By Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Hello All:
Hope all is well with you and that you and your families are safe, well, healthy, happy and thriving in the midst of these challenging and perilous times.
I recently received a press release from the Institute of the Black World that I'm sharing with you all, knowing that as we are bombarded more and more by the mainstream media, we definitely need to have voices of calm and reason in order to know what is real and what is hype. Under the understanding that we have been bombarded with a plethora of misinformation and confusion, the NNPA, headed by Dr. Ben Chavis, along with the Institute of the Black World have come together to provide a closer look, analyses, and resources specifically oriented to Black people. Thus far, no date as to the convening of the summit has been announced, but as soon as it is, I will be apprising you of the information so you can tune in and participate.
I will likewise be posting the info on my blog: ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS as well as information I'm receiving from international sources which have resources that so far have not been accessed by the current incumbent ersatz president. We have to keep each other informed, we have to develop and be each others resources and recourses in a time of epidemic and beyond. It's not the first time we've been through crises - and it's because of our love of each other, our ingenuity, creativity, relentlessness, and intelligence that we've survived 400
plus years of every challenge ever known to man thrown at us.
WE will survive this as well.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Black
Family Summit Launches Emergency Response to Coronavirus Pandemic
By IBW21
Organizations
to Address Myths and Disinformation, Highlight Racial Disparities
According to Dr.
Ron Daniels,
President of the Institute
of the Black World 21st Century
(IBW), they will convene a Black
Family Summit, to launch a multifaceted
emergency Initiative to address the impact of the Coronavirus
Pandemic on African Americans and people of African descent
in
the U.S.
Leonard Dunston, President
Emeritus of the National Association of Black Social Workers
and IBW Board Member, will convene the Summit, which is comprised of
twenty-nine socially-conscious Black professional and advocacy
groups. Among the organizations that focus on the wholistic health
and welfare of Black families and communities, are the All
Healers Mental Health Alliance, Black Psychiatrists of America,
Association of Black Psychologists, Inc., National Association of
Black Social Workers, Black Administrators in Child Welfare, National
Medical Association, Community Healing Network, Nigerian Social
Workers of America and the National Black Nurses Association.
These “healing” organizations are in the forefront of the
Emergency Response to the Coronavirus
Pandemic as it relates to the
impact on Black families and communities.
Because of false information spread on social
media that Black people are immune from the Coronavirus because of a
“melanin
exemption;” and rumors that the danger of the Pandemic is being
overblown as a scheme to control Black people, along with prevalent disbelief and apathy among many in the Black community as to the validity and seriousness of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the All
Healers Mental Health Alliance, convened by Dr. Annelle Primm,
recently discussed these issues on its bi-weekly conference
call. Subsequently, IBW is convening
an emergency phone meeting of BFS Organizations to
develop strategies to counter myths and disinformation about the
Pandemic.
To
immediately address these urgent concerns the Co-Chairpersons of the
FEMA/BFS Emergency Management Task Force, Yusef
Muhammad, former President of the International
Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters; and Dr.
Lucy Perez, former President of the National
Medical Association, have assembled a Task Team to develop
culturally appropriate and effective messages, with accurate medical
information and facts, about the Coronavirus Pandemic and its
impact on Black families and communities. The
first Fact Sheet has
already been developed and is being circulated as an evolving
document to be updated as new information and facts emerge about the
Pandemic. The National
Medical Association, Meharry College and
several other organizations have volunteered to contribute to the
evolving Fact Sheet.
A
Black Media Task Team has been formed, headed by Rev.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, President/CEO of the National
Newspaper Publishers Association and Rev.
Mark Thompson, Host of the Make It
Plain Podcast and a longtime social
justice activist, to assemble experts and messengers who will deliver
the message via print, electronic and
social media platforms that the Coronavirus Pandemic is REAL and will
disproportionally impact Black families and communities.
BFS organizations are submitting the names of representatives
with expertise on infectious diseases and healthcare disparities for
Black people to Dr. Chavis and Rev. Thompson so that a pool of
Black-oriented expert voices will be available for interviews on
Black and mainstream media.
Dr. Leon
McDougle, President-Elect, National Medical
Association, Dr. Patricia Newton,
CEO/Medical Director, Black Psychiatrists of America and Dr.
Martha Dawson, President, National Association of Black
Nurses are the first representatives who
have agreed to be credible messengers for this Initiative.
It
is anticipated that many more will follow in short order.
The
Emergency
Response Initiative
is rapidly achieving results. At Dr. Chavis’ request, the
NNPA
has established a National
Coronavirus Resource Center
on its digital platform Black
America Press.com;
and Dr. Chavis has generously agreed to create a dedicated space for
articles and essays from IBW/BFS
on the NNPA
platform.
IBW
has also established a space for Coronavirus articles and information
on its website at www.ibw21.org –
which will be linked to the NNPA
Resource
Center.
Webinars
to disseminate accurate information about the Coronavirus Pandemic
are being convened almost daily by organizations affiliated with BFS.
Seventy-five
or more representatives of organizations participated in the most
recent Emergency
Phone Meeting convened
by BFS.
There was great eagerness to contribute to making this
Initiative successful.
In
commenting on the success of the Emergency Response Initiative,
Leonard Dunston, Convener of BFS
said, “The
outpouring of support for this effort has been simply amazing. It’s
in the best tradition of Black folks responding to the needs of our
people in times of crisis. It is also clear that there is a
deep yearning for sharing and healing at a time when people
feel isolated from each other. So, in addition to convening
sessions to develop strategies to address the Pandemic, we also plan
to convene regular healing sessions to bond and bind our people
together as we collectively struggle to get beyond this crisis.”
For further information on the Black Family Summit Emergency Response Initiative contact IBW at: info@ibw21.org or call 718.429.1415. ###
NOW THAT YOU KNOW?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
eclecticallyblacknews@gmail.com
