With the Canadian government continuing to recommend physical distancing measures, many people are finding themselves confined to their homes more than ever before. While some are citing the benefits of being able to work from home and having time for self-care, the closures of recreational facilities and commercial gyms make physical distancing a barrier to physical activity for many.

In response, several health organizations and groups are emphasizing the importance of meeting physical activity guidelines. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommends 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week, which is roughly 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week. Assuming people are spending half an hour a day exercising, and then factoring in the 7.5 to eight hours of sleep the average adult gets, that leaves 15.5 waking hours unaccounted for.

So, what are people doing in the other 97 per cent of the day they spend awake? If youre like the average Canadian, then 9.5 hours of your day is spent sitting.

Sitting, a form of sedentary behaviour (along with lying down and reclining), is one of the most prevalent, habitual and invisible behaviours we perform. We sit in nearly every aspect of our lives from eating to commuting and working to screen time and more.

This is especially true of home-based sitting given the current stay-at-home recommendations. Netflix and other streaming services announced significant increases in traffic and new subscribers recently, while app downloads and weekly time spent on apps have also skyrocketed in the past months.

But why is sitting this much so bad? It may sound harmless, but chronic excessive levels of sitting have been associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and even some cancers. Even among young people, for whom chronic disease risk isnt as immediately concerning, excessive sitting poses a potential harm through an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

Perhaps most concerning is that these increased risks are independent of physical activity levels meaning even if you exercise regularly, youre still placing yourself at risk for all of these diseases if you spend too much time sitting.

So, what can be done to combat all the sitting we do? Put simply just standing up. Merely standing up or walking for about five minutes for every 30 minutes of sitting can help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer and even death.

Unfortunately, its not as easy as it sounds. As a health behaviour researcher at Western University, I help people to develop action plans to reduce their sitting. Because we are so used to sitting everywhere, all the time, we typically dont mention sitting when describing activities we are doing. For example, we think of watching TV, not sitting down and watching TV.

Its difficult enough to change a habit or behaviour when you know its happening. Things get harder when you also consider that nearly every environment is designed for sitting: couches, chairs, cars, offices, etc. However, there are things we can do to make sitting less easier. Here are some practical strategies that Ive found to be useful for my participants to leave you in good standing:

Shape your environment: Just like being physically active is easier with the right equipment, modifying your space for standing and moving will make it easier to do so. This can be done by stacking some books for a standing desk or creating a route to pace in the house while on chatting on your phone.

Remind yourself youre sitting: Because sitting is so habitual for most of us, we often need a reminder to break it up. Setting an alarm for every 30 minutes before sitting down, or simply putting a sticky note on your computer screen or desk of when you sat down can be a useful prompt to get up more often.

Pair it up: A break from sitting isnt necessarily a break from what youre doing, such as working or watching TV. But if standing/moving distracts you from your task, then pair it with another healthy behaviour like drinking more water. Getting up to drink water will break up your sitting time, as will going to the washroom more often as a result. Plus, youll get all the benefits of drinking more water too.

Go the distance: When it comes to breaking up sitting time, the more frequent the breaks, the better. Incidental movement the moving we do while going about our day such as doing laundry or the steps we take while walking around our home is an easy way to break up sitting time. Try tracking your steps, and setting a step goal (aim for 2,000 more this week!) to help you monitor your progress.

Tell a friend: Keeping accountable with a housemate or friend can help keep you motivated. Most smartphones have a built-in activity tracker that can track your steps, with apps available to share this data with your social network. Competing for steps with a friend can put the health in healthy competition!

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5 tips to get you off the sofa because sitting more during COVID-19 is hurting your health - The Conversation CA

The National Museum of African American History & Culture today released Talking About Race, a web portal designed to provide free educational resources and tools from scholars, activists, historians, and more with the goal of teaching everyone how to have conversations about race and racism.

The online portal provides digital tools, online exercises, video instructions, scholarly articles and more than 100 multi-media resources tailored for educators, parents and caregiversand individuals committed to racial equality, the museum wrote in a press release. A rash of racially charged incidentsfrom an altercation in Central Park to acts of police brutality resulting in the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and the protests they provoked in cities around the countryprompted the museum to move up the release date of Talking About Race.

The portal has gathered decades of race research in one place. There are suggestions for how to talk about racism with your kids, coworkers, or students. Listen to Ibram X. Kendi, the founder of American Universitys Antiracist Research & Policy Center, discuss The Invention of Race. Watch lawyer/critical race theorist Kimberl Williams Crenshaw examine The Urgency of Intersectionality in a TED Talk. Learn about whiteness from scholar Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility: Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. From the museums press release, this first phase of the portal features eight topics to explore:

Being Anti-Racist: a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily.

Bias: the inclination or prejudice toward or against something or someone.

Community Building: connecting and engaging with others doing anti-racism work and exploring issues of race.

Historical Foundations of Race: how race, white privilege, and anti-blackness are woven into the very fabric of American society.

Race and Racial Identity: how societies use race to establish and justify systems of power, privilege, disenfranchisement, and oppression.

Self-Care: caring for ones mental, emotional, and physical health to sustain the work of dismantling racism.

