In Case You Missed It: Current Events of April

by Gabriel DuBransky

COVID-19~~~Police Brutality~~~Immigration~~~AAPI Justice~~~Global Trade


Demographics of the COVID Vaccine-
The COVID vaccine has been distributed unevenly across different racial identities. Across the 55% of the country whose race is recorded in vaccine demographics, about 65% were White, 11% were Latinx, 9% were Black and another 9% were mixed, 5% were Asian, and 1% were Native American, Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. This is, in many places, incongruent with the ratios of people getting infected. Non-White groups often account for double or more the amount of infections than they do vaccines.


Shootings in Indianapolis-
Eight FedEx employees were killed at a facility in Indianapolis, with five others injured. The man committed suicide after. The shooting lasted about two minutes, and there were no signs of struggle before the altercation. The shooter’s mother feared that he was suicidal, and authorities believe that led him to the act of violence. Matthew R. Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Jaswinder Kaur, 64; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Amarjit Sekhon, 48; Karli Smith, 19; and John Weisert, 74 were killed in the attack.


Refugee Limitations-
After promising to reverse some of Donald Trump’s past policies, President Biden did not deliver on his promise to loosen refugee limitations. He continued with the 15,000 refugee limit set by the Trump administration. Immediately after announcing these restrictions, the White House stated that they planned to lessen limitations in May, however to an unspecified amount. The vetting process for immigrants has also not been revised by the Biden administration, like it promised to.


Anti-AAPI Violence-
Exacerbated by the pandemic, AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) hatred has been a popular discussion topic in recent social justice. After titles like the “China virus” being put on COVID and related hate crimes being acted out on AAPI people, the Stop AAPI Hate initiative was founded. During the intersecting popularity of Black and AAPI activism in social media spheres, Black and AAPI discrimination against the other was made prevalent, but activist leaders in both groups emphasized the solidarity between them.


Blockage in the Suez Canal-
A ship was turned sideways in the Suez Canal, blocking global trade for almost a week. The Ever Given (operated by the Evergreen Marine Corp shipping company) was stuck in a central shipping lane diagonally, but was pulled out after having its hull partially dug out and tug boats helping it. It cost the global economy about $400 million an hour while it was stuck, as the Suez Canal is a main shipping route. Some ships began to find other ways around while the Ever Given was stuck.


Read more about these topics with the links below.
Demographics of the COVID Vaccine
Shootings in Indianapolis
Refugee Limitations
Anti-AAPI Violence

Blockage in the Suez Canal