{"id":5375,"date":"2020-06-16T18:14:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T18:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/pandemicbook\/?page_id=5375"},"modified":"2021-11-09T17:34:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T17:34:24","slug":"06-16","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/pandemicbook\/06-16\/","title":{"rendered":"06-16"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Tuesday, June 16<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUS Cases 2.14 million
US Deaths 119,857<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jun 16: UK researchers release test results showing that a cheap, widely available steroid, dexamethasone, effectively treats COVID-19 patients<\/a>.<\/span> Officials associated with the United States\u2019 Operation Warp Speed, a project to rapidly develop and deploy a COVID-19 vaccine, explain that the vaccine would be provided for free<\/a><\/span>, at least to elderly patients and other vulnerable populations who cannot otherwise afford it. The Commerce Department reports that retail sales jumped by 17.7 percent in May<\/a>,<\/span> the biggest monthly jump on record. Senator Ted Cruz challenges actor Ron Perlman to a wrestling match. Trump says that if we stop testing for COVID, we will see fewer cases.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFrom the Cutting Room Floor\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Transcript from the June 16 Montgomery, Alabama City Council hearing on a proposed ordinance put forth by Councilman Cornelius Calhoun to require people to wear masks amidst the rising COVID crisis. At this point in the hearing, three local physicians have already reported that the Montgomery hospitals are at capacity and that 90% of the people on ventilators are African American. Councilman Glen Pruitt has said he opposes the ordinance because it is unenforceable.<\/span><\/p>

A citizen comes to the podium. He doesn\u2019t give his name. He is African American.<\/span><\/p>

————————\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN: Councilman Calhoun, you need to be commended. This is not about a mask issue for certain people. The question on the table is DO BLACK LIVES MATTER.<\/span><\/p>

[read_more id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]<\/p>

He says these last words slowly, emphatically, unapologetically, in a council chamber in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a brave man. You feel the hair rise on the back of your neck as he speaks truth to power.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN: The doctor said ninety percent [are on ventilators]. I lost six loved ones during this pandemic. I went up to the hospital the other day. I got a brother who is about to expire any day now. Just to watch him on that ventilator and all those patients on the ventilators, going beep\u2026. beep. I didn\u2019t see no white people up there. It\u2019s real. And for white people who have already spoken, and your voice has been heard loud and clear to the rest of us who have not spoken about how this vote is going to [go]. Y\u2019all have fought this mayor,<\/span><\/p>

He points to Steven Reed, who is the first African American mayor of Montgomery<\/em><\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN: And I have set back and listened. It\u2019s not about COVID-19. It\u2019s about making sure that this guy right here (he points to the mayor)<\/em> fails. And it\u2019s about making sure that the five of y\u2019all stay in control. Because what y\u2019all say goes! If Todd Strange (the previous white mayor of Mongomery)<\/em> had did this, you\u2019d be jumping up like a chili. All of y\u2019all would\u2019ve got in line. This is wrong! This stuff is attacking our community. I saw six of my family go down the drain because of COVID. You know what it feel like, Glen Pruitt, to lose a loved one. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening in the black community.<\/span><\/p>

Glen Pruitt starts yelling from the dais. This man at the podium has just lost six of his family members, and Councilman Glen Pruitt has such little capacity for compassion that he cannot see that this man is hurting.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

COUNCILMAN PRUITT: For you to sit up here and call somebody that! I\u2019m gonna take that personally!! You\u2019re dang right I do!<\/span><\/p>

It isn\u2019t clear what the man at the podium has done to cause such offense, aside from being black and simply reminding councilman Pruitt that we are all humans who grieve when we lose the people we love. The man at the podium refuses to be silenced.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN: You know what it feel to lose a loved one! The doctor said just a little mask will save people\u2019s lives. And y\u2019all wanna make it political.<\/span><\/p>

The president of the City Council, Charles Jinright, who is white, interrupts. He interrupts every African American speaker at this hearing.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

COUNCILMAN JINRIGHT: That\u2019s enough.<\/span><\/p>

The citizen jumps back in.<\/em><\/p>

CITIZEN: No no. I\u2019m not through. You have grass ordinances on the table that you don\u2019t enforce! Do you know how many ordinances we have on the books that we don\u2019t enforce?!?… This would just be another one.<\/span><\/p>

He whispers, holding up his index finger.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

But this is a good one. This is about saving lives. The other petty ordinances out there that lock black people up that are on the books, those are fine. Everything was fine when the previous mayor was in office. And y\u2019all are wrong with what y\u2019all are doin\u2019. If y\u2019all have any goodness in your heart and y\u2019all really care about these citizens here in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, y\u2019all who are supposed to fight for right. You need to do that right now. You need to let you\u2019re voice be heard. It\u2019s wrong man! Because our people are dying! I got a brother right now that is dying, and he is only mid-season.<\/span><\/p>

Councilman Jinwright shuts him down again. The speaker steps away from the podium. He said all of that with no notes. The councilmembers ask him no questions. The next speaker is an African American man who has brought his maybe-seven-year-old son with him. <\/em><\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN ERNEST CLAYVON: Yes Mr. Jinright, my name is Ernest Clayvon, **** Street. The problem I have is, Mr. Calhoun, I know your heart is in the right place, I know. I know you care and your intentions are good.<\/span><\/p>

He touches his hand to his heart as he speaks. His son, whose face you can barely see over the podium, reaches up and touches his father\u2019s hand.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN ERNEST CLAYVON: But the road to hell was paved with good intentions. The problem IS enforcement. You can\u2019t tell me it isn\u2019t about enforcement\u2026 Look at the curfew law\u2026 Now, Birmingham had that rule, did you know that?… the face covering rule. They couldn\u2019t make it a face mask because everybody couldn\u2019t get a face mask so they had to make it a face covering\u2026 Are you aware of what happened to the lady in the Walmart?… The Black woman that was in Walmart, do you know what happened to her?<\/span><\/p>

He slams his hand down on the podium.<\/em><\/span><\/p>

CITIZEN ERNEST CLAYVON: She was THROWN down while she was HANDCUFFED in the back. Her crime was NOT wearing a face mask\u2026 When you pass this law, your intentions are good, but WHO do you think will get arrested?\u2026 All I\u2019m saying is we have to look at the unintended consequences\u2026 We can\u2019t cosign for any of this stuff!<\/span><\/p>

This is a terrible choice to have to make. If you push for the law requiring masks, you might save your people who are disproportionately dying from this horrible virus. But in the process, you will give the white world yet another reason to police and brutalize your community. When he says, \u201cwe can\u2019t cosign on this stuff,\u201d this is what he means. <\/em><\/span><\/p>

They vote down the mask-wearing ordinance, 5 to 4.\u00a0<\/span> [\/read_more]<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tImages\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProtestors beaten by citizens with no police help\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thttps:\/\/twitter.com\/shaunking\/status\/1272874246302203909?s=20\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOverwhelmed with all the chaos\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thttps:\/\/twitter.com\/UCLALonzo\/status\/1273070133225885699?s=20\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tVideos\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Montgomery, Alabama City Council meeting, June 16, 2020. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?reload=9&v=73DkuZOy3T8&feature=youtu.be<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

“Gulfport residents react to city removing Mississippi State flag,” Sun Herald<\/em> [Gulfport, MS], June 16, 2020. https:\/\/www.sunherald.com\/news\/local\/counties\/harrison-county\/article243565982.html<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDocuments\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t