The Latinx Experience in the Time of Corona
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"It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand."
— Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
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Marta Kuperwasser, Director of Operations,
WE in the World
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The Latinx Experience in the Time of Corona
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The pandemic is not abating. One constant through these times—Latinos are center stage and they and their families are bearing the brunt of this disease.
The pandemic continues to strip bare the many layers that usually keep us from seeing those many Latino faces. Beneath our democracy is a Caste system, one that tells minorities and low-wage earners that their lives are expendable. The rate of infection among Latinos is 4 times higher than that of whites. And Latinos, like other minorities, are more likely not to have health insurance or jobs that allow them to stay home.
We are working at grocery stores, meat-packing plants, hospitals, and farms. Low-skilled workers are told they are essential, but the poverty and low pay that these essential jobs come with tell a very different story.
Latinos and other minorities are expected to continue to show up to work or risk getting fired—all while we continue to hear cries of discrimination.
There is no question that Latinos contribute to keeping the nation moving.
Yet, Latino contributions and those of other minorities are not acknowledged. Latinos have and continue to face challenges of less pay, less health insurance, fewer rights, and less education, to name just a few. The pandemic brings a new challenge: this one questions our very ability to keep ourselves and our families safe. This issue examines Latinos and their families’ lives in the grip of a pandemic—the impact of a disease on the most vulnerable.
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Latinx people more vulnerable to COVID-19, US study finds
“It is clear that the systematic exclusion of this population from healthcare services has contributed to the disparities we see today,” says study author Dr. Kathleen R. Page, an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, MD.
“This pandemic has taught us that we are all interconnected,” she says. “At the very least, we must engage with communities early and provide [language-appropriate] and culturally appropriate information and services, removing as many barriers to care as possible.”
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Scaling Language Barriers in Fight Against COVID-19
How do you explain COVID-19 to Spanish-only speakers during a time when many who are proficient in English struggle to fully understand the pandemic?
Dr. Jorge Ramallo, an internal medicine specialist at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center, said he tries to avoid medical jargon during visits.
“We do this for English-speaking patients all the time anyway,” Ramallo said. “We try to avoid fancy words they may not know and keep it as simple as possible.”
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Photo by
Edgar Mendez/NNS
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Photo by Tyson Foods / via AP
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Coronavirus reported in over half of Latino meat, poultry workers in 21 states, CDC says
by
Suzanne Gamboa
Of nearly 10,000 coronavirus cases, more than half, 56 percent, were Hispanic workers, the
data shows.
A coalition of food worker, civil and human rights advocates filed a civil rights complaint Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Agriculture against Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS USA, asking for a suspension of federal funds for the companies and referral of the complaint to the Justice Department.
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Photo by Jim Urquhart / Reuters
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Latinos' coronavirus deaths at meat processing plant raise alarms about worker safety
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Suzanne Gamboa
The deaths of at least three Latino employees from coronavirus at a Greeley, Colorado, meat plant are raising alarms about the safety of workers and the vulnerability of the nation's food supply.
Latino advocates have become especially alarmed because of the number of Latinos who work in the food industry — from farm workers and truck drivers to processing plant workers and grocery stores employees. Many are struggling to get adequate protective supplies and to distance themselves from other workers.
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The price of being ‘essential’: Latino service workers bear brunt of coronavirus
For low-paid employees whose work is rarely if ever glorified — the people who clean the floors, do the laundry, serve fast food, pick the crops, work in the meat plants — having the jobs that keep America running has come with a heavy price. By the odd calculus wrought by the viral outbreak, they have been deemed “essential.” And that means being a target.
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The Fullest Look Yet at the Racial Inequity of Coronavirus
Latino people have also been infected at a jarringly disparate rate compared with white people. One of the most alarming hot spots is also one of the wealthiest: Fairfax County, just outside of Washington, D.C.
Three times as many white people live there as Latinos. Yet through the end of May, four times as many Latino residents had tested positive for the virus, according to the C.D.C. data.
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California fails to protect Latino workers as coronavirus ravages communities of color
by
Stephanie Lai and Rong-Gong Lin II
As California sees a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, a group that has been especially hard hit are Latinos, who make up nearly 39% of the state’s population but 55% of its COVID-19 cases. According to recent L.A. County Department of Public Health reports, Latino residents are more than
twice as likely
as white residents to contract the virus. In San Francisco, of thousands tested in the Mission district in a study
,
95% of people who tested positive
were Latinos.
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Prioritizing Equity: COVID-19 and Latinx Voices in the Field
Explore the ways COVID-19 may uniquely impact Latino/a/x communities during the latest installment of our YouTube health equity series.
Hear from Latino/a/x physicians in the field on topics such as the pandemic’s impact on immigrant community, testing, trends and equity concerns in health care and beyond.
