Category Archives: Intentional Communities

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey arrives at the "Tech for Good" Summit in Paris, France May 15, 2019.

Charles Platiau | Reuters

Twitter has told employees that they can keep working from home "forever" if they wish.

In a statement, Twitter said it was "one of the first companies to go to a WFH model in the face of COVID-19, but [doesn't] anticipate being one of the first to return to offices."

BuzzFeed Newspreviouslyreported the announcement.

The company said if employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue doing so "forever," then "we will make that happen."

"If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel it's safe to return," the statement reads.

The company said with very few exceptions, offices won't open before September. It added when they do open it will be "careful, intentional, office by office and gradual." It said there will also be no business travel before September "with very few exceptions" and no in-person company events for the rest of 2020.

"We're proud of the early action we took to protect the health of our employees and our communities. That will remain our top priority as we work through the unknowns of the coming months," it said.

The company's acceptance of a mostly remote workforce predates the coronavirus pandemic. On the company's fourth-quarter 2019 earnings call in February, Twitter CEO Jack Dorseyembracedthe idea of remote work while expressing dissatisfaction that so many of Twitter's of employees are based in San Francisco.

"Our concentration in San Francisco is not serving us any longer, and we will strive to be a far more distributed workforce, which we will use to improve our execution," he said at the time.

Other tech giants have updated their employees on work from home measures for the foreseeable future, as experts expect remote work to become much more common after the pandemic, with business travel rarer.

Facebook said last week that most of the company's employees will be allowed to continue to work from home through the end of 2020, while Google parentAlphabet said employees can expect a "staggered" and "incremental" return to the office starting in June, but that some employees would probably be working from home for as long as the rest of the year.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in BuzzFeed.

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Twitter tells employees they can work from home 'forever' - CNBC

COVID-19 is a dangerous new reality, spreading indiscriminately and without regard for skin color or cultural background. Yet many black and brown Americans are dying at disproportionately high rates. Will this be the time that we stop talking about structural racism and finally do something about it?

By all accounts of science and chance and with equal levels of exposure and risk the rates of infection and death across all communities should be the same. But as we have learned from responsible news reporting, the rates of infection and death are not the same, particularly along racial lines. As our country surpasses 1.3 million infections and more than 80,000 deaths, black people so far represent nearly 30 percent of all infections yet only 13 percent of the national population. In some cities, the number is even higher. However, we should not be surprised.

For communities of color in the United States, COVID-19 has transformed an otherwise protracted assortment of chronic health issues associated with poverty, overcrowding, and uneven access to public space or quality housing among them cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and asthma turning them into abrupt and immediate death sentences. We have a name for the uneven distribution of exposure and risk along racial lines, and its not COVID-19. Its structural racism.

Where this coronavirus is lacking in racial bias, the United States has made up for with a resilient and highly adaptive white supremacist capitalist racial ideology. It is an ideology that is etched into our national DNA, rooted in the exploitation of human beings for economic gain the perverse logic of slavery and which has laid a long and injurious legacy for black and brown communities. It has justified spatial and economic exclusion (segregation and red lining), racial terrorism (Jim Crow laws and community massacres), community theft (block-busting and predatory lending), targeted community removal (urban renewal and federal highway programs), criminalization of blackness and loss of voting rights and citizenship (mass incarceration and deportation), or simply blanket ethnic exclusion (anti-immigration orders against what our President has named shithole countries).

As if all of that was not enough, communities who experience higher levels of exposure and risk to the coronavirus have now become our essential workers, positioned at the front lines of this pandemic. They are the transit workers, doormen, janitors, health care workers, food producers, grocery store staffers, and warehouse and delivery workers those on which every one of us is relying to get us through this crisis. They are underpaid, underinsured, and they are very often black or brown.

Our nations willingness to accept collateral damage in exchange for capital gain is proven; especially during national disasters like the one we are experiencing now. As was the case for Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and the poisoned water crisis in Flint when black and brown people were disproportionately affected, a national discussion about race is once again underway. But promising as these race-facing (and racism-naming) national discussions can seem while they are taking place, they always turn out to be fleeting. If action is taken at all, it relies on a rising tides lift all boats framing rather than an explicit commitment to racial justice.

Though the COVID crisis has put the lethal legacy of slavery on full display, the CDC only recently started collecting and disaggregating data by race. Their slowness to act decisively is either from political embarrassment, willful ignorance, or ambivalence to the immediate and life-saving significance of this information, and so when the US President and many in his political party push to reopen the economy prematurely, we shouldnt be surprised. Once again, economic concerns in this country are taking priority over public health concerns and human life, as they often do when black and brown people are involved. A more strategic rollout of this information could have allowed Americans to get on board with a strategy, supported by race-disaggregated data, to ensure that resources were directed to the right communities.

Structural racism is insidious. It doesnt rely on decision-makers to themselves be racists. Instead, it is a generations-old system of norms and parameters which provide the framework for almost every decision we make. As history confirms, the roots of American society lie in a slave economy, and our racially-structured political and economic system is reinforced by a legal system that relies on history (which is precedent) for administering justice. In most cases, instead of radical transformation, our system delivers us a watered-down version of what we already are; in other words, when the gavel drops or the bill is passed, we are simply left with white-supremacist capitalist racial ideology-light. So, it should come as no surprise that racial equity transformation is slow, and that it never comes without a fight.

When you water something down, it becomes a diluted version of itself. What we need right now is something altogether different. Instead of passing up yet another opportunity to right a four-century-old wrong, its time to finally ensure that a post-COVID-19 recovery benefits both sides of the color-line and that we as a nation truly begin to address the structural roots of racial inequality. So, what is the organizing work, political work, and accountability work that needs to happen in order to ensure that the public good serves all of us equally? In many cases, tools for advancing racial equity already exist. Some can be hacked while others will need to be completely reimagined. But heres where we can start:

Economic Development

Housing

The Public Domain

For communities of color, a cure for the harm caused by COVID-19 needs to go far beyond developing a vaccine. We also need social and economic policies that take on the underlying, longstanding, and persistent problems of structural racism.

Reflecting on this countrys long history of intentional racist planning and policy-making, todays planners, designers, and policy-makers have an ethical obligation to realign our priorities and adopt intentional antiracist agendas that address the legacy pockets of inequity in black and brown communities. The time to act is now! Because if we choose to wait and it will be a choice we will once again miss an opportunity to ensure that the very same people who are keeping our recovery afloat can finally be treated equally.

EDITORS NOTE: Weve clarified some of the numbers around infection rates.

Stephen F. Gray is an Assistant Professor of Urban Design at Harvard Graduate School of Design and founder of Boston-based design firm Grayscale Collaborative. His work acknowledges the intersectionality of race, class, and the production of space, and he is currently co-leading an Equitable Impacts Framework pilot with the High Line Network and Urban Institute aimed at advancing racial equity agendas for industrial reuse projects across North America.

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COVID-19 Puts Structural Racism On Full Display Will We Finally Do Something to Correct It? - Next City

In cities around the world, restaurants are taking to the streets. Theyre transforming parking lots and plazas, spilling onto sidewalks and coming up with parklets for more patio space. After months of closed dine-in service, these gathering places are counting on fresh air and more room for social distancing to keep employees and customers safe and businesses alive through the summer months.

