Xochitl Santos Hernández

MMJ Reporter for NBC Right Now

KNDU (NBC Right Now) is the number one local news show for the Tri-Cities to Yakima Eastern Washington region. As a bilingual Multimedia Journalist Reporter for KNDU, here are my stories. From investigative stories, to COVID news, to community inspirations, and special series like “No More Stolen Sisters,” I’ve had the privilege of reporting on a myriad of relevant everyday news and information. You might also see me on the weather wall too!

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Read/Watch All my stories on NBC Right Now

Why artists are stating “The Show Must Go On” with a New Deal for the performing arts industry in light of COVID-19

“There is no going back, and in some ways that’s a good thing! This pandemic made it clear how necessary the arts are and what changes must be made in order to keep it alive and inclusive, especially for marginalized communities.” said Kristin Sakoda, Director of the Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture.

By XOCHITL HERNÁNDEZ
EL NUEVO SOL (READ MY ARTICLE ON EL NUEVO SOL HERE)

LOS ANGELES—Comedian Kristina Wong began her bit shouting with “Are you ready to rally!?…give it up for your favorite public servant, Kristina Wong!” In the background were American flags and a podium as if she is giving a political candidate speech. Yet this was not at a rally or comedy club downtown. This was over Zoom.

Not only is Kristina Wong a comedian but she is also an elected representative of Wilshire Center Sub District Five Koreatown Neighborhood Council and a performing artist. Like other performing artists such as Latino Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Jose Luis Valenzuela, Calexico-based artist Roberto Pozos, Broadway performer and LA County Department of Arts and Culture Director Kristin Sakoda, they have also found their artistic livelihood deeply compromised in this pandemic.

All these artists presented at an Ethnic Media Services panel for journalists on COVID’s drastic effect on the performing arts industry. They discussed the essential importance of the arts and why it must be cared for and salvaged, especially in this pandemic. Los Angeles is one of the arts capitols of the world and home to multiculturally diverse communities with over 220 languages spoken. There are over 200 museums, 500 heritage/historical sites, 300 theaters and 226 performing arts organization in general.

Just in Los Angeles County alone, Director Kristin Sakoda of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture states that the organization has been servicing, funding, and supporting Los Angeles non-profit arts organizations and centers for over 70 years with grants, commissioning artists, research, professional development, and cross-sector strategies in community and economic development. The Department encompasses 88 different cities, more than 10 million people, 81 different school districts, and more than 480 organizations ranging from theaters, concert venues, museums, cultural centers, and historical sites.

When COVID-19 hit, this industry was affected drastically.

In Los Angeles County, of the 250 non-profits who responded to the Department of Arts and Culture’s survey, it reported there was a collective financial impact of more than 20 million. 39% of these non-profit art sectors dipped into financial reserves, 40% furloughed or laid off staff, 78% were worried about a decline in philanthropic giving (a large part of how non-profits survive), and a high percentage worried about surviving as an organization at all. Americans for the Arts reported that arts organization nationwide had a 12-billion-dollar impact in lost revenue and anticipated expenses.

This is all too familiar to artists and public servants like Kristin Sakoda, Kristina Wong, Roberto Pozos, and Jose Luis Valenzuela all of whom primarily serve BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Sakoda emphasized that even before COVID hit, community organizations serving people of color were under-capitalized and still are. The Department of Arts and Culture is working to help fund these small and mid-sized organizations that serve historically marginalized communities. She emphatically asserted that the arts must not just stop at diversifying art forms but also work toward equity and inclusion. The way arts organizations can do this, is by being intentional with how they support, represent, and make their resources and arts available to BIPOC communities.

Jose Luis Valenzuela even commented that his work with the Latino community included East LA, UCLA, community colleges and the greater Los Angeles area. 20% of community college students are homeless and 70% are below poverty, but art helps save them in many ways. His play on immigration was cut short when COVID hit. But his company’s survival is vital.

“We are very few theatre companies of color in LA County. I think it’s about two Asian theatre companies and only about three or four African American companies, and about four Latino theatre companies in a city where 52% of the community in Los Angeles is Latino. And their budgets are super low. So, imagine nationally?” said Valenzuela.

In light of all of this, artists rapidly worked to respond in order to survive.

After losing her performance engagements and entire income, Wong decided the show must go on…from her own living room. Her show, “Kristina Wong for Public Office,” is a satirical comedy commenting on the 2020 Race for President, an act she similarly used to rally for her own seat as a city council representative. She also started the Auntie Sewing Squad, a group of women (a lot of them artists themselves) who are sewing masks and PPE for healthcare workers as well as incarcerated communities, people transitioning out of ICE detention centers, and BIPOC, low-income communities. She recently sent five relief vehicles to the Navajo Nation who are seriously suffering like other Native American and indigenous communities during this pandemic.

Muralist Roberto Pozos along with the newly formed Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition meets with about 20 other artists over Zoom in order to launch arts opportunities commemorating the tragedies of the COVID pandemic. They will be putting on their first ever virtual art show in Imperial Valley leaving entries open to people of all ages, ethnicities, and skill levels in order to submit art, designs, and poetry as a sort of reaction/restorative healing art to the pandemic. They plan to move the art show outside for drive-byes as well. The goal is to also give a small budget to local artists who do not have the resources in order to fund their project as well as share relief funds with the community.

Jose Luis Valenzuela is experimenting with digital programming and virtually airing his plays and productions. “It makes no money, it’s worse than live theatre,” he laughed. Still, Valenzuela is committed, as he has been for the past 35 years, of keeping the Latino Theater Company alive and producing stories that reflect the diverse Latinx community of Los Angeles. “where do these people (BIPOC communities) see art and work that relate to them if not in our theaters?” asked Valenzuela.

Grants can help keep these theaters stay afloat, but Valenzuela shared that with even a small grant, more than half could go to the theatre’s light bill. Even with much hard work, it’s not easy to always have enough financial support.

“We went through almost 40 years without giving proper arts education in the schools. So now politicians who are 40 years old, may not have exposure interest in the arts at all. They were never having arts classes or going to the theaters, so now, all of that causes these politicians in power have no relationship to arts. So, it’s hard to get them to tell the community to support the arts and artists in our community.” said Valenzuela.

While these artists asserted how the pandemic has caused much hardship for the arts industry and organizations, they also affirmed how these hardships reveal and push for many great innovations and changes that can and should take place moving forward.

“There is no going back, and in some ways that’s a good thing!” said Sakoda. “This pandemic made it clear how necessary the arts are and what changes must be made in order to keep it alive and inclusive, especially for marginalized communities.”

Moderator Pilar Morerro stated that the one and only time the United State’s federal government heavily supported the arts financially was during the Great Depression to the beginning of World War II from 1933-1943 under President Roosevelt. Now, art directors like Sakoda are a part of a national conversation with the Americans for the Arts on a modern “New Deal” which would include the arts and cultural non-profits to be a part of infrastructure, workforce programs, and better funding for artists and organizations. She added it would depend on who is elected to office in November on if this “New Deal” will succeed but it can start with state and local government as well.

