Noelle E. C. Evans

This Fourth of July, a group of cyclists is honoring the struggle for Black Americans' freedom. They’re called the ROC Freedom Riders. 

Rashad Smith and Devin Anglin created the group in June. Initially, they’d planned to get more exercise during quarantine.

“I wanted to be able to exercise and work out, and I wanted to incorporate an element that was fun and exciting,” Smith said. “And so we said, ‘Hey, let’s go for a bike ride.’ ”

Adrian Jones graduated as the valedictorian of Edison Career and Technology High School within the Rochester City School District. 

But he wasn’t able to give his speech in front of his fellow classmates. By the time graduation came around, it was canceled.

“At the beginning, it's the whole college process so everything's kind of hectic and crazy,” Jones said. “And then when it’s finally over, you expect for all the fun stuff about senior year to start happening -- and then everything just came to a halt.”

About 10 people with the City-Wide Tenant Union of Rochester gathered outside the Hall of Justice on Monday morning as housing courts reopened to some eviction cases.

They carried signs bearing messages such as “Eviction Free Zone” and “Resist Evictions.” 

To help people during the coronavirus pandemic, eviction proceedings have been on holdsince March, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo implemented a statewide moratorium that ended June 20. Then in May, Cuomo extended the executive order until Aug. 20.

A psychiatric inpatient unit for people with COVID-19 at the University of Rochester Medical Center aims to treat patients while preventing an outbreak. 

Psychiatrist and family doctor Kevin Brazill oversees the unit. Every person who is admitted for care is swabbed for the coronavirus, he said; if they test positive and are asymptomatic, they are sent to this unit.

“Basically what we’re trying to do is prevent anyone who may be COVID-positive from inadvertently spreading the virus to other people,” Brazill said. 

While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration cannot immediately shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, the New York Immigration Coalition says more needs to be done to recognize immigrants’ humanity.

The 5 to 4 ruling is seen as a narrow victory for immigrants and their loved ones who feared possible deportation had the ruling gone the other way.