Category: Economic Equality

Support Black-Owned Businesses: 181 Places to Start Online

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Racial and wealth disparities in the United States have been thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest throughout 2020. We see more clearly than ever just how often Black business owners and creatives have been thought of as less than their Caucasian counterparts – and Black businesses are paying the price.

Black businesses are impacted more deeply than Caucasian businesses by COVID-related closures, due to the long history of racial inequality that’s now exacerbated by the ongoing state of emergency.

It feels like an overwhelming problem – and it is – but there’s one simple thing you can do right now to help: Shop at Black-owned businesses whenever you can.

Supporting Black-owned businesses helps provide much-needed stability to business owners that have been hard hit by the pandemic. And you’re laying a foundation to continue to support Black businesses long after the crisis is over.

https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/support-black-owned-businesses/

Remote Work Has Seemingly Emboldened Workplace Harassers

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In some ways, the often informal and unsupervised channels through which remote work takes place can actually enable increased harassment—because of both the lack of oversight and witnesses to employee interactions and the blurring of barriers between professional and personal spaces. “We often hide for a reason, and for many of us, the pandemic made that covering impossible,” 

https://jezebel.com/remote-work-has-seemingly-emboldened-workplace-harasser-1847059639

A Louisiana Parish Jailed a U.S. Citizen for Being Latinx. We’re Suing. | American Civil Liberties Union

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Ramon Torres had been a U.S. citizen for nearly ten years when he was detained for four days on an immigration hold – despite having a U.S. passport, a Louisiana driver’s license, and a Social Security card, and despite that fact that a court ordered his release.

Torres’ ordeal began in August 2018, when he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Torres, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2009, was carrying multiple forms of identification, including his driver’s license and other security credentials. Torres was booked at the Ascension Parish Jail, and the next day the Parish Court ordered his release.

via A Louisiana Parish Jailed a U.S. Citizen for Being Latinx. We’re Suing. | American Civil Liberties Union

Expanding Involuntary Confinement is Not the Answer to Solve Gun Violence | American Civil Liberties Union

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In the wake of last weekend’s tragic shootings, President Trump did what he does best: stoked fear and cast blame. He proclaimed that  “we must reform our mental health laws to better identify mentally disturbed individuals who may commit acts of violence and make sure those people, not only get treatment, but when necessary, involuntary confinement.”

There are two things wrong with the idea of involuntary commitment as a solution to gun violence. First, focusing on people with identifiable mental disabilities won’t help. The data is clear: mental disability is not the primary cause of gun violence. Second, making it easier to commit people against their will would repeat one of the great wrongs of the last 150 years. It will rob innocent people of their most basic civil liberty: the day-to-day freedom to live on your own and make your own decisions about whether and what kind of medical treatment to receive.

via Expanding Involuntary Confinement is Not the Answer to Solve Gun Violence | American Civil Liberties Union

Websites Can Discriminate Against You Even If You Don’t Use Them, California Supreme Court Rules

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Nearly four years ago, a lone bankruptcy lawyer sued Square, the payment processor run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, challenging the app’s terms of use—despite never signing up. As of yesterday, the case will proceed, thanks to an opinion issued by the California Supreme Court that could have wide-reaching implications for online businesses.

The first thing you need to know is that, for whatever reason, Square’s Prohibited Goods and Services policies include “bankruptcy attorneys or collection agencies,” which you’ll recall is plaintiff Robert White’s line of work. California, where this case was tried and where a plurality of online services are headquartered, is also home to a state law—the Unruh Civil Rights Act—which provides broad protections against discrimination of many kinds, including occupation. But the question remained as to whether White needed to have entered into an agreement with Square (by agreeing to the terms of service) in order to have experienced said discrimination barring his “full and equal access” to the service.

via Websites Can Discriminate Against You Even If You Don’t Use Them, California Supreme Court Rules

Japanese Women Protest Requiring High Heels at Work

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Women in Japan are asking that the government ban employers from discriminating against women who don’t wear high heels to job interviews or work. The movement was started by freelance writer and actor Yumi Ishikawa, who submitted a petition with more than 18,000 signatures to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare on Monday, according to BuzzFeed News Japan.

via Japanese Women Protest Requiring High Heels at Work

Ethics committee raises alarm over ‘predictive policing’ tool | UK news | The Guardian

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A computer tool used by police to predict which people are likely to reoffend has come under scrutiny from one force’s ethics committee, who said there were a lot of “unanswered questions” and concerns about potential bias.

Amid mounting financial pressure, at least a dozen police forces are using or considering predictive analytics, despite warnings from campaigners that use of algorithms and “predictive policing” models risks locking discrimination into the criminal justice system.

West Midlands police are at the forefront, leading on a £4.5m project funded by the Home Office called National Data Analytics Solution (NDAS).

via Ethics committee raises alarm over ‘predictive policing’ tool | UK news | The Guardian

Books about ‘kick-ass’ women might be a pain in one – but we need to hear these wondrous stories | Life and style | The Guardian

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Over the past few years, a slew of similar books has attempted to fill the yawning gaps left in recorded history regarding women’s contributions. Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls and its sequel taught girls to aspire to something more than tiaras and coma-kisses. Books aimed at adults such as 100 Nasty Women of History, the Forgotten Women series, Bloody Brilliant Women and A History of the World in 21 Women inspired but also educated, focusing on the many pioneering women who were rubbed out of school textbooks. There are several more titles dedicated to the strides many wondrous, hitherto invisible women have made in specific fields, countries, and time periods. The Little Leaders children’s series, for example, profiles “bold black women” in history.

via Books about ‘kick-ass’ women might be a pain in one – but we need to hear these wondrous stories | Life and style | The Guardian

Disney May Stop Filming in Georgia Depending on Abortion Ban

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If crippling the rights of women isn’t concerning to the Georgia state government, which earlier this month signed into law its version of the cruel “heartbeat bill,” maybe this will send a message: Disney’s chairman and CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday it would be “very difficult” to continue filming in Georgia if the new law takes effect, since many people won’t want to work in the state.

Georgia, apparently a very popular location for filming major blockbusters like Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame thanks to a tax credit offered there, probably won’t be seeing that sweet, sweet entertainment money if the ban takes place. According to Reuters:

via Disney May Stop Filming in Georgia Depending on Abortion Ban

House Republicans Describe Abortion as ‘Second Violent Act’ Experienced By Survivors of Rape and Incest

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A messaging document on Alabama’s abortion ban compiled by the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, recommends that its members describe abortions people receive after being raped or in cases of incest as a “second violent act” that could “physically or psychologically wound her further.”

VICE News obtained the document, which was distributed to members of the RSC at a recent meeting. Calling the Alabama ban “bold new pro-life legislation,” the talking points in the document defend the near-total ban on abortion passed by the Republican-controlled state.

via House Republicans Describe Abortion as ‘Second Violent Act’ Experienced By Survivors of Rape and Incest