Social Identities and Systems of Oppression: systems built around the ideology that some groups are superior to others.

Whiteness:an ideology that reinforces power at the expense of others.

This ones for you, white folks. If youre at home wondering what you can do to make change, let this be your first step.

Join the conversation!

Web Producer/Writer

Rosa joined Washingtonian in 2016 after graduating from Mount Holyoke College. She covers arts and culture for the magazine. Shes written about anti-racism efforts at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, dinosaurs in the revamped fossil hall at the Smithsonians Natural History Museum, and the horrors of taking a digital detox. When she can, she performs with her familys Puerto Rican folkloric music ensemble based in Jersey City. She lives in Adams Morgan.

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Educate Yourself Today: The African American History Museum Wants to Help You Talk About Race and Racism - Washingtonian

Unless something changes in the next couple weeks, businesses like Blue Lion Fitness in Ann Arbor will have been closed for more than three months by the time theyre allowed to reopen. That means three months of little to no income from clients while bills continue to pile up. And while being able to open is the focus right now, business owners say things wont magically return to normal once theyre is able to serve customers again.

Even if we sell out every single class, we are significantly down from what we were making before, said Daniel Roth, one of the owners of Blue Lion Fitness. For us to reopen at a 20% capacity we have to hit certain numbers just to keep the lights on.

Gyms, casinos, movie theaters, bowling alleys and other leisure or recreational industries have been closed since March 16 when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer first declared a state of emergency in Michigan. As they prepare to reopen at a date uncertain, owners are anticipating the next wave of challenges.

Last week, Whitmer announced some places, like indoor theaters, public pools, concert venues and sports arenas, could open starting June 10 in much of northern Michigan.

Its unclear, though, when that reopening may come for the rest of the state.

Patience is wearing thin, however, as getting the doors open is only the beginning for many business owners who must try to make up three months of missing income during an unprecedented crisis. Businesses will have to convince customers its safe to return while also facing increased costs across the board, staffing issues, limited spacing to ensure guest safety and an economic downturn.

No matter the industry or service being provided, protecting the safety and health of customers and staff is the number one issue businesses will have to address, according to experts. That means instituting social distancing guidelines, providing protective equipment for staff, reducing hours and other measures that impact the bottom line.

Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, says businesses in his industries already know the importance of cleanliness and safety for guests because they practiced it well before the pandemic.

Bars and restaurants will be able to reopen for dine-in service starting Monday with 50% capacity restrictions in place. Regions 6 and 8 of the MI Safe Start have moved into phase 5 of the plan which allows gyms, salons and more to reopen in the Upper Peninsula and parts of northern Michigan. Salons, tattoo parlors and other personal care businesses can reopen throughout the state on June 15.

However, in this new normal of safety, business owners recognize there cant be any mistakes if they want to survive.

They know the biggest challenge they have is creating the confidence that people are safe returning to these environments, Winslow said. They know that they need to meet or exceed these new standards if they want these guests to come back.

Meeting the Standard

Being able to convince customers of their safety starts with being able to properly clean the facility throughout the day. While that sounds like a simple enough plan, the finances and logistics of doing so make it tough on a gym like Blue Lion Fitness.

That adds up really fast. We expected it, but people dont realize the prices on those things increased too. Were paying inflated prices and spending an additional $2,500 a month on cleaning supplies, Roth said.

Roth and his business partner Ryan Van Bergen say theyre not only going to experience an increase in cleaning costs, theyre going to have to pay for it while offering significantly reduced class sizes and class offerings. Because of social distancing, the gym has transformed its setup so that each person who attends a class has everything they need in one area that only they may work out in.

Its your own little fitness lane, Van Bergen said, explaining each station is at least six and a half feet apart from others.

But because of distancing, the gym will only be allowed to have seven people per class. With additional cleaning measures and time needed to ensure the facility is thoroughly cleaned between classes, Blue Lion will offer six classes a day as it reopens.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the gym could handle 30 people in a class at a time and offered 10 classes a day. They had 180 customers on an autopay system for membership pre-coronavirus, but that too will change as they adapt to the climate. Theyre now pivoting to a drop-in system where customers pay for each class.

Even if we sell out every single class we are significantly down from what we were making before, Roth said.

Blue Lion was able to secure loans offered through the government to help retain staff and pay bills, but Van Bergen says its not enough.

Trying to even get close to our numbers before COVID is going to be tough, Van Bergen said. Percentage-wise what we received in help was 30-35% of what were going to miss for the fiscal year. We got some help but at the end of the day, were not sitting pretty by any means.

That means having to adjust class schedules and asking for more money for customers with not as many services available. Roth and Van Bergen acknowledge how difficult that ask is of customers, but also say its a problem the industry will face as a whole.

Regardless of what (gym) you put in the situation, everybodys price per hour has gone up for fitness," Van Bergen said.

Customer confidence

For the restaurant and hotel industries, earning customer confidence is not just about cleanliness, its going to come from customers overcoming perceptions about being around other people in close proximity.

While restaurants must keep tables apart, require masks and social distancing, the customer must also get used to those measures. Winslow said the industries are already focused on cleanliness so thats not a concern in his mind. Especially considering reports he received from Traverse Citys first weekend of reopening last month.

The ones that have opened already, really made me pretty proud especially given how little notice they were given to open up, Winslow said.

There is concern about how quickly the public will begin to adjust to the new normals. Tourism is the second largest industry in the state, according to Winslow, who added hotels already maintain a strict level of cleaning and will certainly increase those efforts. So while maintaining cleanliness throughout the property isnt a major issue for the hotel industry, people needing hotels is concerning.

With tourism severely impacted in the Midwest through stay-at-home orders and an overall fear of spreading the virus, hotels are experiencing steep declines in occupancy. In April, hotel occupancy rates were in the single digits and arent likely to return to normal until late 2021, Winslow said. Typically, occupancy rates were in the mid-60s prior to COVID-19, he said.

Hotels are currently allowed to accept guests throughout Michigan, however their gyms, pools, spas, dining, entertainment facilities, meeting rooms or similar facilities are not available to guests.

Even with Michigan relaxing restrictions and allowing for more activities and travel in the state, theres no guarantee that people will start staying in hotels again right away as vacations and work trips may not resume right away.

The confidence is going to have to come with time, Winslow said.

Aside from spending money locally to support restaurants and taking trips inside Michigan, Winslow said one way the public can help is to be mindful that these businesses are taking the health and safety of guests seriously and you should too.

Make sure as a customer that you are considering the health and safety of others, Winslow said.

Will demand be there?

Paul Glantz is the President and CEO of Emagine Theaters and a member of the National Association for Theater Owners of Michigan. Emagine operates more than 20 theaters in four states including 10 in Michigan. As a business that requires people to be in an enclosed space with strangers, Glantz understands there may be some hesitation for people to return to the cinema.

As with other industries, his properties are well aware of implementing social distancing and ensuring people are wearing masks, etc. In fact, because Emagines theaters feature oversized reclining chairs, the seats are already more than six feet apart from arm-to-arm, Glantz said, so theres no need to reconfigure.

The bigger concern for the movie industry, Glantz said, is the availability of movies that will draw people back to the cinema. Many major movie studios have announced delays on films that were scheduled to be released this summer. That means the summer blockbusters that typically ensure busy theaters wont be there and arent expected to hit theaters until later in 2020 or next summer.

While some big-budget films like Mulan and Tenant are still scheduled for release this summer, theres no guarantee that will stick. Or that guests will want to go to the theater in such uncertain times.

To combat that issue, Glantz says his company has considered a handful of options to draw guests back. That includes possibly hosting special screenings of movies that are no longer in theaters or havent been for years. Or hosting special screenings of concerts or sporting events that can be held inside of theaters.

Glantz said not every cinema chain is taking the same approach because they all have different challenges facing them aside from simply being allowed to open.

In early June, AMC Theaters officials issued a statement warning shareholders the company may not survive the pandemic disruption. With theaters having been closed for months and a potential inability to secure funding to keep the company afloat theres a significant concern before doors can even open again. And once they do, another problem immediately arises.

Even once theatres resume operations, a single case of COVID-19 in a theatre could result in additional costs and further closures, or a second wave or recurrence of COVID-19 cases could cause another widespread suspension of operations, AMC wrote in a statement.

Doubling down

Although the three downtown Detroit casinos are not allowed to reopen, Michigan Tribal casinos across the state have already reopened. Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Soaring Eagle in Mt. Pleasant and Saganing Eagles in Standish all reopened on June 1. Turtle Creek in Traverse City and other northern Michigan casinos have opened over the last few weeks.

While each property has its own standards, across the board casinos say they are monitoring the temperatures of guests as they arrive and requiring face masks to be inside. Smoking is no longer allowed in many of the casinos and self-service drink stations are closed at many casinos as well. Hand-sanitizing stations and hand-washing stations are also available depending on the casino.

Normally, casinos pack as many people as possible next to one another to maximize the number of people gaming. Thats not possible with social distancing, especially at slot machines. As a result, casinos have had to limit how many slot machines are active.

At Firekeepers, players can check the casino website for information on how many slots are available so guests can determine if theyll even be able to get on a machine if they show up. Food buffets, poker rooms, bingo rooms and other special gaming areas may also be closed depending on the casino.

We couldnt distance those places, said Kathleen George, CEO of Firekeepers Casino. But otherwise we look forward to them coming back and being healthy and safe. And just really experiencing a great place to get their Vegas on.

For table games, barriers have been installed at tables in some locations and limits are being placed on how many people can be at a table at one time.

We want everyone to feel comfortable and safe. If someones not ready today or coming (when they open), you know what? In a few weeks or a few months, when they are, well still be here and ready to serve them.

Theres no timetable for when exactly the Detroit casinos will be allowed to reopen. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has said he expects they will be among the last things allowed to reopen in the city, despite the economic benefit to the city the casinos bring.

MGM Grand Detroit has announced preliminary plans for what guests can expect at their various properties across the U.S. however a specific plan for the Detroit location has not been announced.

Whats next?

While the good news is that businesses are beginning to slowly reopen, the struggles are far from over. Whether youre itching to get back to the blackjack table, grabbing an after-work drink with friends or simply resuming your morning workouts things will be different.

