Charles Lyons
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Articles by Charles Lyons
Are You Ready for Disruptors? - Charles Lyons
“Queer Nation is here!” he blurted. The usher was breathless. I was backstage. It was Easter Sunday, just minutes before service time. Queer Nation and ACT UP are radical LGBTQ groups known for civil disobedience, including the disruption of a Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Our Chicago church had encountered these groups before, outside a local abortion clinic. Our members knew them by name and face. They had been invited to church.
Yes, You Can … Endure - Charles Lyons
By Charles Lyons, retired pastor of Armitage Baptist Church, Chicago, Il Can you survive? Yes. Can you thrive? YES. How? Overcome with emotion, unable to continue the funeral service, the pastor passed his Bible to the pastor next to him. But that pastor, also fighting back tears, handed his Bible to another man. The Sudanese Christians had gathered to mourn five children, killed as they ran for shelter during a government bombing.
Can blockchain clean up the gold industry in Brazil and across the globe?
Gold, whose value has spiked by more than 55% since the 2008 financial crisis, is notoriously difficult to trace. Once mined, it can follow a maze-like path to market, passing through intermediaries that mix and melt it with other sources, often erasing signatures of its origin in the process. The result? Illicit gold routinely slips into products, from jewelry to smartphones and electric cars.
Six months on, the Yanomami crisis continues amid rising violence
Local groups and family members have appealed to the federal government to join the investigation of the death of Indigenous health worker Angelita Prororita, whose remains were recently found. The case underscores the continued violence that hampers the region, where illegal gold miners have threatened and harmed the Indigenous populations.
‘Mercury is a complex problem’: Q&A with Colombian Mining Minister Irene Vélez Torres
Illegal gold mining has long plagued Colombia’s ecosystems and communities, while small-scale miners have lamented the difficulties they face in formalizing their operations. Despite Colombia’s 2018 ban on the use of mercury in mining, the highly toxic metal continues to be widely used to extract gold. The new government of President Gustavo Petro has vowed to tackle the problem of illegal mining and mercury contamination, but the prevailing mining legislation is outdated and ineffective.
For some Colombians, vows of mining reform are just a flash in the pan
Afro-Colombian communities practicing mercury-free gold mining say a reform of the country’s mining industry is urgently needed, but aren’t convinced the new government can deliver. Gustavo Petro took office in 2022 as Colombia’s first-ever left-wing president, campaigning to end the use of mercury in mining and to formalize artisanal miners.
Can Two New Bills Reshape Indigenous Rights and Illegal Gold Mining in Suriname?
Two bills currently before Suriname’s parliament aim to recognize the rights of the country’s Indigenous inhabitants and tackle the forest-poisoning mercury pollution associated with gold mining. But both bills face an uphill battle: Suriname has repeatedly refused to recognize Indigenous rights, making it one of the few Amazonian countries to do so, while gold mining is the backbone of the country’s economy.
Children Can’t Wait For A TB-Free Future In The Era Of COVID-19
Prioritizing Pediatric TB Case Identification To end childhood TB, the global health community must close the pediatric TB case detection gap. Only by doing so can children with TB receive the critical and timely treatment needed to avoid preventable deaths. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 global TB report indicates that children younger than 15 accounted for 11 percent of the total burden of TB in 2020—equivalent to 1,090,000 cases.
Bolsonaro may face criminal charges for botching COVID response over ‘false dilemma’
Nick Schifrin: For more, we turn to Dr. Luiz Henrique Mandetta. He served as Brazil's minister of health in 2019 and 2020, until President Bolsonaro fired him over their differences in how to respond to the pandemic. He is now laying the ground work to run for president of Brazil, and joins us from Brasilia. Dr. Mandetta, thank you. Welcome to the "NewsHour." You were the committee's first witness. Do you agree with the charges recommended?
