Maryland legislative leaders have announced a pilot project to include racial impact statements as part of legislative analysis for the General Assembly.

The Department of Legislative Services will be working with Bowie State and the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center to compile data regarding racial impact of major criminal justice reform legislation. Members of the public will also have access to the information.

Three other states also conduct this type of legislative analysis. Proposals are under consideration in several other states.

There is finally a broader understanding across Maryland and the country of the existence of structural racism but we have to have better and deeper information in order to reverse its impact, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D- Baltimore County, said. I am pleased that the Maryland General Assembly is leading in this area and Im hopeful that it will lead to better decision making and policy decisions in the coming years. I want to thank Delegate Jazz Lewis for his tireless effort over the last several years to make this happen.

Undoing issues of systemic inequity requires us to develop intentional strategies for measuring and combating disparate impacts. We do not add to the legislative evaluation process lightly, but we must have a better picture of the racial impact of proposed legislation, Senate President Bill Ferguson, D- Baltimore City, added. This is an important step forward, and it will provide a more holistic picture of the effect of legislation proposed and debated by the General Assembly. Communities of color deserve our best effort to ensure fairness in the legislative process.

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On a Sunday evening in late September, with wildfire smoke hanging in the air, a few dozen people gathered in the rooftop kitchen of a Hollywood apartment building called Treehouse for their weekly communal dinner.

The buildings co-founder and chief executive, Prophet Walker, stacked plates and cleaned up cutting boards behind the tiled kitchen island, while the buildings designer, Sean Knibb, manned the pans of turmeric chicken sizzling on the stove.

The rest of the residents drank wine and chatted as they waited to eat. A woman with the vibes of an Instagram astrologer waved hi at a man who seemed to leap from a Vineyard Vines catalog. One wall of the kitchen was open to the deck outside, but people were squeezed together at small tables. Nobody was wearing a mask.

It looked like a scene from the past, or from the future. These people werent friends, at least not before they moved in. They werent family, save a few parents with their children. They were co-livers, a building-sized pod in the time of COVID, in a housing experiment with grand ambitions.

Co-living isnt a new idea, or even a new target for tech money. Start-ups like Common, Bungalow and WeLive, the co-living division of the smoldering office-space Hindenburg WeWork, have been raising venture capital and carving up apartment buildings across the country in recent years. Most sell rooms to renters as a cheaper option, a nouveau-SRO with foosball in the laundry room and catered Taco Tuesdays on the patio.

Treehouse is taking a different tack. Walker and co-founder Joe Green, a tech entrepreneur in the Facebook orbit and big booster of psychedelic research, say they want to create the togetherness of intentional communities like co-ops, communes, or Burning Man without the anticapitalist politics or freegan cuisine. In an era when luxury is synonymous with isolation private jets, private islands, Uber Black versus Uber Pool theyre betting that real community can be packaged as a premium, an amenity that keeps atomization at bay as surely as heated floors banish cold feet.

From the outside, the five-story building on Carlton Way near the open cut of the 101 looks like any other upscale new construction sans serif font, little balconies, black-painted steel. But inside its walls, things look different, starting with a floor plan heavily tilted toward shared spaces.

The laundry/art room in the basement.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Rotating committees of residents determine which rental applicants get approved, and the process involves more checks of vibe than credit. Leases come with signed commitments to community values, and instead of simply showing up for scheduled events, residents are encouraged to create their own classes and shindigs for the rest of the building. Only 10% of the units are set aside as affordable for low-income tenants, but all are currently occupied by poets.

The rooms are pitched at the upper middle of the rental market in central L.A., with rents starting at $1,715 a month, plus a $210 fee to cover utilities, housekeeping, free coffee and Sunday dinners, yoga classes and other events.

Specifically, theyre pitched at people like Kimberlee Archer. When Archer left Facebook for a high-ranking job at Snap in May, the 38-year-old marketing executive could have rented an upscale pad with ocean views or found a spot up in the hills. But she wanted to live with other people, pandemic be damned. Before leaving Oakland, she googled coliving space.

A few weeks later, she moved into one of Treehouses units really just a bedroom and a private bathroom, furnished in the style of a cozy boutique hotel (Knibb also designed the Line Hotel in Koreatown).

Ive lived by myself, Ive lived with family members, Ive lived with roommates, Archer said. But after a career heavy on work travel, she realized she didnt need a lot of space she was used to living in a hotel room. What I enjoy is having really good conversations with people I dont work with.

A bedroom in Treehouse Hollywood.

