 I'm Autumn McDonald, I head New America, California. New America is a think and action tank based in Washington DC. We are also a civic enterprise with our largest hub here in California. New America's California efforts are focused on issues of economic equity as well as issues of community voice and general agency. We host forums like this one and we are thrilled to have you here as we think about what are some of the local solutions and some opportunities for local innovation. Today, our guest will be Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the representative for California's 13th District, the Reverend Dr. Charlie Haynes with Senior Pastor at BB Memorial Cathedral, Joanne Griffith, who is the managing editor for the California Newsroom and Mayor Michael Tubbs, who is Mayor of Stockton, California. Before we begin, I wanna just thank all of you for being a panelist today. And I wanna thank everyone who has tuned in for being with us during this first in our series on California COVID in the Black Community. Without further ado, I'd love to ask you a few questions, Congresswoman Lee. Thank you again for joining us. My first question is related to just giving us a picture. We would love to have a picture just a brief sense of how you see this from a national perspective, your national hat as a U.S. representative, as well as how you're seeing this as a member of the Black community here in the Bay Area. Sure, thank you so much for including me in this conversation. It's extremely important because when, as they say, when America catches a cold, the Black community catches pneumonia. And that's exactly what we're saying. Couple of things. First of all, I do represent the Bay Area, the East Bay, the 13th congressional district, which is, I say, the wealthiest district in the country. And it's also a district that has all of the issues and challenges in the Black community that every other community throughout the country has. And so, as I serve as co-chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, I'm the highest ranking African-American woman in leadership in our Democratic caucus and a member of the Appropriations Committee. So my job is to make sure that on the policy front, that we have policies that reflect everybody, including the African-American community and the impact on every policy that the Congress promotes. Right now, of course, it's COVID-19. And we see the pandemic upon a pandemic in the African-American community. And so we've been negotiating in the legislation. We have, we've had three bills and now we're working on a fourth one with regard to what we need for the immediate response as well as for healthcare, for our health providers, for our essential workers, majority of whom I believe are Black, and for our overall healthcare system as it relates to health disparities. When you look at now the numbers that are taking place, and here in California, I have to say, when you look, and this is just a snapshot because all the data isn't in, we have 6% of population in California, yet 12% of the deaths are African-Americans. So we're twice the percentage of our population. When you look at cities like Milwaukee and Chicago, states like Louisiana, you see the exact same thing happening. It's horrendous. And so what we have to do, and what I'm trying to do, and members of the Black Caucuses come up with our priorities that would one direct, first of all, direct the Center for Disease Control to collect this data. Because if you don't have the data, they get away with saying, well, we don't know what the problem is. So we say, get this data by race and ethnicity so we can secondly have a concentrated effort and target the resources to where they're needed the most. And we have to have, in our communities, rapid testing because we know and given what our lives, our lives we live maybe in multi-generational families. So we have to have the results of the test right away so we can make sure we engage in physical distance, well, in isolation, if in fact we come back positive. And so there are many, many things that we're working on at the Congressional Black Caucus level to make sure that access to the rapid testing, treatment, care is provided and that we recognize the unique face and unfortunate conditions in many of our communities when you look at the underlying conditions. And we knew this early on, that when you saw what was gonna make this worse for African-Americans were the underlying conditions of hypertension, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, ticking time bomb. And when you look at what has happened to this pandemic, it is exactly what we said, that black community is being impacted the most. And so we have to organize and make sure, and it's hard to say this administration, but we have to make sure that our communities focus on targeting what resources we have into our communities where we're hurting the worst. Finally, let me just say we know that this is not new. And this is a history of structural inequality and racism, health disparities, poverty, economic inequality, all of the issues that all of you and all of us have been fighting for for generations. And some say for decades, I'm saying, no, this has been for centuries since the middle passage. We've been fighting for equity and justice. And here we are now in 2020, just seeing a manifestation of what has taken place over the centuries. And so we've got to deal with the immediate in terms of stopping the deaths and the transmission of this virus in our communities. And then we have structural issues and policies, which of course directly relate to impetus a racism and structural racism. So thank you again. Yeah, absolutely. Really grateful for all of the things that you just shared because I think there are important points for everyone to recognize the historical context that this is not new today. This is not something that this level of disparity as well as what that means for people in the black community. And I love that you mentioned this piece about the active, if I'm not mistaken, it's called the Equitable Data Collection Disclosure on COVID-19 Act that you've introduced. I think the point you make is an important one, which is that you can't do anything about what you can't measure. And so if the approach is quote unquote colorblind, then we're not able to see where the two challenges lie and address them. I would love to hear what you wish your constituents knew. I feel like you have this sense of kind of all of the different resources as well as what's going on. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on like, what would be the message that you would have those who are tuned in today spread? Whether they run community-based organizations or what have you? Well, first I would say let's work around the occupant of the White House and listen to our medical and health professionals, our medical experts and engage in physical distancing. I mean, we've got to nip this quickly. And so we've got to do everything in my community and community-based organizations can help with that, getting the message out that this is real, it's not a hoax, as Donald Trump said, and we're dying disproportionately. So we've got to get the word out to engage in social distancing, wear a mask, do everything that our health officials have indicated that we should do. Secondly, what I want our community organizations and my constituents to know is that we're fighting hard for resources for non-profits and for small African-American-owned minority-owned and women-owned businesses. And just know that if you have, and it's really, we've appropriated billions of dollars. And I don't know many of our groups that have gotten any of the money, you know. And I'm gonna tell you why. One is SBA has these relationships with banks. And so if you don't have a bank relationship that has a relationship with SBA, then most banks aren't even taking these applications. And so we have to, and that goes for non-profits. And so what we're trying to do now, and I want everyone to know that we're trying to put $125 billion into financial institutions and community-based organizations that quote for unbanked individuals and organizations. And that would include a lot of our single proprietorship, 1099 workers, people who have businesses but don't have that banking relationship or the SBA relationship. So we're fighting really hard with Mitch McConnell. And that's what this fight is this week, is out of that $250 billion, let's set aside $125 billion for community financial institutions so that our black businesses and black organizations can access them because it's been in many ways a failure up to now. And next, in terms of just the direct rebates and payments, I'm trying to get at least $2,000. And it's 1,200 now and that's not nearly enough to survive a month in California through this pandemic. So we're trying to increase the amount and to make it steady until it ends. It shouldn't be just a one-time rebate. It should be every month and it should be more and it should be until this is over. And so we're fighting to make sure that that happened. Also the Black Caucus and what we're doing in terms of the resources for messaging, we're trying to get more funds for black media and for our African-American nonprofits so that they too could not only keep people on the payroll but also can deliver the services and the messages because we know our community health clinics and our community-based organizations are the ones who are closest on the ground. They know what's happening and they deserve to be funded. If I may, I know you have to jump off for another call. If I may ask one more quick question. It is related to just my general sense of pessimism sometimes gets me to a place where I think about the fact that this is exacerbating disparity but we already have disparity. Like disparity, garden variety was already in place. And so I'm wondering when you think of how COVID is impacting the black community and that disparity, if you would be willing to kind of give us some sort of word encouragement in terms of not dismaying that we are dealing with something even more intense than what already was there. Sure, well, let me tell you, African-Americans, now remember our ancestors and our forefathers and mothers and the middle passage and the stuff they've been through just to survive and to thrive and for our freedom. So remember our history during the context of this time, we shall get through this, okay? And as Dr. Maya Angelou said, and still we rise so we can not at this moment of urgency in our community get despondent. I ain't no way tired, you know, I know Pastor Hames, you know that, you know, been too far, you know, from where I started from, nobody told me that the road would be easy and didn't bring me this far to leave me. And so let me tell you, this is the moment where, again, our ancestors and those who came before us just so we could live are counting on us. And so I don't accept us and I know it's hard. And so, you know, staying healthy, trying to get in. I do walking once a day for an hour in areas where physical distancing is there, where I'm not aware of a lot of people, but we have to keep our minds and bodies and spirit and soul together right now because our people are counting on us. And so don't despair, don't be weary and just know there's so many people, we just think about the millions of Africans who died in the middle passage and slavery and the stuff we've been through in this country and still we rose. That's fantastic. Thank you so much, Congresswoman. I feel like that encouragement speaks not just to me, but to many others who are listening. So thank you so much for your time. Okay, thank you. God bless you. God bless you. Okay. With that, I would love to turn to Reverend Haynes. Thank you so much for joining us. I would love to get a sense from you of how you are experiencing this crisis and what your thoughts are in terms of what you're hearing from congregants and from the community. Absolutely. First of all, thank you again for this opportunity and time to share. Really, our Congresswoman who is on the front lines who's been battling for us from day one has really given us a great summation of where we are from a statistical standpoint. I think it's critical for us to hear the cries of the people in the context of loved ones lost. Many people believe that this disease was a hoax. Many of the social media accounts were putting out false information around COVID-19. But now when it starts to touch home, when you have to bury a grandmother who grandchildren cannot attend the funeral, when you have to bury a grandfather who left home thinking that he would return but is now isolated in the hospital, that's when the rubber meets the rose. So what we're trying to do all over the country and particularly here in California is not only meet the shortages and the needs but we're trying to encourage people to help us flatten the curve. I look at flatten the curve and not only as a euphemism, but it is a remedy for all of the health disparities that plague our community. The reason that those numbers are skyrocketing and are high is because of coupled with COVID-19 is this list, this laundry list of health disparities that affect the African-American community. So what we're doing is from a church perspective, from a faith-based perspective, this encouraging people to eat healthy or while you're at home, to not dig your grave with your teeth. That helps us flatten the curve. We're also encouraging people to, yes, we have faith on one hand. I believe in God, but yet I lock my doors at night. Yet I brush my teeth. So there are some practical things that we attempt to get people to see. The scripture says in 1st Timothy, it says, for God did not give us the spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. The sound mind is the noose in the Greek language that tells us that is the center of who we are. So as people of color, we have always used our mind in the greatest extent of what we have capacity for is critical for us to not lose it in the midst of this pandemic. The church has always been an important place in the black community for people to come together to get support, to come and fellowship with one another. And that has been upended right now in terms of being together physically. And so I'm curious, how have you had to shake up the way in which the church is serving the community? And what are some of the ways that you're reaching out to people, whether it be providing information or providing other services or connecting them to resources. And then I guess finally, just as you talk about those, are there any recommendations you have for others who are community leaders and how they might also shake up, how they reach out? Absolutely, if I can borrow the words of our governor, Gavin Newsom, he says, even though we might not be able to physically be together, we're still connected spiritually and socially. And what we have done as a church, and many churches have learned how to become able to pivot and to move. We took our services, which normally we have anywhere from 1,000 to 800 in attendance. Now those individuals are meeting us online. So Facebook Live, YouTube, Vimeo, Zoom calls for Bible study, freeconferencecall.com. We're using these methods to communicate to people on Easter, when that was my first Easter in 30 years being in ministry, that I was not physically in a church. We took the time to prerecord our services, but we still had 2,000 viewers online. People are connected more now together to their faith than they have ever been before. And as I said to someone else, this is our opportunity to allow the walls which normally divide us, allow us now to come together through social media. So that message of hope, that message of inspiration, that message of faith is stronger than ever doing these times. Another thing that we're doing is again, we're sending out information regarding people's health and their financial situation. For example, we're planning in the next two weeks to do a seminar around credit. While people are stuck in residents and shelters, we want them to take this opportunity to get that credit at an optimal place. This is a service that we have often have done through the church and also through our community. Another example real quick is that we have a ministry called Fit for Faith. So we use a chef, Nikki Shaw, who's a celebrity chef, one of our community leaders, Katrina Ampinko, and we teach them how to eat health. What we see in the black community is reason that maladies are so high is because they are large food deserts. So how can you eat fresh food on a small budget? So those are some of the tools that we're teaching people in the midst of this COVID-19. And we're literally on platforms almost seven days a week as if we were in the building or reaching out and sharing with people. I really appreciate that because part of the reason for coming together in this way during this session is to think about issues of communication. How are people getting the information they need? How are they getting connected to the resources that they need? And how are we dispelling any myths or misconceptions about the truth of what's happening right now in this moment? It is important to us whenever we have a forum like this or a conversation like this to think about the action. I think it's great to talk about the different things but we also think what's different? What are the people listening doing differently? Where, how is information being shared differently, et cetera? Is there a call to action or anything? I guess likewise with the Congresswoman, are there other messages that you would like to be able to share or have people who are listening share? I think the call to action is for us to not be anxious during the season. I know there are several maladies or several issues that we have to address. Some of them dealing with housing. Some of them dealing with how do I get medicine? What we're trying to do in our local community is to have people go and pick up medicine and food for seniors who otherwise could not get out. And we dropping it off at their doorsteps making sure that we're taking the necessary precautions so that those who are serving will not be exposed and infected. So I think this is the season where you can give back by just simply being a presence to someone, call in and check to see if someone is okay. There are people who are shut in, who cannot move, who do not have relatives. So if you have people in your community, I'm encouraging people to pick up the phone, just checking to share whatever ways that you can help to make life a little bit more simple. I think we are in for a long haul. I know various states are trying to open back up for business in my own personal opinion and based upon the data and data points that I received from my wife. That's probably not a good thing. We probably have to buckle down for the long haul. The next 30, 60, 90 days to see how we can progress back to a new normal. Thank you so much for being with us and thank you so much for your comments and your perspective. I would love to move now to asking a few questions of Joanne Griffith. Thank you so much for joining us, Joanne. As someone who is in the information business, I'd be intrigued to hear what you're hearing from around the state, what you're hearing reported. What do you think are some of the main concerns and challenges that residents are dealing with, both more broadly and maybe specifically to the black community? I think the questions and concerns that we're hearing really fall into three buckets, which is health, work, slash the economy, what's all of this gonna do to my money, education, and then also what happens next. And we've really seen, I work with public media stations across California as part of an initiative with National Public Radio, and we've really seen a huge uptick in the number of questions and the ways that people are reaching out via social media, via email, calling the station, because people really want to try and understand how does all of this affect me? So when we're talking about healthcare, it's where can I be tested? And we're especially hearing this in communities of color