Denver could be next to adopt the charge. After eight weeks of running on takeout and delivery only, restaurants and their business improvement districts, as well as volunteer planners across the city, are advocating now for further loosened restrictions on alcohol permitting and temporarily closed-off streets and parking lots to serve diners again.

By Memorial Day, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he expects to announce instructions for restaurants that are looking at a late May or early June reopening. A variance given to Mesa County this month allows for restaurants there to reopen at 30% of their usual fire-code capacity, and in a press conference on Wednesday, Polis said that a greatly reduced capacity should be expected indoors as more restaurants start to open around the state, but we also want to find ways that they can expand tables outdoors he said, mentioning sidewalks and parking spaces as potential options.

We know restaurants are eager to reopen in a way that protects the health of their patrons, and (they) see measures like expanded patio space as one way to do that, Denver Mayor Michael Hancocks office announced on Tuesday. (We) have been taking and evaluating requests from various stakeholders on what measures, including expanded patio space, could be implemented to support restaurants once theyre able to reopen.

This week, the Downtown Denver Partnership shared plans of its rapid activation of commercial streets, which was also proposed to Hancock earlier this month. The group gave nine examples of core blocks in various Denver neighborhoods where vehicle through-traffic and car parking could be temporarily blocked, allowing for pedestrian walkways and al fresco dining areas as seen in Europe or elsewhere in the United States during festivals and events.

This concept is not new to Denver, the DDPs president and CEO Tami Door told The Denver Post. We have done this many many times, as have great cities around the world. What is particularly intriguing about it now is its an amalgamation of wins.

Those wins, according to Door, include allowing individuals to gather safely again and letting neighborhoods and many of their retail businesses return to life, all while monitoring the viability of these types of gathering spaces long-term.

We know for the future that this isnt going away anytime soon, so we really need to understand how our public spaces can create safe spaces, Door said. In order to do that, she and the DDP have proposed a five-month pilot period from Memorial Day to Oct. 31 that would take advantage of Colorados sunshine while allowing restaurants to serve diners in more spaces outdoors.

I can make this happen literally yesterday, restaurateur Beth Gruitch said of the time she would need to open up her dining rooms outside. Gruitch co-owns two restaurants in Larimer Square (Rioja and Bistro Vendome) and two more at Union Station (Ultreia and Stoic & Genuine). She and her team closed down a fifth restaurant, Euclid Hall, permanently at the start of the shutdown.

She knows that closing off Larimer Square to cars will take longer to implement and face more opposition, but at Union Station, in my opinion, its a why not? she said. Why wouldnt we? Let us open up our patios, let us space our tables out, let us fill that space with energy and fun.

At Union Station, Gruitch envisions the surrounding plaza dotted with dining tables from each of the halls various restaurants. She pictures it working just as to-go orders have, but with the added bonus of table service and summery alcoholic beverages.

Its an appealing image that recalls tables set on Italian piazzas and in Parisian alleyways. But for other Denverites, the idea of turning not just plazas but also city streets into dining rooms is more romantic than practical.

Look, I couldnt be more heartbroken for what has happened to the restaurant and bar trade, Steve Weil, who owns Rockmount Ranch Wear on Wazee Street, told The Denver Post. Its a perfect storm for them. They have few options, and I dont begrudge supporting them how we can. But giving them the public right-of-way monopolizes public access perhaps in a way thats detrimental to everyone else.

For Weils business to reopen now, he says downtown Denvers streets need to stay open for vehicles, which his customers use more than public transportation or other forms of transport. Downtown has become an insufferable, incoherent puzzle of how to get from A to B, Weil explained. And this will make it worse.

Hes especially concerned about paying property taxes come June. Theres no relief on that. We need to do everything within our power to safely restart this economy, and not just for one segment but for every segment. What we do for one should not hurt the other.

But Door thinks the Downtown Denver Partnership and other stakeholders can use this summer-long outdoor dining trial to answer concerns like Weils, plus other questions that will surely arise: Where do outdoor dining zones fit in? How long can they operate? Who uses them? Are they inclusive and equitable? And what about them doesnt work?

This isnt about closing every street in the city; its about being strategic, being intentional, Door said. And its not one-size-fits-all, so its a good opportunity to explore.

Across Denver, outside business centers on Colorado Boulevard, along neighborhood roads in North Park Hill and just off Federal Boulevard by Jefferson Park, urban designer Matthew Bossler and a small cohort of community organizers are creating templates for outdoor dining areas of all sizes and shapes.

Bossler says hes excited to see grassroots organizations planning their own versions of this effort, but hes most eager to help out the businesses that wouldnt otherwise have resources to dedicate now.

Most communities of color dont have business improvement districts in place, he told The Denver Post. Thats why were being intentional about taking the momentum BIDS have and supporting them, but really dedicating resources to those areas that dont have that staff on hand or the money set aside.

On Thursday morning, hes giving a talk for Downtown Colorado Inc.s 500 statewide members. Bossler will discuss the playbook he and his team are creating basically just to cut out all the guesswork that everybodys trying to figure out on their own in little pieces all across the city right now, he said. Hell go over transportation consideration, design logistics, licensing, permitting and liability.

The organizational work and facilitation thats the majority of the work that weve been doing, Bossler said. And we foresee that that need will persist for at least the next month in order to knock down those barriers.

Meanwhile, at the city and state level, restaurateurs like Gruitch say this is a time to determine what Denver looks like over the summer and then for years to come.

What are we willing to sacrifice in order to grow our city in the direction of a place that we want to live in? she asked. We could be a city where there arent any good restaurants, where the retails not there, and downtown is desolate, and then we wont have to worry about the parking. It wont be an issue. But Id rather have an incredibly vibrant, successful city with some challenges than just kind of placating what we have now.

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The near future of Colorados restaurants could depend on our biggest asset: the outdoors - Loveland Reporter-Herald

In 2018, there were 815 youth who were unaccompanied by an adult recorded by the Knoxville Homeless Management Information System who were experiencing homelessness in Knoxville.

Youth aged 12 to 24 may make up a small percentage of Knoxvilles 187,500 population counted by the U.S. Census Bureau that same year. However, the number represents a growing issue within the country.

The homeless population encompassing college students aged 18-24 has been growing, including in Knoxville.

In its 2017 annual report, KnoxHMIS stated that on a single night, 41,000 youth were homeless across the U.S. with 88% between the ages of 18 and 24. In Knoxville, around 747 homeless youth were registered as homeless by KnoxHMIS.

The KnoxHMIS system, a partnership between the University of Tennessee College of Social Work and the Social Work Office of Research and Public Service, has been recording data on homelessness within Knoxville since 2007. Started in 2004 by endowed professor of mental health research and practice David Patterson, the program fosters a greater understanding of the social consequences, human impact and other deleterious effects of homelessness.

The data has helped the City of Knoxville and UT have a better understanding of who makes up the homeless populations and what can be done to help.