(Treehouse)

She shares a kitchen with four other suitemates and shares the common spaces of the building with the rest of Treehouses 40-plus residents: Theres the lobby/cafe, laundry room/art studio, screening room/Japanese-themed bar, two-story library curated by the resident librarian, and on the roof, a garden, a deck, the communal kitchen, and yes, a little treehouse, wrapped around a 100-year-old olive tree shipped in from Sacramento.

The company views the Hollywood building as a beta test for its bigger plans: a network of Treehouses across Los Angeles, from Koreatown to Compton. A complex keyed toward families interested in co-life is already in the works in Leimert Park. Residents will be welcome to stop by any other Treehouse in the city for coffee or drinks on the roof when theyre in the neighborhood.

Walker and Green make an odd couple of utopian housing entrepreneurs. What brought them together was loneliness.

Walker grew up in Watts, broke someones jaw in a fight over a DiscMan and went to Ironwood State Prison on an assault and robbery charge when he was 16. He got out and got into Loyola Marymount University, then worked on some of L.A.s splashiest real estate projects as a developer with Morley Builders, attempting a run for state Assembly in 2014 along the way.

Green grew up in Santa Monica and went to Harvard, where he found himself sharing a dorm with Mark Zuckerberg. He declined a chance to quit school to go work at the social network but managed to start a series of successful tech companies of his own. In 2013, he teamed up with Zuckerberg to start FWD.us, a lobbying shop that used tech money to push for immigration reform, among other issues.

By the time Green and Walker met in 2016, both had reached a similar conclusion: They had found success but felt more alone than ever.

I never experienced lack of community until I made money, Walker said. Growing up in Watts, he said, he felt like the child of everyone on the block. Prison, if anything, was an even more intense experience of closeness with his neighbors. Living in a hundred-person open dorm requires radical transparency literally theres no dividers between 15 toilets, Walker said. We needed each other to not go crazy.

After his run for office, he started thinking about how L.A. bred loneliness the skyrocketing rents, the neighbors who never met, the way that markets and neighborhoods in the city segregate people by race, class, age and interest.

For Green, loneliness struck when he was on a spiritual sabbatical following the self-described failure of his lobbying efforts. Alone with his thoughts, he realized he had been happier as a kid first in his Santa Monica neighborhood, with friends up and down the block, and then at Harvards Kirkland House, where undergrads lived in separate rooms but shared common space.

He began reading about the spread of loneliness in modern society, and was drawn to the work of Johann Hari, who argues in his book Lost Connections that leaving the multigenerational home and familiar neighborhood is a new phenomenon of the last 70 years, and that this isolation is to blame for increasing depression, anxiety, addiction and suicide.

In 2016, mutual friends introduced the pair at the opening of Locol, a burger stand in Watts started by celebrity chefs with the mission of bringing healthier fast food to low-income neighborhoods. Walker had helped build the restaurant with a construction crew drawn from the neighborhood, and he says he was looking for a new project that captured the same feeling of building community and using physical space to actually do so.

They hit it off, but Treehouse wasnt fully born until Green went on a silent meditation retreat a few months later. I spent several days being unable to get my mind off of a vision for this building, Green said. When he got back to San Francisco, he spoke with his friend Michael Birch, the tech millionaire behind the elite S.F. social club the Battery, who reintroduced Green to Walker. Soon, they started scouting out locations.

Unlike most co-living companies, which reconfigure existing apartment buildings, Walker and Green saw that they needed to build from the ground up to get the mix of public versus private space they wanted.

But the decision to start from scratch presented its own challenges. Banks typically finance real estate projects based on dollars per rentable square foot, a model that assumes that shared spaces in the building, such as stairwells and lobbies, are worthless. Green and Walker had trouble finding a lender willing to back their plan. It was, frankly, through some relationships and luck that we finally found a bank that was willing to do a construction loan, Walker said.

A number of prominent tech names have since bought into the vision, though Green is the largest financial backer. Alexis Ohanian, who started the online community Reddit, chipped in, as did L.A. investor Arlan Hamilton and Justin Kan, who co-founded the streaming platform Twitch.

By that Sunday in late September, it seemed like the vision was working, at least to a visitor, even in the face of the pandemic.

After Knibb introduced the meal squash blossoms, jeweled rice, chapulines and a big salad along with the chicken Elizabeth Williams, an Australian screenwriter, saw that a journalist had joined for the evening and immediately introduced herself.

Williams had moved into Treehouse after a few cripplingly lonely months in a Studio City apartment, after moving to the U.S. in 2019. She explained that she grew up in a close-knit neighborhood in Townsville, North Queensland, no locks on doors, the kids would just swarm around like bees, where her fondest memories were of neighborhood game nights and jam sessions. She was happy to pay extra for a built-in community.