for all of the reasons that we heard Congresswoman Lee outlined and also Pastor Haynes. People are really concerned, like, do I have this? If I have this, how can I find out if I have this? How is it gonna impact my family? How can I stay safe? Where can I find masks? If I work in healthcare, where can I find personal protective equipment? Am I gonna get a stimulus check? When do I qualify for it? When will it actually come through? Or if I'm in a position that I can't pay my mortgage or I can't pay my student loans? You know, there's so much news and information around. It's China, I think our job as the media is trying to pick through all of that for everyone and to be able to provide it in a very clear, concise, and manageable way, regardless if someone's watching the television, listening to radio on social media or looking for stuff on websites. So, yeah, we're hearing a lot right now. Thank you. You spoke a little bit about the role that public media is playing. I'd love to hear a little bit more about that. What is the role public media is playing in the larger kind of issue of sharing information, but also in connecting people to help. Love to hear more about that. Yeah, so we definitely seen that again, coming back to how people are using social media. So I'll give an example of one station here in, I'm based in Los Angeles. KPCC, they have a website called LAist and they saw something like 1,000 responses from members of the community asking questions. So they now have a Facebook page. It's that no panic approach to coronavirus and people can go there. They can ask questions, reporters, editors, producers are all weighing in with answers based on reporting. But it's also a place that people can connect as community. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in a household with other people. So people can reach out and say, hey, I need help with groceries or I'm having a hard time with my children or I've read this thing about COVID-19, is it true? So people are really finding ways to connect as community when they can't face to face. But it is so important right now, but there is accurate information and that people know where to go to find it. So that's really the role that the media is playing right now. How that's playing out specifically for the black community in California. I was actually just looking at some information this morning from the economic roundtable and we're seeing that African-Americans and also people of color, Latinos especially, are really the ones that are struggling the most with COVID-19. And you're seeing that when you look at maps, it's the Indian Empire, Riverside, LA County, up in the Bay Area, the Central Valley. And some of it is also figuring out where do you get information in different languages or just kind of knowing where to go to find those things. Not everyone listens to public media. A lot of places, Pastor Hames is talking about food deserts. My concern is news deserts. There are a lot of places where there aren't newspapers or other forms of information. So public media's role right now is very different than it was even a couple of months ago. We're running, Governor Newsom has a press conference every day at noon, all of the stations across California and now running that press conference, that's something that we've been able to do. And we're also looking at how we provide that on digital platforms as well. So just making sure that everyone has that up-to-date, current, accurate information so they don't have to stress even more than they are already within the Black community are predisposed to diabetes, hypertension, so many elements that you don't wanna add additional stress on top of that. You mentioned some resources already and I assume that you're hearing so many stories of kind of what's happening that you may have some connections to some specific. Are there any resources that you'd like to highlight just like I want to know that you have mentioned that you'd be happy to share some resources after the fact but yeah. Google document for you that are we happy to share that you can send to anybody. Oh, I have been unmuted. I'm sorry, you're saying that I've been muted. I'm like, no, I think I was just speaking. But there's a lot of information that I'm thinking in particular for people who are parents. It's been incredibly difficult if you have anywhere from preschoolers all the way up to high schoolers. So KQED up in the Bay Area, for example, has partnered with PBS to be able to provide resources for educators and also for parents be it videos or worksheets or anything that can kind of help just keep children engaged in education until they go back to school which is now looking as though it will be not until the start of the next school year. Also things like how to look after your mental health. Whenever you think about a pandemic or any concerns around health quite often we focus on the physical but there's a lot of resources that have been done across stations that really look at what you can do to protect your mental health. There's also information on and again, this is stuff from KQED but just thinking about and looking at how do you file for unemployment? Now this is something that not everyone has ever had to do so just understanding A, what you're entitled to what the mechanics are and how you go about that is information that's also available online. Data is really important. Congresswoman Lee mentioned that it's been really difficult to get very specific data as it relates to race just a couple of weeks ago the CDC wasn't releasing kind of COVID-19 numbers based on kind of race and those kind of demographics they are now. So those are resources that are available online. It's also really important too and this is something that I'm starting to hear as I speak to editors around the state is people actually want to hear and I'm sure people who are listening today and taking part in this webinar want to hear other stories in addition to COVID-19 or at least some things to kind of ease the pressure a little bit. So you have stations like KCRW who do this wonderful thing called the Private Playlist which is seven minutes of literally musicians talking about different music that they have in their personal collections. You're seeing the station up in the Bay Area KLW also doing an author series where authors are talking about their favorite books. So I think within public media it's not just about providing that very factual information but it's also providing calm and a little bit of distraction in this time. The other thing to remember too is that there is other news in the middle of a census count right now which is so crucial when it comes to African American and other communities of color that we make sure