Businesses expect long lines, but fewer options for guests as everyone adjusts to the reality that things just wont be the same for some time. The uncertainty across the board means more stress and more strain on business owners whove already spent months being unable to serve customers.

For now, Roth and Van Bergen say the main thing they can do is prepare to reopen and ensure the safety of guests while continuing to provide their service. By doing that, the hope is communities across the state will respond and shop at these businesses who need all the support they can get.

As a community, were very thankful for the people who are supporting us. Small businesses like us are only going to make it with support from the community, Van Bergen said.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

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Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

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Reopening their doors is the first of many challenges for Michigans leisure industries - MLive.com

It is no exaggeration to say that we are in a pivotal moment in the history of race relations in America.

George Floyds outrageous, painful, and agonizing murder at the hands of Minneapolis police set off a wave of national unrest that we have not seen in 50 years. Black America has long known that systemic racismfrom early childhood experiences to educational opportunities, to housing and workplace discrimination, to medical discrimination and excessive policinghas cut short the lifespans and ruined the lives of millions.

Over the last few years, this recognition has gained greater traction in the rest of America, due in part to the ubiquity of cell phone videos capturing and broadcasting everyday acts of racial bigotry and violence. But let us not forget the important role that Black youth have played in social movement leadership. Thanks to their cross-racial organizing, young marchers today who identify as Latinx, Native American, White, Asian American, or Pacific Islander are acutely aware of the pervasiveness of anti-Black racism and its effects on their own lives.

The leadership of Black youth may seem like a recent phenomenon. However, a deeper look at civil rights history reveals that Black youth have consistently been at the forefront. In 1963, when the Black civil rights movement began losing momentum, the Childrens Crusade was born. On May 2nd that year, over 1,000 school-aged youth left school to march in downtown Birmingham. Reminiscent of that time, we all watch today with keen interest as Black youth take to our streets to protest, disrupt, and force us to collectively re-imagine our current systems and frameworks, from criminal justice and education to housing and employment.

Since 2007, the Youth Mentoring Action Network (YMAN) has been working to support this tenacity among Black youth. Teaching them about the legacy that they continue, YMAN provides them with platforms and opportunities to utilize their voices, promote their healing and self-care, and allow older adults to be the best co-conspirators in that journey. Indeed, our experience working with youth-serving organizations all over the country and the world has taught us a valuable lesson. Policies and initiatives work best when adults can learn to share space and wisdom with young people. Young people hold us all accountable in powerful ways, pushing us to be better than we would be on our own and making initiatives and policy much more successful than we typically imagine.

The same could be said about Sigma Beta Xi. SBX started as a high school club at Rialto High School in 1998. Instead of disappearing with the graduation of its founders, the organization transformed into a stand-alone nonprofit. Youth energy helped fuel the organization to become a leading nonprofit in the region, providing research-based mentoring and development services for the most marginalized youth. It has also been a vehicle for leadership development; many of the youth involved in SBX are leaders in the organization as well as in the community more generally.

We also know that one or two organizations cannot do it alone, given the challenges Black youth face in our region, and the need for multiple opportunities for leadership and development. To that end, we have worked and continue to work collectively with powerful organizations like the BLU Education Foundation, Tru Evolution, Youth Action Project, Young Visionaries, and others who are dedicated to ensuring that Black youth voices matter.

Getting there will require strategic and coordinated investments in building a strong youth-serving ecosystem in the Inland Empire. In the coming months, we resolve to work more closely with each other, and in deep collaboration with our community partners, to bring about meaningful systems change in areas ranging from education and housing, to criminal justice and workforce development. This is the kind of transformation our youth are calling for. Lets help them build a future we can all be proud of.

Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Youth Mentoring Action Network. Corey Jackson is CEO of Sigma Beta Xi: SBX Youth and Family Services. Karthick Ramakrishnan is professor and director of the Center for Social Innovation at University of California, Riverside

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Engaging black youth will strengthen the Inland Empire - Press-Enterprise

As states begin to relax their stay-at-home orders and communities plan for the reopening of local economies, many may be returning to work and engaging in more regular social activity. While the return to some semblance of normalcy may come as a relief, questions about ones own health or the health of family members may remain.

Upon returning to work, people should continue to be smart and cautious while interacting with others. Following CDC guidelines and maintaining social distancing, practicing good hand hygiene and frequently sanitizing common areas or high-contact items, including doorknobs, hand railings and communal phones and printers, can be good preventive measures to help mitigate COVID-19 health risks.

Business associations, health systems, and governments are crafting guidelines to help mitigate risks associated with reopening communities, but additional resources may be available to help individuals navigate their own physical and mental health during this transition period.

Many may continue to have questions related to potential COVID-19 symptoms. To help, UnitedHealthcare provides an online COVID-19 symptom self-checker to help people gauge their symptoms and consider what may be the next steps for care. The symptom self-checker is at no additional cost for people to access, and users of the self-checker tool will be asked to answer a series of questions to generate feedback on care options to consider, which then assigns assessment levels ranging from self-isolation to emergency care, depending on the severity and urgency of the symptoms recorded. A testing site locator feature provides updated information on nearby COVID-19 testing sites if recommended by a physician.