Michele Esquivel, Treehouses lone inhabitant older than 50, sat eating squash blossoms and rice at a table with three building mates. Her 14-year-old daughter, Violeta, hung out at the next table over.

For years, Esquivel had wanted to move into the city from Orange County, where she worked as a nurse at Kaiser, mostly to help Violeta pursue her budding career as a slam poet. The closest place they had been able to afford was in Long Beach, until she heard about Treehouse earlier this year.

Now they live in a suite with three other poets, whose rooms make up the 10% of units that are affordable in Treehouse, which the building includes in exchange for denser zoning allowances. Esquivel said that it could feel like a retirement home for millennials from time to time, but she was surprised at how well it was working out.

I felt the vetting process was long and tedious, and they asked really odd questions, but I understand it now, Esquivel said. To maintain the vibe of the building, potential renters have to go through an extensive application process, with other renters serving on the application committee. Everyone has to sign a commitment to the buildings core values being kind, present, curious, candid and responsible as part of their lease.

Prophet Walker, left, and Joe Green in a communal space at Treehouse. Every Sunday, residents gather here for a shared meal.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

One question had been what she would bring to the table as a resident; she had picked her cooking and her massage therapy practice. Now she sets up her table on the roof deck and gives massage sessions to residents. Other Treehousers give fitness classes in the basement gym, or teach lessons on medicinal herbs in the rooftop garden. Every Sunday, a rotating group of residents gets a $500 budget to cook or order family dinner for the whole building.

The building shares a Slack for internal announcements, which also plays host to the occasional call-out and heated conversation. To keep conflicts to a minimum, residents have set up a regular series of conversations, called Tree Talks, where the community values are often invoked to keep things kind and candid when residents are being less than responsible. A resident who washed their dogs clothes in one of the shared machines was a source of building-wide tension. Now, after a Tree Talk, a washer and dryer set is earmarked just for items that might have pet hair on them.

Esquivel said there were some initial issues with dish-doing and living room clutter within the poets suite, but the benefits have outweighed the rough patches. We would have never met anybody in these circles, Esquivel said, and especially for her daughter she thinks its been a wonderful experience, shes learning to cohabit with other people, other age groups.

A dissenting voice on the deck came from James Swiderski, who owns a solar energy company. He had always lived alone, and described his decision to move into Treehouse as a personal challenge. He planned to leave soon. Im glad I came, I dont regret it, Swiderski said. But it was an overstep for me, to be honest.

For Green, too, co-life has only been a temporary change of pace. When the pandemic first swept over California, he was staying in the spacious Beverly Hills house that his dad grew up in, which he said was in certain ways the peak of what Americans think they want. But Beverly Hills got lonely.

He moved into a room at Treehouse, where residents had created a building-wide bubble of viral trust after a few nervous weeks that had left the common areas mostly empty. Immediately, Green said, he could feel his COVID isolation anxiety melt away. He could post on Slack and 10 minutes later have a Settlers of Catan game going on the roof. It felt so much better, because I had people to be around. Still, after several weeks, he returned to his primary home in San Francisco.

Walker has no plans to leave. After the meal wound down and people began to filter back to their rooms, he finished doing the dishes, then plopped down in a booth, proud of the social feat he was in the process of pulling off: filling a building with strangers who were becoming friends, or at least fond acquaintances, against the head wind of a pandemic that has mostly driven Americans further into isolation.

Between its opening in fall 2019 and the beginning of the pandemic, Treehouse had rented only a third of its rooms. In the months since, the building has nearly filled up. The pandemic showed us if nothing else how important community and proximity is, Walker said. We have all these massive online communities, and thats like cool, cute, but people in quarantine in New York and Italy still felt compelled to sing out their windows with their neighbors during the first lockdowns.

Walker reached for a painful memory from his teenage years in Watts to underscore the point: I watched my best friend get murdered in front of me, Walker said. That should be like a death knell to anyones psyche, but he credits the neighborhood with saving him.

The entire block came outside, Walker said, and then when they saw what happened, every single person, just about, hugged me, like youre gonna get through this, this sucks, but weve got you, and every day weve got you. His hope for Treehouse is that it can build that kind of neighborhood, one where everyone knows your name and comes together in tough times, but for people like him who left their neighborhoods behind.

And of course, he hopes that it can make a lot of money at the same time. It just so happens that through density arbitrage, through a host of laws, through real estate financials, the Treehouse business model is an incredible investment, Walker said. But truly, were trying to build a community.

