By Charlene Crowell An estimated 3.5 million renters face the likelihood of eviction over the next two months – despite the availability of $46 billion in emergency rental assistance (ERA) allocated by Congress. The crux of this looming crisis is the uneven local response to providing authorized assistance to both renters and landlords. And the ...

By Charlene Crowell Each year Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) publishes a comprehensive report on the nation’s challenges and prospects in one of life’s most basic needs. This year, its State of the Nation’s Housing 2021assesses the rippling financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also warning that despite substantial federal government ...

By Aldon Thomas Stiles California Black Media As more Californians get vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases are on the decline, there’s an argument to be made that the state has rounded the corner from the worst stages of the global crisis. As of June 6, 53.1% of Californians had been vaccinated and there were 757 ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Nat’l Correspondent For Walter Coleman, an independent contractor in Washington, D.C., Samantha Robles, a hairstylist in Bethesda, Maryland, and Robin Pruitt, a loan officer who also lives in Bethesda, the coronavirus pandemic not only resulted in close calls, but the financial fallout may lead to bankruptcy. Each says ...

From “Vaccines to Vaccinations” By Steven Vargas California Black Media COVID-19 hospitalizations are starting to decrease in California, but that decline does not mean the pandemic is over, state health officials warn. The number of cases in California dropped by 31% over 14 days leading up to Jan. 22, according to the New York Times ...

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.” — Martin Luther King Jr.   Three African American health leaders — advocates for expanded health care who are on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19 raging across California — took a moment to reflect on the state of ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Nat’l Correspondent The lack of a quiet place to work and resources like internet service often hamstrings students of color’s ability to adequately learn during the pandemic, according to education experts who share their frustration about the inequities in education faced by minorities and those in underserved communities. ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Nat’l Correspondent If the 2020 election’s importance wasn’t apparent to those casting ballots, a federal judge’s decision on Sunday might have underscored the urgency. In a decision that had far-reaching consequences during a deadly pandemic that’s cost more than 219,000 Americans their lives, the court ruled on Oct. ...

Tanu Henry California Black Media On July 25, the federal government’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program ended for most states, leaving millions of Californians without the extra cash many of them had been relying on for months to make ends meet. The $600 extra in federal stimulus pay was added cushion to the amount states ...