The LA County Department of Arts and Culture put resources on their website including a digital arts resource center, assortment of relief grants for artists and non-profits, online art education programs for students, as well as applications for their college internship program, the largest paid internship program in the country. They will also make the CARES Act Relief for hard hit arts sectors.

“We recognize creative work is essential to our recovery. They should be for everyone, not just elites. You see better outcomes in health, wellbeing, education, personal/professional success and more when they have the arts! We need the arts to be a part of recovery efforts,” said Sakoda.

FIERCE by Mitú (Content Creator Intern + ALL Articles HERE)

FIERCE by Mitu is an online digital platform apart of We Are Mitu, a platform producing media on news, social justice, politics, entertainment, social trends, lifestyle and more through a Latino POV. FIERCE is the branch entirely dedicated to producing this same content through a LATINA women POV to create an empowered community of Latinas and women of color.

AND I AM THEIR CONTENT CREATION INTERN.

My job entitles writing articles and creating content on news, politics, Latina women, entertainment, beauty, food, and lifestyle for all social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. I even helped FIERCE launch their TikTok and created most of their videos too! WATCH MY TIKTOK VIDEOS HERE!

Below are some of my articles that I wrote for FIERCE. They cover everything from politics, Latina women, and much more.

After Struggling With Unpaid Internships, Two Jefas Started Latinx44 To Help Fund Latinxs’ Internships In D.C.

Catrina Makeup Was Originally Satirizing Eurocentric Colonization But It Evolved To Celebrate Our Ancestors

From The Language That Brought Us Words Like Chocolate, Here’s The History Of The Nahuatl Language

Baile Folklórico Is Rich In Color And Influenced From Other Countries Around The World

These Mixteca Sisters Are Going Viral For Singing A Type Of Music Popular Among Braceros

Flor de Muerto, Originally Called Zempoalxochitl, Tells A Heart-Breaking Love Story

FIERCE Partners With Handmade by Friendship Bridge To Amplify Indigenous Guatemalan Artisans

13 Indigenous Brands To Support This Holiday Season

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s Book Captures The Anguish Of Living Undocumented And Makes Her The First Undocumented Immigrant Named A Finalist For The National Book Award

Learn A Little Bit Of Nahuatl With These Informative TikTok Language Lessons

Dozens of Latinas Shared Why They Voted and They’re Messages Will Make You Beam With Pride

6 Main Takeaways From the Debate: What Was Said, What Was NOT Said, and What Was Just Plain False

Google Doodle Honors Felicitas Mendez, Puerto Rican Civil Rights Figure Who Helped End School Segregation in the U.S.

Mass Evictions: Another Symptom of COVID-19 for POC Renters in the U.S.

Read article on El Nuevo Sol’s website HERE

“If we allow a large number to be affected and evicted, we could have a revolution on our hands,” said Maryland State Delegate Kumar Barve.

By XOCHITL HERNÁNDEZ
EL NUEVO SOL

Los Angeles—While COVID-19’s transmission has spread like wildfire, its ramifications may have even more devastating effects in the near future, according to a forum of U.S. experts and politicians organized las Friday by Ethnic Media Services via Zoom. Following the economic recession of 2008, 10 million people were displaced from their homes over the course of a few years; however, the United States is on track to far surpass that number in just four months, they said.

In the forum—titled Fallout From the Pandemic: A Tsunami of Evictions Poised to Hit the U.S.—experts and politicians express concerns of the U.S. being on the brink of a devastating housing crisis as eviction moratoriums are set to expire in August.

“If we allow a large number to be affected and evicted, we could have a revolution on our hands,” said Maryland State Delegate Kumar Barve.

The data presented at the forum provides support to Barve’s statement. Prior to the pandemic, 20.5 million families in the United States were at risk for becoming unhoused, according to data presented by Professor Emily Benfer, director of the Health Justice Clinic at Wakeforest University School of Law.

Only 25% of those 20.5 million who were eligible for financial assistance actually received it, meaning 75% who were eligible did not receive the necessary financial assistance such as housing subsidies. Therefore, between the scarcity of federal housing assistance and a loss of 4 million affordable housing units over the last decade, renters were made even more vulnerable to eviction prior to the crisis of COVID-19.

Also, in the midst this pandemic, 50 million renters have lost their jobs and 40% (or 20 million) of these renters are low-income, which makes them particularly vulnerable to losing their home. Black and Latinx communities are particularly vulnerable—61% of Latinx, 44% of Black, and 38% of White renters are at risk of becoming unhoused, according to Dr. Margot Kushel, director of the Center for Vulnerable Populations at University of California, San Francisco. She added that indigenous communities actually represent the highest disparity among the unhoused populations by registering about an eightfold increase. Very little is known about those who are non-native English or non-native Spanish speakers who may only speak their indigenous tongue. This population may not even be counted in the data, she said.

Disparities in household wealth by race are another factor that contributes to the rapid displacement of communities of color. For example, 75% of Black and Latinx and only 47% of Whites reported not having the emergency resources needed to keep their rent or housing situation stable, according to Dr. Kushel.

She highlighted the importance of considering the situation of people who are homeless but are not reported as such or counted in the statistics. Her research shows that those experiencing housing instability, eviction, or homelessness in the Latinx community will first try to do anything they can to not be in homeless shelters in order to prevent their children from being taken away. They will room with other family members where as many as 12 to 15 people can be living in one room or even a garage. While they may not be “statistically” counted as officially unhoused, these families suffer the same consequences of homelessness, such as food instability, lack of running water or other utilities, lack of cleanliness, school disruption for these children, and an increased risk in contracting COVID-19.

Due to this housing crisis and in the wake of a growing social justice climate, renters have been organizing and protesting—even forming tenant unions. But the causes of this crisis are multiple and hard to tackle. Dr. Kushel emphasized that in order to fix the homelessness issue we cannot solely target unhoused people but also target the issues that drive people to homelessness—job instability, job loss, medical bills, and forms of systemic racism such as loan “redlining,” discrimination in renting and banking, income inequality, and more.

This “tsunami” of a housing crisis is “not a natural disaster, but rather a disaster of our own making,” said Nisha Vyas, senior housing attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty. Eight out of ten extremely low-income renters, most of which were also people of color, use 50 to 90% of their entire income to pay rent, said Vyas. While 75% of eviction cases are solved quickly (within 45 days) tenants are only given 4 to 5 days to contest their eviction. Furthermore, many tenants do not have adequate legal representation and do not have knowledge of how to contest an eviction or establish “hardship.”

Making the problem worse, small property owners own about 22.7 million of the 48.5 million rental units in the country, and if many tenants of small property owned units cannot pay rent, this can have a large impact in the market by losing affordable housing and further depleting this market for families who need it, according to the Harvard University Joint Center on Housing Studies. While many landlords have been able to excuse their tenants from paying rent under the CARES state government’s moratorium, it is set to expire at the end of July if not sooner.