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Treehouse is trying to cure L.A. loneliness with co-living - Los Angeles Times

This past fall, Badger Bank once again has partnered with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) to help the communities it serves by contributing matching dollars to the Targeted Impact Fund.

FHLBank Chicagos Targeted Impact Fund provides grants to support relief efforts for populations hardest-hit by COVID-19.

Through this program, Badger Bank reaffirms its commitment to support communities by granting $35,000 to the Targeted Impact Funds qualified community members who have been significantly impacted by COVID-19.

Seven $5,000 grants were granted to local qualifying small businesses and non-profit organizations. Eligible beneficiaries of the Targeted Impact Fund must align with at least one of the following program priorities:

Support for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and/or Womens Business Enterprises (WBEs) to develop, grow, and/or rebuild small businesses classified as an MBE or WBE; an MBE is a business with over 50% minority ownership, and a WBE is a business with over 50% female ownership.

Advancement of Black and Latino communities through organizations that promote a fair and inclusive society or otherwise promote equity and racial justice.

Empowerment services for populations hardest-hit by COVID-19 including but not limited to Black, Latino, Native American, elderly and rural communities.

Support for affordable housing sustainability to assist low- and moderate-income households through entities that provide or promote affordable housing via rental assistance programs, housing counseling agencies, homeless services, fair housing agencies, and affordable housing projects in need of operational support.

The Targeted Impact Fund demonstrates our investment in the communities we serve, said Steve Dehnert, president and CEO of Badger Bank. Our local non-profits and small businesses need to flourish in order to keep our small communities thriving. Badger Bank is grateful to be able to invest in the very reason we continue to keep our bank local.

Cambridge Area Resource Team (CART) is the recipient of one of seven $5,000 grants. Helping Neighbors in Need is their slogan, and they do that indeed. CART is in the business of changing and shaping lives. The non-profit organization is aimed at providing a holistic approach to solving some of societys biggest challenges. They make sure their partners are empowered by creating opportunities for individuals and communities. For more information visit cartforhelp.org.

Badgerland After School Enrichment Program (BASE) also received a $5,000 grant. The nonprofit organizations mission is to provide quality, out of school care that will inspire the local youth to be contributing, productive and responsible community members through intentional programming that supports positive character development and unique opportunities to grow as individuals.

BASE offers critical after school care during the hours of 3 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, at all four public elementary schools in Fort Atkinson. BASE also offers a full summer wraparound program from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

BASE is very appreciative of the support of Badger Bank through the Targeted Impact Fund, Said Alicia Norris, executive director of BASE Fort Atkinson. This donation comes at a critical time when we are supporting kids and families with our full day virtual learning support program.

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Badger Bank grants $35000 in Targeted Impact Fund relief - Daily Union

When Donald Trumps presidential term ends on January 20th, it will mark the end of one of the most tumultuous eras in American history. One shocking incident (or tweet) followed another. Millions of Americans responded by taking to the streets over and over again. Now that the Trump era is winding down, what have we learned about ourselves and our country that should inform us as we go forward?

I was dating a white guy in November 2016 when Trump was elected. It was one of those needlessly tumultuous relationships wherein the people dont fully understand why its so hard and why theyre trying. Wed been dating since August and had known each other since June, when he began subletting a room in the collective house I lived in in Crown Heights. He, like me, was a native Brooklynite. He, like me, had been educated mostly in NYC public schools. He, like me, believed in intentional community and collective living. Unlike me, however, he could go to his parents upstate country cottage when Brooklyn became too overwhelming.

The morning after Trump was elected I threw up something white and frothy in the sink; some strange mixture of mucus and panic. I called my white boyfriend at his country house that afternoon to tell him how I was feeling and seek comfort hed never shown the ability or desire to provide.

Itll be fine, he said matter-of-factly.

Thats easy for you to say. Youre a rich, white male! I exclaimed. Im not.

Yeah, he continued, sort of ignoring my outburst. Theres no way theyre going to let him do all the crazy stuff he talked about.

The certainty in his voice kind of made me doubt my misgivings. I mean, how different really could his reality be from my own?

We hung up soon after that, then broke up in the early months of Trumps presidency, then stopped speaking to each other a few months after that.

This June, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and its demands for accountability and acknowledgement, I reached out to him. He said that hed pretty much vacated his Brooklyn house and lived mainly in his upstate abode.

Its crazy down there! COVID and now the protests! Things are getting worse.

When I brought up our original conversation about Trumps election, he said that hed been thinking a lot about it lately. Who could have foreseen things getting this bad? He quipped.