Michael Dunthorn, homeless program coordinator at Knoxvilles Office of Homelessness, explained that recently the city has been trying better to identify young adults who may be homeless in the city.

We've been more intentional about trying to find youth and young adults and reach out to them. A lot of folks who are particularly young adults aren't going to even see themselves as homeless if they're couch surfing, you know, living in somebody else's place, Dunthorn said. Certainly somebody just starting out doesn't want to identify as homeless and so they're not necessarily looking for homeless resources.

Through better and more deliberate study of the college homeless population, the proper institutions can step up to help address their needs such as housing, food and support for education.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also started an initiative to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness through their Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.

The City of Knoxville applied again for this coming year for the grant which Dunthorn explained offers cities a way of trying new innovative ideas to solve a problem with the idea that you demonstrate something that works well and that it would be something that could be replicated in other places.

To be able to qualify for the funding, Knoxville has to have a youth advisory council or according to HUDs website about the YHDP, a Youth Action Board which has to be made of youth who are currently or in the past experienced homelessness.

Communities must also: bring together different stakeholders in the community like housing providers, school districts, the juvenile justice system, local and state child welfare agencies and workforce development organizations; assess the needs of special populations at higher risk of being homeless including racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ youth, parenting youth and youth involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems and create a coordinated community plan to assess the needs of youth either at-risk or currently experiencing homelessness.

Knoxville has the Youth WINS (When in Need of Support) program which has youth advisors between the ages of 18 to 22. These advisors work to assist other youths find stable housing and connect them to community resources. In addition, the board advises the city on what actions are needed to help.

Annette Beebe, case manager and Youth WINS program manager at the Community Action Committee, said the board, which has over 44 members, meets twice a month and all the meetings by the youth council are closed to the public.

The board, Beebe said, is proactive with their mission on ending youth homelessness, currently working with the city to come up with solutions, but focuses mostly on supporting peers going through similar experiences.

I think the reason why it's so popular is because it offers community, Beebe said. It offers a platform for their voice to be heard, and they are getting recognized in our community.

Dunthorn said the local city government has access to an affordable rental housing fund which can help fill the gap in the funding package that's required for developers to develop apartments.

The idea is that nobody should be paying more than a third of their income in rent. And so for people who don't have a lot of income, the cost of the apartment has to be fairly low, Dunthorn said. Most market rate developers are not looking for that. So they'll build the upscale stuff on their own and that's fine. In order to make the money work to be able to come out with a decent apartment that is ultimately affordable to somebody can sometimes require a little bit of help.

The program could then increase the supply and long-term availability for those with modest incomes looking to rent apartments. Additionally, Dunthorn said that for young adults, the process of building affordable housing also needs to consider what resources are critical for helping students start their lives.

In addition to the citys aim to receive funding to help get the homeless population off the streets, UT has also aimed at increasing awareness of the situation in Knoxville. Through several resources offered on campus, the university aims to help meet every students needs.

The university is increasing awareness through events like participating in National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The university hosted its second Hunger and Homelessness Summit in November 2019, participating in an event held in more than 700 different locations.

The summit brought guest speakers to campus including founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger Rachel Sumekh and Larry Roper, a professor and coordinator of college student services at Oregon State University. Speakers and events were directed to focus on addressing students needs through connecting resources across campus.

As the conversation around college youth food and housing insecurity continues to grow, there is a hope that more students will be able to step forth and receive the help they need to continue on their college career.

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How the City of Knoxville, UT aim to end college youth homelessness in Knoxville - UT Daily Beacon

But will this historic space become a Black history memory due to the coronavirus?

Most of the 300,000 restaurant workers in Massachusetts are furloughed or laid off. And according to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, the losses are expected to be as high as $2.3 billion.

When Congress rolled out that $2 trillion relief package, there was supposed to be assistance for small businesses in the form of loans, tax breaks, and paycheck protection. But the application process was hard. Not even lawyers agree on how it works. And in order to get loan forgiveness, a business owner must spend the money within eight weeks, keep the same number of employees it had before the pandemic, and use 75 percent of it on payroll.

To make it harder, a lot of big businesses like Ruths Chris and Kura Sushi were getting money meant for the little local joints. Shake Shack may have returned its funds, but a lot of small restaurants are on their own.

Restaurants owned by immigrants, Black people, and other people of color have historically struggled to get business loans, liquor licenses, and contracts. Now, COVID-19 is amplifying the inequities in how those businesses will stay open.

The first place we saw coronavirus shutter was Chinatown, where businesses experienced a dwindling number of customers due to xenophobia months before social distancing, shutdowns, and widespread infection.

Now, were seeing how the virus could close down the few Black-owned restaurants we have, like District 7 Tavern. Smith, along with the owners of Darryls Corner Bar & Kitchen, the renowned Wallys Caf, Savvor Restaurant & Lounge, and Soleil Restaurant & Catering have formed the Boston Black Hospitality Coalition in an effort to survive.

They are challenging city and state officials to create a task force specifically for Black-owned businesses and restaurants and looking for community support.

Smith says he estimates each of them have about another month before they have to consider closing their doors for good. District 7 Tavern closed in mid-March and is already $120,000 under. Collectively, the five businesses will have lost over $1 million by the end of the month. Smith applied for the federal Paycheck Protection Program but hasnt received any funds. Hes rethinking his business model.

Its a problem so dire minority-owned microbusinesses nationwide are facing closure without major government support.

Last week, US Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Kamala D. Harris introduced the Saving Our Street (SOS) Act to lend federal support to small businesses during the crisis. The act, if passed, would establish a Microbusiness Assistance Fund of $124.5 billion and provide up to $250,000 directly to microbusinesses: the tiny operations with staffs of fewer than 10 people 20 if half the staff is from a low-income community. The application process would require demographic data, to ensure minority-owned businesses arent excluded.

In the Massachusetts Seventh [congressional district], our smallest neighborhood restaurants and businesses are the backbones of our communities. These businesses need real help now, but so far too many have been left out and left behind by federal relief efforts," Pressley said in a statement.

We cannot allow the systemic barriers that have long prevented Black business owners from accessing capital to persist amid this crisis. Our relief efforts must be intentional and race-conscious to ensure minority-owned small businesses get the resources and support.

The Boston Black Hospitality Coalition isnt asking for much: $500,000 as a collective. The NAACPs Boston branch contributed the first $25,000.

Ultimately, Smith says, they want the fund to benefit not just the owners involved, but also to boost Black-owned businesses like ZAZ in Hyde Park, The Coast Cafe in Cambridge, and the hundreds of musicians out of work.

If we aint getting money, they aint getting money," Smith says. When it comes to minority businesses and minority dollars banks and companies want to invest in, Black people are the minority of the minority. Theres a lot of zeros floating around. We are just looking to survive.

And their survival is vital to an entire people.

The Teachers Lounge comes together most often at Black-owned restaurants to uplift Black educators and educators of color. Market Sharing helps feed the homeless, thanks to their relationship with Savvor. Queens Co. often holds its women empowerment events at Black-owned restaurants.

These places arent just places to eat and drink. This is often where Black Boston builds, networks, and thrives.

