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National Action Network (NAN) Executive Vice President and General Counsel Michael Hardy, Esq. has died.

NAN released the following statement:

It is with profound sadness that civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton announces the passing of his longtime attorney, confidante and brother in the movement, Attorney Michael Hardy.

From the infancy of NAN’s inception in 1991 to the present day, he had an enormous impact on the evolution of the organization. For over thirty years, Attorney Hardy stood beside Rev. Sharpton as a brilliant legal counselor and steadfast friend who was a legal architect behind some of the most important civil rights cases of our time. Even while seriously ill, he walked with NAN until his very last step.

While memorial service arrangements have not been formalized, many in the movement pause today to acknowledge Michael’s memory and to thank a higher power that he was such a great human being. We are praying for his widow, Dr. Robin, and his family. 

The post Longtime National Action Network EVP and General Counsel Michael Hardy, Esq. passes away appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

Representatives of the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BC/BS) Foundation, EngageWell IPA, and Housing Works leadership joined elected officials, including Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, in a formal grant presentation and ribbon-cutting at a new health facility in East Harlem recently. The event was in celebration of Housing Works’s new Community Health Center at 145 East 125 th Street in Manhattan.

The grant will support EngageWell IPA’s Care Your Way digital intervention, a model that delivers fresh, healthy food boxes, and prepared meals to the doorsteps of people experiencing food insecurity and other chronic conditions. 

“The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation works to promote health equity by

focusing on improving the wellbeing of New Yorkers with the greatest health-related social

needs through our community partnerships and collaborative programs,” said Dr. Lisa

Thompson, plan performance medical director at Anthem. “We at Anthem are thrilled that this innovative grant is being commemorated alongside the ribbon-cutting for Housing Works newest health center. The center will increase access to much-needed resources.” 

EngageWell’s Care Your Way program is an integrated model that provides clients a choice in how and where they receive care and treatment—either face-to-face or virtually. It addresses common socioeconomic barriers to positive health outcomes, such as food insecurity and medication adherence, which leads to higher patient satisfaction, improved engagement in preventive care and treatment, and reduced avoidable healthcare spending. Moreover, as food insecurity grows due to COVID-19, post-pandemic inflation, and rollbacks on emergency SNAP benefits, EngageWell is leveraging smartphone technology to modernize and destigmatize residents’ experience with an outdated food safety net system.

Housing Works’s new East Harlem Community Health Center will bring primary care, psychiatry, and psychotherapy services to the corner of 125 th Street and Lexington Avenue, for expanded access to compassionate care that addresses a number of chronic conditions and other needs in the community.

The post Housing Works receives $300,000 grant from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

After President Joe Biden‘s graceful exit yesterday morning from the race for re-election as the Democratic Presidential nominee, he quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his pick for the top of the ticket.

Yesterday evening, over 44,000 Black women and allies joined a Zoom hosted by winwithblackwomen.org founder and organizer Jotaka Eaddy and raised over $1.5 million for Harris’ newly-minted campaign to secure the nomination.

It took several tries for the majority of participants from all over the U.S. and overseas to join as the Zoom webinar was initially capped at 1,000. Eaddy and other #wwbw organizers made a point to thank Zoom COO Aparna Bawa for stepping in to increase the participant capacity from 1K to over 40K in real time as the overwhelming desire to join this word-of-mouth call to action quickly spread.

Speakers scheduled to appear were Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX) and political strategist Donna Brazile. Others who spoke included former Spelman College President Dr. Johnnetta Cole, journalist and commentator Star Jones, author and influencer Luvvie Ajayi along with reps for HBCUS & the Divine Nine Black sororities and fraternities.

Appreciation for the accomplishments of President Biden during his term (e.g. the $35 price limit on insulin; Ketanji Jackson‘s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, protection and expansion of the Affordable Care Act) was voiced, along with forward-looking strategies for coalitions (Ana Navarro offered energetic support as a Latina ally), fundraising, and turning out the vote.

Within 3 hours #winwithblackwomen raised over $1.5M for the Presidential candidacy of @kamalaharris via a special link shared in the chat that tracked donations generated via this grassroots community.

Let’s go!

* This article was originally published here