Bolsonaro faces criminal investigation, possible impeachment over COVID response in Brazil
Brazil formalized a criminal investigation last week into President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to the pandemic. It could lead to his impeachment. The country just passed 400,000 total fatalities so far, with no significant slowdown in sight. With support from the Sloan Foundation, special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky and producer Charles Lyons bring us the first of two reports.
“… zealous of good works”
Why was I picketing an off-track betting parlor on a gritty westside street? A new law allowed these establishments which had popped up in the sketchier Chicago neighborhoods like mushrooms after rain. This one was next to a friend’s church building. The pastor’s opposition produced death threats. Why was I sitting on frozen concrete with our group, huddled in front of an abortion clinic door? Our presence for even a couple hours would save babies’ lives.
Being Biblical
Recently I was in a small Illinois town at dinner time. Noticing a Mexican restaurant, I thought I’d take a chance even though it was in the middle of nowhere. After a great meal, I talked to the man who took my money telling him I came from a neighborhood with a great Mexican restaurant on every block. I told him his establishment ranked right up there. “Where do you live?”, he asked. A brief exchange established that his brother lived only blocks from me. My point?
Great Minds
“Some want to work within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” C.T. Studd, 1862-1931British missionary, China Inland Mission “As a minister in the city of London I appeal to men who do not spend their sabbaths in the City. We have a claim upon you. You make your money in the City – where do you spend it? Are you the men to talk about absenteeism as a political blemish on the history of landlordism?
The Global Need to Address Both HIV and COVID-19
On this 33rd World AIDS Day, at the end of a devastating year, we face a stark reality: COVID-19 has shaken the global health landscape and eroded decades of progress. The World Health Organization has characterized COVID-19 as an “earthquake” for the 38 million people living with HIV today, from which we will likely see ripple effects for years to come. As these two deadly pandemics collide, vulnerable communities are exposed. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
Indelible cooking up 'Seared' for New Line
Co.'s Fincher to helm, Linson to produce David Fincher and Art Linson are developing New Line’s “Seared,” a loose adaptation of chef Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential,” penned by Jesse Wigutow. Pic may shoot next year after Fincher completes lensing “Panic Room” for Sony. It is expected to be the first pic made by Fincher and Linson’s Indelible Pictures at the mini-major. Fincher will helm; Linson will produce. “Seared” centers on the rise of a New York celebrity chef.
Lessons From a Marathon Not Run
Photo A lone runner on the empty bleachers at the finish line of the canceled 2012 New York City Marathon. Photo The author running in the 1992 New York City Marathon. Thousands of runners who had trained for months didn’t get to run the canceled New York City Marathon this weekend. I feel their pain because four weeks ago I went through similar emotions. All that rigorous training. It felt unfair, a cruel joke. Runners train to run. My marathon plan began a year ago.
Prioritizing Children in the COVID-19 Response
Opinions Taking lessons from HIV to fight the new coronavirus. July 13, 2020 • By Charles Lyons As the global HIV/AIDS community came together virtually for the 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020), it provided a prime opportunity to bring the tools we’ve developed over the past three decades to address our newest challenge: COVID-19. Throughout AIDS 2020, there was intensive discussion around how we can leverage the HIV/AIDS response to battle the new coronavirus.
Columbus Avenue Business Owners Call for Visionary New Dining Plan; One Starts Prepping for Phase 3
Posted on June 18, 2020 at 12:53 pm by West Sider By Charles Lyons A cluster of Columbus Avenue business owners, reeling from months of revenue loss due to the pandemic, are calling on city officials for a radical new plan. The idea is to open Columbus Avenue so that store owners can place their tables and chairs, not on the sidewalks, but in the street in front of their shops (and shuttered stores), where they will be allowed to sell wares almost like at a street fair.
Is the coronavirus accelerating a genocide of Brazil's indigenous people?