How can this tsunami of evictions be prevented? Maryland Delegate Barve said he wants the CARES Act to dedicate more money to temporary rental assistance. In addition, a massive increase in nationwide low-income housing and a dramatic expansion of rental support could definitely help end homelessness, said Dr. Kushel. In California Project Room Key and Project Home Key have successfully housed unhoused people. Project Room Key has provided homeless individuals with hotel rooms, especially those who are particularly vulnerable to dying from COVID. The program has successfully housed about 15,000 unhoused individuals. California Governor Gavin Newsom just announced Project Home Key which will provide 600 million dollars to try to acquire properties to provide housing. Plus, the HEROES Act, which will provide dramatic rental relief funds, has been passed by the House and will now reach the Senate, but it is unlikely to be passed by Republicans.

The example of Akash Kalia gives a glimmer of hope. In 2012, he purchased his parents’ hotel, the Palms Inn in Sonoma County, and decided to convert the 104-unit hotel for unhoused veterans and other chronically unhoused civilians. Kalia’s business has been incredibly successful, especially the financial impact to the community. In Sonoma county, it may cost the community between $80,000 to 180,000 a year per chronically unhoused individual. Kalia’s hotel services dramatically decreases these costs where to the local community to about $13,000 per person a year. This is because the site includes a mobile health clinic, food distribution, 12 AA and NA meetings, and even music services. Kalia’s services work to address the roots that drive the issue of homelessness and housing instability.

Hotel owners have been hit extremely hard during this pandemic in addition to other hospitality services; however, Kalia urges hotels and motels to utilize his model of the Palms Inn to convert into stable housing for unhoused people and those at risk for homelessness.

Contributing Reporter for San Fernando Sun (All Articles Here)

I am a contributing reporter for the San Fernando Sun Newspaper! Read my bylines and articles on their website published below.

A 2020 CSUN Graduate Finding Hope in the Shadow of a Virus

Una Graduada de CSUN 2020 Encontrando Esperanza a la Sombra de un Virus

For Students Living in Poverty, “Distance Learning” Remains a Struggle

Para Los Estudiantes Que Viven en la Pobreza, el “Aprendizaje a Distancia” Sigue Siendo una Lucha

Home Is Where the Church Is

COVID has been inconvenient (even painful in many ways) for all of us, and completely tragic for many more. These stats show live updates of confirmed COVID cases and deaths by state, nation, and world wide CLICK HERE.

The U.S. was doing better for some time, but due to public pressure the growing desire to “get back to normal” restaurants, businesses, and other places began reopening from mid-May to June. Now, we are seeing a second spike in cases and re-closing of most businesses again. I understand the growing frustration with wanting this pandemic to be over, and for all of us to resume some normalcy. However, mother nature has other plans and we cannot deny the seriousness of the transmission of the virus that can be probable for all of us. 2020 has been a year of awakening, so there really is no “going back to normal,” but rather how can we move forward and do better. I don’t believe we should live in fear, and I am not writing this to instill fear in anyone! No, we should not live in fear at all because God’s got this; but we are also called to do our part and should live safely and smartly because what we do can affect anyone. Because of this pandemic, students have not been able to go to school in-person or have their graduation ceremonies, students dorming in college will have to stay quarantined and not go home on weekends, some people have not been able to get necessary surgeries because doctors are too overwhelmed fighting COVID, some people have not been able to see their family or give their late family members a proper funeral, not to mention pregnant mothers are delivering their babies in empty delivery rooms, recent grads are having a difficult time getting jobs during this economic recession/pandemic/hiring freezes all of which are just a few issues amongst a plethora of other things. All to say that practically all of us have had to “miss out” on something in some way, and if you ask many people of faith, that would be going to the church building.

I love church. I miss going to church. The church is precious and should be protected. I miss seeing my friends in my young adult ministry, going to service on Sundays, and I especially miss the power of worshipping live and corporately with the congregation. I also agree with how the church was asked to move online for awhile due to COVID and most large churches did so. But while some Christians have argued we shouldn’t take orders from the government’s health officials and scientists, let us not forget that God also gave us science, doctors, and official leaders in health to better help us take care of our body and make wise decisions! God is the Great Physician and the Greatest Scientist who can work through others to help guide us!

In this time of COVID where we are not normally gathering for a lot of things, if we as the church still believe that the “church” is a building then we have learned nothing. The church goes far beyond the walls of a building. The church is global, it is the bride of Christ, it is all of us, every single one of us believers worldwide. Do not limit the power of God, or the power of how the Spirit and Angels move, or the power of His church just because we aren’t meeting inside an actual church building. While staying in our house and being limited with social interactions can pose a frustration or a challenge, I am writing this blog post to hopefully encourage you all. My Pastor gave a beautiful sermon a couple weeks ago talking about how the “church” after Jesus’s resurrection started in small meeting places which were people’s houses and these are the notes he gave us that I wanted to share with you all.

The church was birthed IN A HOUSE (Acts 2:2). After this, in Acts 9:10-12, a man of faith, Ananias, was called by God to go to the HOUSE of Judas to pray/heal/restore a man named Saul. This is the same Saul who committed horrible atrocities against Christ-followers; the man was practically a terrorist. But one day, God called out to him, and I can imagine how the heart of God must have been broken when he cried to Saul “Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). This verse always moves me, because it proves how God can meet us anytime anywhere, no matter what we’ve done, who we are, or what position we are in. Saul becomes blind due to this encounter, yet after this he became Paul, completely healed and freed from that which he once did to now being a man who loved and served others and one of the most influential Evangelists and Apostles in the New Testament. How did this happen? God sent Ananias to the HOUSE of Judas to lay hands on Paul and pray over/heal him.

In your house, your life can be redirected. In your house, you can be healed and restored (Acts 9:10-19).
In your house, the Spirit can come and empower you (Acts 10:44) just like it did on the Believers on the Day of Pentecost. (See Below)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

What this means is regardless of ethnicity, previous religion, or language, all of these people of all nations IN A HOUSE were praising the same God who created each one of them. (Side note; pretty much proves how God is a god of diversity!) On this day of Pentecost, the Believers were in a house and the Holy Spirit came upon them, causing them all to speak in different tongues. Yet even though they were Believers from different ethnicities who spoke different languages, it was the power of the Holy Spirit that united and empowered them.

3. In your house is where a lot of generational curses are started and where a lot of generational curses can be broken. One of these curses can be the act of willful ignorance and racism/prejudice. With all the racial division and social unrest going on around us, I believe it is purposeful that many of us are spending a lot more time in our house. In your house, you can have productive conversations with your family and those around you on the social issues plaguing our world and nation. In your house, walls and barriers that divide us whether it be by ethnicity, race, belief, or language can be torn down by the power of the Spirit who softens our hearts and gives us wisdom (Acts 10:45-46, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11). I want to acknowledge as well that for many this may also be an even more difficult time if you have an extremely toxic household and not everyone has the luxury of a healthy or safe home; but rest assured, God can still do miracles in whatever the state of your household is in!

