consider this modern-day lynching as a hate crime.
• Sign the petition here to demand that Jackie Johnson, the Brunswick District Attorney who refused to initially issue an arrest warrant, resign. This is not the first time Johnson’s legal decisions regarding police brutality have been biased (see more on that here). 
• If you call the number 770-800-0689, The Action PAC (an organization cofounded by Shaun King...you might remember they did a lot of work on the Rodney Reed case and have been steadfastly organizing since) walks you through numbers to call and instructions on how to do so.
• Pressure lawmakers in Georgia to pass a hate crimes prevention law (Governor Kemp has indicated he would be open to supporting it) 

P.S.!
People all over the country ran this past weekend, May 8th-10th, 2.23 miles (to remember the date he was killed). Ahmaud’s 26th birthday would have been May 8th. The hashtag #IRunWithMaud was used to support his mother and to remember him. 

Big Company Strikes
Amidst some of the most unprecedented times we have ever experienced, everyone has been subject to some measure of self-isolation. The extent of that measure, though, varies greatly, based on the role we fulfill in our day-to-day lives. Functions that satisfy our basic needs are still necessary to keep our society running, and the force behind those needs are essential workers. Never before has there been such a necessity for them, whether they are grocery store cashiers, pharmacists, or delivery service employees. As essential workers are subject to intense pressures and skyrocketing demand, it is more vital than ever to consider the state of their working conditions.

Those conditions are largely terrible. In fact, on May 1st, workers at companies such as Walmart, FedEx, Target, Amazon, and Whole Foods went on strike, raising complaints of unsafe working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. The issues they cited included a lack of protective equipment, as well as just time to wash their hands. It gets worse: Whole Foods, for example, requires their employees to test for COVID-19 if they show symptoms, but does not 1) cover the cost for the test, 2) provide any way for them to get tested, or 3) enforce that policy. Even when workers do test positive, the company doesn’t close that location. Instead, they clean the store and notify workers, but not the customers. Already, grocery store workers have begun to die from COVID-19. 

The May 1st strike shook the entire essential industry, emerging as one of the most impactful strikes in recent history. There’s a couple reasons why that could actually turn out to be a really good thing. Workers’ rights have been ignored for years, with employees frequently fired for merely speaking up. However, right now, firing isn’t exactly an option for companies. As grocery stores and delivery services like Amazon are top priorities, the workers that are the backbone of those companies are everything. Because essential workers aren’t easily replaceable right now, companies are more likely to have to comply with the demands of strikes; their alternative is risking major profit loss and an inability to supply millions of waiting customers. Safe conditions for workers isn’t just important to companies — it should be important to us as well, both on basic principles of human rights and to ensure that we, especially those among us who are the most vulnerable, have access to necessary materials.

What can you do?

1. Recently, there’s been a Senate proposal for an almost $2000 monthly pay raise for essential workers, nicknamed the Patriot Pay Plan. Call your state senators to voice your support for the passage of this legislation here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/How_to_correspond_senators.htm
2. Support front-line and essential workers! Tip them, give them a thank you card, or even spread the word for awareness on social media. Let them know how much you appreciate all their hard work.​​

And, finally....

Puppy vid