On June 8, chief José Carlos Ferreira Arara, known as Zé Carlos, felt shortness of breath and fatigue. He was taken from his village in the Amazonian state of Pará to the São Rafael General Hospital, in Altamira. As his condition worsened, there were no vacancies at the regional hospital’s intensive care unit — but no time to transfer him to another facility. He died on June 9 of cardiac arrest, due to complications resulting from a coronavirus infection. He was 41.
LETTER: Massachusetts career technical education: A challenge and opportunity -- Renovate, build, expand voc-tech schools to increase voc-tech seats
By Charles Lyons Saturday Feb 1, 2020 at 8:00 AM The Standard-Times verifies and reviews all letters to the editor we receive. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not those of The Standard-Times.
New HIV strain reminds us that innovation is urgent and fundamental
Charles Lyons is the president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. From 2015-2016, Lyons served as US representative to the executive board of UNICEF. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own; read more opinion at CNN. (CNN)This month, a new strain of HIV was discovered for the first time in nearly two decades, providing the global community with a more complete map of how the virus evolves.
Netflix Documentary ‘The Edge of Democracy’ Makes Headlines as Jailed Subject Is Released in Brazil
With former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva now out of jail, the documentary has taken on additional resonance worldwide. Petra Costa’s eloquent and resonant Netflix documentary, “The Edge of Democracy” begins and ends with former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — aka “Lula” — being sent to prison without due process, foregrounding what the filmmaker views as a subversion of the democratic rule of law. On Nov.
Parenting in our Urbanized World
“Why are they lying to us?” Her 4-year-old face, innocent, puzzled. She had explained the situation to the teacher’s aide, a member of our church. Jose, her friend, had come to Pre-K at 3 years of age. At 4, his mother, the assistant principal, and her partner, began dressing him as a girl and calling him Juana? “He’s a boy”, Ebony said, “He’s not a girl.” . . . and then, her question. This is the world in which you are raising your children. Your world is urbanized . . . wherever you live.
Here are some HIV headlines you may have missed
Charles Lyons is the president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. From 2015-2016, Lyons served as US representative to the executive board of UNICEF. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own; view more opinion at CNN. (CNN)Last Monday, researchers shared the case of a London man who is being hailed as "functionally cured" of HIV. By Tuesday, that announcement was on the home page of virtually every paper of record in the world.
Response to the 2019 State of the Union
Thinkstock Opinions The president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) urges President Trump to listen to HIV advocates. February 6, 2019 • By Charles Lyons If there is a place in American rhetoric for unrestrained ambition, it is the State of the Union address. Seemingly implausible promises made in these speeches, from putting a man on the moon to waging a war on poverty, have become historic realities within a few short years of their announcement.
Slamdance is 25 Years Old, and Still Maintains the Spirit of an Unruly Teenager
Created by frustrated filmmakers after Sundance turned them down, the other Park City festival has become an institution of its own. No one expected Slamdance to see its 25th anniversary — least of all, founders Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn, Peter Baxter, and Paul Rachman. All were filmmakers rejected by the 1995 Sundance FIlm Festival, and their concerns initially ran to the short term: how to screen their films in and around Park City, the center of the indie-filmmaking universe.
Parenting in Our Urbanized World
“Why are they lying to us?” She had explained the situation to the teacher’s aide, a member of our church. Jose, her friend, had come to Pre-K at 3 years of age. At 4, his mother, the Assistant Principal, and her partner, began dressing him as a girl and calling him Juana? “He’s not a girl.” . . . and then, her question. This is the world in which you are raising your children. Your world is urbanized . . . wherever you live.
Metro Millennials: Why Do We Care?
Millennials Projected to Overtake Baby Boomers as America’s Largest Generationscreams the headline by Richard Fry highlighting info by PewResearch.org. Millennials are on the cusp of surpassing Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living adult generation according to population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. Millennials, defined as ages 20-35, numbered 71 million in 2016. Boomers (ages 52-70) numbered 74 million.
Answering the “Wake-Up Call”
This time last year, many in the global health community were celebrating some heartening news: in its July 2017 annual report, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) declared that “the scales [had] tipped” in the collective effort to defeat the epidemic.