Some people may still need to see a doctor but may worry about the potential risk of exposure (or the risk of exposing others) with in-person visits to a physicians office or urgent care center. As an alternative starting point for care, some people may continue to consider telehealth, which enables people to connect 24/7 with a health care provider via a smart phone, tablet or desktop computer. Telehealth may be especially helpful as an initial option for medical advice related to COVID-19, and to help evaluate other possible health issues, such as allergies, pink eye or the flu.

Employers also have a tool available for their employees. ProtectWell, a new smartphone app just launched by Microsoft and UnitedHealth Group, screens employees for COVID-19. Employees found to be at-risk for COVID-19 are directed to get a test and the app notifies employers of the results. The ProtectWell app is offered to all employers in the United States at no charge.

Access to mental health resources may also continue to be an important tool for people to have as they head back to work. Being at home and perhaps feeling isolated over the last few months may have had an impact on ones mental health, and the loneliness people may be experiencing, as well as possible stress or anxiety brought on by the pandemic, should be considered alongside physical health.

Virtual mental health resources are available for those experiencing increased stress and anxiety. A free emotional support line (866-342-6892) is available 24/7 to the public courtesy of Optum, which is part of UnitedHealth Group. Staffed by mental health professionals, individuals may receive help without taking any unnecessary trips.

Available at no additional cost, mental health and wellness apps, like Sanvello, may also be great resources for coping with the ongoing stress and anxiety. Equipped with self-care tools, peer support groups, coaching and therapy, Sanvello offers a number of avenues to receive the help and support one may need as they return to work.

For people who used mental health services before COVID-19, some care providers offer long-distance counseling and other resources, enabling for continued care from the comfort of home. Check with your providers regarding options on what may work best for you.

Taking care of physical and mental health needs may be imperative in the coming weeks and months as communities strive to reopen and individuals resume more familiar living routines. Using online and telehealth services may play a role in facilitating a smoother and healthier transition.

Dr. John Chang is the Chief Medical Officer for UnitedHealthcare of California.

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Health Resources Aid In Safer Return To Work - Escalon Times

The streets of Maine are alive with creative energy, day and night. Artists in Portland and across Maine are responding to the moment with street art, graphics, video projections and artful signs, banners and placards that are showing up in the arms of protesters in Portland, Bangor and small towns and crossroads in between.

Portland artists Ryan Adams, Jason McDonald and Mike Rich painted the likeness of George Floyd on a brick wall at Aura nightclub, along with a statement about rising in unity and the names of other African Americans killed by police in recent years. Buxton artist Eamon White made a computer graphic vector portrait of Floyd that former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz shared on social media, bringing Whites artwork an audience of 38,000 views and counting. And Portland projection artist Tina Marie Davidson is showing up nightly to share messages of solidarity and accountability on the streets and buildings of Portland. Who is policing the police, Davidson projected on police headquarters Thursday night. Before that, she demanded Dismantle White Supremacy on a downtown street.

Adams, 35, and his team made the mural quickly on Wednesday afternoon with spray paint, as the protests that began in Portland early in the week continued across downtown and spread into other communities. The portrait portion of the mural is 8 by 10 feet, and the words and names cover another 20-foot section of the wall. This is a time for action, whatever that may be. Anything from protesting and organizing to caring for family and reading books and self-care. Anything on any level, this is a time for action, said Adams, who was born and raised in Portland and lives here with his wife and kids.

A painter, designer and sign maker known for colorful geometric images that he shares on beer cans and brick walls from Maine to Virginia, Adams said he was moved to collaborate on the mural in a high-profile public place out of a sense of obligation, desire and an overwhelming need to respond to the moment. Empowered by colors, Adams has always expressed himself visually. The COVID-19 crisis, its impact on the African-American community and Floyds murder under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer have given purpose to his anger, sadness, exhaustion and frustration, he said.

I do feel a level of responsibility to act during these times, as I feel most people do. Being that I am a native Mainer and African-American muralist, I feel responsible to use my skill set to bring attention to the things that I feel are important to be addressed, he said. Being able to spray-paint something large and fast is a skill set that can be used to make a very impactful statement pretty quickly. I have utilized that ability to express myself about previous issues concerning race in the past, and I have also used it to highlight individuals or topics that honor and celebrate people.

White, 31, jumped on the computer after he heard about Floyds death and made a vector portrait, using a rainbow of colors and deep, penetrating black for the eyes to represent Floyd. An athlete and coach, White responded to former National Basketball Association player Stephen Jacksons call for action. He said, Use your platform to make change. My platform is art, said White, who played football at the University of Maine and Merrimack College and has coached across the region. He learned to paint from his father, Stephen White, and his late grandmother, Jane Murdoch, who lived in Damarsicotta. White studied studio art and new media at UMaine and got his degree in digital design from Merrimack.

As an athlete and team player, Whites instinct is to bring people together. Art allows him to do that, and responding to this moment of cultural crisis enables him to do it in a powerful way. He chose to make a colorful portrait of Floyd to represent all people who have been oppressed, as well as the range of people outraged by his murder and standing up for change. Its a picture of George Floyd, but I wanted to represent every background. Its a tragedy of one, but people can relate to it in a certain way if theyve ever been called a (racial slur) or were treated wrongly by police.

