Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 8, 2020

13

THE CONVERSATIONS....

Talking About The Things That Really Bother Us

Mountain View News Saturday, August 8, 2020 

EDITORS NOTE: If you are living in America here and now, these are extradinarily difficult times. It is as though every single thing that could possibly challenge us and our beliefs, 
regardless of who you are, is demanding attention. Right now. Regardless of your race, gender, political beliefs, religion, or national origin, everyone is talking about everything that 
is or has turned their lives upside down. Our faith in our Democracy is faltering. We are being divided because of our religious and political beliefs; we are in denial about the lack of 
respect we show for each other and how little concern we have over the plight of those who are different than we are. Add to that, we are all struggling with COVID-19 which has made 
us deal with a previously incomprehensible situation over which we have no control! Yes, there is much that we want to talk about.

Every single day, The Mountain Views News hears from readers who have something to say. Whether it is our nation's state of political affairs, schools opening during a pandemic and 
what is the right or wrong things to do; the demand for social justice, the economy.....you name it and we hear from you. Why not share your conversations with others?

To that end, I have decided to run a special 'Letter To The Editor' section called "Conversations" where people can share their thoughts and/or experiences. We have a lot to learn from 
each other and we may find that we are really more alike than different. So, get on your computer, and send us what's on your mind. WARNING: Don't be mean spirited. No personal 
attacks. It's ok to be angry, but tell us why. Disagreement is fine and welcome, but this is a segment dedicated to having civilized 'conversations' about what concerns you as it relates to 
this country's current state of affairs. Share your experiences and feelings. We'd like to know. Maybe you can help us all out.

All submissions must be in electronic text format. No pdf's please. Submissions can remain anonymous if requested. Email your 'conversation' to: editor@mtnviewsnews.com. 

Susan Henderson, Publisher/Editor

THE ROAD FROM 1966 MISSISSIPPI TO 
2020 SIERRA MADRE 

Part 2 0f 3 by Stuart Tolchin

As I hope some of you recall my article of last week described my flight from Los 
Angeles to Memphis, Tennessee from where I would be taken to Mississippi. 
I was a part of the “Bruin Grenada Project” invited to join the local struggle 
for equal rights and equal schooling in the knowledge that injustice to one 
group of Americans was an injustice to all.” These are the words of the UCLA 
Professor heading the project who wrote “the eyes of America and the world 
are on Grenada. Wherever men believe in freedom they support you and their 
hearts are with you”.

Eventually, accompanied by our grandiose expectations we arrived at the 
Bellflower Baptist Church. Central Headquarters for the project. Once inside 
the first person I saw was another young white college type looking at a Playboy 
Magazine open to the page of the Little Annie Fanny comic. Somehow that 
was a complete surprise and it brought me back down to Earth. Next I met 
a whole group of Male High School aged young men who spent great efforts 
attempting to teach me complicated hand-shakes. We all gathered in the main 
room of the Church to hear a talk by Hosea Williams, a close associate of Martin 
Luther King. The talk very inspiringly spoke of the importance of non-violence 
and described the city as being composed of paved streets and unpaved streets. 
Keep off the paved streets never walk alone. This was my first day in Grenada 
and already it felt special, scary, and wonderful. There was unity, a sense of 
importance and freedom songs. 

That night I was taken to the home of a Black family where I would be staying. 
In the morning, as I awakened and went out to the kitchen there were freshly 
made biscuits from scratch and grits ready for me to share with the rest of the 
family. I explained that I had never eaten grits or biscuits actually made from 
scratch. The family thought that hilarious and finally, the mom said “didn’t you 
have a mother?!” We all laughed together and I shared my belief that if their son 
was supported in his educational efforts that he would do well. Thinking that his 
parents doubted his ability would not help. It never does!

Eventually I participated in my first mass march in which my beard received a 
lot of attention. So many flash pictures were taken of me that I almost wandered 
off the sidewalk which would have given the police marching next to us in the 
street a reason to place me under arrest. A policeman appeared in front of me 
on the sidewalk and I was about to walk around him when a young man who 
looked to be about 12 urged me to keep going forward thus saving me from 
arrest. As the march continued I saw Southern women lining the streets. As 
I looked at them they spat at me and someone else threw a brick that barely 
missed. This impression remains with me.

The Grenada newspaper reported, “The sight of the white students in the line 
resulted in claims that “outside agitators and beatniks” had been recruited to 
incite disturbances. (Remember I was the only one with a beard.) I listened 
to the concerns of parents and let them know I understood and admitted I did 
not know what I would do if I was in their place, but emphasized that there was 
movement towards equality of opportunity and their children were a part of 
that movement. It is now 54 years later and continual effort to insure equality 
of opportunity is still needed. 

In my article, I will describe how this experience still affects me. 

To be continued. 

 
State-By-State Breakdown: COVID-19 Testing Positivity Rates Among The General Population 
On July 22, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that, 
“CMS will begin requiring, rather than recommending, that all nursing homes in states 
with a 5% positivity rate or greater test all nursing home staff each week.” If 
implemented today, 11,640 nursing homes would be required to conduct such 
weekly testing. 
“Governors and state health agencies in these 33 states need to take immediate action 
to protect nursing homes by ensuring facilities have adequate supplies of PPE 
(including N95 masks), putting pressure on lab companies in their states to expedite 
test results for our residents and caregivers, and mandating all residents of their state 
wear masks in public to help reduce the spread of COVID in the surrounding 
communities.” 
Mark Parkinson, President & CEO 
American Health Care Association 
National Center for Assisted Living 
AHCA/NCAL 
State 
7-Day 
Positive 
Testing 
% 
Total # 
Nursing 
Homes 
State 
7-Day 
Positive 
Testing % 
Total # 
Nursing 
Homes 
AZ 22.7% 146 VA 5.9% 287 
MS 21.5% 204 PA 5.9% 695 
FL 19.2% 699 MD 5.7% 226 
AL 19.1% 228 OH 5.6% 953 
ID 17.6% 82 SD 5.5% 104 
SC 15.9% 190 WA 5.2% 205 
NV 14.4% 66 OR 5.1% 130 
GA 14.3% 358 MN 4.8% 368 
MO 13.0% 522 DE 4.5% 47 
TX 12.9% 1,219 MT 4.2% 71 
KS 11.0% 331 RI 4.0% 80 
AR 10.5% 227 NM 4.0% 71 
IA 9.9% 434 IL 3.7% 721 
LA 9.7% 278 WV 3.0% 123 
UT 9.1% 98 HI 2.8% 45 
TN 8.5% 316 MA 2.6% 376 
NE 8.3% 201 MI 2.6% 441 
WY 8.2% 37 AK 2.4% 19 
KY 8.0% 285 NH 2.3% 74 
CA 7.8% 1,194 DC 2.2% 18 
IN 7.8% 533 NJ 1.6% 363 
CO 7.3% 225 CT 1.6% 216 
WI 7.2% 355 NY 1.1% 619 
ND 6.8% 80 ME 0.7% 93 
OK 6.6% 298 VT 0.7% 35 
NC 5.9% 428 
Sources: Johns Hopkins University (July 26, 2020) & COVID Tracking Project (July 26, 2020) 
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com