Equity Lab | Workplace culture & SFD + Domestic violence in Sacramento + Oak Park BLM sign
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Good afternoon, Equity Lab readers:
It’s Wednesday, March 17, 2021.
I’m Marcus D. Smith, the Black Communities Reporter for the Equity Lab.
Understand this, working in my desired career – journalism – for a publication that I grew up knowing is a huge honor and opportunity.
I like to call it my dream job.
In the first months of starting my position, I had a casual conversation during which a community member implied I was hired solely because I am Black.
My response was simple: I was hired because I had the qualifications and all parties involved agreed on one thing: This position is inspired by the desire for change at The Sacramento Bee.
It’s been five months since my first day and I have felt included, supported, and challenged by my team and leadership. It’s been a wonderful experience, and I will soon finish my “probationary” period.
I believe establishing a healthy workplace environment – one that welcomes diversity from top to bottom – creates a culture of acceptance and appreciation among all employees.
Last week, we published the story of Desmond Lewis and other former firefighters who recall an opposite experience in their workplace. One described it as a “hostile work environment.” You can read more about it here.
It’s disheartening to me that someone who had the opportunity to work in their “dream job” felt factors other than their performance or quality of work informed how they may have been treated.
My hope for us in 2021 is that we take workplace discrimination seriously and continue to push ourselves to diversify our staffs and make everyone feel a part of the team.
We will all be better because of it.
- MDS
Sacramento and the Battle for Vaccine Equity
Hello! I’m Alex Yoon-Hendricks of The Equity Lab.
More than 2 million Californians living in the most under-resourced communities and neighborhoods have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, opening up a pathway for counties to begin loosening restrictions.
This is a major accomplishment. While people living in the neighborhoods with the highest quality of life have been fully immunized at twice the rate of those in the lowest, the gap is shrinking.
Earlier this month, I drove out to the new mass vaccination drive-thru at McClellan Park. There, I met Bruce Nguyen, who had driven his mother-in-law Qui Le to get a shot. Le, who was wearing a stylish Chanel mask she bought in Vietnam, doesn’t speak English well enough for medical appointments.
Combine that with social media posts sharing fake information about doses and appointments, “it’s really confusing,” Nguyen said. He said he’s glad his mother-in-law is getting vaccinated, but “it’s not going to change anything” about their precautions so long as the virus is still out there.
It was great seeing folks like Le get vaccinated. Still, I can’t stop thinking about this tweet from a fellow reporter:
Three times in just the last week, I’ve seen a random slip of information — a screenshot of a poster, an email — about a pop-up vaccine clinic in a low-income neighborhood of color and they’re not on the county’s main vaccine website. Plenty of people have criticized this access issue.
I’m doing what I can, sharing details on Twitter or in articles when I see something. But it’s still mind-blowing that getting a shot still feels like luck. Chance does not belong in health care.
Here’s what else you need to know this week:
Must-Read Stories
VACCINE EQUITY PLAN: Twenty-two neighborhoods in the Sacramento region are about to get a big boost toward COVID-19 safety under California’s most overt plan yet to ensure equity in its vaccine rollout and speed up reopenings statewide. [Read more here]
NEW CAREERS FROM RENT RELIEF PROGRAM: California job seekers found new careers with help from a rent relief program. Here’s how
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON THE RISE IN SACRAMENTO: Domestic violence isn’t just on the rise in Sacramento County. It’s getting more violent. Local authorities and service providers across the region are increasingly working to respond to a crisis that has emerged as a consequence of widespread COVID-19 lock downs and isolation. [Read more here]
GIVING FELONS A SECOND CHANCE: How a Sacramento pop-up expungement clinic is helping to give felons a second chance. [Read the story here]
NEW COVID-19 OUTREACH CAMPAIGN: A California LGBTQ advocacy group is launching a bilingual text messaging and social media campaign to connect gay people of color with up-to-date information on COVID-19 and vaccines. [Read the story here]
GUARANTEED WORK: California labor and economic leaders in a new report are calling for a “social compact” for workers, including ideas such as generating a million new jobs in clean energy and providing a federal and state jobs guarantee by 2030. [Read more here]
PROMOTING SACRAMENTO PRODUCTS AND BRANDS: A new store at Arden Fair mall exemplifies unity and Black empowerment by providing 40 different local Black-owned brands, products and merchandise from Sacramento-based small businesses and entrepreneurs. [Read the story here]
$500 A MONTH PROGRAM: Stockton gave people $500 a month. A similar program could come to Sacramento. [Read more here]