Farrah Belizaire, founder of LiteWork Events, says Black ownership is a key part of economic mobility and sustainability in our community. Her organization is dedicated to curating events for professionals of color, so keeping the doors open at places like La Fabrica and Darryls and Cesaria is important. Before social distancing, she was a guest bartender at District 7 Tavern.

Im often having to combat the stereotype that Black people dont exist in Boston, she says. One way to change that narrative is to amplify the existence of social spaces owned and occupied by Black Bostonians. During these times its especially important to make sure these places can stay afloat.

Smith says 2020 was supposed to be the year Black Boston showed up and showed out. Hes right. The NAACP was scheduled to bring its national convention to Boston this year, putting the city and Black-owned businesses in the spotlight.

He and the rest of the hospitality coalition first came together to advocate for city contracts and a seat at the table in discussions on liquor licenses, preferred vendors, and contracts. They were hoping to make a big impact, starting with the convention. And then coronavirus postponed life as we know it.

We have to wait to have some of those conversations, he says. The focus is on coronavirus right now, as it should be. But what happens when the lights turn back on?

The new normal cannot be to add more inequities to the pot.

We have to make sure people not only have places to return for work, for their food, drink, and camaraderie. We have to make sure we are crafting recipes that dont leave them in the dark.

Jene Osterheldt can be reached at jenee.osterheldt@globe.com and on Twitter @sincerelyjenee

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Black restaurant owners in Boston want to see relief on the menu - The Boston Globe

Year In Review

Anand Raman, the head of Skaddens Consumer Financial Services (CFS) practice, began the conference by providing a summary of notable events and trends over the past year relating to consumer financial services compliance and enforcement, including enforcement actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and prudential regulators, statutory and regulatory changes, and activity by state regulators.

Key issues discussed in this session included:

CFPB Staffing Changes and Enforcement Trends. The CFPB hired new Associate Director of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending Bryan Schneider at the end of 2019 and hired new Enforcement Director Thomas Ward early in 2020. The impact that these new hires will have on the CFPBs enforcement strategy is not yet clear, but the CFPB continues to actively investigate consumer compliance issues and initiate enforcement actions.

Notably, enforcement actions over the past year have disproportionately come in the form of lawsuits, rather than consent orders, compared with earlier years. For example, of the 20 actions that were filed between April 1, 2019, and April 1, 2020, 12 were lawsuits and eight were consent orders. In contrast, between April 1, 2015, and April 1, 2016, the CFPB filed 43 enforcement actions, of which 18 were lawsuits and 25 were consent orders.

On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the matter of Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consider two questions: (i) whether the vesting of substantial executive authority in the CFPB, an independent agency led by a single director, violates the separation of powers; and (ii) whether, if the CFPB is found unconstitutional on the basis of the separation of powers, 12 U.S.C. 5491(c)(3) can be severed from the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB argues that the single-director structure is unconstitutional, and a decision by the Court invalidating the single-director structure could affect how the Bureau pursues enforcement in the future. The Courts decision is expected in the coming months.

Prudential Regulators. Anand noted that the prudential regulators also continue to actively examine consumer compliance issues including in the areas of fair lending and unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP) with a particular emphasis on nonpublic resolutions of consumer compliance matters. Key issues that the prudential regulators have reviewed over the past year include overdraft fee assessment practices, commercial lending disclosures and broker compensation.

Fair Lending. The CFPB and the federal prudential regulators did not enter into any public fair lending enforcement actions over the past 12 months, although the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development entered into settlements relating to redlining and automobile loan pricing.

Statutes and Regulations. The CFPB proposed revisions to Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The proposed revisions would prohibit a debt collector from calling a consumer about a particular debt more than seven times within a seven-day period and from engaging in more than one telephone conversation with a consumer about a particular debt within a seven-day period.

The CFPB also issued a final rule delaying the implementation of the underwriting requirements of its 2017 payday lending rule, which had originally been proposed under the Bureaus former Director Richard Cordray. The underwriting requirements would have made it an unfair and abusive practice to make certain payday and vehicle title loans without determining that the borrower had an ability to repay the loan, but the CFPB subsequently determined that these ability-to-repay provisions would unduly restrict access to credit.

With respect to small business data collection under the Dodd-Frank Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the CFPB agreed, as part of a settlement of litigation against the agency relating to its delay in issuing a rule, to publish an outline of proposals under consideration and alternatives considered by September 15, 2020. The CFPB also agreed to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review panel, which would, among other things, issue a report on the subject.

On September 10, 2019, the CFPB issued new or revised policies relating to no-action letters, Compliance Assistance Sandbox approvals and trial disclosure approvals, all of which are administered by the CFPBs Office of Innovation. The purpose of these policies is to encourage institutions to provide innovative products and services to consumers by addressing or resolving regulatory uncertainty that may be preventing the institutions from implementing a product or service.

State Update. States have aggressively enforced consumer financial protection laws, particularly in light of a perceived reduction in activity by the CFPB, with the New York Department of Financial Services, Massachusetts Attorney General, and California Department of Business Oversight as notable examples. State agencies have taken action across a variety of industries, and have been particularly active in the auto lending space.

Audience questions submitted during the presentation included:

Skadden counsel Austin Brown and associates Nicole Cleminshaw andAndrew Hansonled a discussion of hot topics in consumer compliance over the past year, including emerging issues regarding fair lending and unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the consumer compliance enforcement activity over the past year has related to UDAAP, with several enforcement actions also relating to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Although there were no public fair lending enforcement actions by the CFPB over the past year, the CFPB entered into a consent order against mortgage lender Freedom Mortgage Corp. for submitting erroneous Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data under Regulation C in June 2019. The presenters pointed out that the Freedom Mortgage Corp. order related primarily to the reporting of race, ethnicity, and sex information, which the CFPB alleged was reported incorrectly on an intentional basis in many cases.

Key issues discussed in this session included:

Compliance With Foreclosure, Forbearance and Other Loss Mitigation Guidance and Regulations. The presenters discussed efforts by federal and state governments to address the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including requirements and guidelines prohibiting foreclosures and encouraging or requiring loan servicers to offer forbearance and other loss mitigation options to borrowers. Under the CARES Act, for example, a borrower with a federally-backed mortgage loan experiencing a hardship due directly or indirectly to the COVID-19 emergency may request forbearance from the borrowers servicer, and such forbearance shall be granted where the borrower provides a certification of hardship. Likewise, servicers may not pursue foreclosure processes for federally-backed mortgage loans over the 60-day period that began on March 18, 2020. These and other similar requirements at the state level for nonmortgage loans raise fair lending risk, inasmuch as institutions may not be treating similarly situated customers consistently.

The presenters outlined best practices to potentially mitigate fair lending risk relating to foreclosure, forbearance and other loss mitigation programs, including:

Risks Related to Implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program has led to a number of compliance issues, including fair lending risks under the ECOA relating to the prioritization of existing customers for PPP loans. In particular, it has been widely reported that some institutions have issued guidelines prohibiting from eligibility loan applicants who do not already have a loan account with the institution. Several reasons have been offered for such a policy, including minimizing the burden on staff, who are already stretched thin by COVID-19 issues and concerns, to compliance with know-your-customer rules.