He was thrilled when Ortiz shared the image on Instagram. Its been reposted all over. It feels good when your ideas can help people, he said. Were all part of this together. Like football, if one person does something wrong, the whole team falters. Everybody has to be together on this one.

Natasha Mayers, who helps organize the Artists Rapid Response Team to make art for protests and demonstrations, said her group has made 25 signs and banners for recent demonstrations in Lincoln County, and artists are hurriedly making more for use across the region. Our group responds to the important issues of the day and of the moment, Mayers said on Friday. It is what we are compelled to do as artists and members of the community. As one member wrote me this morning, Its profoundly sad that we continue to have to make these messages in 2020.

On Friday, that artist, Doreen Conboy, was making a banner using the plea from civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis, We are one house, one people.

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Maine artists use their medium to send a message - Press Herald

This pandemic presents many reasons to expect greater empathy from each other. Since the crisis began, weve heard heart-wrenching stories about those we care about losing loved ones, getting sick, or losing their jobs. We also feel for people who are outside of our communities, such as the elderly, working class, and essential and frontline workers, all of whom are more vulnerable to COVID-19 With suffering surrounding us, we find reason to ask ourselves: What can I do to help?

However, juggling kids, working from home, parental caregiving and homeschooling, can make it challenging to turn good intentions into positive actions. Why? Because unlike previous crises, such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, or the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting among so many others, the pandemic directly affects us all. Even if traumatic loss hasnt knocked on our door, were caught in a whirlpool of anxiety and danger about a deadly virus, feeling isolated during the stay-at-home orders, or contending with greater domestic strife.

According to researchers, grief, stress, and uncertainty catapult the body into survival mode, scrambling our emotional radar in the limbic region of our brain, making it harder to feel for others. These conditions also impact the prefrontal cortex that fosters rational thought, the kind that helps us step back and take in another persons perspective before responding. Empathy is both feeling for, and imagining another persons point of view. For many of us, living in a pandemic makes it that much harder to empathize with others. That said, the pandemic doesnt need to turn us into empathy withholders, because we can do a lot to alleviate this problem:

We can become the caring people we were prior to COVID-19 by honoring the ways the pandemic has turned our lives upside down.

First, we must acknowledge how the pandemic has affected us. A recent survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly 50 percent of Americans believe the crisis has impacted their mental health. As a result, we may feel scared, irritable, angry, and exhausted.

Being able to identify and name these feelings releases neurotransmitters in thebrain that quiets the bodys fight-or-flight response, which typically springs into action during times of stress. Once the body is no longer on high alert, we can tune in to other peoples experiences and suffering. As paradoxical as it may seem, research shows that self awareness enhances our awareness of others, too.

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When stress is constant and life is unpredictable, self-care can go out the window. However, tending to our own needs expands our ability to care for others. Now, this doesnt mean we should overly indulge and drink our troubles away while the world around us crumbles. But its scientifically proven that spending time outdoors, listening to music, or practicing mindfulness can calm and nourish the soul.

The good news: we dont need to block off hours each day for self-care. As with any new goal, starting small can make a difference. To begin, consider taking ten minutes to step away from stimulation, like social media, and replace scrolling through Instagram with a soothing activity. Not only will doing so improve your mental health, it will also benefit the well-being of those around you.

During this unprecedented time, we have fewer impromptu discussions with colleagues, friends, or neighbors that might reveal their grief. Even those closest to us might find themselves turning inward, because theyre feeling exhausted, anxious, depressed, or numb.

In order to be a resource to others, we have to actively seek them out. That means checking-in regularly with our loved ones via text, phone or Zoom, and cutting past small talk by asking, What have you read or watched this week that you enjoyed or hated? or What feels different about this week from last week? or What surprises you about living with your family (or working alone, or being designated an essential worker?

We might also make an extra effort to smile behind our masks, and inquire about the well-being of service workers in the stores, post office, and in medical settings. Make a mindful decision to connect, knowing that as tired and exhausted as you may feel, others may be feeling worse. We have to invest in the karma of kindness, in order to reap its rewards.

Once youre mentally prepared to be present for someone else, consider how you want to help. In the past, you may have been the chef who made and provided homemade meals, the caretaker who took care of your friends kids, or the listener who stopped at the drop of a hat to console a suffering colleague. However, these times call for some ingenuity.

If youre tired, consider penning a text, instead scheduling a virtual happy hour. Feeling bored? Consider creating and mailing a card, instead of sending another kissy-face emoji. If youre sheltering in place, think of ways to help unemployed friends by offering to connect them with others, read their resume, or loan out funds if you can spare them. Another idea, sing to a loved one on voicemail, or share a soothing mantra. Life has been turned upside down; lets make the most of it by mixing up how we deliver empathy.

When life is tough, empathy can be hard to muster. Acknowledging this challenge is the first step in making a more conscientious effort to connect with others. To do this, you have to make self-care a discipline, which means tending to your needs, even when you dont feel like it. When we feel nurtured, we can then extend more to those around us. This may mean being more demonstrative with those you encounter, reaching out to loved ones more regularly, or engaging in community service by donating to charities and organizations in need.

