The people fighting to end systemic inequality have been talking to VICE for years. Now we're catching up with them to find out what's changed.
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White: During the COVID-19 crisis, houseless deaths increased from three per day to four per day in Los Angeles. Black communities were still left out—Black houseless communities were still forgotten about even in programs, projects that were designated for houseless people. What we’re finding in the context of people falling out is that much like with the mortgage meltdown, the African American community is hard-hit. And, in particular, this is where the feminization of poverty just raises its ugly head. Because with the mortgage meltdown, it was largely African American women who were the head of households in South Central Los Angeles and other places that were hit the hardest. So we’re seeing the same thing with COVID-19. It’s like a double whammy. Those who were barely hanging on—because there’s no relief—are about to hit the bricks, and most of those folks are going to be Black and brown folks who are barely hanging on.
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The other thing I would say is, make sure—you’re talking about these radical visions, but I need to see your leadership. It’s good to hear the VP and the president saying these things, but who is going to hold down this? And what radical things can we expect within your first 100 days in office?
And as you know, no matter what they say, we know that we’re going to have to fight for everything. Because the same sort of developers and bankers and insurance companies who have sort of controlled the destiny of America before, they haven’t gone anywhere. And they’re still in the VP’s and the president’s pockets, or the VP and the president are still in their pockets. So there’s just some financial interest that we’re still going to have to be up against.