Tuesday, April 8, 2025
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A View From the Ground
News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from URL Media's network of Black and Brown publishers.
Good evening. DOGE’s dirty work is far from finished and now it seems to be focused on firing Black workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New York City Mayor Eric Adams may not have to worry about corruption charges against him anymore, but a judge had something interesting to say about the case. The Smithsonian family of museums is under scrutiny from the Trump administration. Finally, Luigi Mangione awaits trial in the killing of the CEO of United Healthcare. But that overshadows the issues that healthcare, or lack thereof, presents to marginalized communities.Plus, we’re bringing you the latest updates at URL-Media.com as events unfold. Have a question? Write to us at [email protected].
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
The Trump administration and DOGE have entered a space of predictability:We’ve become used to the firings across the federal government of career workers and essential staff across the board. Unsurprisingly, it is apparently affecting Black professionals hardest.
According to Capital B, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees are saying that Trump and DOGE are laying off Black workers there at a faster rate than other demographic groups.Three of the affected employees said the CDC terminations in Atlanta were focused on areas that have a larger impact on the Black community, including HIV/AIDS research, gun violence, youth violence and tuberculosis.“They went in there and dismantled anything that would help any marginalized community,” CDC information technology specialist Irismar “Reese” Williams said after receiving her pinkslip. “Make no mistake: This is a direct attack.”But a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said the firings are not racially motivated.“This reorganization will enhance the American experience with HHS by making the agency more responsive and efficient, while also positioning the Department to improve health outcomes for a nation grappling with chronic disease and illness, which affects all Americans,” said Emily G. Hilliard, HHS deputy press secretary, told Capital B.Read more in Capital B. →
The drama surrounding New York City Mayor Eric Adams is continuing: When a Manhattan federal judge dismissed Adams’ corruption case, shutting down the possibility of it being reopened, the dismissal “with prejudice” also had the impact of challenging the Department of Justice’s rationale for wanting to get the case dropped in the first place.
On April 2, Judge Eric Ho dismissed the charges of bribery and campaign finance fraud against Adams, ending a long, drawn-out controversy that had many calling for his removal from office. But since the charges were not dropped “without prejudice,” it means the Justice Department can’t say that they were interfering with Adams’ ability to help the Trump administration with immigration enforcement.The Haitian Times reports that according to Ho, a without prejudice dismissal would have created “the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents.”
Adams being let off the hook comes more than two months before the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary. However, Adams has reportedly announced that he will skip the primary and run as an independent, claiming the case “dragged on too long” for him to campaign.Read more in The Haitian Times.→
What’s at stake with Vance’s Smithsonian takeover: News that the Smithsonian family of museums could be upended by a new Trump administration policy that seeks to eliminate “improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology” from its content has more than a few people worried that it would be another attempt at whitewashing history. Trump particularly singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the planned Women’s History Museum. But outlets like the Museum of the American Indian fall under that umbrella as well.In an op-ed for Native News Online, its founder, publisher and editor, Levi Rickert, writes that Vice President J.D. Vance, who has been put in charge of carrying out Trump’s orders as a board member of the Smithsonian, could eliminate the telling of America’s full story, including the struggles of the country’s non-white peoples, who have been critical to the development of the country while suffering oppression under its hierarchies.
“As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, we must embrace an honest portrayal of our nation's history. Museums provide spaces for education, reflection, and dialogue,” Rickert writes. “Political interference that sanitizes historical narratives undermines these institutions and disserves the public.”
He said that Vance, in aligning himself with the lies Donald Trump told about Haitian immigrants eating dogs and cats during the 2024 presidential campaign, illustrates that he can’t be trusted to preserve the full story.Read more at Native News Online. →
What Luigi Mangione’s case (still) says about U.S. health care: Although U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that she will seek the dealth penalty in the murder case against Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of shooting and killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024. The case isn’t so open and shut, though. It’s emblematic of the trouble Americans across demographic lines are experiencing with the healthcare industry.In an analysis on URL-Media.com, a 2024 report from The Commonwealth Fund shows that health disparities plague multiple communities of color and are especially problematic in Black and Native American populations.Each group shows lower life expectancy, higher pregnancy complications, infant mortality and possibility of preventable death. They’re also more likely to experience chronic ailments like diabetes and hypertension as well as health care debt, periods of being uninsured and lacking primary-care physicians.As for Mangione, who allegedly shot Thompson as a protest of the runaway cost of health care in America, his next hearing is set for June 26. His supporters have raised more than $800,000 for his legal bills. He thanked them from his prison cell in a prepared statement.“I am overwhelmed by – and grateful for – everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support,” the statement reads, according to CNN. “While it is impossible for me to reply to most letters, please know that I read every one that I receive.”Read more at URL Media. →
They did it without the internet, so can we - PushBlack
How a Brown girl learned to brown meat - Sahan Journal
KC’s Most Powerful Civil Rights Orgs Denounce Jail in Historic Stand - Kansas City Defender
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