The African Child Labor Behind Everyday Products
December 05, 2019
The electronics we buy, planes and trains we ride, and other consumption habits we practice hold an important key to a devastating problem, affecting families all across impoverished “red zones” in Madagascar.
Forced to survive lawless conditions perpetuated by poverty, children as young as 4 are sent to dig through the earth to make ends meet... for one controversial mineral.
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Mica, a strong, flexible, and ultra-conductive mineral, keeps our devices powered without overheating.
But once it leaves the stockpiles - which takes an entire family months to unearth (sold for barely 2 CENTS per pound) - more troubling cover-ups follow.
Since African exporters sell mica in competition with Indian markets, China (the country with the greatest demand) can buy cheap and sell at high profits.
NBC News reports that culprits across the global supply chain are hard to track. Some companies even insist that the existence (yet low-to-no enforcement) of anti-child labor policies is enough reason to believe their hands are clean.
Madagascar’s 46,000 tons in mica exports in 2018 alone proves otherwise. Yet we can still demand change!
Human rights advocates encourage the purchase of responsibly-sourced goods and sending a donation to a vetted organization that helps provide food, education, childcare, and job training to the unregulated global mica mining hotspots.
Through small actions like this, change and connection will ripple through our diaspora.
Richard Sherman is one of the realest in the NFL, from publicly criticizing the NFL’s hypocrisy, to standing up for Colin Kaepernick, to doing a press conference in the days before Halloween in costume.
But what he’s been doing outside of the NFL system is the best thing yet.
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He quietly founded and helps run a charitable foundation, Blanket Coverage, which aims to “provide students in low-income communities with school supplies and clothing so they can more adequately achieve their goals.”
His foundation has raised over $1.5 million since 2013 to support low-income students. He’s donated the money to food banks, youth football leagues, and more. But that’s not all.
His most recent donations tackle a sometimes hidden problem: student lunch debt. He donated over $27,000 to two middle schools to erase it.
“The last thing any child should have to worry about is being able to afford eating breakfast and lunch at school,” his foundation wrote.
School lunch debt plagues low-income families across the country - and has many serious impacts, even including preventing students from graduating!
Sherman’s excellence on the field is only surpassed by his excellence in giving back to the community. His generosity is an inspiration to us all!
When Rosie Phillips arrived at Northwood High School to pick up her autistic son, she found him with a blank face sitting in a pool of his own urine.
He had been tasered - and the prongs were still stuck in his body! Now, this horrified mother is working to discover the truth about what happened to her child that day.
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As the story goes, Rosie’s son J.H. was under stress and left his classroom. He began to drink water repeatedly and cover his ears, an action he takes when stressed.
But teachers - not his usual teacher - saw his coping mechanism as resisting and tried to restrain him.
When they called for backup, things took a turn for the worse.
A school officer came up ready to tase J.H. and did so without hesitation.
The shocking bolt of electricity led to the boy urinating himself. He was left in that state until his mom arrived.
Rightfully, she’s suing - because nothing about the way J.H. was treated was acceptable. He deserved better from a school.
A Huffpost investigation found the “number of electroshock weapons in schools has risen in recent decades with the number of cops in schools.” And kids like J.H. who have special needs are especially vulnerable when it comes to being assaulted and put in harm's way.
J.H. is a Black student with special needs who is non-verbal. He has to communicate his needs in a different way. Nothing about being violent with a kid like him makes sense.
This is the reality of over policing children in schools - to protect our children, something has to be done! 
Marian Scott bounced into her Paragon Charter Academy classroom in Jackson, Michigan one October morning.
Her adorable (and harmless) red hair extensions were ready for their close up. Until her teacher pulled her out of the Picture Day lineup...
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According to the school dress code, little Marian’s hair was a violation and she was forced to wait outside as all her peers smiled for the cameras.
Feeling isolated, ashamed, and misunderstood, all Marian could do was cry. Luckily, her parents shared this injustice among their network.