that we get counted so that when it comes to providing resources be it hopefully not another pandemic anytime soon but places for our children to play proper medical facilities and things like that. So still maintaining that kind of flow of information is really important. And also it's an election year as well. So all of us in public media are also beginning to think about what does election coverage look like with the layer of COVID-19 layered over it because this will be the story that we talk about in terms of healthcare, education, recovery and the economics of California for probably about the next year. That's how far ahead that we're beginning to plan now. I'm so glad you brought up the census and as well as the election because I think that it's a really critical piece to think about voice, the voice of the community and having that voice be heard and that you're here and we have needs and the like. And so that is actually one of the issues that we are going to be going into in one of our next sessions. So I'm really glad that you've queued that up already. I think my last quick question for you would be if there's anything just in the stories that you're hearing that you want to lift up for us in terms of what this looks like within the black community, specifically who are the individuals? I know a lot of the black community is made up of essential workers. Some of the black community are not non-English speakers. There are people who are living in economic precarity. Can you tell us a little bit about who the black community is as it relates to the COVID-19? Yeah, I think all of what you just outlined, you know, I think some of the most powerful stories I've heard have really been around essential workers. My own next-door neighbor is a nurse. We were having a socially distanced conversation across the grass the other day and she said, you know, every day she goes to work and every day someone dies. She said, like, that is my reality as a nurse and she's been a nurse now for 25 years. She comes home. She's also concerned about her family, her children, you know, making sure that she is protected so she doesn't bring any kind of disease or anything home. You're also hearing about people who are still having to go to work. You know, it's not an option for them to work from home. They still have those same concerns about, are my children still getting a good education? Am I going to be able to go to, I remember listening to one story, and again, another nurse who was going to Costco almost in the middle of the night because she was like, I have to go now because I have to leave for work at 5 a.m. I have to make sure that my fridge is stopped in order for my children to be able to eat while I'm out doing this essential service for everybody else. You know, economic disparity also is a huge one as well. So many stories around, you know, we saw what happened with the recession back 2008, 2009, more than a decade later, you know, kind of many black, a number of black people are still trying to figure out how, you know, they haven't even recovered from that yet. And now we find ourselves in this situation. Yet again, what is that going to mean moving forward? What is that going to mean in terms of, you know, people are now starting to think about well, how will policies change? What will, how will politics shape how the next five years of our lives here and in California will be? And again, a number of people within the black community are really concerned about what that will look like. So it's, the headlines are really hard to read and look at, but we are resilient. You know, we will make it through, you know, it's really encouraging when you hear people like Congresswoman Lee doing all that she's doing at the political end. It's also for us to do our part, as Pastor Payne said, you know, looking after ourselves, eating well, taking care of ourselves and our community is the best way that we can. Thank you so very much. Your perspective has been really, really helpful. It's great to hear about all of the stories that you are connected with. I would love to move now to asking a few questions in our talks in a moment. Hello, thanks so much for having me. Thanks for being here. I would love to just start with the just easy breezy. What are you hearing from constituents? What are you hearing, where you are? Yeah, I think, well, we're here for constituents but the same thing, many of the speakers are throughout the conversation I talked about. People are anxious, people are stressed. I tell people all the time that a lot of folks in our community were in a crisis before coronavirus crisis in terms of being way insecure, being insecure, a one paycheck away from a financial emergency. And now we're seeing that further exacerbating. We hear from our small businesses who find it difficult to navigate the SBA system or no one knows those things exist. I'm here from small businesses who want to open up tomorrow. But we also hear stories of incredible resilience of the community coming together, launching community initiatives, figuring out what we can all do to be a good neighbor. So it's a mixed bag, but I think first and foremost, the community really has been asking for accurate information and in real talk. There's no chaser here, I don't lie and say by next week we're gonna open up. I said it might be next month we can have a conversation with our public health officer about when we can open up. I think in doing so, the community has really responded in a way that I'm proud of. Fantastic. One thing that can be helpful about being part of a local response or a local leader is that local can sometimes be a little bit more nimble than we can be at a state or federal level. And so I'm curious if you've had the opportunity to think a little bit about differentiated messages related to COVID for different communities. And if those, that different ways of doing outreach have been useful? Yeah, no, I think we're honestly a little bit slow behind the A-ball among this. I think part of it is that public health is not under my purview. It's an officer that's appointed by the county board of supervisors, which is an elected body that's not accountable to me. So part of it is building the collaboration muscle in terms of working together. But what we've been doing is every week I try to have a town hall with a different constituent. Right before this call, I did one with all my faith-based leaders from all different faiths and had a conversation strictly with them. They gave them messaging that they could give to their congregants. The week before we did one with small business owners, next week we're doing one with the Consulate General for Mexico, et cetera. And we still have a long way to go on that