Navigating Coronavirus — June 8

We are dedicating this morning’s entire email to lifting up the activism over the weekend, new resources available, and some of the recent polling on the protests and police brutality.

On Wednesday, we will begin releasing new Navigator data on some of these issues, as well as the latest on the coronavirus pandemic still plaguing the country and, disproportionately, people of color.

It’s been 101 days since President Trump said we’d soon have zero cases of coronavirus in the U.S. We now have 2 million cases and more than 112,000 deaths.

PUBLIC OPINION ON THE PROTESTS FOR JUSTICE

• NYT: “Driven by the Black Lives Matter movement, this shift has primed the country for a new groundswell — one that has quickly earned the sympathy of most Americans, polling shows.”
• Monmouth University poll >> “76 percent of Americans — including 71 percent of white people — called racism and discrimination ‘a big problem’ in the United States.”
• 78% said demonstrators’ anger was fully or somewhat justified.
• NPR/PBS/Marist poll: 62% call the demonstrations following George Floyd’s death, “mostly legitimate protests.”
• NBC/WSJ Poll: 8-in-10 Americans believe the country is out of control.
• NPR: “67% said Trump has mostly increased racial tensions, including 92% of Democrats, 73% of independents, 88% of Africans Americans and 63% of whites.”

WHAT THE PROTESTS HAVE ACCOMPLISHED ALREADY

In a short period of time, these demonstrations are already making real change. Below are just some highlights — but check out a more comprehensive list here.

• 5/26–4 officers were fired for murdering George Floyd.
• 5/28 — The University of Minneapolis canceled their contracts with MPD.
• 5/29 — Officer Chauvin was arrested for the murder of George Floyd.
• 5/29 — Louisville mayor suspended “no-knock” warrants in response to Breonna Taylor’s murder.
• 5/31 — Two abusive officers in Atlanta were fired for pulling a couple out of a car and using tasers on them.
• 6/1 — Confederate monuments were removed in Birmingham, Alabama.
• 6/1 — The Louisville police chief was fired.
• 6/2 — A civil rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department began.
• 6/2 — NJ AG announced policing reforms.
• 6/3 — Chauvin’s charges were upgraded and the remaining 3 officers were charged.
• 6/3 — VA Governor announced the removal of Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond.
• 6/3 — Richmond Mayor announced police reforms and established a citizen review board.
• 6/4 — Breonna Taylor’s case was reopened. And the next day, people around the world celebrated her birthday and mourned her death with calls for justice.
• 6/7 — A veto-proof majority of Minneapolis City Council members announced their commitment to totally overhaul the city’s police department.

To be continued . . .

MORE WAYS TO TAKE ACTION

Last week we shared some resources that could be helpful for those who, like us, want to show solidarity with our neighbors protesting against racism and police brutality. You can check out that list here. Here are some other ways to get involved:

• Add your name to the change.org petition to get Justice for Ahmaud Arbery.
• Amplify and internalize black voices by ordering one of these new books by black female authors.
• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
• WATCH >> Wednesday and Thursday on OWN: “Where do we go from here?” With Oprah, Reverend Dr. William Barber, Stacey Abrams, Charles Blow, and other leaders.

If you know of an organization doing good work in this space, please don’t hesitate to send it our way for us to consider in future calls to action.

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Navigating Coronavirus is a joint project of Governing for Impact, Groundwork Collaborative, The Hub Project, and Navigator Research.

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