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NAACP says state didn’t spend federal funds properly to battle COVID-19

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NAACP says state didn’t spend federal funds properly to battle COVID-19 in communities of color

The NAACP and Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal complaint alleging the state of Mississippi did not adequately dispense federal COVID-19 relief funds to combat the pandemic’s outsized impact on communities of color.

The complaint, filed on behalf of both the national organization and state chapter of the NAACP, says the state’s actions violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after state officials “deliberately shut out advocacy groups” from receiving federal funds to address the pandemic in the minority community.

“The State of Mississippi and other public and private organizations in the state received $15.7 billion in COVID-19 related funding, yet the state has continued to provide a discriminatory program, resulting in disproportionate rates of sickness, hospitalization, and death in Black, Indigenous, and brown communities,” the NAACP complaint says.

The complaint continues: “Mississippi has engaged in unlawful race discrimination when it failed to plan, distribute, or otherwise provide COVID-19 vaccine access in an equitable manner breaching its legal duty to ensure nondiscrimination in federally assisted emergency preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery programs.”

When asked for comment, State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs said his agency, the Mississippi State Department of Health, recognized the COVID-19 racial health disparities early and worked hard to correct them.

“Although the state encountered numerous challenges to advancing the equity mission — including early vaccine access, trust issues, and technological barriers to vaccine appointments — a statewide coalition of agency, faith, medical and community leaders was able to deliver much needed information, vaccines and PPE to minority populations across the state,” Dobbs said.

The results of those efforts, Dobbs said, are apparent today: a higher vaccine rate among Black Mississippians than whites in the state, a higher vaccine rate among Black Mississippians than Black Americans at large, and a lower COVID-19 mortality rate for Black Mississippians than whites. The vaccine rate for Hispanics, Dobbs added, was near equal to that of white Mississippians.

The pandemic, in its earlier days, did have disparate effects on Mississippians of color — in mortality rates, in spread of the virus and in vaccine rates once they became available. Dobbs and other state officials were brutally honest about those racial disparities and said they worked hard to address them.

READ MORE: ‘We’re failing minority communities’: Why Black Mississippians are receiving fewer COVID-19 vaccines than white Mississippians

But the complaint alleges that as the pandemic wore on, state leaders did not develop a strategy to ensure a higher vaccination rate in the state — especially in the minority community — and did not provide a plan to improve the vaccination rate.

The complaint also points out the state’s health care system has built-in problems that disproportionally impact minorities. For instance, the complaint says more of a plan was needed to aid minorities in being transported to vaccine locations.

“Just as Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has disavowed the existence of systemic racism, so too has the state’s COVID-19 vaccine program failed to account for these systemic deficiencies and vulnerabilities,” the complaint said. “The state’s vaccine program discriminates against communities on the basis of race, color, or national origin, even when disparities in access to COVID-19 testing foreshadowed these problems.”

The NAACP is asking the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights “to immediately investigate and remedy the unlawful and ongoing discrimination.”

“We would like immediate and lasting changes to vaccine policies and procedures to ensure economically and socially marginalized groups have access to vaccine programs in their areas, including urban and rural communities that have inadequate or substandard access to private health care facilities, hospitals, and pharmacies,” said Rev. Robert James, president of the Mississippi chapter of the NAACP.

READ MORE: How Black community leaders put Mississippi on the path to vaccine equity

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi News

Events happening this weekend in Mississippi: December 20-22

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-12-20 12:03:00

SUMMARY: This weekend (December 20-22), Mississippi offers a variety of festive events. In Jackson, enjoy Food Truck Friday, candlelight concerts, a Grinch movie screening, and Journey to the North Pole. In Ridgeland, experience Merry Bingo, Christmas on the Green, and Fleet Feet Coffee Run. Vicksburg hosts Rock the Halls, while Natchez offers a European Christmas Shopping Village. Other activities include Santa scuba diving at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, and Magic of Lights in Brandon. Hattiesburg features Lights of the Wild and Teddy Bear Tea with Santa. Numerous holiday events are available across the state.

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Mississippi News

Attorneys seek protective order in Jackson bribery case

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-12-19 14:36:00

SUMMARY: Prosecutors in Jackson are seeking a protective order to prevent the release of sensitive information in a bribery case involving Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, and City Councilman Aaron Banks. The motion aims to protect personal, financial, and grand jury information, fearing it could impair investigations and fair trial rights. The three officials face charges related to a bribery scheme involving $80,000 in bribes for approving a real estate development project. Other individuals, including former City Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Sherik Marve Smith, are also implicated, with Smith pleading guilty to conspiracy.

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Suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggles, shouts while entering courthouse

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www.wjtv.com – MICHAEL R. SISAK and MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press – 2024-12-10 14:27:00

SUMMARY: Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, was arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Mangione, who expressed disdain for corporate greed and the health insurance industry, was found with a gun matching the murder weapon and fraudulent IDs. He initially gave false identification but was recognized at a McDonald’s. Mangione, who wrote a three-page document expressing anti-corporate sentiments, is being extradited to New York. His family, shocked by his arrest, expressed condolences to Thompson’s family. Mangione had no prior criminal complaints but had a history of severe back pain.

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