Newark, N.J., is part of a growing push to establish a guaranteed basic income for people who need financial support during desperate times.

The city established an experimental guaranteed basic income program for its residents in 2021. Under the auspices of the Newark Movement for Economic Equity (NMEE), some 400 residents have each received $500 a month over the past two years.

The cash payments, which came with no pre-conditions about how they had to be spent, were designed to aid Newark families who faced housing or other financial problems.

Mayor Ras J. Baraka will host an event designed to look at NMEE’s impact this coming Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s (NJPAC’s) Victoria Theater. The event will feature a roundtable discussion with NMEE recipients and Marc Levin, director of the documentary film “It’s Basic,” which features profiles of mayors from cities across the nation who have implemented guaranteed income policies. 

The evening will include a screening of the documentary film and a discussion about the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), which is behind the nationwide push for steady cash payments for people in need.

The progressive nonprofit Economic Security Project reported that there are currently more than 100 guaranteed basic income programs in operation in cities across the United States. Newark has joined the MGI movement alongside cities like Trenton, Paterson, and Hoboken; Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn.; Birmingham, Montgomery, and Little Rock, Ala.; Los Angeles, Oakland, Compton, San Diego, Palm Springs, and San Francisco, Calif.; Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; and the New York-based cities of Hempstead, Rochester, Mount Vernon, and Ithaca. 

“The idea behind a guaranteed income is that while most of the folks [who] are in the movement would also support raising the minimum wage and increasing folks’ salaries to match the cost of inflation, …[it] is recognizing that a lot of folks are just experiencing poverty,” said Sukhi Samra, executive director of MGI.

“Most of the folks who can work, do work. But there are also folks who are experiencing poverty, who are unable to work––whether those are folks who are disabled, the elderly, and the retired, or people who are doing the unseen labor of eldercare or childcare. We’re wanting to use guaranteed income as a tool to recognize the care work that folks do, which is most often done by women, but these are folks who don’t have an income floor. We think of this as supplementing rather than replacing; this would be one more way to add to the social safety net.”

Funds for necessities

More than 1,200 Newark residents had applied to take part in the NMEE program when it was initiated in 2021. To qualify, participants had to be housing-insecure and earn an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Participants were randomly chosen.

In September 2022, Newark released statistics showing how NMEE basic income fund recipients were spending their cash infusions. The report said, “The majority of the funds were spent on necessities like food, household goods, and transportation”:

–   40% at retailers and discount superstores for things like food, clothes, household goods, and hygiene products.

–   26% at grocery stores.

–   10% on transportation costs like gas and car repair.

–   12% for housing and utilities

Other expenses included loan repayments, medical expenses, and tuition.

Particpant profiles included:

–   77.75% of participants are women, 21.25% men, and 0.5% non-binary.

–   82% of participants are single.

–   Two-thirds of participants have children in the household.

 – The average participant household size is three, with an average of two children.

 – 81.50% of participants are non-Hispanic, a majority of whom are African American.

 – 18.50% of participants identify as Hispanic.

 – The average household income for participants is $8,749.

The “It’s Basic” documentary reminds viewers that, during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party had called for “…the federal government…to give every man employment or a guaranteed income” in its Ten-Point Program to empower the Black community, and Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong advocate of a basic income to combat economic insecurity.

“We do know, anecdotally, that more often than not, people are using the guaranteed income to set themselves up for positions of future success,” Samra told the AmNews. “They know that the program is time-limited, so they use the funds to do things that will set them up for success in the long term. Whether that’s putting a downpayment on a house or paying down credit card debt or using that income floor to sign up for an internship that will help them get a better-paying job in the future, we’ve seen folks using that money to invest in themselves so that when the program is over, they’re in a better position than they were when the program started.”The October 24 “Guaranteed Income Works” event is free and open to the public. To attend, register at https://www.njpac.org/event/its-basic-documentary-premiere-with-mayor-ras-j-baraka/ or call 888-696-5722.

