French Doctors Say COVID-19 Vaccines Should Be Tested On Poor Africans

There outrage all across Africa after two well-respected French doctors went on a live TV show and suggested that coronavirus vaccines be tested on poor Africans.

The two doctors said during a segment broadcast on the French TV channel LCI that the testing should be done in Africa, “where there are no masks, no treatment, nor intensive care,” reported Business Insider.

One of the doctors, Jean-Paul Mira, went further and compared Africans to prostitutes who were the focus of past AIDS testing. “We tried things on prostitutes because they are highly exposed and do not protect themselves,” he said.

Of course, these suggestions were immediately called out as racist, especially by several African notables such as former Chelsea Football Club star Didier Drogba and former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o who tweeted their outrage at the two medics’ remarks.

Drogba, who is from Ivory Coast, tweeted: “It is totally inconceivable we keep on cautioning this. Africa isn’t a testing lab. I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racists words.”

Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba, who is from Senegal, tweeted, “Welcome to the West, where white people believe themselves to be so superior that racism and debility become commonplace Time to rise.”

Mira is head of the intensive-care department at the Cochin Hospital in Paris. The other doctor, Camille Locht, is the research director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, known as Inserm.

“If I can be provocative,” Mira said on the TV show, “shouldn’t we do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment, no intensive care? A bit like we did in some studies on AIDS. We tried things on prostitutes because they are highly exposed and do not protect themselves.”

Locht agreed. “You are right. We are actually thinking of a parallel study in Africa to use with the same kind of approach with BCG placebos,” he said, referring to vaccination against tuberculosis that Inserm says has appeared to protect children against infections, particularly respiratory ones.

“We will, in fact, think seriously about it,” he said.

Africa is the continent with the lowest number of reported COVID-19 cases, with nearly 7,500 cases and more than 320 deaths, Al Jazeera reported.

Bienvenue en occident , la où le blanc se croit tellement supérieur que racisme et débilité deviennent banalité. TIME TO RISE pic.twitter.com/R08R7K9QAw

— Demba Ba (@dembabafoot) April 2, 2020

It is totally inconceivable we keep on cautioning this.
Africa isn’t a testing lab.
I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racists words.

Helps us save Africa with the current ongoing Covid 19 and flatten the curve. pic.twitter.com/41GIpXaIYv

— Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba) April 2, 2020

This article was written by Ann Brown for The Moguldom Nation.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3b9UuEo

French Doctors Say COVID-19 Vaccines Should Be Tested On Poor Africans

There outrage all across Africa after two well-respected French doctors went on a live TV show and suggested that coronavirus vaccines be tested on poor Africans.

The two doctors said during a segment broadcast on the French TV channel LCI that the testing should be done in Africa, “where there are no masks, no treatment, nor intensive care,” reported Business Insider.

One of the doctors, Jean-Paul Mira, went further and compared Africans to prostitutes who were the focus of past AIDS testing. “We tried things on prostitutes because they are highly exposed and do not protect themselves,” he said.

Of course, these suggestions were immediately called out as racist, especially by several African notables such as former Chelsea Football Club star Didier Drogba and former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o who tweeted their outrage at the two medics’ remarks.

Drogba, who is from Ivory Coast, tweeted: “It is totally inconceivable we keep on cautioning this. Africa isn’t a testing lab. I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racists words.”

Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba, who is from Senegal, tweeted, “Welcome to the West, where white people believe themselves to be so superior that racism and debility become commonplace Time to rise.”

Mira is head of the intensive-care department at the Cochin Hospital in Paris. The other doctor, Camille Locht, is the research director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, known as Inserm.

“If I can be provocative,” Mira said on the TV show, “shouldn’t we do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment, no intensive care? A bit like we did in some studies on AIDS. We tried things on prostitutes because they are highly exposed and do not protect themselves.”

Locht agreed. “You are right. We are actually thinking of a parallel study in Africa to use with the same kind of approach with BCG placebos,” he said, referring to vaccination against tuberculosis that Inserm says has appeared to protect children against infections, particularly respiratory ones.

