Tuesday, July 29, 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. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is serving up a course of misinformation and junk science, but there are some specific areas where his behavior could impact the Black community. Also, Tulsa rests a bit easier from flood worries thanks to a plan hatched in the 80s.
Plus, we’re bringing you the latest updates at url-media.com as events unfold.
Credit: The White House
Deep dive: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in his Senate confirmation hearings that he wanted to emphasize “evidence-based” science that would benefit public health. However, his tenure so far has done anything but that.
He pulled the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, prompting a lawsuit from medical organizations. He told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water, which could cost as much as $9.8 billion in bills for treating tooth decay. He also apparently believes it is safe to swim in contaminated water in a Washington D.C. public park.
But public health advocates say that the measures Kennedy is taking could especially undermine health in the Black community. Earlier in July, he canceled a federal task force meeting that plays a role in determining what preventative health measures can be covered by insurance – including cancer screenings and STIs. That action set off alarms in the health care communty and has officials concerned about what will happen to patients in the future.
“This is a very sensitive time,” Jerry Abraham, director of the CDU-KEDREN Mobile Street Medicine program in Los Angeles, said in an interview with Capital B. “We could see increased burden and disease, increased mortality, and increased mistrust of our public sector entities, including anything federal government-related.”
According to Capital B, there are three major areas in which Kennedy’s policies could impact the Black community.Health and Human Services: Kennedy’s cut of 10,000 employees in the agency reduced departments from 28 to 15. These included doctors, scientists and researchers who give guidance on medical policy and treatments. According to the EEOC, almost 20 percent of its permanent workforce was Black. In a statement, NAACP Center for Health Equity director Chris Pernell blasted the decision.
“Any reduction in our public health infrastructure — whether it’s workers or funding — only serves to make Americans sicker,” Pernell said. “And we know that when America gets a cold, Black people get the flu.”
Vaccines: In June, Kennedy got rid of all 17 members of a CDC vaccine advisory committee with the intention of replacing each of them, calling the original members a “rubber stamp.” But the panel actually worked to figure out immunization schedules which in turn gives insurers an idea which shots should be covered.
The new panel members reportedly support scientific misinformation. For example, they include Dr. Robert Malone, an mRNA researcher who has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories about the COVID vaccine, and Dr. Retsef Levi, who baselessly claimed that mRNA vaccines cause serious illness and death among the young.
Health advocates fear having anti-scientific policies and people who support them in critical areas will have a negative impact for Black people.
“Limiting booster eligibility risks further compromising the already fragile health status of many Black Americans,” Dr. Oni Blackstock, founder of Health Justice, told Capital B in June. “When [systemic barriers to health care access] combine with more restrictive vaccine guidelines,” Blackstock added, “it becomes even harder for Black Americans to get boosters and worsens existing health disparities.”
Misinformation: The measles outbreak has hit the highest level since it was declared eliminated in 2000, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Months before this happened, Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s chief vaccine regulator, was forced out of the agency after clashing with Kennedy over vaccine policy. In his resignation letter, he makes clear the danger he saw in the secretary’s misinformation.
“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Marks wrote. One of the most egregious pieces of misinformation came during Kennedy’s Senate confirmation hearing.
“We should not be giving Black people the same vaccine schedule that’s given to whites, because their immune system is better than ours," Kennedy said, claiming that a series of studies in Poland confirmed this. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland quickly admonished his rhetoric as “dangerous.”But Abraham pointed out the blunt racism. “There are innocent grandmas sharing things on Facebook they believe are true,” he told Capital B. “But worse are the bad actors who are sending information [not backed by science] to Black and brown communities to divide us, or to make us make the wrong decision with the wrong information.”
Weekly Roundup:
A plan among Tulsa, Okla., community members launched in the 1980s could help prevent the damage that other parts of the country have seen from flooding. With FEMA emergency grant funding being cut, the city is still helped by a plan that was launched after a series of floods that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. “Tulsa pursued mitigation. We did floodplain buyouts. We engineered our way out of being a flood-prone city,” said Joe Kralicek, director of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency. Because of a public/private initiative, a public monthly fee of $12.22 per resident is charged to fund disaster planning. – The Oklahoma Eagle
Filipino fast food chain Jollibee is apparently the king of fried chicken for the second year in a row. USA Today teamed up with a group of food experts and asked readers to name their top choices and came up with a list of the 10 best quick service restaurants serving the dish. Jollibee, known best for its Chickenjoy meal, topped Pollo Campero, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, and Church’s Texas Chicken to take the title. More well-known brands like KFC, Chick-fil-A, and Popeye’s rounded out the bottom of the list. – AsAm News
With Temporary Protected Status in the United States being sunset for Haitian migrants, Canada suspending its family sponsorship program, and Mexico’s asylum backlog, Haitian migrants are trying to determine which country might be able to take them instead of returning to a volatile political situation in their home country. But during a panel convened by The Haitian Times on July 14, experts warned that planning is crucial in making decisions. “There are people fighting for you,” said immigration advocate Yola Lamarre. “Figure out what’s happening. Tune out all of the TikTok noise. Hone in on credible news sources and, as Haitian Americans [in the diaspora], help filter out [misinformation] and how to navigate media literacy.” – The Haitian Times
The Department of the Interior seems to be getting into the thought police business. The agency has ordered signs posted around national parks printed with QR codes that ask visitors to report any "any signs or other negative information about either past or living Americans…" It spawned from a Donald Trump executive order that targets diversity, equity and inclusion. But critics say this is simply another measure toward Black erasure in history and anti-Black racism put forth by the federal government. “I’d argue that the intention has always been to erase, or at least whitewash, Black history,” said Blake Spencer, a student archivist at Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. “When I see what’s happening with DEI and National Park Service sites, I can’t help but think that the administration is just revealing its hand. Things are a lot more overt now than they were before.” – Capital B
Quote of the Week:
"When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone’s constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity." – Sam Aguiar, Lonita Baker and Ben Crump, lawyers for the family of Breonna Taylor, after a Justice Department memo recommended a one-day sentence for Brett Hankison, the former Louisville policeman who killed her in a botched 2020 drug raid.
Recommended Reading:
He came to the U.S. to support his sick child. Then he disappeared from a Texas detention facility – The Texas Tribune
Most recent data shows NYC overdose deaths are down. Will the trend continue? – New York Amsterdam News
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Trump-era order hinders California’s wildfire response amid peak season - Black Voice News
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