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Black Press Establishes Coronavirus Pandemic Task Force and Resource Center

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “It is well documented that African Americans get sick more frequently, are screened for illness less often, are diagnosed for disease later, are treated less aggressively and buried earlier than those in other ethnic groups in America,” said Sheila Thorne, president and CEO of Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group, LLC.

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The leadership of the NNPA established the Coronavirus Task Force and National Resource Center as a responsible action to inform and to engage millions of Black Americans and others in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of African American-owned newspapers and media companies, is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by establishing the NNPA Coronavirus Task Force and Resource Center.

The task force will include publishers, editors, physicians, nurses, corporate partners, sponsors, associates and supporters of the Black Press of America.

The national resource center will be structured to provide timely and accurate information to stakeholders and the African American community.

“It is well documented that African Americans get sick more frequently, are screened for illness less often, are diagnosed for disease later, are treated less aggressively and buried earlier than those in other ethnic groups in America,” said Sheila Thorne, president and CEO of Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group, LLC.

“The reasons for health disparities are complex. The deadly spread of the coronavirus in the United States exacerbates not only the poor health status of African Americans but it exposes their persistent lack of access to quality, culturally competent healthcare from testing to diagnosis to treatment,” Thorne stated.

“I applaud the NNPA for taking a leadership position to disseminate accurate and culturally relevant health information to black Americans that will protect all in the community and save lives, especially those who are underserved and underrepresented.”

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said she was pleased that the NNPA has established a task force and resource center and she’s looking forward to contributing.

“The NNPA Coronavirus Task Force and Resource Center is a one-stop spot for curated news and resources specific to Black people in America,” Bass stated.

“Since 1940, the NNPA has built a network of member publications across the country that covers news and issues most important to Black people in America. The NNPA is a trusted source to reach the Black community, often times overlooked by mainstream media.”

Robert W. Bogle, the chairman, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest and the Greater Philadelphia region’s largest audited newspaper serving the African American community, stated that the mission of the Black Press is being carried out despite the current crisis.

“We became an independent voice to speak up and speak out and deliberately embracing and telling our story,” Bogle offered. “It’s part of our history, and it’s who we are.”

He continued:

“It doesn’t mean that others don’t write about us, but are they writing to us and for us? I say, ‘No.’ People in our business have to understand and recommit themselves and reaffirm who we are and the critical role that we play.

“For a lot of businesses, this is a short interruption. Newspapers will be hurt in a critical and severe way. We’ve experienced a day where we didn’t do a dollar’s worth of business. We had cancelations. We have to stop and think about who we are doing business with. If they don’t support us, we should not support them.”

In a memo circulated by NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., and on behalf of NNPA Chair Karen Carter Richards and the NNPA Board of Directors, the trade association noted that all are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is important to note that the majority of the NNPA member publishers across the nation are remaining on the frontline of providing vital and crucial information to African Americans and others who are challenged by the expanding and growing public health crisis confronting our families and communities,” Chavis wrote.

“Our member newspapers are still printing, and our online and digital distributions of vital life-saving accurate information on COVID-19 are all being done responsibly and effectively. Yet, many of our newspapers are facing a reduction in advertising at a time during this crisis when our news businesses are crucially needed.”

NNPA’s national office has put out an urgent call to federal, state, and local public health officials to immediately increase their outreach to Black America via NNPA member publications.

Through the unprecedented public health crisis, personnel at the NNPA’s main office in Washington, D.C., have worked nonstop to find additional ways to help Black America push through the pandemic.

The task force, which will include top infectious disease doctors, medical and health experts from various organizations, and public officials, will aggregate facts and update information about how COVID-19 is impacting Black America in all age categories across the nation.

The task force will send out periodic national COVID-19 alerts to all in the NNPA database, and establish daily coordination between the NNPA and the National Medical Association (NMA), National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), and medical schools at HBCUs to collaborate on best practices and other vital information to assist Black America throughout the pandemic.

Chavis said Bass, the CBC Chair, has been instrumental in the drafting of the stimulus bill that’s now before the U.S. Congress and she’s worked diligently to ensure that the legislation would include some form of assistance for the Black Press.

“At a time like this, our people cannot afford to be ill-informed,” Bass stated. “The creation of the NNPA Coronavirus Taskforce and Resource Center is a great step in the right direction to ensuring Black people get the pertinent information not just at the national level, but at the local and community level. When we leave out the Black Press, we leave a gap, and miss out on effectively safeguarding our community during this global pandemic.”

Chavis noted that daily briefings of the pandemic and original and pertinent content about COVID-19 would be published at www.BlackPressUSA.com.

“The Black Press of America has always taken a frontline position during a time of crisis to keep Black America informed about the truth and facts,” Chavis said.

The leadership of the NNPA established the Coronavirus Task Force and National Resource Center as a responsible action to inform and to engage millions of Black Americans and others in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Chavis added.

“We want to contribute to the saving of Black lives and to protect our families, businesses, and communities from this fatally contagious virus,” Chavis stated.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

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By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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#NNPA BlackPress

WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

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7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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#NNPA BlackPress

Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized.  “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of  America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”

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