4. In your house, prayers can be answered and YOU can be healed. In the same way a dead girl was raised back to life in a house (Luke 8: 51-55), or when Jesus healed/forgave a disabled man in a house (Mark 2:1-12), or in the same way the church prayed earnestly for the disciple Peter to be released from jail and then Peter escaped from prison finally showing up at the house of Mary (mother of John Mark) (Acts 12:16), you too can have your prayer for healing, for provision, for a miracle, be answered!

5. In your house, God can make A WAY when there seems to be NO WAY (Isaiah 43:19, and Acts 12:15-16).

6. And in your house, you can give God the most beautiful praise. It does not have to be in a church building. Just look at this woman in the New Testament (this woman is alluded to have a troubled past, whatever that may be, and was being judged by the Pharisee – the religious man/leader – while Jesus showed compassion and love for her). This woman anointed Jesus’s feet with a jar of expensive perfume and her own tears. This woman is regarded by Jesus as pouring out the most beautiful form of worship that Jesus was blessed by (Luke 7:36-50, Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, John 12:1-8). In your house, you can also serve God and listen to the wisdom he is teaching you just like Mary and Martha did (Luke 10:38-42). Serving God in this way is also an act of worship.

“Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name there I am with them”(Matthew 18:20). Remember that ministry, gospel work, or social service does not stop because of COVID. Faith and community does not end in the church walls but rather can both begin and thrive everywhere. I have seen my own young adults community at Shepherd Church continuing to thrive as we do sermons on Zoom, can listen to our Pastor’s sermons on podcasts, and go live with each other on Instagram at least once a week. Additionally, the church has continuously done online sermons for the entire congregation, living room worship on Facebook/Instagram live, and ways to text/call an on-call staff member if someone wants prayer. Community and discipleship is still happening!

When I see people talking about how we as believers must get back to worshipping in church, I understand and agree that congregating as a church in a church building is important and powerful; however, I can’t help but feel that God is trying to do something awesome and new with the way things are modified right now due to COVID. Understand that getting back to “normal” is really just the “past normal,” and God commands us to look forward to miracles and the future rather than focusing on the past (Isaiah 43:18-20). So the question remains; what does our “new” normal look like and how can God work with how we must live now? Please stop limiting God. God is mighty and great and above all things. Our Great Creator has no limit.

So let’s also consider the following: in churches with over 100 people, especially larger/mega churches, the fact that hundreds or thousands of people in one closed space for a period of time and the risk of transmission in aerosol water droplets with our talking and singing are all things that can cause for a higher risk of COVID transmission (see this study of COVID transmission within a church choir). And I understand some people may bring up “well what about the protests?” Researchers and doctors are continually finding that transmission can be different and actually lower in a protest since in a protest people are at least outside and aerosols can travel away from people outside rather than in enclosed spaces, not to mention that most protestors have been wearing masks (proven to lower your chance of transmission) and encouraging social distancing and to “keep moving,” (meaning continually walking and not staying in one place). I can at least attest to my own experience at every protest I went to that safety and health was organizers’ top priority. In addition, most targeted cities of protests, an example being New York and Minneapolis, where these former protestors who tested for COVID showed how actually only 1-3% tested positive (to read more on the statistics and research I am referring to by doctors and scientists on COVID in relation to protests and spikes in transmission here are some articles: The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, TIME Magazine, The Economist, NPR). Now this does not negate that there are plenty of possibilities of contracting COVID during a protest, as it is inevitable and possible to see spikes in transmission anytime we have contact with the outside. However, evidence continually suggests we are seeing spikes in transmission because of a myriad of reasons and the biggest reason is the collective consequence of too many people failing to wear a mask and follow simple guidelines or are ignoring them altogether which we especially saw when cities all over the nation started opening up businesses again or having large gatherings.

Going back to the study of the singing choir above mentioned, it showed how after one choir member was symptomatic, in just two choir rehearsals COVID-19 infected 87% of the choir possibly due to transmission through water droplets which is what lead California Governor Newsom and state health officials to state this in new guidelines about places of worship:

Places of worship must therefore discontinue singing and chanting activities and limit indoor attendance to 25% of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower. Local Health Officers are advised to consider appropriate limitations on outdoor attendance capacities, factoring their jurisdiction’s key COVID19 health indicators. At a minimum, outdoor attendance should be limited naturally through implementation of strict physical distancing measures of a minimum of six feet between attendees from different households, in addition to other relevant protocols within this document…Discontinue singing (in rehearsals, services, etc.), chanting, and other practices and performances where there is increased likelihood for transmission from contaminated exhaled droplets. Consider practicing these activities through alternative methods (such as internet streaming) that ensure individual congregation members perform these activities separately in their own homes. Consider modifying practices that are specific to particular faith traditions that might encourage the spread of COVID-19.
Department of Public Health, California. COVID-19 INDUSTRY GUIDANCE: Places of Worship and Providers of Religious Services and Cultural Ceremonies . 6 July 2020.

Now, I understand that asking a church to discontinue singing and chanting activities is like asking a dog not to pant with its mouth open. As a follower of Christ, I absolutely believe singing with worshipful song/music is a powerful/important thing that I not only love but is also a commandment that we must partake in to worship and glorify God! But the media soon reported on this as a “ban” on worshipping, which was a bad and, quite honestly not entirely truthful, choice of words. I empathize and understand how the language of “banning singing in churches,” is triggering language to the faith community that can seem like an attack (to which I honestly hold the media responsible/accountable for using that language when they first reported on it; it was a recipe for disaster in how the media communicated it). But I also urge my brothers and sisters to take a step back before being quick to state it is an attack on the church and first try to consider the above research and how that may influence state health regulators to make a decision when California has the second number of rise in COVID cases behind New York. Notice how this text states “consider,” and “alternative methods,” and “modifying” in order to “ensure individual congregation members perform these activities separately in their own homes,” so that they still have the freedom to worship and practice their faith! In fact, according to the LA Times, “Newsom emphasized his own religious upbringing in the Catholic Church, saying he had deep admiration and respect for the faith of the millions of Californians and the need for them to practice that faith.” I don’t presume to know everything but my thoughts are if and when it is safer to go back to church, perhaps we should be able to worship and chant so long as we follow the CDC health guidelines and WEAR A MASK at all times and yes, that includes wearing a mask even while we the congregation sings with plenty of distance between everyone.

