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Good afternoon, Equity Lab readers:
Today is Wednesday, April 7, 2021 and I’m Marcus D. Smith, the Black Communities Reporter of the Equity Lab.
I want to thank my editors and everyone who played a part in my column that was published last week. From the beginning of the process to every last detailed edit, this was a long time coming.
What made my introduction story special to me was the timing of its release.
I was wrapping up the last days from my vacation - I woke up the morning it was published and checked out of the hotel.
I encouraged myself to NOT check my emails while on vacation because well, self-care. But it was my last day of vacation so I figured let’s check and see what I’ve missed in the last week.
It was an outpouring of people who read the commentary piece on The Bee and its history with the Black community.
I’ll be transparent and say there were a couple of emails and messages from readers who weren’t particularly generous with their opinions of my story. I expected that.
However, to my surprise were the amount of replies from people who were as excited as I am for my position. I received voicemail messages and emails from longtime subscribers, old classmates and former high school teachers, and even residents of neighboring regions.
People have written to me just to tell me that my words brought tears to their eyes as they, too, reflected on the misrepresentation of the Black community in Sacramento and America.
What really brought a sense of pride and hope was the overwhelming amount of support throughout the city from people of different backgrounds.
I’ve witnessed the solidarity within the city at protests that I’ve covered or even participated in. It brings me good faith knowing that people can come together.
- Marcus D. Smith
Here’s what else you need to know this week:
Must-Read Stories
THE SACRAMENTO BEE GOT THIS STORY WRONG FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS: The Bee, like most other mainstream media outlets, has failed to adequately serve Black communities for decades. The paper has too often hurt the community or has fallen short of reflecting its needs. And this isn’t just ancient history; as recently as the 1990s, at times The Bee inflicted harm on the Black community. This is our plan to change that. [Read more here]
NO-FEE DEBIT CARD?: Nearly 20 Democratic legislators last week introduced a bill to establish a statewide public banking program, which would partner with private sector financial institutions to provide low-income workers with access to no-fee money transactions and debit cards. Labor advocates said the program could save hundreds of dollars annually for householdswho do not have bank accounts or rely on alternative services such as money orders and payday loans. [Read more here]
‘I wasn’t there to hold his hand’: Jamilia Land, a Sacramento activist and advocate for criminal justice reform, suffered the loss of her 84-year-old father, Willie Elvin Land, after he contracted COVID-19 in Georgia. She remembers him from home in Sacramento County. [Read more here]
Viva Corless, left, Jenna Yates, Ella Fodor are collecting hygiene products to address period poverty.
Helping Period Poverty in Sacramento
Three Sacramento-area teens are running a drive to collect menstrual care, bras and general hygiene products for people in need.
Something light: If you need a really, really good laugh, watch the first episode of the first season of “Taskmaster.” Whenever I am in need of a bone-aching cackle, I watch the watermelon challenge and immediately feel better. Few things have brought me such euphoric joy in the last year like this TV show, a British comedy program that’s part game show, part sit-com, part panel show. Full episodes of most of the previous seasons have been posted on YouTube.
Something heavy: I recently watched the documentary “Collective,” a Romanian documentary following a group of journalists and the country’s health minister uncovering political corruption and health care fraud in the aftermath of a deadly nightclub fire.
The first 10 minutes of this film are both breathtaking and devastating. The documentary’s protagonists start with a simple question — why did so many burn victims die weeks and months after the fire — and soon uncover a gobsmacking conspiracy fueled by power and money.
I just kept gasping over and over. There were times I could not believe that this was a documentary, and that this footage is real and whole truth, revealing something so unforgivably brutal and cruel.
In the midst of a global health crisis, this documentary feels so urgent. Highly recommend, it’s streaming on Hulu.
— Alex Yoon-Hendricks
Where to find us
❗ We want to hear from you! Please send us your story tips and thoughts to equitylab@sacbee.com.
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