“We will, in fact, think seriously about it,” he said.

Africa is the continent with the lowest number of reported COVID-19 cases, with nearly 7,500 cases and more than 320 deaths, Al Jazeera reported.

Bienvenue en occident , la où le blanc se croit tellement supérieur que racisme et débilité deviennent banalité. TIME TO RISE pic.twitter.com/R08R7K9QAw

— Demba Ba (@dembabafoot) April 2, 2020

It is totally inconceivable we keep on cautioning this.
Africa isn’t a testing lab.
I would like to vividly denounce those demeaning, false and most of all deeply racists words.

Helps us save Africa with the current ongoing Covid 19 and flatten the curve. pic.twitter.com/41GIpXaIYv

— Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba) April 2, 2020

This article was written by Ann Brown for The Moguldom Nation.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3b9UuEo

Kendrick Sampson says ‘Insecure’ helped him understand women’s mind

There’s a chance Kendrick Sampson may be on your sh*t list thanks to his Insecure character, Nate aka Ghost Bae, but there’s a lot to love about the actor and activist.

theGrio caught up with the budding actor to talk about how he’s coping with quarantine life,  and whether or not we will see him on the new season of the hit HBO show.

“I’m checking up on folks. I’m having conversations online. To be honest, I have not had a whole lot of time to sit and think about it because I have a non-profit that is social justice-oriented. As soon as this hit, our workload just increases,” Sampson said.

READ MORE: ‘Insecure’ actor Kendrick Sampson says he’s backing Bernie Sanders for president

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Swipe left for a few accounts to follow who are doing the work to fight for our collective liberation during this crisis (with a focus on the most vulnerable)! Also left out (because I could only do 10): @reclaiminghomes @nolympicsla @unitedwedream @haymarketbooks (if you want good purposeful reads that can help us deconstruct what is happening and organize ourselves for liberation and wellness). The ones I tagged are @cpdaction @moms4housing @texas_organizing_project @freethemall2020 @justicelanow @housingjustice4all and then @berniesanders @repjayapal @aoc are all hosting live talks, teach ins, discussions and lifting up good leaders and experts and movements. Also thepeoplesbailout.org – Some things to focus on organizing around to help us – #MedicareforAll, let’s #cancelrent #cancelmortgages get more money to help people who need it during this economic crisis (UBI), at least 2000 per adult and 1000 per child, fight for paid leave, demand free treatment and tests, demand Trump utilize the Defense Production Act to get Personal Protective Equipment to those medical professionals and cleaners and workers on the frontlines, and ventilators, free people from cages (jails, migrant detention centers, prisons), and make sure immigrants are included in the next stimulus packages, curb capitalism and demand that COVID relief be drafted through a lens of reparations, accounting for those who are most vulnerable and disproportionately affected by this crisis because of the oppressive history of this government. Some things to think about.

A post shared by Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) on Apr 5, 2020 at 7:19pm PDT

Acknowledging the recent data that shows how COVID-19 is hitting Black America especially hard, he continued, “We have to make sure that we stay inside and that we encourage each other to stay inside because of white supremacy and the history of oppression in this country, the wealth gap, all of those things.

READ MORE: Coronavirus is hitting Black America at a staggering rate

“We are more prone to diseases that make us vulnerable to this. We are more prone to the economic impact of this being disproportionate.”

Aside from adhering to CDC guidelines to protect from the novel coronavirus, Sampson said he’s been spending his days in quarantine worrying about the ramifications for Black people.

“It’s the fault of this government, that we are most vulnerable. I honestly believe that because of our generational trauma, because of the mental health aspects, things are going to be worse on us in everything,” he said. “We need to organize better than ever.”

Kendrick Sampson speaks onstage during SoulPancake’s “Four Conversations about One Thing” at Hammer Museum on May 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for SoulPancake)

Aside from doing his part to help the Black community get through this crisis, Sampson seems to be enjoying his time at home in Los Angeles.