Please hear me out, truly I say this in love for my fellow Believers community, but when I hear church folk and fellow believers say that our “freedoms are being taken away” by having limitations on our church/worship service or on our everyday lives, it makes me feel like we forget the true freedoms being taken away from others in this nation and worldwide. Especially because we still have the privilege to practice our faith and worship safely in our homes, as stated above. On a side note, while of course it is frustrating to not be able to experience life and go out like we normally do, can we also acknowledge that the ability to stay home and work from home or perhaps still get paid while staying home is a HUGE privilege and blessing? And that being able to worship and do church at home is a huge blessing and privilege when Christians around the world are murdered for doing just that? And while it’s not ideal to be at home, millions of low-income families or Black and Latinx families have been disproportionally affected by COVID, many don’t have the luxury of staying home, many work blue-collar jobs (multiple jobs even) where they still must show up for work. Black and Brown communities as well as indigenous and Native American communities are also losing their jobs at higher rates, becoming homeless, are working laborious jobs which makes their transmission of COVID higher, and are contracting/dying of COVID at substantially higher rates (for more statistics on this, read official reports here from the CDC, BBC, CNN, NPR, Penn Today, and Business Insider). I urge all of us to check our heart and take a step back before being quick to say that a politician is attacking The Church because he/she is trying to implement health regulations about a disease which may not necessarily be tragically affecting you or me physically but has been devastating for many. To what is our freedom measured as our “right” if it harms someone else? What about those who are not experiencing the same amount or level of freedom that we are experiencing?

Now, of course spiritually we are absolutely freed from the ways of this earthly realm and have eternal freedom by the blood of Jesus and we take our ultimate authority from Jesus, but Jesus also wants us to exercise wisdom and caution as well! The apostle Paul stated the following in 1 Corinthians 6:12 in regards to our freedom:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

Philosophically speaking, sure we could honestly do whatever we want; you could choose to go out or not, you could choose to wear a mask or not, but if you choose to not wear a mask, you may say it is your “right” but is that beneficial? And even for those who don’t believe in the science, what really is the inconvenience if you wear a mask briefly when around other people who are probably more high-risk than you and people are dying everyday?

There are Christians in China, Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria, and North Korea whose actual freedoms are being taken away because they are not allowed to practice their faith openly, and if they do so or are caught worshipping in their underground Christian church, their government can literally capture them, arrest them, torture them, and kill them. That is having your freedom to worship/practice your faith taken away. I find that very different than this government health officials telling us to wear a mask or follow modified regulations for health purposes. This is not in defense of a specific politician or government, all I am attempting to do is present nuanced perspective and research to help pose the question/reflection for all my brothers and sisters to take a step back and be critical of our own thinking and reasoning (MYSELF VERY MUCH INCLUDED). Defending religious freedom is important when its needed and actually happening, but many of us believers are quick to claim religious persecution or our freedom being taken away when 1. it’s not being taken away and 2. when we should be focusing on the bigger picture. Remember in the United States, we are not being told to stop practicing our faith like other countries are told. We are being told to modify how we congregate in a church building because of health regulations with COVID as stated above, but that does not mean that our the freedom to practice our faith is being taken away. The government could have for sure done immensely better with how they handled COVID-19, as they can do immensely better with various other issues, but if we are a faith established off of Jesus’s grace and command to love others, can we remember to focus on how to love others as the church with these COVID modifications? Can we as a church try to remember and consider the hundreds in so many underserved communities or communities of color that are suffering the most from this virus? If we as The Church are supposed to be the light and salt of the earth, are we really living that out? How can we help take care of others during this trying time without focusing on what we want?

Remember we have the FREEDOM and privilege to practice our faith or beliefs safely and powerfully whether it is in our own homes, with our families, on the streets, how we talk to people, how we behave at the store, wearing a mask to protect others, how we serve others, how we fight for justice, and how we love our Black brothers and sisters and say #BlackLivesMatter. While it is sad/hard to not be able to go into our church building to worship and gather like normal, God also wants you to be smart and take care of your health, because COVID is still out there and seeing spikes in transmission. Therefore, how can we lean into the purpose God called us into if we are not healthy? Is that being “pro-life” and loving others when we’re quick to put our health and other’s (who’s bodies may be high-risk) in danger?

Worship is also not limited to Sunday service and singing worship songs. Yes, that is a huge part of worship and we should do that and give God praise with joyful song (Psalm 98:4) but worship is not just that. The church is for faith-practicing and worshipping but this goes back to when I first said how “the church” is the global body of Believers and how we witness to others. We as the church are not just a church building. Having said that, this global church, this bride of Christ, also includes how you worship/witness at home, how you treat your family/others, how you serve God well by using your gifts/talents, how you work hard, even by how you speak, eat, drink — let everything you do be an act of worship (1 Corinthians 10:31)! Worship is how we praise and glorify God as a living sacrifice, emphasis on the word living. Worship is a lifestyle and goes so much more beyond the church building. Therefore, how will we LIVE a life of worship? If we limit our worship to God to a church building and get upset about possibly needing to wear a mask while worshipping in a church, we are limiting our God and how He first cares about the posture of our heart in worship. If we have a heart of worship, do you really think wearing a mask as we sing or are watching church online at home (due to COVID) will make God feel like our worship is less than? One of my all-time favorite books on worship entitled Wired For A Life of Worship by Louie Giglio states “God doesn’t require ornate or elaborate expressions of worship. When we talk to Him we don’t have to use supersized church words. The worship He’s looking for is spiritual and true. Genuine. Authentic. Worship from the heart…Jesus has come. Messiah is here. And He’s announcing that worship isn’t about where you do it, but about the heart. It’s not about what church you belong to, but whether or not you have a personal relationship with God…in spirit and truth (John 4:24).”

Living a life of worship also translates with how we love others, and how we live out our everyday life. What we do with our bodies is also an act of worship; therefore, how we take care of our precious temples which is our body is also an act of worship (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and how do we do this? Well, we can start by wearing a mask, crediting the science from the scientists that God gave us, and social distancing. I listed this verse above but will do it again, it’s Isaiah 43:18-19 (The prophet Isaiah is prophesying to the Israelites with a message from God about the promise of their deliverance from exile in Babylon):

¹⁸“Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

I believe in this modern day I can hear God saying He is making a way, and challenging us to see it! This is the perfect time for God to challenge us in how we will worship him during a global pandemic. How will we worship God when we can’t go out everywhere like “normal,” or when many mega-churches are not all gathering as a whole congregation in a church building worshipping like “normal,” or during one of the most influential social justice movements since the 1960’s. Will we worship by how we serve others, how we fight for justice, how we don’t turn a blind eye to injustice, how we listen to others, how we stop making things about us, and how we see others as better than ourselves?

I understand we have to find a way to manage and live our life during this pandemic as we wait for a vaccine; so let’s do that wisely and safely. I myself am excited for the day when I can go back to the church building, go to other outside activities/gatherings with family and friends, and for this pandemic to pass. But what good will going back to worshipping in church do if we don’t first worship in our everyday tasks from the time we wake to the time we sleep? What good is rushing to go back to the church building and doing ministry work when our first ministry should start within our own hearts and within our own homes? What good is it to wait to sing with joyful song at the top of my lungs in a church building if I don’t also do that in my car or my own living room? What good is serving others in our church walls when we must also match that with how we go out into the world and our own neighborhoods and serve the marginalized, the sick, the lost, the murdered, the hurting, the oppressed, and the “least of these,” in the face of fighting for justice?

Further Reading:

Considerations for Communities of Faith From the CDC (snippet stated below)

“This guidance is not intended to infringe on rights protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution or any other federal law, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). The federal government may not prescribe standards for interactions of faith communities in houses of worship, and in accordance with the First Amendment, no faith community should be asked to adopt any mitigation strategies that are more stringent than the mitigation strategies asked of similarly situated entities or activities.
In addition, we note that while many types of gatherings are important for civic and economic well-being, religious worship has particularly profound significance to communities and individuals, including as a right protected by the First Amendment. State and local authorities are reminded to take this vital right into account when establishing their own re-opening plans.”
“Considerations for Communities of Faith.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 May 2020, http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/faith-based.html.

Beyond Anti-Racism: What We Can Do to Help #BlackLivesMatter

There seems to be two viruses ravaging our nation. COVID-19 and racism.

Monday, May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a black man who worked as a security guard at a local Minneapolis restaurant was killed by Officer Derek Chauvin. Police responded to a call reporting that a man was buying food with a counterfeit $20 bill. The officer later identified that this man was Floyd and approached him in his car. After Officer Thomas Lane pulled his gun on Floyd, he proceeded with arresting Floyd and getting him out of his car. Floyd was seeming claustrophobic and began to fall down and panic-rightly so. He did not resist arrest and was compliant with the officers.

Shortly after, two other officers were called into the scene (even after Floyd was compliant), whom were Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao. Derek Chauvin apprehended Floyd who had his knee on his neck while Floyd yelled between gasping breaths “I can’t breathe,” and “Mama…please,” and “please don’t kill me.” Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds—at just 2 minutes and 53 seconds, Floyd closed his eyes and became unresponsive. They could not find a pulse and Floyd was pronounced dead later at Hennepin Healthcare.

Floyd suffocated to death, killed by a cop whose order is to “protect and serve.” All over a perceived fake twenty-dollar bill.

And this comes only a few weeks after Ahmaud Arbery’s death, who was chased and gowned down by three white men who claimed they followed him because he “looked like a suspect in a string of attempted burglaries in the neighborhood,” even though there were no suspected burglaries reported that week. Ahmaud Arbery died while running; an innocent man on his morning jog. For more on the facts on his case click this link. The men involved in this murder have since been arrested.

Both George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery died just as Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, and Breonna Taylor did. And let’s not forget the thousands of other black men and women who suffered death and abuse perpetrated by racism, white supremacists, and police officers whom have not been captured on video, all for being black.

We live in a country that is continually being fueled by racist profiling, discrimination, white supremacy, injustice, and the silent apathy of too many American citizens. If we can all ask ourselves this question; Would I want to be treated like Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the thousand other black men and women killed at the hands of crooked police officers and racist citizens? If we don’t want it happening to ourselves and our own children, black white, Latino, Asian, Arabic, disabled, young or old, then why do we stay silent or apathetic when it happens to our fellow brother or sister in humanity?

Being “not racist” is NOT enough. You must be “anti-racist.”

I am reminded by a few quotes that continually remind me of my duty as a human being when seeing injustice all around me:

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice then you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Desmond Tutu (South African antiapartheid and human rights activist)

“The opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it is indifference.” Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor)

“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor)

“What hurts the victim the most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.” Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor)

“Are we hungry for justice? Or are we too full with our privilege?” Carlos A. Rodriguez (Christian activist)

Having said that, here are some steps you can take to make a change:

1. Stay educated.

A. Read books on the history of white privilege, racism in all its forms (institutionalized, and systemic), the real history behind the found of America, etc. Please don’t buy these books from Amazon but buy them from Black-owned bookstores. Here are some books I recommend:

1. The School to Prison Pipeline by Nancy A. Heitzeg

2. Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans From the Civil War to World War II by Douglas Blackman

3. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America

4. This link will take you to a list of other books that SNMA has recommended!

B. You can also listen to podcasts tackling issues on the multi-faceted layers of culture, racism, politics, and other social issues. Here are the podcasts I recommend:

1. The Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill (Reporting and incisive commentary discussing crucial issues such as National Security, Civil Liberties, Foreign Policy, and Criminal Justice.)

2. 1619 from The New York Times (“In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began.” Hosted by Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones, this podcast chronicles how the black community has built America.)

3. Intersectionality Matters! From The African American Policy Forum (Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading critical race theorist who coined the term “intersectionality,” this podcast dissects the academic term to life. Each episode brings together conversations with political organizers, journalists and writers.)

4. Throughline from NPR (Hosted by Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei, the two uncover systemic racism in America. NPR’s website recommends you listen to “American Police,” “Mass Incarceration” and “Milliken v. Bradley.”)

5. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (A comedic-but still informative-take on issues and news both nationally and internationally.)

6. Pod Save the People with Deray (On Pod Save the People, organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with fellow activists Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Sam Sinyangwe, and writer Dr. Clint Smith. They offer a unique take on the news, with a special focus on overlooked stories and topics that often impact people of color.)

7. The Breakdown with Shaun King (Activist Shaun King unpacks important stories of injustice, racism and corruption and educates listeners on how to fight for justice and take practical action steps.)

8. Notes From Her with Xochitl Hernandez (This is a shameless plug because my podcast takes stories from women of color musicians providing a platform and space for multicultural women and their music/art to be amplified for social justice purposes. Think music and entertainment has nothing to do with social justice? Think again.)

C. There are also great documentaries and shows you can watch on this topic to better stay educated. Please note they are hard to watch, and may be triggering. Here’s a list, all of these are available on Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu:

1. 13^th: From Slave to Criminal with One Amendment

2. Fruitvale Station

3. When They See Us

4. The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

5. Freedom Riders

6. Freedom Writers

7. Selma

8. Slavery by Another Name

9. Detroit

10. Eyes on the Prize

11. Dark Girls

More books, films, and education resources can be found on NPR’s website here.

2. READ THIS. It is the “Enough is Enough” report on data and research to creating a new system of community policing and abolition. They state their work, data and “…interviewees also share their perspectives on what effective crisis intervention and service provision could look like without police interference – in order to generate specific proposals for a police-free future in each of these areas.” Their strategies and policy solutions show how police should not and does not need to handle everything. This is created by MPD150 who does not need donations right now but does ask for donations for Reclaim the Block, Black Visions, Minnesota Freedom Fund, North Star Health Collective, and George Floyd Memorial Fund.

2. DONATE to Campaign Zero and READ their list of Urgent Policy Solutions (informed by data, research, humans rights principles, and ways we can change the way police serves our community.)

A. Here is a great list of comprehensive, urgent policy solutions to amend police brutality including SO MUCH research behind reformation and police brutality as well as resources to help support these policy solutions.

3. Also DONATE to Black Lives Matter to help fund their cause.

4. DONATE here to another list of GoFundMe’s, bail funds, and other links to organizations and causes fighting on the grounds! Update: Click here for another link to such GoFundMe’s and organizations.

5. Have conversations with people. Don’t be afraid to listen, setting aside personal biases, prejudices, judgements and ego in order to actively listen to others. Listen when your people of color friends are telling you about their experience. Be willing to have uncomfortable conversations with family and friends who may not understand these issues and ideologies.

6. Actively engage. Go to your local protest, demonstration or rally-you can find the closest public action nearest you by clicking here. (And in this pandemic, if you are high-risk or live with someone whose health is high-risk (like I do) and cannot engage in a public protest with other people, engage in public action via social media. Raise awareness of issues and speak up by sharing posts, prompting conversations, and sharing news on social media platforms. Reminder to be sensitive about trigger warnings in the material you share.)

7. DONATE to Lake Street Council’s fundraiser organized to help rebuild damaged small businesses (many immigrant-owned) on Lake Street, Minneapolis in the wake of the Minneapolis riots. DONATE HERE where 100% of the funds raised will go to rebuilding the businesses and restoring lost/damaged goods. The following are other links to donate to help rebuild damaged small business:

Donate here to help Black Lives Matter organizers raise funds for damaged businesses in Dallas, New York, and Atlanta.
Click here to access a thread to donate to funds to help damaged small businesses in different cities.
Click here to access a thread to donate to funds to help Black-owned damaged businesses in Atlanta.

8. Other ways to actively engage besides going to a protest or rally.

–Attend a Town Hall meeting to be informed and let your voice be heard in regard to local issues. Go to Town Hall Project enter in your zip code to find your Town Hall event nearest to you.

–DONATE to to help protestors on the streets providing funds for food, water, protective gear, medical supplies, and medical professionals on the front lines. Organizations dedicated to providing tangible resources to protestors are North Star Health Collective, Food Justice for Frontlines and other links to donate to here. The following are updated lists of where to donate to help protestors:

A) Donate here to help Charleston, South Carolina protestors for bail funds, water, food, and other supplies.

B) Click here to access a thread of independent frontline youth purchasing safety supplies for protestors.

C) Donate here for Los Angeles City’s Peoples City Council Freedom Fund.

D) Click here to access the websites to almost 20 different bail funds by each city.

–Call Your Senator. Call Your Local Representative. This is a great guide providing scripts for people who are shy or don’t know what to say once on the phone!

–Always sign petitions and make sure they are legit! Change.org always has legit petitions such as for George Floyd.

–VOTE. Always VOTE.

– Click here to access a thread of lawyers representing unlawfully arrested protestors Pro Bono!

–Click here to contact a lawyer who is representing people in Louisville, Chicago, and Indianapolis Pro Bono!

–Click here to access contact info for California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice if you or anyone you know is undocumented and arrested while protesting.

–Donate to non-profits especially grassroots organizations. Click here for a list of a few organizations (local, national and international) fighting for different social justice causes. Click here for more education resources and organization/bail funds to donate to.

–Support local, small-businesses especially those run by people of color.

9. Practice radical empathy. Have an open mind. Practice radical understanding of others’ situations/plights and stop saying “Yes, but…”

With Contributions from CBS Local Minnesota, CNN (5/27), CNN (5/07), New York Times, The Guardian, CBS News, and KYMA

Protestors Outside LA City Hall During Safer-At-Home Orders

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 1, 2020. Protestors gather outside of Los Angeles City Hall protesting the safer-at-home orders. Due to the growing severity of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the city of Los Angeles has now been under self-quarantine, like the rest of the nation, for almost two months since March 19^th. The world is waiting anxiously for when this will be over.

The Los Angeles Civic Center saw its wave of heated protestors waiving signs and banners saying, “Humanity First,” “Freedom Over Fear,” “Stop the Apocalypse” and “Trump 2020.” LA citizens were protesting the safer-at-home orders and demanding that the city reopen its essential businesses sooner than May 15^th, allowing Angelenos to return to a “normal” life. At around noon, a multitude of LAPD officer occupied the area to help maintain peace amongst the demonstration. As stated in the Los Angeles Daily News “At one point, Spring Street in front of City Hall, had been closed between Temple Street and 1^st Street as LAPD worked to contain what was at least three converging protests, dividing opposing protestors on either side of the roadway.”

Most protestors did not maintain social-distancing. Some didn’t wear masks, defying public health orders, while others did wear masks and gloves while waving signs stating that COVID-19 was a “hoax.”

Meanwhile, Supervisor Kathryn Barger along with Department of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer gave updates on the COVID-19 crisis and it’s effects of Los Angeles county. Dr. Barbara Ferrer provided the following statistics updated the morning of May 1, 2020 stating that there were 1,065 new cases that day raising the total number of infected people to 24,215 in Los Angeles alone. Unfortunately, there were 62 new deaths, increasing the number of LA COVID-related deaths to 1,172. Of these deaths, 46 people were over 65 and over half had underlying health conditions such as cancer, auto-immune diseases and so forth. There had been 106 pregnant women that tested positive for COVID-19 and of these 106 cases, there have now been 27 pregnancies which were completed to full term and 26 successful births. 22 of these newborn babies were tested for COVID-19 but fortunately all tested negative for the virus, proving that there have not been any proven cases in Los Angeles of pregnant women transmitting coronavirus to their babies. 182 homeless individuals had also tested positive for coronavirus and as of May 1^st were currently taken into shelter-in-place.

Today, as of May 4, 2020, there are now 26, 217 cases of infected people and 1, 256 coronavirus deaths in Los Angeles county. In accordance with Los Angeles’s diverse population, 7,336 of the reported cases have been Hispanic/Latino, 3,185 have been White, 1,097 have been Black, and 1,595 have been Asian. The lowest reported ethnicity has been American Indian/Alaskan Native, while the highest number is between the Hispanic/Latino population and the 10,453 “unknown ethnicities” currently still under investigation.

The good news is Mayor Garcetti announced April 29^th that Los Angeles would be the first major city in America to offer free, wide-scale COVID-19 testing to all residents regardless if they are experiencing symptoms or not. The online portal to make an appointment is open to all Los Angeles County residents. Same or next day appointments are given priority to those who are experiencing symptoms.

Additionally, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that by May 8, 2020, California will begin moving into Stage 2 of reopening the state including businesses and more freedom in decision-making to local mayors for their appropriate cities. With updates changing every minute of every day, these plans will remain in place so long as health officials agree is it safe for the greater good of residents and this nation.

For more information on Los Angeles COVID-19 statistics and number go to County of LA Public Health COVID-19

For more information on the latest updates go to COVID-19: Keeping Los Angeles Safe

Click the follow for more information on public health orders and FAQ about COVID-19.

Photo, Los Angeles Daily News

Video, Xochitl Hernandez

By Xochitl Hernandez with contributions from Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Website on Coronavirus.