These emotional exercises will help build an empathy muscle that grows stronger each week. We need each other now, and that wont disappear. We may not have a vaccine for the virus, but empathy and love are strong elixirs that can help us survive this unchartered time.

Dr. Kelsey Crowe is an empathy expert, and founder of the training group on Empathy Intelligence. She is co-author with Emily McDowell of the book "There Is No Good Card for This: What to do and say when life is scary, awful, and unfair to the people you love." She and her team work all over the world bringing empathy focused perspectives on interpersonal trust, power and privilege, and resilience in the workplace, and in life. Using her work to help people center, connect, and empower themselves, she hopes for a day when no one suffers alone simply because others didnt know what to do or say.

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4 ways to develop more empathy during this difficult time - NBC News

Bev Aisbett is an authority on anxiety and depression, who has sold more than 500,000 copies of her many books, which include Living with IT: A Survivors Guide to Overcoming Panic & Anxiety and Taming the Black Dog: A Guide to Overcoming Depression. Her latest, Worry-Proofing Your Anxious Child, is published by HarperCollins.

Self Help for Your Nerves Claire WeekesThis 1962 book helped thousands of people overcome anxiety, including me. Her facing down a tiger concept influenced me to create IT, the cartoon version of the Inner Critic in my illustrated books. Ive actually come to see IT in a friendlier light over the years hes just an obedient servant doing what hes told to do: worry or dont worry.

Bev Aisbett's 'up-front' style was influenced by Luke RhinehartCredit:

The Book of est Luke Rhinehart Around 1993, on a visit to the Gold Coast after a relationship breakup, I was awash in self-pity and misery when this book jumped into my hands. A fictionalised account of the 1970s est workshops, it was both a slap in the face and an awakening. It snapped me out of my angst and to a degree influenced my up-front style in my later work.

First Love, Last Rites Ian McEwan Prior to fate steering me in the direction of writing self-help, I had aspirations to be an author of fiction and had a few published pieces. In 1983 I came across Ian McEwans first collection of short stories and this began a love affair with McEwans works that has lasted to this day. His ability to explore the minutiae of the human mind is beyond peer.

Understanding Comics Scott McCloud My first work as a freelancer after years of paid employment (a move that initially unleashed my anxiety) was as a cartoonist and my work appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sunday Age and The Bulletin. Scott McClouds extraordinary treatise on the history, vocabulary and versatility of cartoons in the form of a 215-page graphic novel elevates the humble cartoon to its rightful place as an art form worthy of the deepest exploration.

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Books That Changed Me: Bev Aisbett - Sydney Morning Herald

The general consensus has been that once autonomous cars take over the roads, car accidents will almost be a thing of the past. But according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), not only is that not realistic, but its likely that self-driving cars might only prevent a third of crashes if the systems are set up to drive the way people drive now.

The IIHS concluded that, while self-driving vehicles would be better at detecting the world around them thanks to a suite of sensors that produce a 360-degree worldview, they'll still get into crashes. That's even if all the vehicles on the road were autonomous.

The IIHS reviewed more than 5000 police-reported crashes from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey. The collisions must have resulted in at least one vehicle being towed away and emergency medical services called to the scene. They split the factors that contributed to the crashes into five categories:

The insurance nonprofit deduced that 2 percent of crashes are unavoidable and 4 percent are from unknown causes. Apart from those, the group determined that sensing and perception error collisions account for about 24 percent of crashes and incapacitation for an additional 10 percent. Those would essentially be wiped out by vehicles that can see the world better than us and won't get drunk. In other words, autonomous vehicles could cut crashes by one-third, potentially.

The remaining 60 percent, according to the IIHS, really rely on those building the systems and the person sitting in the car. The study found that 40 percent of crashes were caused by planning and deciding errors like speeding and illegal maneuvers. The study states, "The fact that deliberate decisions made by drivers can lead to crashes indicates that rider preferences might sometimes conflict with the safety priorities of autonomous vehicles."

In other words, if costly autonomous vehicles are built to be as aggressive on the road as human drivers, crashes will continue. "Our analysis shows that it will be crucial for designers to prioritize safety over rider preferences if autonomous vehicles are to live up to their promise to be safer than human drivers," IIHS research scientist Alexandra Mueller said in a statement about the study.

But not everyone agrees with the studies findings or how the IIHS came to its conclusion.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a organization dedicated to helping innovation come to market safely and cleanly that counts BMW, Toyota, Ford, GM, Honda, and others as members, sent Car and Driver the following statement: "This study confirms the life-saving value of advanced vehicle technologies, but we believe that reducing traffic fatalities by even a third would be something to be proud of. We aim to do even more."

And it's true that reducing crashes by as much as a third would be huge. According to an NHTSA early estimate, 36,120 died from motor vehicle crashes in 2019. If that could be reduced, thats an impressive feat.

The Alliance continued, "We all know this about autonomous vehicles: they hold tremendous promise in saving thousands of lives on our roads every year, and the promise will be even greater as the technology matures. Aside from saving thousands of lives annually, AVs can help usher in a new era of mobility for those currently limited due to physical challenges, as well as contactless movement and delivery, which is more important now than ever."

The Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) a coalition of partners created to help educated policy makers and the public about autonomous vehicles also finds issue with the study: "The IIHS study helps provide better insight into the cause of road crashes, but falls short in its application of these insights to autonomous vehicles by assuming that superior perception and the ability to avoid incapacitation are the only ways in which autonomous vehicles can improve on human driving performance. This is simply not the case."

PAVE continues, "one of the great advantages of autonomous vehicles is that their behavior can be programmed to never speed or break the laws, behaviors that this study blames for 38-percent of crashes. The assumption that these behaviors can be altered by passengers in ways that so drastically reduce safety is inconsistent with what our members tell us about the culture they bring to AV development, as well as the goals and practices of their development programs."

Jack Weast, vice president of autonomous vehicle standards at Intel's Mobileye, told Automotive News, "crashes will never be zero until we have no more human drivers on the road," he said. "But (self-driving cars) can combine physical laws with behavioral studies and do much more than a human driver."

Still the IIHS has its reservations. "Building self-driving cars that drive as well as people do is a big challenge in itself, Mueller said. But theyd actually need to be better than that to deliver on the promises weve all heard.

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IIHS Study: Autonomous Cars Won't Avoid Majority of Vehicle Crashes - Car and Driver

As protests in the United States continue and the population grapples with the death of George Floyd in police custody, attentions have turned, in part, to increasing awareness about systemic injustice.

With this increased awareness, books on race and criminal justice have begun to rise on bestseller charts, as readers look to educate themselves about these long-standing issues.

To increase your own awareness of the factors fueling racial injustice, here are 8 books that powerfully explore the topic from economic, political and cultural perspectives.

1. The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran

According to McKinsey, the racial wealth gap between black and white families grew from around $100,000 in 1992 to $154,000 in 2016. This gap is worsened by a lack of access to traditional financial services, such as banks, making it difficult for people of color to accumulate savings.

In The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, American law professor Mehrsa Baradaran takes on this pressing issue, while sharing sobering realities, such as the fact that the share of wealth owned by African Americans in the US has barely budged in more than 150 years.

The Color of Money argues that black banking solutions and community self-help are not enough to cut through structural economic inequality; instead bold reforms are needed.

The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran.

Image: Harvard University Press

2. For Jobs and Freedom by Robert H Zieger

In his wide-ranging book, Jobs and Freedom: Race and Labor in America since 1865, historian Robert H Zieger charts the hard-fought progress of black workers to gain employment rights in the labor movement and the workplace. Many historians have declared this authoritative take on race and labor a worthwhile introduction to the barriers to opportunity facing African Americans from the days following the Civil War to modern times of globalization.

For Jobs and Freedom by Robert H Zieger.

Image: University Press of Kentucky

The first global pandemic in more than 100 years, COVID-19 has spread throughout the world at an unprecedented speed. At the time of writing, 4.5 million cases have been confirmed and more than 300,000 people have died due to the virus.

As countries seek to recover, some of the more long-term economic, business, environmental, societal and technological challenges and opportunities are just beginning to become visible.

To help all stakeholders communities, governments, businesses and individuals understand the emerging risks and follow-on effects generated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Marsh and McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, has launched its COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications - a companion for decision-makers, building on the Forums annual Global Risks Report.

The report reveals that the economic impact of COVID-19 is dominating companies risks perceptions.

Companies are invited to join the Forums work to help manage the identified emerging risks of COVID-19 across industries to shape a better future. Read the full COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications report here, and our impact story with further information.

3. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that strict drugs laws have disproportionately impacted black communities and the issue should be at the top of the civil rights agenda. The book is regarded as one of the most influential civil rights books in recent years and important for understanding how incarceration rates impact this community and the efforts to bridge equality gaps.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.

Image: Penguin Random House

4. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In Between the World and Me, African American author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates tackles issues of race and injustice in the US in a fresh and moving way: through a letter to his adolescent son. The book by the Atlantic writer was called one of the most influential in the last decade.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Image: Text Publishing

5. White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

This widely-read book that spent months near the top of the New York Times bestseller list explores the defensive tropes some people fall into when challenged about their attitudes to race. In White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, academic Robin DiAngelo asks what we can do to move beyond these challenges and engage with these key issues more constructively.

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo.

Image: Beacon Press

6. I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes (19021967) was one of Americas leading chroniclers of the black experience. In this beautiful childrens book, Hughes famous poem I, too, is retold through rich illustration. The images are the work of the award-winning Bryan Collier, known for his vivid combination of watercolour and detailed collage.

I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes.

Image: Simon and Schuster

7. The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

What is race and why does it matter? The answer often lies in literature and the often subliminal racial messages on the page. So argues the American literary giant, Beloved author Toni Morrison (1931-2019), in this book based on a series of lectures at Harvard University.

Morrison considers works by writers including Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, and looks at how literature has often used skin colour to reveal character traits.

Morrisons book is not just about the African American experience; it also tackles defining themes that dominate the politics of the world, including the mass movement of people and globalization.

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison.

Image: Harvard University Press

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7 powerful, memorable books that explore racial injustice in the US - World Economic Forum