In the 1700s, the gold rush in southeast Brazil created a high demand for mining labour. The Minas Gerais region became one of the main destinations for African slaves. For the first half of the century, demand was met by a trade circuit connecting the ports of the Bight of Benin to Salvador in Bahia.
People from those ports acquired a reputation among the Portuguese as the best hands for mining gold.
With time, they created a commercial system of slave classification. Many Africans were grouped with the understanding that they are naturally suited for certain jobs. Slaves were sorted by anatomy and the purported ability to function better in certain climates, resistance to diseases, and life expectancy. Based on this classification, they were either assigned to the fields or less rigorous housework.
Cleanup highlights environmental racism
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The Regular Everyday Citizens team cleans up parts of East St. Louis as part of a campaign to address racial and social issues related to discrimination in Black communities.DeAsia Page | Belleville News-Democrat (AP)
EAST ST. LOUIS (AP) Some residents are concerned that toxic chemicals may be polluting their air. Black people make up half the confirmed COVID-19 cases in St. Clair County, but are only about 30% of the population. And citizens of East St. Louis have to travel out of the city for hospital care.
As JD Dixon drives along State Street and sees piles of trash, he thinks about how all of these issues are connected to systemic racism.
Express Briefing: Why vaccine distribution is so difficult
Jan. 21, 2021
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Jay Flexner, 59, gets the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine administered by Maribel Hernandez at Wonderland of Americas Mall, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. People lined up for the vaccine administered by University Health. It is the first day of vaccinating people in the 1B group, those 65 years and over and 18 and above with certain medical conditions. The 17,280 vaccination slots were taken up in five hours after University Health opened the website for registration on Dec. 31.Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News
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Trump showers clemency on those linked to him, allies
Rosalind S. Helderman, David A. Fahrenthold, Beth Reinhard and Josh Dawsey, The Washington Post
Jan. 20, 2021
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1of3President Donald Trump waited until his last full day in office to offer clemency to dozens of people.Washington Post photo by Jabin Botsford.Show MoreShow Less
2of3President Donald Trump boards Marine One and departs the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.Washington Post photo by Bill O LearyShow MoreShow Less
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WASHINGTON - One man convicted of health-care fraud is a longtime member of former president Donald Trump s golf club in Westchester, N.Y., and a former donor to Trump s now-defunct personal charity.