2020 Authors/Essays

Off Track: How COVID-19 Derailed Black Employment Gains

Dr. Bernard E. Anderson
Economic Advisor, National Urban League; Whitney M. Young, Jr. Professor of Management, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Imagine, for a moment, an old-school freight train. Now imagine that freight train as a stand in for the economy with African Americans relegated to the caboose. When the train speeds up, so does the caboose. And when the train slows down, the caboose does likewise.

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We Shall Overcome: HBCUs > COVID-19

Dr. Kristen E. Broady
Dean, College of Business & Barron Hilton Endowed Professor of Economics at Dillard University

Since their establishment 182 years ago, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have provided African American students with the best avenue, and, for some, the only path to a college degree.  Despite this, arguments for and against the existence of HBCUs have been debated since the

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The Silver Lining in COVID-19’s Dark Clouds

Dr. Lisa Cooper
James F. Fries Professor of Medicine; Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in Health Equity, Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine, Nursing & Bloomberg School of Public Health

Many people were caught off guard as we witnessed rising inequities in the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color.

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The State of Black Women’s Health Calls for a Reproductive Revolution

Linda Goler Blount
President & CEO, The Black Women’s Health Imperative
Alexis McGill Johnson
President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation Of America And The Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Nia Eshu Martin-Robinson
Director of Back Leadership and Engagement, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and The Planned Parenthood Action Fund

During the fervor of 2020’s massive uprisings against systemic racism in America and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has proven to be far deadlier and devastating to Black and Brown communities, activists and health leaders unleashed a powerful rallying cry: “Racism is a public health crisis!” This has always been true; and, today, society is beginning to reckon with the reality that Black women and Black LGBTQ people sit at the intersection of these dual public health crises.

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By Policy and Practice: The Causes and Consequences of Racial Wealth Inequality

Funke Aderonmu
Policy Analyst, Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Economic Security & Opportunity Initiative

Months into the new decade, a devastating global pandemic exposed and exacerbated striking economic inequality along racial lines.

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No One Was Sentenced to Die by a Virus: A SAFER Plan for COVID-19 in US Jails & Prisons

Van Jones
CEO, REFORM Alliance; CNN Host & Political Commentator

The most dangerous place to be during a pandemic is inside a prison. Today, even a minor arrest could cost more than your liberty; it could cost you your life.

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Changing America: Why 2020 Can Be a Turning Point For Police Reform, Social Justice

John Stankey
Chief Executive Officer, AT&T Inc.

Great social movements are marked by clear turning points, when major shifts in attitude and understanding spur people to act with new urgency. 

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United We Stand: Building a Better Future for All

Timothy Murphy
General Counsel, Mastercard; Board Chair, National Urban League

On behalf of the National Urban League’s Board of Trustees, I am proud to present this year’s edition of the State of Black America®: Unmasked.  The report takes a look behind the headlines and examines the alarming spread and tragic consequences of the coronavirus on Black American life

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The Pandemic, Police & Protests: Marking a New Chapter in the Story of American Life

Benjamin Crump
Founder, Ben Crump Law; Civil Rights & Personal Injury Attorney

We have long known it to be true that it is dangerous to be Black in America. We have all watched the cell phone video and body cam footage of unarmed Black men—with hands raised in surrender—shot and killed by police.

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America Will Have Its First Woman President Sooner Than We Think

A'Shanti F. Gholar
President, Emerge; Founder, Brown Girls Guide to Politics

In 2019, women across the country watched with immense pride as, for the first time in history, six women stepped into the ring and made their case for why they should be the next president of the United States.

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The Vote and the Virus: Inoculating the Election From Disease and Disinformation

 
Bret Schafer
Media & Digital Disinformation Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy
  
 
David Levine
Elections Integrity Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy
 
  

The memes circulated around Facebook and Twitter, promising voters a more streamlined option to participate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  “Avoid the line – vote from home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 59925,” read one post, seemingly aimed at Black and Latino voters. It bore all the hallmarks of an official Clinton campaign ad.

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Pandemic Precautions: How to Protect the 2020 Election Inside and Outside Polling Places

Lawrence Norden
Director, Brennan Center for Justice Election Reform Program
Gowri Ramachandran
Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice

Four years ago, the Russian government interfered in American elections. They stole information from campaigns, posed as Americans spreading divisive rhetoric, and attacked election infrastructure. Black voters were heavily targeted, not just as part of the American electorate, but as a specific focus of the interference.[1] In fact, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference “found that no single group of Americans was targeted by IRA information operatives more than African-Americans.”[2]

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