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Pandemia: Latinos in Crisis
These are the stories of disparity, inequity, and leadership in the Latino community amid the coronavirus pandemic. Maria Elena Salinas hosts “Pandemia: Latinos in Crisis,” a CBS News special.
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Latino-Americanos: The Children Of An Oscuro Pasado
Young artist and activist, Xóchitl Morales, performs her spoken word poem in a response to Donald Trump’s comments about Mexicans in the U.S. “My culture is important, although it wasn’t always accepted. This poem is a call to action, it a reminder to never forget where you come from” Morales said.
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Photo by Leon Bennett / Getty Images
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Eva Longoria, Latinos rally to erase inequities as coronavirus devastates Hispanics
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Suzanne Gamboa
Eva Longoria Bastón said Monday the nation is now listening and engaging in social justice so "now is the time to capitalize on that momentum" through the launch of Momento Latino, a coalition of groups focused on health, education, economy and politics to rally for the nation's estimated 60 million Latinos, parts of which have long been overlooked and underserved.
"This is not about setting up a single fundraiser and walking away. It's a movement and we want it to become a movement for the Latinx community," she said.
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A neighborhood photographer gives a voice to Latino essential workers during the pandemic: 'We need to tell our own stories'
Mateo Zapata, a freelance photographer who lives in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood near Pilsen, wanted to make sure the lives of his neighbors and fellow Latinos become a part of history by being “genuinely” documented, allowing their voices to be elevated, he said.
So he put on his face mask and gloves, grabbed his camera and began to document “the experience of Latinos during the pandemic.”
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Photo by E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
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OC Partners With Community Group to Reduce Coronavirus Impacts on Anaheim, Santa Ana
Latino Health Access, a nonprofit community group, has partnered with Orange County health officials in an effort to help address the growing coronavirus cases in poor, working-class Latino neighborhoods in Anaheim and Santa Ana.
“Latino Health Access responded to COVID since day one. We have our entire staff doing phone banking,” said the group’s CEO, America Bracho, during a Monday virtual news conference.
“So we are today as we speak, we are designing the whole outreach strategy,” Bracho said. “How are we going to give the information in a way that protects us and the county?”
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Photo by UC Berkeley Photo
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Latino students make up largest ethnic group of students admitted to UC
UC admits its most diverse class in history
UC
announced Thursday that it had offered a record number of Latino students admission to its nine undergraduate campuses for this fall. The students now comprise UC’s largest ethnic group of admitted freshmen, increasing from 34% last year to 36%.
The university system also increased the number of first-generation, low-income and California Community College transfer students admitted this year.
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Race and Coronavirus: How promotores can help Latinos in the time of COVID-19
Visión y Compromiso promotes community and well-being through training and support of promotores and community health workers. And though the organization has existed for two decades, Lemus says the pandemic has shown how crucial its services are in reaching the most vulnerable and underserved Latino communities.
The backbone of the organization is its
promotor model, made up of nearly 5,000 promotores in California who serve as liaisons between their communities and health and social service providers. Currently, the network spans 13 regions in California, one region in Mexico, and has community networks in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona.
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TOOLS TO BUILD WELL BEING
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League of United Latin American Citizens: COVID-19 Resources
Stay connected to LULAC throughout the COVID-19 crisis. This page offers a central online location where you can find opportunities to stay connected, volunteer activities, updates on community events and information on where to turn if you or someone you know is in need of assistance.
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Salud America!
Coronavirus and Latino Health Equity
With the rise of COVID-19, our team at Salud America! is digitally curating content about what the coronavirus pandemic means for Latino health equity and efforts to help vulnerable communities.
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FORESIGHT: Designing a Future for Health
FORESIGHT is listening to the voices of thousands of people across the US, asking you to watch a short video to get an idea of the issues we are facing and could face in the future, and then take a survey to share what you hope to see. Adding your voice will take about 20 minutes.
The vision and bold ideas that emerge from FORESIGHT will be based on what we hear. FORESIGHT will then help communities across the country bring them to life.
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Institute for Healthcare Improvement:
Using Tools to Measure Well-Being in the Time of COVID-19
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION THIS WEEK!
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Thriving Together:
7/29 at 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PT
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National Civic League
7/23 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET
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Amplify Latinx
2020 Amplify Conference
7/24 at 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET
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NACCHO
7/29 at 1:00 PM ET
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Policy and Tools Corner
- Latino Policy Forum Forum recommendations for the inclusion of Latino communities in COVID-19 relief efforts
- Salud America! 19 Ways to Ensure Health Equity for Latinos During (and After) COVID-19
- Policy Link Community-Based Strategies for Improving Latino Health
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