“If we don’t help them, they will be gone.”
Darren Walker’s quest to save the arts, California leads on electric vehicles, Michael Jordan & Bubba Wallace
40 days until Election Day.
In a White House press conference Wednesday President Trump continued his onslaught, undermining the FDA’s COVID-19 vaccine guidelines and preemptively invalidating the results of the upcoming U.S. election—unless he wins.
The economy continues to shed nearly a million jobs per week. 870,000 people filed for unemployment last week, slightly higher than the previous week.
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⚡️ California Banning Sales Of New Gasoline Cars By 2035
“California, the biggest buyer of vehicles in the U.S., is banning sales of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks in the state by 2035 with an executive order signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. It’s the single-most aggressive such action ever taken by any U.S. state or nation to fight carbon pollution that’s fueling higher temperatures and wildfires in California and persistent air-quality problems from automotive exhaust.”
“With a population of 40 million the state buys more than 10% of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. annually and is the country’s biggest market for electric vehicles, with about 750,000 on the road today. California also has 34 companies making or planning to produce electric vehicles, most notably Palo Alto-based Tesla.”
“Transportation accounts for more than half of California’s carbon pollution, 80% percent of smog-forming pollution and 95% of harmful diesel emissions, Newsom’s office said in a statement. As a result, cities and towns in the Los Angeles region and the state’s Central Valley consistently have some of the worst air quality in the U.S.”
(Forbes)
🎭 Ford Foundation to award an unprecedented $160 million to minority arts groups
“This is the Ford Foundation’s latest and most dramatic salvo in President Darren Walker’s bid to reinvent how Americans — and most important, American philanthropists — value theater companies, museums and the arts overall. The gap between rich, largely White institutions and younger, BIPOC organizations is wide, but Walker says he sees an opportunity for change now. The killing of George Floyd brought attention to the systemic racism in American society. The pandemic shutdowns drew attention to the financial gulf in the arts world.”
“The Ford plan is meant as more than a one-time coronavirus bailout. The network of foundations and donors is providing money that will go to the recipients over four years, presumably long after theaters and museums reopen.”
“The first 20 grant recipients, picked by Ford in consultation with the national donors, are geographically and racially diverse. They include the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Mich.; the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage; the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Apollo Theater in New York; the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico in San Juan; and the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle. The $1 million to $6 million grants are unrestricted, so the recipients can use them on whatever they choose.”
Just as inequality is playing out in our society, in the arts it is playing out. The Getty and the National Gallery of Art are in their own bubbles. Yes, they’re concerned about finances, but as one of them said to me, ‘This is terrible, but we can raise the money.’
When you get to the medium and smaller arts organizations — that don’t have endowments, that don’t have rich boards, that don’t have huge amounts of operating cash flow — those organizations are panicked. If we don’t help them, they will be gone.
- Darren Walker
(Washington Post)
Ford Foundation President Darren Walker (photo credit: Ford Foundation via Washington Post)
🏁 Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin to field NASCAR Cup car with Bubba Wallace driving
“Jordan becomes the first Black principal owner of a full-time Cup team since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott drove his own race car in 495 races from 1961 to 1973. Scott's 1964 victory at the Jacksonville 200 is the only win by a Black driver in Cup history.”
“Wallace is the only Black driver in the Cup Series, and this season he has used his platform to push for racial equality. The 27-year-old successfully urged NASCAR to ban the display of the Confederate flag at its events.”
“There has been speculation for months that Hamlin was organizing some sort of ownership group, as he expects NASCAR's business model to become more favorable for team owners when the "Next Gen" car is released in 2022. NASCAR rules prohibit a current driver from owning a team and driving for another, but Hamlin can work around that policy with Jordan as the principal owner.”
(ESPN)