African Services Committee Update
Black Lives Matter
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“Absent of freedom of speech, fear from being executed because of my ethnic background is what brought me to the United States of America, ‘the land of the free and the brave.’ I am now protesting to ask America to work, and work hard on her broken system of justice. Leaving a better, safer, and just America for my children and the rest of the world will give me total peace of mind.”
- African Services Committee Founder and Co-Executive Director Asfaha Hadera with ASC Co-Executive Director Kim Nichols marching for restorative justice at a recent
Black Lives Matter
protest in Harlem.
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Listen to ASC Attorney in Activist Files Podcast
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"... What abolitionists want to happen regularly is for us to know the people we live with, not fear the people we live with and to create systems where we can rely on each other instead of the state, because we know the state is killing us."
- African Services Committee staff attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow Samah Mcgona Sisay spoke with Center for Constitutional Rights Advocacy Associate Maya Finoh in The Activist Files.
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In this conversation about the movement response to COVID-19, they discuss their personal definitions of abolition; the ways in which prison abolitionists are using this particular moment to amplify their dreams of a world without cages; how prisons, policing, and surveillance serve as threats to the public health of low-income communities; and the unique experiences of Black immigrants, trans women, and survivors of domestic/sexual violence in the U.S. criminal legal system.
Listen to THE ACTIVIST FILES, Ep. 27
here
.
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In case you missed it:
Click
here
to watch a video of our work during this crisis prior to our on-site testing reopening on July 6.
Click
here
to listen to a Voice of America radio interview with Co-Executive Director Kim Nichols, which was broadcast throughout Africa this Spring
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Board of Directors Announcement of African Services Committee Executive Director Retiring
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A note from, Uzoamaka Okoye, Chair of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors announces the Fall 2020 retirement of Kim Nichols as Co-Executive Director at African Services Committee. Her Co-Executive Director and Founder of African Services Committee, Asfaha Hadera, will also be transitioning from Co-Executive Director to an advisor role for the Ethiopia Program.
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ASC’s Executive Director search is underway
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The Board of Directors for ASC is seeking an Executive Director to replace a retiring founding Executive Director. We are looking for someone to lead the organization into its next phase, setting strategic priorities and initiatives that reflect current and developing needs of the African Diaspora in New York and HIV-positive clients in our clinics in Ethiopia.
If you think you are that person, or know someone who is, please share and apply
here
.
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Census 2020: Get Counted and Shape the Future for our Family and Community
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As this country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, a bedrock of America’s democracy is in peril: the 2020 Census. Participating in the 2020 Census is one of the most important things you can do for your community and democracy. This unprecedented challenge does not lessen our responsibility to make sure that every person is counted and encourage our family, friends, and communities to do the same.
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Data collected in the 2020 Census will inform the distribution of more than $675 billion in federal funds to states and communities each year. Businesses, community leaders, and local governments use census data to create jobs, ensure public safety preparedness, and support community initiatives. All responses are confidential and protected by law. Your personal information can never be shared with law enforcement agencies or property managers, and it cannot be used against you in any way.
Visit
2020CENSUS.GOV
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Legal Immigration Updates
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Update on SCOTUS Decision on DACA
The court protected DACA for now
-
there is a clear decision that the government has the authority to rescind DACA if it wants to. The court just ruled that the Trump administration did not follow the rules on how to execute the rescission, though it was given a chance to conform to those rules and decided to ignore them. Click
here
for more.
USCIS Announces New Rules Regarding Work authorizations for Asylum Seekers
USCIS recently announced the new rules regarding work authorizations for asylum seekers. Click
here
for more.
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D.C. Court Allows DHS to Expand Expedited Removal Process Nationwide
The District of Columbia Court recently allowed the Department of Homeland Security to expand the expedited removal process nationwide without having to go through a federal rule-making process. Click
here
for more.
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An estimated “Fewer than 10 percent of immigrants served by African Services Committee have been able to receive unemployment insurance, mostly due to lack of documentation and information. A lot of the clients who are Uber drivers did not know that they could apply for unemployment. Out of the 20 percent who are eligible for stimulus checks, seven percent had received payment as of May 15.”
- African Services Committee quoted in a new Center for an Urban Future report Under Threat & Left Out: NYC's Immigrants and the Coronavirus Crisis revealing that in many communities across NYC well over half of immigrants have lost their main source of income as a result of the crisis, resulting in a massive uptick in immigrants struggling with food insecurity.
Yet, it finds that hardly any of New York’s immigrants have benefited from the federal government’s cash relief efforts—and that city and state policymakers have not done enough to pick up the slack. The report, a partnership with
T
he New York Immigration Coalition.
Click
here
to read the full report.
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African Services Committee is providing free + confidential
HIV
self test kits.
Contact ASC at 646-209-4740 or email Halimatou at halimatouk@africanservices.or to get your free HIV self test kit today.
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Recevez un test de dépistage du
VIH
gratuit à domicile.
Dépistage gratuit, confidentiel et réalisé chez vous.
Contactez African Services Committee au 646-209-4740 ou halimatouk@africanservices.org
et recevez votre test gratuit dès aujourd’hui.
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