The presenters highlighted that, depending on the composition of the existing customer base, a customer-only policy could lead to a higher denial rate for minority-owned businesses. In addition, any other underwriting overlays could create denial rate disparities and expose institutions to further fair lending risk. The presenters recommended that institutions carefully monitor underwriting decisions relating to the PPP program to determine whether minority-owned businesses are being adversely affected by policies and procedures. They noted that fair lending enforcement relating to the PPP program could take months or even years to develop, necessitating careful documentation of decisions and attention to treating similarly situated customers equally.

Emerging Fair Lending Issues. Loan pricing continues to be an area of fair lending scrutiny by regulators, particularly with respect to relationship and competitive discounts. In particular, regulators continue to investigate whether institutions are offering competitive price matching and relationship discounts equally to minority and nonminority borrowers. The presenters discussed best practices in this area, including:

A second fair lending hot topic is the enhanced regulatory scrutiny resulting from the banking industrys shift into digital banking. As banks reduce their physical footprint, fair lending risk may arise inasmuch as branches are closed disproportionately in majority-minority communities, or an institution leaves majority-minority communities altogether. Steps to mitigate fair lending risk relating to the closure of branches potentially include documenting the specific reasons for any particular branch closure and evaluating whether branch closures will disproportionately affect majority-minority communities.

Emerging UDAAP Issues. The presenters discussed several emerging UDAP and UDAAP issues, focusing on the application of the UDAP prohibition to small business lending practices, recent rulemaking relating to the prohibition against abusive acts or practices, and the development of debt collection rules tied to UDAAP. Although the application of UDAP to small business lending practices is not new, regulators have recently focused their enforcement activities on protecting small businesses from unfair or deceptive acts or practices, including with respect to the disclosure of material terms and conditions of contracts. The presenters made the point that enforcement actions in the consumer space may foreshadow small business enforcement in the future, and encouraged participants to consider issues such as payment processing, credit reporting and overdraft practices affecting small businesses through a UDAP lens.

The presenters also described the CFPBs recent application of UDAAP principles to debt collection practices, including a recent enforcement action alleging that the number of debt collection calls to a borrower constituted an unfair practice.

Audience questions submitted during the presentation included:

Skadden counsel Darren Welch led a discussion regarding machine learning, digital marketing and other emerging technology-based issues in consumer financial services. Machine learning an advanced computing methodology which helps identify predictive patterns from large data sets without human involvement has the potential to result in more predictive models, increased access to credit, and better terms and conditions, thereby benefiting the industry and consumers alike. As with other advances in technology, however, machine learning also presents a number of compliance issues including unique challenges as well as some issues present in traditional models in the areas of fair lending, fairness and technical compliance. Darren discussed these compliance issues and a number of recommended best practices.

Key issues discussed in this session included:

Fair Lending Testing. With the prevalence and complexity of machine learning models used for underwriting and other purposes, it is important for companies to assess the adequacy of fair lending testing methodologies. Two key types of fair lending testing are (i) to identify potential less discriminatory alternatives and (ii) to assess whether variables may serve as a close proxy for a prohibited factor. While regulators have not clearly articulated expectations regarding fair lending testing methodologies for machine learning models, important questions include how to determine whether an alternative is materially better than the challenged practice, whether an alternative must be considered if it results in some drop in model performance, and how to assess different and conflicting impacts of an alternative on different borrower groups. Skadden has worked with clients to develop metrics and protocols to address these questions.

Explainability. It is important that lenders understand how complex models work, and that they are able to explain to consumers the reasons why a model resulted in an adverse outcome. In addition, to mitigate fair lending risk, lenders may wish to ensure that they can provide intuitive reasons as to why nontraditional data elements are predictive of risk.

Nontraditional Data. The use of nontraditional data elements i.e., data not found in traditional credit bureau reports or reported by the consumer on the application in lending models has the potential to expand access to credit in some circumstances, as regulators have indicated. However, these data elements can present elevated compliance risk, and it is important to consider appropriate fair lending risk management, including carefully reviewing data elements, documenting the rationale as to why nontraditional data elements are predictive, fair lending testing for alternatives and proxies, and considering other options to mitigate fair lending risk resulting from third-party models.

Digital Marketing. Recommendations in recent regulatory guidance regarding internet marketing include monitoring audiences reached by marketing, understanding third-party algorithms, carefully reviewing geographic filters and offering consumers the best products for which they are eligible. Regarding marketing through social platforms, including Facebook, while certain targeting options have been eliminated for credit models, other algorithms used by social media platforms that cannot be controlled by advertisers may consider prohibited basis variables, and Darren recommended that lenders consider whether and how they use such platforms for marketing.

Audience questions submitted during the presentation included:

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Summary of 28th Annual Conference on Fair Lending and Consumer Financial Protection - JD Supra

The official marriage of Ethereum and Hyperledger matters.

There have been dalliances between Hyperledger and Ethereum going back over the years. The latest lovechild, Besu, was designed from the ground up to let large enterprises connect to the public Ethereum blockchain.

There are benefits on both sides. On the public, or permissionless, side of things, Ethereum has the largest developer community in crypto, building tools corporations may not even know they need yet.

On the other, Hyperledgers permissioned blockchain is where many of the corporations looking at this tech feel most comfortable. (Besu graduated to active status within Hyperledger in March of this year, placing the project on an equal footing with the likes of Fabric, Sawtooth and Indy.)

This post is part of the CoinDesk 50, an annual selection of the most innovative and consequential projects in the blockchain industry. See thefull list here.

Ethereums true believers have always viewed big business using the public mainnet as a Holy Grail in the quest for world computer status. Such a development would make Ethereum a transparent trust layer for anchoring transactions or agreements, bringing the Fortune 500 into a new world of open, decentralized finance.

Businesses are coming round to the idea of a public blockchain connection, too, either running their own nodes or by using some form of safe bridge to the mainnet, said Daniel Heyman, program director of PegaSys, the protocol engineering group at ConsenSys that built Besu.

While some folks over at Hyperledger think thats a nice to have, there are definitely others who think its a need to have, Heyman said. Regardless, a mainnet project brings a lot of optionality to enterprises that otherwise wouldnt have those choices.

Hyperledger Executive Director Brian Behlendorf said Besu was kind of hedging our bets, since the client can be used in both permissioned blockchains as well as on public networks.

I like to keep an open mind, said Behlendorf. Eventually, I think the larger, more-successful permissioned blockchain networks will look and feel not unlike many of the public blockchains. So it's not a dichotomy in my book.

Looking ahead, its also possible Besu may blaze a trail in bringing more Ethereum-affiliated projects into Hyperledger. For instance, Axoni, the blockchain builder working with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is due to open source that particular piece of work as part of Hyperledger.

Seeing other enterprise Ethereum projects begin to gravitate towards Hyperledger would be really exciting, said Heyman.