I did, I said flatly. So, Im out there protesting so things dont get worse. Its hard.

You dont have to, he offered. You can come up here and not deal with it at all. And with that, I realized, wed always lived in different realities.

Natasha Santos is a native Brooklynite with almost 20 years of child welfare advocacy, writing and organizing experience. These days you can find her hosting forums and attending classes on Zoom, in the streets declaring that Black Lives Matter and going for bike rides around her Brooklyn neighborhood.

Following the police murder of George Floyd, an estimated 10-25 million people took part in Black Matter Lives protests across the country and around the world. The largely multiracial but Black-led protests were the largest civil rights demonstrations in U.S. history. In that mix, was a number of Black-led wildcat strikes and rent strikes.

After Donald Trumps 2016 victory, many on the left saw the Black Lives Matter Movement as an example of identity politics that alienated the white working class. But Trumps racist dog whistling and the rapid growth of white supremacist networks under his watch made a resurgence of #BlackLivesMatter a necessity.

As Trump leaves office, we can see there are really two #BlackLivesMatter. There is the universal hashtag, that is a sign of solidarity, and used by celebrities and influencers to draw attention to the oppression of Black people. On the other hand is a growing Black left, one that roots Black oppression within a critique of capitalism. Recently elected Squad members Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and Ilhan Omar represent this wing, as well as sections of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Working Families Party. Additionally, there is an influential wing of #ADOS, American Descendants of Slaves, which is seeking to create a third way between patriotism and a demand for reparations.

These factions cross over, conflict and at times coalesce with each other. Now with Biden heading to the White House, there is a necessity for a radical Black left to emerge to challenge the center. This radical Black left must produce what Michael Dawson called Black counterpublics rooted in protest politics and grassroots democratic culture. This is particularly true with the shockwaves of gentrification and economic depression threatening the existential and political standing of the Black community.

Kazembe Balagun is a cultural historian and writer living in the Bronx. He works for the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung New York Office.

Four years of Trump have exposed the fault lines of inequality, including in both independent and legacy media. For years there has been an outcry by Latino journalists that they, who are intimately familiar with their communities issues, are not called upon to provide information and perspectives, frequently not captured by English-language media. Hence the unexpected surprise for many when the Latinx voter preferences in the recent election revealed a more nuanced reality underlying the one-size-fits-all Latinx appellation.

Had Latino journalists been consulted or assigned to cover the elections, engagement of their communities would have been more granular and the egregious opacity in our comprehension of what diversity looks like in U.S. society would hopefully be diminished. To not avail ourselves of these journalists expertise is to negate/obliterate the vast cultural differences among Latino communities whose political legacies shape their social and political engagement. This is akin to trying to navigate a terrain where vast segments of the map remain blank. This willful negligence, this lack of inclusivity, is irresponsible to us all.

Juana Ponce de Lens many years in publishing, the nonprofit arena and government have been dedicated to ensuring a cultural conversation inclusive of the myriad voices representing the diversity of American society. She is former Director of Media Diversity Relations for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Former Executive Editor of New York Community Media Alliance, and is currently heading the communications group for Queens Borough President Dovonan Richards transition team.

As Trumps presidency comes to an end, what stands out is the degree that we have been reorganized tribally. The topsy-turvy distribution of class and party affiliation upends basic Marxist principles. Gender, education level, degree of religiosity are among the most decisive factors in determining peoples political behavior. The considerable degree of activism is encouraging. The degree to which the Republicans know that they cant win a fair election is evident and not likely to change. Therefore they will continue to go down an extreme rightwing path. These circumstances make it imperative that we build a broad front that cuts across ideological lines.

Gerald Meyer is a professor emeritus of history at Hostos Community College and author of Vito Marcantonio Radical Politician (1902-1954).

We learned over the last four years that groups of people cant be treated as monoliths and Democrats are fast losing the working class. Spanish-speaking voters in most states and cities, including New York, swung heavily toward Donald Trump, as did Blacks to a lesser degree. Trumps coalition was more diverse than it was in 2016 and Democrats need to think really hard about why that is. Voters without college degrees are increasingly voting alike and they arent voting Democrat. The Democratic Party is becoming a coalition of educated elites, maintaining its Black and Latino base thanks to a legacy of GOP racism and liberal achievements that are now more than a half century-old.