front, but I do think at the local level, I see kind of where messages are in our landing and kind of if it's not necessarily an issue with the message, making sure that credible messengers are armed with the information because as one person, I can't really speak to all of the 15,000 people. So we're in talks with our Catholic diocese to do a town hall with just the Catholic bishops at all the churches. We try to do as much as possible in different languages, but Stockton is the most diverse city in the country, which means there's a lot of languages spoken and we don't have the capacity to message everyone in their native tongue. So to answer your question, we're doing our best to differentiate. I would admit that's an area for growth. And I think what we're doing now is just identifying credible messengers. We can give them message to and they can find some sort of strategies for the constituency that they communicate more frequently and more effectively than city government might be able to. And hopefully there are some credible messengers here tuned in right now who can share some of the things that you're talking about and that others are talking about right now. You mentioned the importance of partnerships and working with other sectors, if you will. And so I'm intrigued by what you're seeing that community-based organizations are doing. Are there any things that they're doing that you really like that you want to make sure others are aware of? Or are there any recommendations that you would love to see out there? Yeah, let me brag on my folks for a little bit. I'm so, so proud of my city. Three weeks ago, we launched an initiative called Stockton Strong at Stockton Strong.org. And three times a week, we have all the nonprofits, all the community-based organizations are coordinating calls, talking about sort of information sharing but also resource sharing. On that website has become like a one-stop shop in tandem with 2-1-1 where people can go to really navigate and get granular answers to questions they may have. Through that initiative, we launched a program called Nourish Stockton where we've identified every senior in the community. We phone banked them. We've mailed to them. We've text messaged them. And now with a partnership with the Edible School Yards Project and Alice Waters, we're paying DoorDash to deliver food to seniors at least months a month. And that is only part of this collaboration. And then today we launched a Stockton Strong Fund which is starting with a million dollars to go to rental assistance, to go to emergency grants for nonprofits and small businesses. And it's all been because we realized that we're not a resource rich place that we don't have the resources of a state government, of a federal government or some of our Bay Area counterparts, but we have each other. So really kind of pooling resources and working very closely together and building on the collaborative work we're doing before has really served us well. And then we have a bunch of churches and groups even like our Sikh temple has a pantry where they're feeding 300 folks at least a day with nutritious meals. So it's been incredible just to see just the related assets in the community and how we're leveraging those to meet really dire needs and a very perilous time. Thank you so much for sharing. It's just great to hear what people are doing and to hear these stories of resilience and success stories, if you will, of at least how we are responding. I wanted to share with you that in lighter moments, a friend and I have this joke that we've been discussing, which is this idea that we think about how we might talk to our kids about this after the fact. And we joke about saying, you know, imagine saying like, you know, my day, toilet paper was so cliftiful that we would like string it on the trees of, you know, in front of the houses of our enemies. And so I'm curious if you would have flipped that and think about your hope for what you hope your son will be able to reflect on down the road. What do you think might be your son's, maybe he's 10, what have you, you know, it was really bad, but how do you, you might be able to say something positive. My son is six months old on the 20th. So life is good for him to be honest. Like his mom works from home anyway. So that's not a big change. And then his dad's not on the airplane every week. His dad is home every day. The dad's morning, evening. So I think he'll remember the time as a time where we got to really strip down terms of what's important in terms of we're not able to do all these external things that we're used to, we were able to hunker down and really focus as much as we can on his development and making this time as normal as possible for six months. So I think we'll also reflect on hopefully just community and how he met so many of his aunties and uncles and cousins and well-wishers on Zoom calls that his mom and dad were on during the time. But my real hope, because I think I hope I take away from this is really understanding the power of community, the power of family and a real emphasis on not in a weird minimalist sense, but in a real sort of, these are the things that are actually important. Like all these things are good to have, but if nothing else, we're really thankful to have shelter so we can shelter in place. We're really thankful to have steady jobs so that we're able to persist even through a crisis. We're really thankful to have a family unit that's strong and secure and whole. It's functional that can kind of help weather these storms. So I hope he reflects on that and realizes that because he was given so much during a difficult time that he has a real duty to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to be sheltered in place with food and love. Like he was when the next pandemic comes because I think for me what's front of mind is that we live in a time of pandemics. If it's not a public health crisis, it's a crime related crisis. It's an earthquake. It's a fire. It's something that we have to show up to fundamentals and get ready. Our stay ready, I should say, so we don't have to get ready every time a crisis comes because these crises are, these are now yearly, bi-yearly, every three, four years type of occurrences and we have to show up fundamentals of our society to reflect that reality. It's because I think that this is a time where this is a really tough time, but it's also a time that kind of brings back all of the layers and gets us down to the core of where we really need to be in terms of what policies and what systems need to be put into place such that we can think about the disparities that were already there, the needs that were already there. And so I'm intrigued because one of the questions I'm seeing