Communities take a lot of work to maintain, Heyman added. Ethereum is far and away the most engaged community in the blockchain space, which has happened rather organically. But on the enterprise side of the coin, you typically need to be a bit more intentional to get those communities to form. So Hyperledgers support is really helpful.

Behlendorf said thats where Besu may come in handy by getting some enterprise blockchain projects to stop focusing on the bespoke in favor of something that can be adopted across multiple platforms.

[Hyperledger] can play a useful role in helping up-level the whole industry and help everyone save some money at a time when there isnt really cash to spare, he said.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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CoinDesk 50: Besu, the Marriage of Ethereum and Hyperledger - CoinDesk

New Delhi:A group of over 1,000 experts and organisations have written an open letter questioning the worlds strategy, and suggesting a transformative change as we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped us all.

For a more just and equitable society, they argue, degrowth is the way to go. This, they say, will require an overhaul of the capitalist system a planned yet adaptive, sustainable, and equitable downscaling of the economy, leading to a future where we can live better together with less. They have put forth five principles which they believe will help create a more just future.

Blind faith in the market system and pursuits like green growth will not make matters any better, they agree.

Read the full text of the letter below.

The Coronavirus pandemic has already taken countless lives and it is uncertain how it will develop in the future. While people on the front lines of healthcare and basic social provisioning are fighting against the spread of the virus, caring for the sick and keeping essential operations running, a large part of the economy has come to a standstill. This situation is numbing and painful for many, creating fear and anxiety about those we love and the communities we are part of, but it is also a moment to collectively bring new ideas forward.

The crisis triggered by the Coronavirus has already exposed many weaknesses of our growth-obsessed capitalist economy insecurity for many, healthcare systems crippled by years of austerity and the undervaluation of some of the most essential professions. This system, rooted in exploitation of people and nature, which is severely prone to crises, was nevertheless considered normal. Although the world economy produces more than ever before, it fails to take care of humans and the planet, instead the wealth is hoarded and the planet is ravaged.Millions of children die every year from preventable causes, 820 million people are undernourished, biodiversity and ecosystems are being degraded and greenhouse gases continue to soar, leading to violent anthropogenic climate change: sea level rise, devastating storms,droughts and fires that devour entire regions.

Also read: We Will Survive the Coronavirus. We Need to Make Sure We Survive Ourselves.

For decades, the dominant strategies against these ills were to leave economic distribution largely to market forces and to lessen ecological degradation through decoupling and green growth. This has not worked. We now have an opportunity to build on the experiences of the Corona crisis: from new forms of cooperation and solidarity that are flourishing, to the widespread appreciation of basic societal services like health and care work, food provisioning and waste removal. The pandemic has also led to government actions unprecedented in modern peacetime, demonstrating what is possible when there is a will to act: the unquestioned reshuffling of budgets, mobilisation and redistribution of money, rapid expansion of social security systems and housing for the homeless.

At the same time, we need to be aware of the problematic authoritarian tendencies on the rise like mass surveillance and invasive technologies, border closures, restrictions on the right of assembly, and the exploitation of the crisis by disaster capitalism. We must firmly resist such dynamics, but not stop there. To start a transition towards a radically different kind of society, rather than desperately trying to get the destructive growth machine running again, we suggest to build on past lessons and the abundance of social and solidarity initiatives that have sprouted around the world these past months. Unlike after the 2008 financial crisis, we should save people and the planet rather than bail out the corporations, and emerge from this crisis with measures of sufficiency instead of austerity.

We, the signatories of this letter, therefore offer five principles for the recovery of our economy and the basis of creating a just society. To develop new roots for an economy that works for all, we need to:

1)Put life at the center of our economic systems.

Instead of economic growth and wasteful production, we must put life and wellbeing at the center of our efforts. While some sectors of the economy, like fossil fuel production, military and advertising, have to be phased out as fast as possible, we need to foster others, like healthcare, education, renewable energy and ecological agriculture.

2)Radically reevaluate how much and what work is necessary for a good life for all.

We need to put more emphasis oncare workand adequately value the professions that have proven essential during the crisis. Workers from destructive industries need access to training for new types of work that is regenerative and cleaner, ensuring a just transition. Overall, we have to reduce working time and introduce schemes for work-sharing.

3)Organize society around the provision of essential goods and services.

While we need to reduce wasteful consumption and travel, basic human needs, such as the right to food, housing and education have to be secured for everyone through universal basic services or universal basic income schemes. Further, a minimum and maximum income have to be democratically defined and introduced.

4)Democratise society.

This means enabling all people to participate in the decisions that affect their lives. In particular, it means more participation for marginalised groups of society as well as including feminist principlesinto politics and the economic system. The power of global corporations and the financial sector has to be drastically reduced through democratic ownership and oversight. The sectors related to basic needs like energy, food, housing, health and education need to be decommodified and definancialised. Economic activity based on cooperation, for example worker cooperatives, has to be fostered.

5)Base political and economic systems on the principle of solidarity.

Redistribution and justice transnational, intersectional and intergenerational must be the basis for reconciliation between current and future generations, social groups within countries as well as between countries of the Global South and Global North. The Global North in particular must end current forms of exploitation and make reparations for past ones. Climate justice must be the principle guiding a rapid social-ecological transformation.

As long as we have an economic system that is dependent on growth, a recession will be devastating. What the world needs instead is Degrowth a planned yet adaptive, sustainable, and equitable downscaling of the economy, leading to a future where we can live better with less. The current crisis has been brutal for many, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, but it also gives us the opportunity to reflect and rethink. It can make us realise what is truly important and has demonstrated countless potentials to build upon. Degrowth, as a movement and a concept, has been reflecting on these issues for more than a decade and offers a consistent framework for rethinking society based on other values, such as sustainability, solidarity, equity, conviviality, direct democracy and enjoyment of life.

Join us in these debates and share your ideas atDegrowth Vienna 2020and theGlobal Degrowth Day to construct an intentional and emancipatory exit from our growth addictions together!

In solidarity,

The open letter working group: Nathan Barlow, Ekaterina Chertkovskaya, Manuel Grebenjak, Vincent Liegey, Franois Schneider, Tone Smith, Sam Bliss, Constanza Hepp, Max Hollweg, Christian Kerschner, Andro Rilovi, Pierre Smith Khanna, Jolle Saey-Volckrick

This letter is the result of a collaborative process within the degrowth international network. It has been signed by more than 1,100 experts and over 70 organizations from more than 60 countries. See all signatories here

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1000+ Experts From Around the World Call for 'Degrowth' After COVID-19 Pandemic - The Wire

After making the tough decision to close our doors on March 16th, volunteers at The Tool Library, a community nonprofit serving Buffalo and WNY since 2011, have been hard at work developing a way to re-open. The goal was to continue to provide affordable access to tools while keeping the health and safety of all Tool Library members, volunteers, and the broader community as the top priority.

We sent out a survey to our members at the beginning of April asking about their needs, how they could contribute, and whether they would utilize a contactless tool borrowing system. An overwhelming majority of respondents (82%) said they would use a contactless borrowing system. Members where not only excited to tackle DIY projects around the house, but many spoke of the need to grow their own food as one way to increase their food security.