By the time the family appeared on the Today show, the story had reached one sympathetic parent and Chicago-based photographer Jermaine Horton.
He contacted the Scott family with the sweetest plan to turn their babygirl’s frown upside down.
Decked out in a donated wardrobe courtesy of Joy Entertainment and Event Management and Rich Girl Candy CEO Mieka Joi, Marian - and her now-signature red hair - were treated to an EXCLUSIVE Jermaine Horton Photography shoot!
What did Marian think of the whole experience?
She loved it! We’re so glad a community of supportive pros stepped in to restore this beautiful little girl’s confident spirit.
It’s still unbelievable that in 2019, schools and even employers feel the need to police Black hair and our harmless expressions of cultural identity. 
According to this interesting news from Pew Research Center, “The number of majority black counties in the U.S. grew from 65 to 72 between 2000 and 2018.” This change is particularly important because of one big event coming up - and our participation means everything.
The census is IMPORTANT. The changes in county numbers mean our people are migrating around the country. It’s not about increases in overall numbers, it’s more about where our people live now.
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And as our people relocate, the census will impact our quality of life and the federal funds available to us.
$675 billion in annual federal spending will be affected by the 2020 census and if Black people are undercounted, our communities will be impacted for the worse.
An undercount may mean that resources like hospitals, social security, and political representation will be harmed or neglected.
As the census counts Black people, our willingness and our participation mean EVERYTHING.
For example, Black people are primarily the majority in the South, and that’s a place where we should make sure our people are getting everything they deserve. Taking the census will help.
Let’s make sure our friends and family know the importance of the census so our numbers are correctly counted. Let’s keep talking about how America’s landscape is changing and how our communities need to be recognized as we move and grow.
It’s that time again!
The census is coming up and Black people NEED to be counted. It’s why multiple Black leaders are spreading through the community to remind our people why we must participate.
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Because if we don’t get counted correctly, the consequences could be more dire than imaginable.
According to Black Voice News, “During the last census in 2010, field reps undercounted African-Americans across the United States by more than an estimated 800,000 people.” This is why “leaders around the country convened a ‘Tele-Townhall’ titled ‘Make Black Count.’”
Since the census determines how federal dollars are allocated, Black civil rights and activist organizations have come together to let the community know the losses we could experience if we’re undercounted.
For example, BILLIONS in federal funds for resources like hospitals, social security, and political representation could be affected by a miscount.
This is just one reason that people are coming together to avoid what some have feared could be an even worse undercount than 2010. The census is an opportunity we LITERALLY can’t afford to miss.
As we head into 2020, there will be A LOT happening politically - there’s potential for big changes that will impact us in ways we can’t foresee.
Let’s make sure we take control of what we can do for ourselves and each other by taking the census!
The Census comes around every 10 years - but Black people are expected to be WAY undercounted in 2020. That might have to do with these myths:
Myth 1: The Census doesn’t impact me personally
An accurate Census count could have a HUGE impact on your life! The Census determines who your elected representatives are, AND who gets over $800 BILLION in federal spending on health care, education, housing, transportation, and more.
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Myth 2: The Feds will get my information or share it with law enforcement
This isn’t true, and the Census is 100% confidential! Your Census responses “cannot be used to determine eligibility for government benefits and can never be shared with immigration enforcement agencies or law enforcement,” and that’s in the Constitution!
Myth 3: I don’t have to respond if I don’t want to
Responding is required by law and is even laid out in the constitution! If you try to dip on your census duties, they will send you multiple reminders, send mail, and even come by your house to help you fill it out.
Myth 4: Only certain people, like U.S. citizens, have to participate
The Constitution requires an accurate count of “the whole number of persons in each State.” That means EVERYONE - undocumented immigrants, that cousin staying in grandma’s basement, your friend from Nigeria here on a student visa - EVERYONE.
Remember these myths when it’s time to take the Census. Your participation matters - and impacts the entire community!