BLM SIGN IN OAK PARK: A wooden structure spelling the words “Black Lives Matter,” the movement and global rallying cry for racial justice, will be installed at McClatchy Park, located in one of Sacramento’s historically Black neighborhoods. Unanimously approved by the City Council during its Tuesday meeting, the sign is covered in hundreds of names memorializing unarmed Black people killed by law enforcement. [Read the story here]
More Interesting Reads
COVID vaccine updates: J&J shipments reportedly on hold in California and across U.S. | The Sacramento Bee
The Public Eye: How The Bee is holding the powerful accountable | The Sacramento Bee
A Sacramento jail inmate died after getting COVID. His widow says he never got medical care | The Sacramento Bee
Michael Tubbs, who championed guaranteed income in Stockton, to join Newsom administration | The Sacramento Bee
California must live up to Newsom’s promises of COVID vaccine equity. Here’s a way | The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board
These Photos Capture The Range Of Emotion We Felt In The First Year Of The Pandemic | Buzzfeed News
Eligible Latino workers are less likely to access unemployment benefits. Here’s why | The Sacramento Bee
Poetry is changing the world. And two Sacramento youth poets are leading the renaissance | Andru Defeye Special to The Bee
Sacramento County still doesn’t know the ‘root cause’ of COVID-19 outbreak in jails | The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento launches mass vaccination effort of homeless living under local freeways | The Sacramento Bee
ID Requirements Are Meant To Stop Vaccine Tourists, But They Can Also Shut Out Vulnerable Residents | Buzzfeed News
Derek Chauvin’s Murder Trial Starts Next Week and Minneapolis Looks Like a War Zone | VICE News
Happy Women’s History Month!
Did you know? The origins of Women’s History Month can be traced back to a school teacher in Sonoma County, California, in the 1970s
➡️ Click here to watch how Women’s History Month progressed through time.
What we’re reading and listening to (and you should, too!)
What I’m reading: “Golden State” by Ben H. Winters
A few months after I had started at The Bee, I stopped by the Sacramento Public Library and secured a library card (which I highly suggest everyone who reads this also do, if they haven’t already.) When the librarian handed me my newly minted pass, she also gave me a little paper slip to pick out any book on the discount shelf for free.
At the time, I nabbed “Golden State,” mostly because it looked like a decent science fiction-adjacent story with delicious cover at. It’s a dystopian suspense novel about an alternate version of California where lies have been outlawed, and the government is devoutly dedicated to the work of truth maintenance.
I read a few chapters at the time, then promptly quit because of how glum it felt reading a satire of our daily lives. But I’ve recently picked it up again. Having gone through a terrible year defined by falsehoods, reading this tale doesn’t feel masochistic anymore, but almost... therapeutic? Anyway, I’m about two-thirds in and am enjoying it. Read at your own risk.
What I’m listening to: Nerd Soup
There are many, many podcasts dedicated to pop culture obsessions, but I’m particularly loyal to Nerd Soup. 1. They’re from New York, and listening to them transports me back to being a doofus high school growing up across the city and 2. I’m rewatching the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies cover to cover, and they’ve recently been putting out episodes revisiting them as well. They’re great!
— Alex Yoon-Hendricks
What I’m listening to: D-Lo & KC on ESPN 1320am Monday through Friday from 12 pm - 4 pm (PST).
If digital radio is your thing, you can also check it out through the RADIO.com app. You can also watch on different mediums like: Twitter, Periscope, Twitch, or YouTube.
It’s a daily sports talk show that will keep you entertained ALL throughout the afternoon. Hosted by Damien “D-Lo” Barling and Kenny “KC” Carraway — their chemistry and references to pop culture creates candid moments while giving you their analysis, feedback, and what-if scenarios around the NBA, NFL and more.
My favorite is their NBA segment — which 99.9% of the time they’re talking about the Sacramento Kings. They make talk about the Kings enjoyable. It’s charismatic, it’s insightful, and they’re honest. They often bring local sports media on their show too — like The Bee’s Jason Anderson — for discussion and updates on the team. To be brutally honest, they make you want to continue rooting for the Kings no matter how often they disappoint us. They inspire hope and optimism into their listeners.
Results don’t lie. The show used to be two hours long, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. On February 22, the show first debuted to its newly-extended hours by popular demand from their audience. To put things into perspective: I’m a Lakers fan — and I still rock with this show, tough.
— Marcus D. Smith
Where to find us
❗ We want to hear from you! Please send us your story tips and thoughts to equitylab@sacbee.com.
➡️ You can also follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and like us on Facebook at @EquityLabSac.
Thank you for reading, and we will see you again next week!
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 2:17 PM.