online is a question related to what you're seeing that, what Stockton's doing and how other cities can follow suit. Are there any other examples of things that you would suggest to folks in terms of how to move forward at this moment? Yeah, I think there has to be, the representative mentioned it. We've been piloting, excuse me, this since 2017, but it's idea of an income floor, a universal basic income and income guarantee. Again, because we live in a time where there's gonna be displacements where people will not be able to work where the economy will shut down where there'll be mass disruptions. And if before this crisis went into Americans can afford a $500 emergency, that's even more intensified within the black community, what's gonna happen during times of crisis? So I think really advocating, this is a real opportunity and chance to really make society as it should be. And I think we all deserve to live in a society that has universal protections, like universal healthcare, like universal pay sick leave, like a universal basic income. So if you're not able to go to work or if you're laid off or your hours are reduced, that you're still able to do things on my pay for rent utilities and provide for your family. So in stocking, we've been piloting a basic income since 2017. And we're looking at sort of, what we can do at a local level around some of those other things that are super important and doing a lot of advocacy at the state and national level to make those policies a reality. Okay, thank you. So I am looking currently now through the questions for all of our panelists, for all of our guests. Thank you so much, Merit Tubbs, really appreciate everything that you've shared with us. If you can stay on for a few more questions, we'd appreciate that. And I wanna bring both Joanne and Reverend Hins back into the conversation. As I am currently looking through to see what other questions people have, I would love to actually throw it out to you at this last moment and see, do you have any questions for each other? Do you hear any of the other guests say something that you just feel like you wanna comment on? And if you wanna share that at this moment, that would be fantastic. I yield to Joanne. I think actually I had, it wasn't so much a question, more of a comment or a thought and to Merit Tubbs around. I remember when Stopton actually started the universal income kind of pilot and trial. You know, it's great that that is happening. How do you think that that's actually helping Stopton to weather this particular economic storm? And what other things might you be putting in place to kind of, I don't know, kind of provide more assistance because we're really expecting the impact of COVID-19 to go on for quite some time, sadly. Yeah. Yeah, no, thank you for the question. So unfortunately it was a pilot. So it didn't serve as many people that needed to be held. But what we found is that over the past three weeks we get messages and emails and text messages from folks who are in the program who are saying, oh my gosh, this is such a blessing. We did not see this coming. But because of this, all these other things are still in place. I'm actually in a position to be resilient. So I think one of the biggest takeaways for me, which I didn't consider before is that a form of a basic income or a guarantee allows communities, particularly communities like the black community to build the resilience needed to again persist in times where there's gonna be mass disruptions and displacements. So in addition to that, we're looking at expanding rental assistance in the city, understanding that absence a rent freeze, which will have to be done at a state or federal level, that in two months, three months, four months, whenever this ban is lit, rent will be due for a lot of people, folks who afford rent before the crisis, and not going to afford rent during the crisis, particularly if that's compounded one, two, three X, depending on when folks are able to get back to work. So looking at sort of partnering with our housing authority and also with groups like Central Iowa and from housing and figuring out from the city's general fund, both from philanthropic partners, how can we expand them on a rental assistance they're able to give into how many people is one of the things we're looking at. And then we're also looking at sort of childcare for like every other city is, how do you provide childcare? For first responders, we're also for all those other essential workers who are disproportionately black folk or black and brown folk who are in these industries that are still open. And how do you make sure that their babies are able to have someone to look after them and that they don't have to pay for that at this time? So definitely a lot more work to do in the basic income from small further in our head and that this is something that that should work. And now we're rapidly figuring out how to be scale and expanded because I think there's 315,000 people on to the city who could benefit in it. Above and beyond the folks are a part of the pilot. Yeah, thank you so much for that. I do have a question here that is geared toward Reverend Haynes, one of our participants is asking, if you have any advice on how they can support their clients in the housing insecure community, those who have limited access to technology to connect with their spiritual community. So thoughts that you may have in terms of how community members can participate in whether online or calls, whether they're opportunities or if there's somebody in your conversion who is out to people who are having difficulty connecting in this way. Right, absolutely. First and foremost, we truly empathize with those individuals who are disconnected because they don't have a simple computer or internet connection. And what we have been trying to provide is phone services. So we're asking people to call into our phone lines that are still active. And we're taking those messages and trying to translate and or providing other services that way. I do know a friend of mine who works for Facebook and they're a little bit behind but I believe in the next 30 to 60 days, Facebook will have a dial-in option so that you can actually get access to whatever the live stream or live services that's going on. So I do know that there are some institutions that are attempting to make things happen. For example, another colleague of mine, the Reverend Michael McBride, who works with Live Free, just partnered with Jack Dorsey getting a donation around masks. Jack Dorsey just donated a million dollars for that cause. We do know that that's one way where we can help people. We know the governor has put monies aside or set aside for Chromebooks for schools but we also advocate