The goal of the Democratic Party should be to reverse this slide calling Trump a racist and fascist isnt good enough. If the next generation of Democrats dont prioritize broad, ambitious, and popular economic programs that can uplift millions out of working class precarity and poverty, they will not have unified control of the federal government for a very long time. If bold economics arent a part of that messaging, culture wins, and Republicans have been winning the culture war, despite what Twitter thinks. If people dont have trade unions and dont feel like the government is helping them, they can default to whatever it is Republicans tell them. This is the future Democrats face if they dont change course. Conversely, if Republicans get smarter about economics and keep their culture message, Democrats wont wield power again.

Ross Barkan is a writer and journalist from New York City. He is a columnist for Guardian and Jacobin, and the author of Demolition Night, a novel.

When Andrew Yang became the first presidential candidate to propose UBI of $1,000 per month, he was almost universally derided as an idealist pinning his run on an impossible policy goal. Two years later, the CARES Act turned into a real-world experiment in what happens when federal wealth is directly redistributed across the economic spectrum whether you were formerly making $30,000 a year or $300,000 a year, you received $600 per week, every week. The result? Unequivocal success: the economy averted an immediate meltdown because money kept flowing in a way that would have been impossible otherwise.

In my household, both of us were suddenly unemployed in March. My job eventually returned; hers did not. The $600/ wk in addition to small unemployment amounts was absolutely critical to us paying rent, but it also allowed us to keep spending money in our community. Without that money, wed have been scraping by at best, and spending the absolute minimum possible. Instead, we were able to let money keep flowing through our lives and through the community. I know this is true for countless numbers of friends whose jobs in entertainment, food, service, and events have been eviscerated. The CARES Act isnt an exact analogue for UBI, but its close enough for us to learn the basic lesson: spreading money directly into the bottom and middle tiers of the economy is fantastic economic policy. If anything, Yangs revolutionary idea wasnt revolutionary enough!

Without intending to, Congress proved to America what a profoundly positive impact direct payment to citizens can have on our society, on our quality of life, and even on our institutions. They will surely do everything in their power to unlearn this lesson, so its up to us all to remember how immediately effective those payments were, and to push for a new economic model for our country based on what we learned from the CARES Act.

Evan Sult is a publication designer, printmaker, writer and musician based in Brooklyn. He is currently the art director of the Detroit Metro Times, Cleveland Scene, and St. Louis Riverfront Times.

The Trump era was an important object lesson in the vulnerability of a political system founded on white supremacy. If institutionalized racism has always been at the base of American democracy, radical right-wing ideologies have gained new currency under an administration that has emboldened far-right extremists and mainstreamed their beliefs.

In Trumps America, the count of right-wing hate groups has risen significantly. As the Southern Poverty Law Center has documented, the number of white nationalist groups increased by 55% between 2017 and 2019, reaching a record high of 1,020 in 2018. Many openly advocate for violence, including terrorist attacks or a race war. The FBI reports that the majority of domestic terror attacks in the US today, approximately 1,000 per year, are motivated by such extreme far-right ideas.

But Trump did not simply amplify and intensify right-wing ideologies through divisive rhetoric, he also anchored them in policy and law. His administration hired members and allies of hate groups into high-level positions. And Trump personally sought to undermine an independent judiciary by attacking judges and tilting courts in favor of his appointees.

While the rise of hate violence in America is deeply unsettling, I retain some hope that intervention by political organizers and community leaders is possible. What is more troubling, to me, is Trumps success in legitimizing a far right-wing policy agenda that will have consequences for decades to come.

Maresi Starzmann is a Research Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice, a national non-profit research and policy organization. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from Binghamton University. Views expressed are her own.

When Donald Trump declared victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, corporate media began soul-searching, wondering how they could have gotten it so wrongand the last four years have shown how rotten that soul is. Believing they just hadnt spent enough time really understanding Trump supporters, establishment journalists have filed countless chin-scratching puff pieces interviewing folks from Trump Country. But with no evaluation of whether those supporters proclamations have any basis in reality, what is the function of such reporting besides to reinforce them?

The whole framing of the problem is wrong: We already know plenty about what Trump supporters believe. Journalisms deepest failure hasnt been its lack of attention to them; it has been its inability to stop normalizing Trump and Trumpismof which the uncritical Trump supporter stories are part and parcel.

Every time a news outlet writes gently and inquisitively about the Nazi sympathizer next door, or waters down Trumps racism and xenophobia, or paints his unprecedented weaponization of the powers of government against his opponents as a spat between him and his cabinet, or deems his press briefings newsworthy, no matter how much misinformation they contain or how much credibility they unjustifiably confer on him, or insists on an objectivity that must conjure an equivalence between both sides no matter how extreme one side might be, the media reinforce the idea that Trumpand support for Trumpsimply fits into the usual narratives of democratic politics.

By repeatedly conferring legitimacy on a fundamentally antidemocratic president and his actions, media paved the way for our countrys dangerous slide toward authoritarianism which will surely not end with the 2020 election.

Julie Hollar is the managing editor of Extra!, the magazine of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.

The idea that a audiotape of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump referring to women in vile ways would solidify a female vote for his opponent was uninformed, poorly thought through, and even sexist in its own way. Women are divided by race, class, sexuality, religion, immigration status, and region of the country in which they live. Our well-being is in almost all cases intertwined with the men in our lives: concerns about economic stability and the carceral state cross gender lines. Both Latinas and Asian Americans have significant internal divisions of nationality that incite memories of war. And in truth, many women simply do not identify with the well-dressed, conventionally attractive, white middle class women who Trump preyed upon. This accords with a fact prosecutors know well, that female jurors can be harder on rape victims: blaming or disbelieving female accusers renders the illusion that the rest of us are less vulnerable and thus need be less scared.

Identity politics has been hijacked by elites who disassemble our complex social identities and ignore those aspects of our lives that require radical and systemic solutions. In the face of this, the focus on identity based concerns needs to become more thoroughly intersectional. #MeToo is winning significant legal reforms, yet too few impact the broad multi-racial working class. The truth is, women in lower paid professions are the likeliest victims of on-the-job sexual harassment, but their ability to navigate around pig-bosses has everything to do with their immigration status, whether they have a union, whether they have an employed partner who can handle the bills while they look for another job. Some may have voted for Trump on the basis of his promise to create jobs, precisely because they hoped this, and his alliance with social conservatives, would help them fend off the dicks at work. Sexual harassment is an employment issue that affects women as a class, but the means by which we can manage the problem differs according to our intersectional situation.

Linda Martn Alcoff is a professor of philosophy at Hunter College. She is the author of Rape and Resistance and The Future of Whiteness.

The lack of respect for science has been a hallmark of these past four years. It is accurate, although one-sided, to place primary responsibility on Trump for the historic and intentional failure to prevent hundreds of thousands of American deaths from COVID-19. Years of favoring privatization and defunding public health infrastructure by both political parties was never going to be overcome overnight once the pandemic hit. Indeed, Gov. Andrew Cuomos central political legacy in healthcare prior to COVID19 was decreasing the amount of hospital beds and decreasing Medicaid spending in New York. And then theres the intransigence nationally and locally of both political parties to anything resembling universal healthcare access.

As a nurse, I got to see first hand the entire spectrum of pathological lying to the public during this crisis Trump saying Covid-19 was under control, Cuomo saying we had enough personal protective equipment and Mayor Bill DeBlasio saying opening schools was safe. The bipartisan lack of commitment to public health and a public safety net as a subset of the pernicious and opportunistic antiscience denialism very much helped further the spread of the virus and made the experience of caring for people during this pandemic an unmitigated hellscape.

This denialism of course has been mirrored in the larger, more existential crisis of our generation climate change. While Trump denies its existence, the Democrats practice a different form of denial in the idea that there is compatibility between supporting fracking and profitdriven climate solutions with the future of human existence on the planet earth.

Sean Petty is a nurse at the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and a member of the executive board of the New York State Nurses Association.

Starting the day after the 2016 election, people decided they had to get more involved withsomething. Whether expressed through volunteering, running for local office, or going to a protest, millions shared an understanding that Trumps shocking victory was an indictment of a dangerously broken political system that could no longer be trusted to function without their active participation.

Many named that system capitalism, and the result has been a sudden revival of American socialismwith scores of elected officials, a thriving subculture of publications and podcasts, and an 87,000 member strong Democratic Socialists of Americahas been almost as stunning as Trumps election.

When a marginalized idea goes mainstream, there is always the danger of diluted demands and co-opted leaders. Will the price of socialisms further growth be its redefinitionas many liberals would preferas a handful of mild measures that leave arrogant billionaires mildly annoyed but still firmly in charge? The answer will likely be determined less by what is said in Congressional debates, Twitter rants, or even voting booths than by what is done in workplaces, schools, and highways.

The heart of socialism is that the working class majority should run society, and the emergency siren of malevolent incompetence blaring from the White House for the past four years has pushed the populace to maintain its 2016 vow to start taking matters into our own hands.

Increased voter turnout was one result, but so were student walkouts over gun violence and climate change, bombed-out police stations and toppled Confederate statues, teacher strikes demanding wealth redistribution from billionaires to poor Black and Brown students, and tech worker rallies against sexual assault and employer collaboration with the Pentagon and ICE.