30 years later, and still fighting HIV/AIDS in children
Each of us—one a federal policymaker, the other a veteran of children’s health advocacy—sees the past 30 years as marked by loss and struggle. AIDS has claimed millions of lives and left scores of children mourning the loss of their parents. Yet the past three decades are also an era redeemed by progress. In the late 1980s, neither of us could have imagined that the global AIDS response would be where it is today.
Challenges in Urban Ministry
In 2007, after serving as a youth pastor in Mansfield, Ohio for seven years, my family and I moved to Quincy, Massachusetts, to start Life Community Church. Needless to say, there was a stark contrast between doing ministry in a rural community in North Central Ohio, and doing ministry in the America’s fourth largest city, the Boston metro area. Over the last decade, God has taught us so much about life and ministry in an urban context.
Reach the City, Touch the World
“Ve drive cub.” Standing in the center aisle after Sunday service, Sultan and Nurian spoke to me in limited, broken English. Having visited Kyrgyzstan twice, I could scarcely believe these two new arrivals had made that impossible trek half way around the world to find a new life driving cabs in Chicago. There are millions of stories like Sultan & Nurian. They are a snapshot of what has been happening for the last hundred-plus years worldwide. We live in a world ruled by cities.
In global fight against AIDS, children are 'losing ground'
Only political will from global leaders — including the U.S. — can get us on track to eliminate HIV in children. Just a year ago it seemed we might eliminate AIDS in children by 2020. Today, it’s clear progress has stalled in many areas. The latest statistics are as surprising as they are sobering: More: Saving Puerto Rico: A month after Hurricane Maria, private help and government failure Far from having childhood AIDS on the run, we’re losing ground.
Notes from the Streets
The notes on our Sunday Connection Cards are life snapshots of the people who worship at Armitage Baptist. The following appear as written. Pls pray for my nephew recovery from gunshot to the head, on a ventilator. He needs a miracle from God for complete healing. Pls pray for his parents esp my brother who is not coping. Pray for his parent’s salvation, my brother-inlaw – his su ering from Prostate cancer. Pray for my friend. He is currently in jail.
10 Largest Cities … and Who Cares
HomeMagazineUrban Current10 Largest Cities … and Who Cares Tracking urban population can be tricky. Some numbers reference the city proper, others the entire metropolitan area. Also, there is the matter of people who are residing illegally, therefore remaining invisible and uncountable. #10 New York While New York City proper is counted at 8.6 million people, the metropolitan area numbers 18.6 million. Of course, this includes counties in New Jersey, Connecticut, & Pennsylvania.
Bashar Al-Assad Never Called Me Goyim
Recently, in a publication called The Intercept, Mariam Elba pondered the question, “Why do White nationalists love Bashar Al-Assad?” She arrived at some interesting conclusions. Ultimately, I’d say she was close but no cigar. She gave it the ole college try though. This goes out to all you Fake News media outlets out there, maybe the next time you have a question about the Alt Right, why not just ask us why we believe what we believe?
Foreign Aid & AIDS in Children -- U.S. Should Continue to Fund PEPFAR | National Review
Early in his tenure, President George W. Bush did something that would become an important footnote of his foreign-policy legacy. With strong backing from the faith community, he launched the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003. He announced the initiative in his State of the Union Address, saying that “seldom has history provided a greater opportunity to do so much for so many.” To an American audience, he methodically laid out the tragedy of AIDS in Africa.
Suicides Spread Through a Brazilian Tribe
Among the indigenous in Brazil, the suicide rate was six times higher than the national average in 2013, according to a study released in October by Brazil’s Ministry of Health. That translates into 30 suicides per 100,000 people. Among members of the Guaraní tribe, Brazil’s largest, the rate is estimated at more than twice as high as the indigenous rate over all, the study said. In fact it may be even higher.
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