With this data in hand, Tool Library Board Members, volunteers, and our AmeriCorps VISTA began to formulate a plan of what a contactless borrowing system would look like. Utilizing advice from the CDC and best practices from other tool libraries around the country, the Tool Library To-Go program was born!

Tool Library To-Go allows members to call, click, or email their tool orders ahead of time and secure a pick-up time and date. Volunteers are then able to prep these orders for pick-up using The CoLab, a space next door to The Tool Library traditionally used for workshops, meetings, and pop-ups. Members can pick-up and return tools without having to interact with individuals face-to-face. Returned tools are sanitized and then placed in tool quarantine for 72 hours being returned to the inventory.

For a full rundown of updated operating procedures and hours of operation, please visit our Tool Library To-Go page.

While well need to rethink what sharing looks like in a post-pandemic world, we believe that the sharing economy and local, on the ground examples like The Tool Library will be critical in rebuilding our communities to be more self-reliant, resilient, and better networked. Embracing a new normal where one borrows rather than buys and consumption and competition is replaced by sharing and collaboration.

To quote Peter Moskowitz,

The more we practice intentional and community-oriented living, the less useful we will be as consumers.

Darren Cotton works as Director of Community Development & Planning at the University District Community Development Association (UDCDA). His work primarily focuses on housing rehabilitation, small business development, and community capacity building in the neighborhood's surrounding the University at Buffalo's South Campus. Prior to this, Darren served as an Associate Planner at the UB Regional Institute working on a regional sustainability initiative, the remediation of industrial brownfields, and an overhaul of Buffalo's zoning code. As a graduate student at UB, Darren founded the University Heights Tool Library in response to his experience renting from an absentee landlord. With a Bachelor's Degree in International Studies and Linguistics and a Master's Degree in Urban Planning all from UB, Darren works to bridge the gap between research, policy, and grassroots activism and is a firm believer that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

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Borrowing is back at The Tool Library - Buffalo Rising

As COVID-19 rampages through the country, its effects are disproportionately affecting people in disenfranchised communities those living in poverty, the undocumented, certain African-American neighborhoods and the children in these communities. Issues of low wages, lack of access to medical care, and educational disadvantages have existed for years. Now the coronavirus pandemic is magnifying these problems and bringing them to light. Here's a look at how COVID-19 has impacted the less fortunate among us.

Poverty in a Pandemic

For those living in poverty, Dr. Elena Delavega, a professor at the University of Memphis and an expert in poverty, says the pandemic has "tremendous implications on a number of fronts."

Memphis has a poverty rate of just under 28 percent, according to the 2019 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet compiled annually by Delavega and others at the U of M. That's more than double the 11 percent poverty rate for Tennessee and the 12 percent rate for the country.

"From health care, to the ability to work from home, to accessing protective gear and other necessary supplies, to education, the effects of poverty are only being highlighted now," Delavega says.

As more people are laid off or furloughed, Delavega notes that the ability to withstand a furlough depends largely on one's savings. But, she points out, people living in poverty often don't have savings. This means they don't have the financial resources to buy supplies and food in bulk. "They can only buy what they need, little by little. Now they are going to the store more often and facing more exposure. And if there is a disruption in the supply chain, those who aren't able to stock up on resources will be most impacted." An issue that Delavega says can no longer be ignored is access to health care. Because health care is often tied to jobs in the United States, when people lose their jobs, "they are essentially being condemned to death." Delavega adds that many who hold essential jobs, such as fast food and grocery store employees, don't have access to health insurance through their employer.

"One thing we've seen in South Korea is that everything was made available to everyone," Delavega says. "Here, we don't do that. Wealthy people have access, while poor people don't. In Europe, we've seen a triage based on who has a greater chance of survival, but here that triage is economic. The priority is not given to those with a greater chance to survive, but to those who can pay for medical services." Delavega also notes that those who are living paycheck to paycheck must continue to work, whether they are sick or not. "People in poverty can't afford to avoid the virus. They have to work. They have to eat."

Tiffany Lowe, an employee at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken who joined other fast food workers in a strike to protest unsafe working conditions amid the COVID-19 outbreak in early April, knows the struggles cited by Delavega firsthand. Lowe has been working at KFC for three years and makes $8 an hour.

"I have a son with an immune deficiency disease, and I'm afraid one day I'll bring home the virus to him and he's not going to be able to fight it off," Lowe says. "I'm frustrated, angry, and confused as to why a multi-billion dollar corporation such as KFC wouldn't give us the things we need to survive like hazard pay, health care, and paid sick leave. I mean, if they want to call us essential employees, then they should make us feel essential, treat us like human beings, and give us what we deserve."

Lowe says the company is also putting customers at risk, as employees who are sick are likely to still show up to work because there is no paid sick leave.

"This job is the only source of income for a lot of us," she says. "So without working, how would they survive? Some people might come if they're sick, putting people's lives at risk."

Delavega says people in Lowe's position, living in poverty, making little above minimum wage, have always been in danger of losing their livelihood and lives when a crisis occurs.

"The reality is in the American society, the lives of poor people don't really matter." she says. "These things aren't new. The pandemic is just highlighting conditions that already exist. The crisis has made it obvious. We're seeing it on a grand scale."

This is the reality for poor people every day, she says. "One disease, one tornado, one case of bad luck for the business they work for, and this is what happens. This is true for nearly 200,000 people in Memphis. Every single day. When this is over, are we going to remember the most vulnerable among us? Are we going to remember the need for universal health care and a livable wage? Are we going to recognize the importance of internet access and make it a public resource? It's not a luxury, but an essential utility."

Children Will be "Most Impacted"

Children living poverty will be the "most and worst impacted," Delavega says, citing the education gaps closed schools and remote learning has created. Nearly half of the children in Memphis, or 44.9 percent, live in poverty.

"They are essentially missing a half semester of learning," she says. "Students living in wealthy homes with computers can continue to study. They have the books and the resources to continue learning. Families without computers or the internet are simply not going to be able to continue that education."

She says for those children the school year has essentially ended, and Delavega fears they will be at a disadvantage at the beginning of next school year. "If students lose knowledge over the span of summer break, imagine how much more they are losing now and how much more academically disadvantaged they will be next year."

Delavega fears the impact of COVID-19 on children living in poverty will be "permanent and long-lasting. The educational impacts will follow them for the rest of their lives."

Katy Spurlock, with the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) education equity task force, says MICAH sees greater inequity in education "than we do anywhere else. We're focused on bridging the gap."

With schools closed, Spurlock agrees that the greatest issue for students in impoverished communities is the lack of internet access and devices. "There is a huge divide there. Children whose families have internet access and devices or go to schools that provide them are a step ahead. We're just trying to work to hold the community accountable to make sure that need is met."

Census data shows that in the South Memphis and Washington Heights neighborhoods more than 80 percent of households have no broadband internet access. In Frayser, 63 percent of households are without internet access.

A report by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance published in 2018 found that of the 256,973 households in Memphis in 2016, 126,428 of them had no broadband connection.

Spurlock says, "We're already behind the eight ball realistically in this community with education and being able to successfully matriculate students through the school system. We already had problems with disparities before COVID-19."

