Missing Black Woman Alert: Nia Nembhard Is Missing

NEW YORK - The NYPD is asking for the public’s help to locate a 35-year-old woman who was reported missing from Mariners Harbor.

Nia Nembhard was seen on Tuesday around 4 p.m. in the vicinity of her home at Lockman and Netherland avenues, according to a spokesman for the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police described the missing woman as standing about 5′3″ tall and weighing about 250 pounds, with a large build. She has brown eyes, wears eye glasses and has short black hair. She was seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.

Buffalo Bills Foundation and NFL Foundation contributing $400,000 to support response to Buffalo massacre

The Buffalo Bills Foundation and NFL Foundation are taking initial steps to help the Buffalo's East Side community heal in the wake of Saturday's targeted attack against the Black community.

The foundations are combining to donate $400,000 to support the community in the wake of this horrific hate crime.

A combined $200,0000 will go to the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund. This new fund is a collaborative philanthropic effort across the region that will address the immediate and long-term needs in our community, including systemic issues that have marginalized communities of color.

"On behalf of the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, we are most grateful for the generous contributions from the Buffalo Bills Foundation and the National Football League Foundation that will allow us to create real change and emerge from the darkness of this heinous act," said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. "This Fund is a partnership to build upon the collective desire to take action and to work together as a community to address immediate needs, long-term rebuilding and systemic issues that continue to marginalize communities of color."

The other $200,000 will be donated directly from the Buffalo Bills Foundation to various nonprofits working on the emergency response efforts to address the immediate needs of Buffalo's East Side residents. As an example of one of these efforts, we have partnered with Buffalo Go Green, African Heritage Food Co-op, the Resource Council of WNY, and UB Food Lab to arrange home food deliveries to those unable to come to a food distribution site.

This is just the beginning of the efforts of the Buffalo Bills and we are committed to doing more for the community as the days and weeks go by.

To find more ways to get involved and provide support to those in need in our community, click here.

Black Churches Send Letter to the FDA Asking for a Ban on Menthol Cigarettes

The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a coalition of 150,000 African American and Latino churches sent a letter to the FDA asking for a ban on menthol cigarettes.

NBCI is pleased to express our strong support for the FDA and its efforts to ban menthol cigarettes in the African American and Latino communities. We know the dangers of menthol cigarettes within our community as they are killing us at dangerous and disparate rate. The Black Church’s stance with this banning effort is important and we wish to further those efforts in whatever ways we can.

Rev Evans, President of NBCI said, “NBCI wishes to do whatever it takes to protect our communities and children from flavored cigarettes as well as other gimmicks designed to lure Black and Brown communities in engaging in menthol cigarettes. We anticipate the opportunity to stand with you and your team against the tobacco industry to ban menthol cigarettes as we, as NBCI, seek to further advance the safety and well-being of African American and Latino communities served.”


About the NBCI

The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI) is a coalition of 150,000 African American and Latino Churches and 27.7 million members nationwide working to eradicate racial disparities in healthcare, technology, education, housing, and the environment. The NBCI’s mission is to provide critical wellness information to all of its members and the public.

We offer faith-based, out-of-the-box, cutting-edge solutions to stubborn economic and social issues. Our solutions are backed by statistical analysis, science-based strategies and techniques, and methods that work.

The NBCI’s purpose is to partner with major organizations and officials whose mission is to reduce racial disparities in the areas cited above. Visit our website at https://www.naltblackchurch.com/.

Rep. Jahana Hayes Leads Bill to Improve Access to Infant Formula For Vulnerable Families Amid Shortage

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), led the introduction of the Access to Baby Formula Act to help improve access to infant formula amid shortage for families who participate in the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program during a crisis. Since April, around 40% of formula products were out of stock in seven states, including Connecticut.

Regrettably, the baby formula shortage has taken an especially dangerous toll on women and children from underserved communities who use WIC benefits to purchase formula, including nearly 44,000 families in Connecticut. In response, the bipartisan bill, the Access to Baby Formula Act provides flexibility so that families can continue purchasing safe infant formula with WIC benefits during extenuating circumstances, such as a supply chain disruption.

“We are in the midst of a national emergency, where families are panicking as they work to prevent their babies from going hungry. I have heard directly from constituents who are searching for formula to no avail and we are actively seeing the consequences of an essential service throttled by a monopoly industry during a time of unprecedented supply chain challenges. Today, we are taking action to help our most vulnerable families feed their babies,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “As a young mom, I turned to the WIC program to help my family. As the Chairwoman of the Nutrition Subcommittee, I am now working with Chairman Bobby Scott to protect these vital services. My bill, the Access to Baby Formula Act, helps improve access to formula products for WIC participants, while also ensuring participants are better protected during future product recalls.  I am hopeful this effort will provide urgent relief for struggling families.”

“The shortage of infant formula has been distressing for families in Virginia and across the nation. This crisis is particularly alarming as it has disproportionately affected women and children who rely on WIC benefits to purchase formula. That is why Representative Hayes and I have taken action to provide additional WIC flexibilities, so vulnerable families can use their benefits on other safe and available formula products. This legislation will help ensure that babies receive the nutrition they need,” said Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott. “While I am encouraged that the Biden Administration and Abbott Nutrition have come to an agreement to restart production, I remain committed to working with my colleagues to ensure families can maintain access to the formula they need in the interim and in the future.”

Highlights of the Access to Baby Formula Act include:

• • The establishment of waiver authority to address emergencies, disasters and supply chain disruptions by ensuring states that contract with these companies for the WIC program can secure supplies from additional manufacturers.
• • The waiver of requirements that can slow down the process to get formula back on the shelves, without sacrificing safety standards.
• • The coordination and information sharing between the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding any supply chain disruption, including supplemental food recalls. 

WIC recipients utilize formula at roughly double the rate of  non-participating families– making this crisis have a disproportionate impact on communities and families with the highest need. Further, for those able to find formula in local stores, prices have increased dramatically, in some cases rising 18% over the past year. This legislation provides a back up plan in the case of future recalls or supply chain disruptions so that we are not left agonizing over how we will feed our babies.

Abbott Nutrition’s recall is particularly alarming as its formula products serve 89 percent of all infants participating in WIC, according to the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

Congresswoman Michelle Steele (CA-48) is an original sponsor of the Access to Baby Formula Act.

To read the bill text for the Access to Baby Formula Act, click here.

To learn more about the Access to Baby Formula Act, click here.

NAACP and ADL to meet with AG Garland to discuss the spread of white supremacy

In the wake of the terrible tragedy in Buffalo, the NAACP and ADL are convening a meeting with AG Garland this Friday. The meeting will focus on the spread of white supremacy across social media platforms and hate crimes tearing through Black communities across America.

The NAACP and ADL have also invited representatives from the following organizations to attend Friday's meeting with AG Merrick Garland:

• Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

• National Council of Negro Women

• National Urban League

• Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights

• National Action Network

• Legal Defense Fund

• The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation