AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/category/opinion/)
Austin minister Ira Acree, senior pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church, will be joining other faith leaders Wednesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s his message to West Side residents, especially those who aren’t sure they want to be vaccinated when it’s their turn.
Rep. La Shawn Ford reflects on the significance of June 19th now being recognized as a state holiday in Illinois.
Valerie F. Leonard, founder of Nonprofit Utopia, warns residents of predominantly Black neighborhoods their rights will be diminished under approved legislative maps awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature.
A new state law protects a person who provides emergency medical assistance to someone who’s experiencing an overdose. A Good Samaritan in these cases cannot be arrested, charged or prosecuted for drug violations. State Rep. La Shawn Ford lauds the new law, noting more Good Samaritans are needed to give naloxone, the medication used to reverse an overdose.
Rep. La Shawn Ford says there’s so much more that needs to be done to address systemic and racist failures of policing in the United States.
The Leaders Network says “we must remain vigilant for justice” until Chauvin, the former Minnesota police officer convicted Tuesday of killing George Floyd, is sentenced. David Cherry, Rev. Ira Acree, Rev. Cy Fields and Rev. Marshall Hatch say it won’t be until June whether we know if there has been true justice in this case.
Legislation signed into law last week by Gov. J.B. Pritzker expands already required Black history coursework to include pre-enslavement of Black people, why Black people came to be enslaved and the American Civil Rights renaissance. The new law – a key part of the Illinois Black Caucus’ legislative agenda – also increases the percentage of grant funds prioritized for Black males and incorporates consideration of financial need in awarding grants, among other improvements to higher education.
Many in the African American and Latinx communities remain wary of immunization and the medical establishment at large, writes state Rep. La Shawn Ford. That’s why “we have to make sure that people trust the vaccine will work, and we need to do everything that we can to bring an understanding to our community about how important it is to take the vaccine and to be able to trust it,” Ford says.
Important parts of our history have not been told or taught because it hasn’t been believed it actually happened, writes state Rep. La Shawn Ford. Until they saw it on their TV screens, the dominant White culture didn’t believe that Blacks could be treated like John Lewis was treated – and many did not believe that so many Blacks are victimized by police until they saw the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd’s life.
Racism is indeed a health crisis, writes Daryl Satcher. The sick system is the true virus that we need to defeat. But we must destroy this virus within ourselves first.
Rev. Ira Acree wants Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to replace her office’s existing victim witness assistance program. The Austin minister says the culture of fear can be broken if people who report perpetrators have the support and resources they need to keep themselves and their families safe.