However, Spurlock says she is going to be optimistic about the outcome of the pandemic for students. "I'm going to say we're going to be able to get this right and at least not make things worse, to ensure that children get the access they need to continue to be able to learn. When we start back school in the fall, creative thinking will prevail. I see this as an opportunity to get things right."

Alexis Gwin-Miller, who also serves on MICAH's education task force, says this crisis presents a "wide-open door for equity to rise. We don't have to stay in a place of disparity." She says it is an important time for collaboration across socioeconomic lines to address equity "for all students, no matter where they live." She also calls for the use of concrete data to deploy resources where they are needed, explaining there should be a priority to provide internet access in ZIP codes with the least amount of connectivity.

To bridge the digital divide, Shelby County Schools is working on a new plan to provide students with devices and internet access. A draft of the plan, including three options, was released in April and awaits approval from the school board. The initial cost of investment for the three options ranges from $22.2 million to $77.3 million. The options vary from providing all 94,691 students with devices equipped with the internet to only those who are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

If approved, the distribution of devices would begin within 30 to 90 days, depending on the option selected, which leaves little time to bridge the gap left in this school year scheduled to end on May 26th.

The 'Invisible' Community

Mauricio Calvo, executive director of Latino Memphis, says the struggles of the Latinx and immigrant community have been threefold amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Latinx people are just like everyone else," Calvo says. "We have the same fears and emotions, and on top of that, are struggling, as many people in poverty are, and then on top of that, there are barriers that come when you are an immigrant."

Calvo says from the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Memphis, "There's been an invisibility of our community. I know it wasn't intentional, but I think in the midst of the crisis, there hasn't been an effort to reach out to subgroups. It's been more of a one-size-fits all response."

For the Latinx community, Calvo says the pandemic has highlighted specific challenges already present, such as the language barrier and lack of access, trust, and health care.

Cecilia Martinez, a caseworker for Latino Memphis, says she works directly with Latinx clients and one of the main concerns is getting accurate information in their language.

"For example, the shelter-in-place information hadn't been correctly translated to say what it really means to say," Martinez says. "If you don't know what's going on from the beginning, that makes it harder to get ahead. A lot of the time the information comes in English, and it's usually not translated until someone brings it up."

Martinez notes the hardest population to reach is those who speak dialects of Spanish not widely spoken, such as the Guatemalan community. "It's hard enough to get things in Spanish, but even harder to get them in more specific languages."

The lack of health insurance is another obstacle Calvo says the immigrant community faces. "If you are undocumented, you can't get health insurance. This is a real issue among older Latinos. People worry about getting tested and being positive and not knowing what to do next. Some worry about getting tested in the first place because of what documentation they'll be asked to provide."

Calvo says the undocumented community, like many impoverished populations, is also facing financial challenges. "The stimulus payments only benefit taxpayers who have social security numbers. This is very unfair, and it's important to know that there are many, many people who do not have social security numbers and still pay taxes and who are parents of American children. But these people were still left out of the stimulus package."

The government is leaving people behind who are a part of the economy, Calvo says. "We can't pretend these people aren't a part of the economy. There are hundreds of people feeling left out. These people are humans, Memphians, and taxpayers. It's a matter of representation."

Health Disparities

Preliminary data suggest disproportionate effects of COVID-19 among racial and ethnic minority groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in a recent report.

One of these racial groups is African Americans. While blacks represent only 13 percent of the U.S. population, nearly one-third of people diagnosed with COVID-19 nationwide have been black, according to CDC data. (Race has only been reported in 42 percent of cases.) Similarly, nearly one-third of those who have died across the country are black, notes a recent analysis by the Associated Press using available state and local data.

While blacks make up 52 percent of Shelby County's population, 68 percent of the county's confirmed cases where race was reported are African-American. The county has not released demographics for the 44 deaths recorded here.

Duane Loynes Sr., assistant professor of urban studies and health equity at Rhodes College, says he is not surprised that COVID-19 has "ravaged" the African-American community. By design, he says African Americans are a socially vulnerable class.

Those living in the 38106 ZIP code near the Soulsville area have a life expectancy of 13 years shorter than those living in the Collierville ZIP code of 38107, Loynes says. "When you drive the short 30-minute drive from Soulsville to Collierville, the life expectancy ridiculously increases."

Loynes points to scientific reasons for this disparity and behind why African Americans might be more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 and ultimately dying from the disease.

When one is stressed or fearful of danger, Loynes says their body produces excess cortisol, a long-acting hormone. Preparing one to fight or to take flight, cortisol does three key things in the body. It raises one's heart rate to prepare the body to take in more oxygen, thickens the blood in case of injury to slow blood loss, and slows down one's insulin response to give the body more energy.

"It's really a genius way our bodies are designed, but it's designed for occasional usage. But suppose you live in a world where you're poor or African-American and you're constantly worried about how you're going to pay your bills, how your children will get a good education, that you'll be evicted, or about law enforcement. Your body is constantly doing something we're not designed to do putting cortisol into your body."

Loynes says an increased heart rate, thickened blood, and slowed down insulin correspond perfectly with three health issues African Americans are more likely to have than others: diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. "If your body is under stress and having to adjust to it, these are the consequences."

Another health issue more prevalent in African-American communities is asthma, he says. "We understand that there is a direct correlation between communities of color that struggle with asthma and waste sites. Black folks tend to live in close proximity to toxic areas. We see this all around the country."

This is not incidental, Loynes says. "I'm not saying someone said 'Hey, let's do this to African-American communities,' but the disregard for black life has made black communities vulnerable, and that makes all these other things worse. Because of these underlying health conditions on top of everything else, when COVID-19 comes on you, the body is already under significant stress."

In a press conference in early April, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who is African American, discussed blacks' higher risk of contracting COVID-19. In his statement, Adams urged black Americans to "step up" and stop behaviors such as smoking and drinking to curb the spread of the virus among blacks. Loynes says Adams had good intentions, but "he talked in a way that blamed African Americans for why they may be more at risk. He said things like 'tell grandma and them not to smoke or cut back on this or don't drink the alcohol.' But it's very clear all the ways racial bias leads to health disparities. But we don't like to talk about it. We'd rather blame big mama and say stop smoking. That's not the point."

Loynes says white Americans or those living in wealthy communities can afford to partake in bad behaviors because they are "born farther away from the edge. White people drink and smoke as well, but they're not dealing with the same issues. The consequences aren't as dire. The difference is they have a safety net. African Americans are born at the edge, and one mistake is it for us."

It all points back to poverty and structural racism, Loynes says. "I'm not saying African Americans are perfect. We all need to make better decisions. But the big picture items we struggle with are not our fault. They are structurally designed that way."

Loynes says fixing the structural issues and the resultant disparities that exist in U.S. society won't happen overnight. "We have to remember it typically takes longer to fix something than it does to break it. The problems that we are dealing with have been in existence for 401 years. We have to change the structural realities. We have to roll up our sleeves and get ready for multi-generational work."

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Poverty in a Pandemic - Memphis Flyer