Chromebooks for those who don't have access. So again, that's what we're trying to do. We're working more from an advocacy perspective versus direct resources to assist in that matter. Fantastic. If I can, Alton, just to add to what Pastor Haynes mentioned there, a lot of the school districts who, in terms of trying to bridge that internet gap, are also providing hotspots for children to be able to use at home so they still log on, get their work done and still get as good as education as they can during this time. So, if you do find yourself in a situation where you don't have internet access at home, do contact, if they haven't contacted you already, do contact your local school districts. There may be assistance that you can get with that as well. Absolutely. I see a question here related to suggestions for how health and human services agencies might be able to more effectively do outreach specifically to the black community or for those who are struggling more severely at and during this time. I can attempt to jump in. Again, the African-American church not only historically has been the stalwart piece in our community, will be before mega churches. One seems like we have now minor priorities. The church was the schoolhouse on Monday and the faith institution on Sunday. So, I'm encouraging you to reach out to churches like myself, BB Memorial Cathedral, Allen Temple on east side of Oakland, the way Christian church in Berkeley, just to name a few where those churches are engaged in social advocacy and social justice and attempting to help deal with the social inequities that we're all experiencing. But if you call, we have people who are ready to serve, ready to connect the dots. We just need the resources. And just to add to that, a story that you just reminded me of some churches here in Los Angeles, one in particular, well Englewood Community Church, which is also it's non-profit arm and Christ-centered ministries. I think we also have to remember that churches are doing so much right now. So, the Christ-centered ministries, they're not only serving their own church community, but they're also doing a lot of work around kind of reentry after people are leaving the prison system. They're also doing a lot of work with kind of women who are finding themselves without homes and who are mothers, people who are coming out of drug rehab programs. So, a lot of pressure has actually been put on the church and other organizations at this time as they try and kind of fill in the gaps of the social safety and as people make that transition from, okay, I've lost my job or I've lost my home or I'm housing insecure or I can't get an education for my child or I'm concerned because I'm an essential worker, that the church and other faith-based organizations are really filling that gap right now. So, if you can support your local churches and your local faith-based organizations too, because they're really kind of filling in that gap at this time. Thank you. I can see right now that we are right at our hour mark. I would love to if you could extend me just the grace of maybe a few more minutes, which is just a final word from each of you. It can be more than a word, but a final few words for each of you on something that you think that people should just kind of keep in mind, whether it's something encouragement or something you'd like them to do to support the community, the black community and the community within which they live. I just try to offer a simple word to just remind us as a community that we have always been a resilient people. So, this is the time to keep and hold on to our faith. And just to quote one scripture, I will not be a preacher if I did not. The text says faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. I believe that's the season that we have to hold on and that is our faith. Thank you very much. You can go, Mayor Tubbs. I'm still thinking. We're going to order your speakers. I guess my final word. Well, first of all, thank you, for a new America for doing this. Thank you. I learned so much from the fellow panelists. I think for me, my final word would be, number one, the folks on stock on the Calvary is not coming to save us from this, but the community is here. We need that. There's not going to be some external forces to come and save us, but being good neighbors, being thoughtful to the community's responsibility and supporting our neighbors in the most vulnerable will help us persist through this. And the second thing I would say, picking up for you there's not forever ever. The door of my office is one of my favorite scriptures, Psalms 32.1, and simply says threat not. Meaning that being anxious, being worried, being stressed, only compounds are very real problem. And instead of fretting, let's focus on what we can do to make sure that those who have diabetes, those who have asthma, those who are in 65, those who are being compromised, those who are fleeing security, those who are housing security, have everything they need to persist in this time. How do I follow that? I don't know. I think I would say that this will come to an end. Life will look very different than it does right now, but we will make it through. We are resilient, we're talented, we are loved, we are community, so we will make it through. I think the biggest thing from my vantage point working in media has been seeing all of the different connections that have been made within communities, across communities in ways that just wouldn't happen. Check in on your neighbors. Say hello to people that you wouldn't ordinarily. Just be aware that everyone may not have family or friends, and just be that person that reaches out at a safe, socially acceptable distance. Be mindful of the information that you share. It can be very easy on social media to see something in retweet or share, but be responsible with what you share because some of that information really can be the difference between life and death, so make sure that you're sharing from responsible sources. Check your local public media. Check your local newspapers. If something looks a little funny, question it, but most of all, kind of stay safe, stay well, look after your physical health, make sure you look after your mental health as well, but we've made it through the recession, we've made it through so many things, and we will make it through this as well. Thank you. I wanna thank everyone for tuning in. I hope that you will consider joining us again in two weeks when we have the second session. Thank you so much, Mayor Tubbs, join us with weather teams, and I guess my last word would just be that we are together, we are not physically together, but we are together and we can do this. Thank you so much, and I look forward to next time.