“I’m always traveling so this is the first time I’m really seeing my home since I moved in September. I’m usually here a few days a month, so I have no furniture. Now I’m trying to furnish the house in the time of corona and it’s not a fun thing,” he said.

READ MORE: ‘Insecure’ star Kendrick Sampson took a knee at polo event ‘I will be supporting the movement of kneeling in solidarity’

The actor, who stars in Hallmark’s new flick, Fashionably Yours, revealed his quarantine snack go-to’s include peanut butter and watermelon. He can also do a little something in the kitchen.

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{SWIPE LEFT} If you’re watching our movie #FashionablyYours on @hallmarkchannel this is a little BTS of one of the MANY moments that showed we were in alignment with our purpose, in the right place at the right time. We were filming at #PikePlaceMarket in #Seattle and the legend himself @raphael_saadiq walked through our shoot!! We freaked out like “What are you doing in Seattle!” Kat and I both know him separately and he was doing a show and actually scoring the new season of a show I was on once upon a time 😩 called @insecurehbo 🙌🏽 THEN, as if that’s not enough we realized in the scene we were walking by a book store called @leftbankbookscollective and in the front window was one of my biggest inspirations #AssataShakur (and #JamesBaldwin & #ToniMorrison etc) so we HAD to go in! The first book we saw was an author that we both know personally and dearly love @osopepatrisse who (with @docmellymel) actually were the first to put me on to the Assata chant “It is our duty to fight for our freedom, It is our duty to win. We must love and support one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Through the #BlackLivesMatter movement for which @katgraham produced a short film! So we took a pic to send to Patrisse. If you haven’t read it – READ IT! It’s those types of moments that give me know doubt that there is a higher power and that They are telling me that I am where I’m purposed to be, doing what I’m purposed to do.

A post shared by Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) on Apr 11, 2020 at 6:23pm PDT

“I love cooking, I just don’t do it. I stopped in 2014 when I started traveling so much. I just don’t take the time,” Sampson shared. “I love restaurants. That’s probably the hardest thing about this is not being able to go to restaurants.”

Sampson’s latest project has him back alongside fellow Vampire Diaries alum, Kat Graham and back on a project directed by a woman of color.

“It’s a really fun project,” he continued. “This time I got to work with a director named Nimisha, who is a brown-skinned, Indian woman. I also got to work with Sheryl Lee Ralph who I have known for a long time.”

When it comes to season 4 of Insecure, fans will have to wait and see if #Ghostbae makes a return. According to Sampson, his character wasn’t all bad.

READ MORE: 5 things I need to see from ‘Insecure’ season 4

“From what I know about him and how he was struggling at the end of the season to communicate, I have a lot of family members like that,” he explained. “A lot of men in my family don’t know how to communicate. It seems like they were broadcasting that he had some mental health issues and that was important for me because we have a lot of generational trauma in our history.”

(Photo: HBO)

Sampson says working on and watching Insecure gave him some insight into the woman’s mind.

“I think the more you dig into women’s (especially Black women’s) psyche, the more clarity you get about yourself as well, but you also get more confused. You say things you are never gonna be able to say again,” he continued. “I’m not a woman and I never will be. I have to consistently teach myself and get to know women and understand that they’re all different and that I won’t ever know them.”

When asked if Nathan would make a return to the hit HBO series, Sampson didn’t offer a definitive answer.

“I don’t know sh*t like that. I mean….listen, I don’t,” he said. “Nathan should come back.”

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Check out our full interview with Kendrick Sampson on IGTV and tune in to the season 4 premiere of Insecure on Sunday, April 12 on HBO.

The post Kendrick Sampson says ‘Insecure’ helped him understand women’s mind appeared first on TheGrio.

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Saturday Night Live spoofs Drake’s new ‘Toosie Slide’ in return to TV

When you’re as successful and popular as Drake, you are ripe for parody.

Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson proved that even the coronavirus won’t stop the rapper-cum-singer from being the butt of jokes. The long-running live sketch comedy show returned to NBC on Saturday night after more than a month of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the outbreak halting television and film productions nationwide, cast members performed from inside their house. This included Davidson’s musical parody video: “Drake.”

READ MORE: Drake gives fans an inside look at his ‘Embassy’ Toronto mansion

In the sketch, Davidson performed a song that poked fun at the Grammy award-winning artist’s emo style of mixing rap and vocals with lyrics like “This is a Drake song/I miss my ex; this is a Drake song/Number one on the Billboard,” and “I’m a tough guy, but hey/my heart take bruises too.”

The dreamy, purple-haze treatment draws inspiration from the Toronto-native’s latest music video and single “Toosie Slide.” In the original, Drake can be seen dancing and rhyming while showing off his massive mansion late at night.

Davidson’s parody, by contrast, features him in his “mom’s basement.”

Davidson paraded around his apartment in a skull cap and bubble coat as super-imposed images of Drake came in and out of frame.

This was undoubtedly a take on Drake’s similar attire in “Toosie Slide.” The rapper was also wearing face masks and black gloves, a thinly veiled reference to COVID-19, which Davidson also implied was the reason for being in his “mom’s basement.”

READ MORE: Here’s how celebs are using their talents for good while quarantined

The episode of SNL was hosted by Tom Hanks, marking his 10th time in the role. The two-time Oscar winner was an appropriate choice as he was among the very first celebrities to publicly disclose testing positive for coronavirus last month, along with wife Rita Wilson.

Drake’s mansion was recently featured in Architectural Digest.

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@archdigest @ferrisrafauli

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Apr 8, 2020 at 4:16am PDT

The post Saturday Night Live spoofs Drake’s new ‘Toosie Slide’ in return to TV appeared first on TheGrio.

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Americans begin receiving coronavirus stimulus checks from federal government

Americans have been waiting to get their hands on a coronavirus stimulus check from the U.S. government and the wait is over for some early receivers.

The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, said Saturday that the first set of payments of as much as $1,200 for individuals have been deposited in bank accounts.

“We know many people are anxious to get their payments,” the IRS said, adding “we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can.”

#IRS deposited the first Economic Impact Payments into taxpayers’ bank accounts today. We know many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can. For #COVIDreliefIRS updates see: https://t.co/hEEWmgHA9V pic.twitter.com/2bSHOTjMAS

— IRS (@IRSnews) April 11, 2020

The relief checks are much needed for citizens and families who have been affected by the economic fallout of the global coronavirus pandemic, due to business shutdowns and stay-at-home orders across the country. Because of this, almost 17 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the past three weeks after many businesses, especially retailers and restaurants, were forced to slash their payrolls.

READ MORE: Tax Day pushed back three months because of coronavirus

The stimulus checks are a part of the historic $2.2 trillion economic relief legislation that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump at the end of March.

According to the bill, those who make less than $75,000 per year are eligible for $1,200. Couples who filed jointly and earned less than $150,000 in salary will get $2,400. For those with children, $500 will be received per child for up to four children per household, making for a maximum possible payment of $3,400.

Those who make more than $75,000 would receive less of the stimulus. For every $100 made over the 75,000, $5 will be deducted. For individuals who made more than $99,000 or couples who jointly filed and made $198,000 per year, the payment goes down to zero.

The payouts will not be taxed, according to NBC News.

Although some disclosed getting their payment via social media, it could take months for others to receive any money.

READ MORE: Who gets a stimulus check and who doesn’t, and how should you spend it?

The direct deposit of the money will be based on 2018 income filings for those who have yet to file for 2019. The IRS is also providing an online application and info site for those who don’t normally file taxes.

Citizens with government debts or owe back taxes will still be eligible to receive the stimulus payment. Those who have overdue child support debt could receive little to no payment.

The post Americans begin receiving coronavirus stimulus checks from federal government appeared first on TheGrio.

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