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Scientists are setting out to collect genetic material from 500,000 people of African ancestry to create what they believe will be the world’s largest database of genomic information from the population.

The hope is to build a new “reference genome” — a template to compare to full sets of DNA from individuals — and better understand genetic variants that affect Black people. It could eventually translate into new medicines and diagnostic tests — and help reduce health disparities.

The initiative was launched Wednesday by Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as Regeneron Genetics Center, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk and Roche. The pharmaceutical companies are providing the funding, while the data will be managed by a nonprofit started by Meharry, called the Diaspora Human Genomics Institute.

Organizers said there’s a clear need for the project, pointing to research showing that less than 2% of genetic information being studied today comes from people of African ancestry.

“We are going to bridge that gap, and this is just the beginning,” said Anil Shanker, senior vice president for research and innovation at Meharry.

Scientists have long known that the reference they compare to individual genomes has serious limits because it mostly relies on genetic material from one man and doesn’t reflect the spectrum of human diversity.

Although any two people’s genomes — that is, a set of instructions to build and sustain a human being — are more than 99% identical, scientists say they want to understand the differences.

The project is not connected with related research already underway. In May, scientists published four studies about building a diverse reference genome that they call a “pangenome.” At that point, it included the genetic material of 24 people of African ancestry, 16 from the Americas and the Caribbean, six from Asia and one from Europe.

In the new project, Meharry, a historically Black academic health sciences center, will recruit patients from the Nashville area to donate blood, then send it to the Regeneron Genetics Center, which will do the genetic sequencing for free.

Other historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S., and the University of Zambia in Africa, will also recruit volunteers. Project organizers said they are also open to working with other universities in Africa, as well as medical centers and health departments there. Organizers expect enrollment to take about five years. All information will be kept anonymous.

After the genetic sequencing, the data will go into a repository at the Diaspora Human Genomics Institute, and the database will be provided exclusively to HBCUs and the institutions involved in Africa. Outside researchers can access the information through those institutions.

“You can imagine if these schools have such a resource, other academic institutions are going to want to collaborate with them,” said Lyndon Mitnaul, executive director for research initiatives at Regeneron Genetics Center.

Corporate partners will be able to use the data for research and to develop medicines and diagnostic tests.

The 10-year initiative also involves establishing a grant program to support research and education in genomics and related fields at Meharry, plus broader STEM programs for grade-school children in diverse communities. Each of the pharmaceutical companies involved intends to contribute $20 million toward the genetic and educational parts of the effort.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Rev. Al Sharpton held his swanky annual 2023 National Action Network (NAN) Triumph Awards at Jazz at Lincoln Center this Monday, honoring other leaders in arts, business, sports, and social justice. 

 “The Triumph Awards recognize cultural influencers who utilize their platform to drive social change,” said Sharpton. “As we continue building momentum from the March on Washington and take a stand against those seeking to undo our civil rights, it is paramount to celebrate those who employ their celebrity to engage people in social issues.”

Sharpton and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Jonathan Greenblatt spoke at length about the Israeli-Hamas war and the role of Jewish activists in the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. 

“The gratitude that I feel at this moment is immense and humbling to be here, but even more so when I think about the work that’s yet to come,” said Greenblatt. “At the same time while I feel uplifted, really energized, I also have a heavy heart as I look upon the world and as I think about where we are right now. I feel shattered. This last week [was] probably one of the toughest weeks of my adult life.”

Mayor Eric Adams presented Greenblatt with this year’s President’s Award for Service and Humanitarian Efforts.

“I’m proud today to give this amazing award to my brother,” said Adams. “He has been a consistent warrior in ADL and they have been focused on [coming together].”

Other honorees recognized for their outstanding contributions was Tony Award-winning actor Leslie Odom Jr. and the cast and producers of Ossie Davis’ Broadway revival play ”Purlie Victorious,” Fearless Fund Co-Founders Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons, CEO of USA Track & Field Max Siegel, and Co-Founders of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival Stephanie and Floyd Rance.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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