The smell of you…el olor de ti

Sometimes, I catch the smell of you. Your scent, That has been embedded into my sense of smell, Reminding me, overwhelming me with nostalgia, With the scene of my face buried in your chest, your scent the air that I breath. Your hands caressing my skin neck and hair. And for a moment, just a moment, The wind blows past me and I Smell you. Your scent, it fills my atmosphere, And for a moment I am neither here nor there, But with you Your scent enveloping me and caressing my skin, neck, and hair, And then it blows away again, Elsewhere.

A veces, Te descubro el olor. Su olor, Que se ha incrustado en mi sentido del olfato, Recordándome, abrumándome con nostalgia, Con la escena de mi cara enterrada en tu pecho, tu olor el aire que respiro. Tus manos acariciando mi piel, cuello y pelo. Y por un momento, solo un momento, El viento sopla a través de mí y yo, Te huelo. Tu olor, llena mi atmósfera, Y por un momento no estoy aquí ni allí, Pero contigo Su aroma que me envuelve y acaricia mi piel, cuello y pelo, Y luego vuelve a soplar, En otra parte.

COVID-19 Affecting Graduating College Seniors

NORTHRIDGE, CA—With only eight weeks away from graduation, college seniors should be celebrating while purchasing caps and gowns at CSUN Grad Fest, but then the White House declared a National Emergency due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and CSUN moved to virtual classes, closed most facilities, and canceled every in-person event. The world awaits to see when the self-isolation orders will be lifted, and society can return to “normal” life.

Gradfest and Other Important Dates for CSUN Commencement 2017 ...

March 11^th and 12^th 2020 marked CSUN’s annual Grad Fest for graduating seniors. At Grad Fest, graduating seniors can purchase graduation packages including their caps and gowns, tassels, “CSUN Alumni” license plates, class rings, and can also gather information on culminating ceremonies while seniors celebrate the end of their hard-earned college degree. However, Grad Fest had a mood of uncertainty in the air. That same day, CSUN President Diane Harrison announced that CSUN would be moving classes online until April 19^th in accordance with most colleges around the country due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak.

Not only are classes online, but students are concerned about a plethora of other issues affected by this pandemic. CSUN student Courtney Moore, works on campus at the Student Recreation Center for Intramural Sports and has now become unemployed due to the school closure, “I work on campus so, if they close the whole campus then some of us might not be getting paid, and some of us might not be getting paid.”

And that is just the beginning. Every university in the country has had to move classes online for the spring semester 2020, while college sports and fan-favorites like March Madness are canceled, housing and parking-permits have been refunded, and some students are advocating for partial or full refunds due to their compromised education. According to the New York Times “A higher education trade group has predicted a 15 percent drop in enrollment nationwide, amounting to a $23 billion revenue loss.” This is our present reality. Furthermore, in an email sent April 17^th, President Harrison shared that CSUN’s economic burden is “$19.5 million and growing. This total includes unanticipated expenditures for technology to help students and employees manage the shift to virtual instruction, emergency pay for employees providing essential on-campus services and supplies to help CSUN ensure the health and cleanliness of our campus.” CSUN has also experienced revenue reduction from lost housing payments, canceled conference and events revenues, cancelled athletics revenue, and more.

CSUN is not the only one facing financial losses. Universities across the country are experiencing the financial effects. Colleges are facing more than just compromised educations, in fact, a New York Times article written by Anemona Hartocollis goes on to say University of Chicago President, Robert Zimmer in an April 7th email stated “…to the staff that to buffer its losses, the university would freeze salaries, slow academic hiring, suspend discretionary spending and look for other budget cuts.” The daunting question remains, which services and resources will experience these budget cuts and which departments in need of tenured faculty would experience the bulk of these burdens?

Additionally, the stock market hasn’t crashed this bad since 1987. The Balance article reporting on US economy and news written by Kimberly Amadeo states that the stock market crashed on Monday, March 9^th “…with history’s largest point plunge for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) up to that date,” followed by two more record-setting plunges on March 12^th and March 16^th. “The stock market crash included the three worst point drops in U.S. history,” (Amadeo).

Lectures have moved to Zoom and some universities such as University of Oregon and UCLA have decided to do a virtual graduation ceremony, much to the dismay of a plethora of students. CSUN now has a survey on its website asking students, faculty, and staff to submit what graduation alternatives they’d prefer: virtual graduation or a postponed ceremony until COVID-19 subsides. President Diane Harrison has recently emailed all students as of April 17, 2020 to assure students of a few things: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act will be in place to distribute emergency funds for students’ medical bills, housing payments, loan fees, transportation, and study abroad program that had to come to an abrupt stop. She also stated a possibility of a postponed graduation ceremony in late 2020 after receiving an overwhelming number of students who advocated for a ceremony regardless of when it was.

Courtney Moore’s friend Davonte stated, “I’ve got people flying in from different states to see me graduate…I’ll be the third person after my sister to graduate.” Other students expressed how they would be devastated to see their efforts failed to be recognized after years of stress, personal hardships, and perseverance through the difficulties of a college degree. One student even emphasized in agreement with her senior peers that CSUN should still hold a ceremony when it is safer even if it means wearing gloves and a mask.

In a Key Findings survey taken in 2013, CSUN found that 84% of the freshman class were first-generation college students. This statistic continually proves year after year how CSUN’s student body contains a diversity of students hailing from different backgrounds and circumstances. In 2016, Hansook Oh reaffirmed this fact in CSUN Today writing how thousands of students are first-generation amounting to 2/3 of the undergraduate population. Additionally, “More than half are Pell Grant recipients, which means they come from families whose annual income is at or near the federal poverty line of $20,000 for a family of four.” For this reason, CSUN seniors who are graduating don’t find the culminating ceremony just an everyday event, but rather, a testament to their tenacity, perseverance, and survival.

About a week after the initial campus move to online classes; President Harrison announced that CSUN would no longer be resuming online classes after April 19^th but that classes would remain online to the end of the spring semester and into the summer session. LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner also announced in accordance with the nations school districts and universities that schools would also not be returning for the remainder of the spring semester as well as summer session. He also confirmed that high school seniors would be having a virtual graduation ceremony unless the World Health Organization states otherwise that public gatherings are safe again.

“I wouldn’t want to press a button on my computer and say that I can graduate,” Courtney Moore joked while buying his graduation package and alumni accessories. Now, self-isolation is the nation and world’s hope to slow the virus until hospitals are more equipped to treat more people and until a vaccine is developed. In the meantime, COVID-19 has stopped life in its tracks and cheated almost everyone out of something in their day-to-day lives.

The devastating effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic has differed greatly from person to person. College seniors, who were once celebrating the last couple months of their college experiences, have now experienced canceled culminating events, canceled athletics, online classes, self-isolation, and the uncertainties of tomorrow. But even in the pouring rain on March 11^th-12^th, CSUN seniors continued to move forward with the culmination of their senior year with the hope of a brighter future.