Were still a long way from having the infrastructure of parties, unions, and community organizations that can seriously raise the possibility of socialist transformation that 2020 has shown we desperately need. But the last four years showed us that another world just might be possible.

Danny Katch is the author of Why Bad Governments Happen to Good People (2017) and SocialismSeriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation (2015), both from Haymarket Books.

We knew at the beginning of the Trump era that the labor movement was in trouble, and the number of voters from union households who went Trump was one big signal of how bad things were. That number hasnt improved much in four years: 40 percent of voters from union households still backed Trump in 2020. In other words: things are still bad, and the narrow margin of victory reminds us just how bad they are.

Its because of this that the big union victories of the Trump era stand out all the more: by and large, they were won by teachers unions, notably in Los Angeles and once again in Chicago, though many people probably think first of the Red for Ed movement kicked off in 2018 in West Virginia. But in both red and blue states the fights contained many important lessons: that the public sector is worth fighting for and a ground on which labor can win; that teachers across ideological backgrounds can come together to fight for their students and themselves; that parents and students will stand with their teachers if its made clear that the gains are for all; that teachers are well positioned to win gains for the broader working class in whats called bargaining for the common good; and perhaps most importantly in the Trump years, that fighting racism, xenophobia, and sexism are part and parcel of union struggles. The Chicago teachers, whose 2012 strike provided the model that education unions have drawn from ever since, put racial justice at the forefront of their demands, and from St. Paul to Los Angeles, teachers have incorporated the lessons of movement struggles to demand defunding school police, protections for immigrant students, and even access to housing at the bargaining table. These demands helped the teachers win where other unions were losing.

Sarah Jaffe is a labor journalist and reporting fellow at Type Media Center and the author of Necessary Trouble and Work Wont Love You Back (Jan. 2021).

Democrats inherit catastrophe from Republicansillegal invasions, economic collapse, a pandemic, the denial of truth and science. Obama patched things up. The Biden Administration is tasked with saving organized life on earth. Of course, they are not up to it. But, just maybe, we are.

Having joined forces to elect a man who went along with stuffthe crime bill, Clarence Thomas, Iraq we need him, now, to go along with us: 350.Org, Extinction Rebellion, Sunrise Movement, Black Lives Matter, a Green New Deal. We must insist upon and push meaningful climate legislation and real change: renewable energy, sustainable transportation, health projects for the common good, much more. Hundreds of thousands are dying from a pandemic that did not have to behad we had universal health care and sound environmental justice policies.

Trumpism was the last gasp of Reaganism. We require a rapid turn toward veganism: eat some meat, if you must, but eat with conscious understanding of who has died to give you what you need, including meat packers and creatures. Consume with the principles of an honorable harvest, to quote Native botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer: the indigenous way of being in which everyone has enough, no one uses more than they need, and we return to the living earth what we take. Climate health is not separate from public health. Right now, we and our world are sick and dying. It need not be so. We are alive, together, on a living planet; all is connected. Time is running out. These could be the most exciting years any of us have lived: the contagion of changing consciousness from grasping to caring would be euphoric. Think of living at a time when creativity and collectivity give new, rich meaning to every life and we join with Gaia to thrive.

Karen Malpede is a playwright, co-founder of Theater Three Collaborative and a professor of environmental justice and theater at John Jay College.

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What We Learned in the Trump Era - The Indypendent

Kids are resilient.

This is a statement we often say as adults to help settle ourselves when children are forced to deal with adult issues. In reality, kids do the best they can with what they have, making it that much more important for all of us to remember they require our intentional and proactive commitment to provide them with the resources and support they need.

David Hopkins and James Shmerling

The year 2020 has been tough for all of us and the challenges children currently face are great. From disruptions to their education, caregivers losing jobs, and social isolation, there are no shortage of ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected young people. The good news is that we can put kids on a path to success if we all work together to make them a priority. When state leaders convene for their legislative session in January, we call upon them to prioritize children, particularly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of color) as they chart Connecticuts path forward, and offer ourselves, the Urban League and Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, as partners.

Investing in our States future requires us to collectively prioritize actions that will contribute to the success of kids and families across all zip codes, and in some respects, boldly speak to the structural barriers rooted in racial inequality that has prevented it from happening sooner.

Why focus on kids? Because the resources we direct towards children represent an investment.

We know that the care we provide for infants and children early in life is critical and will have lifelong implications for their physical health, emotional wellbeing, and future success. By prioritizing our youth, advancing policies in the state budget that support their health, and increasing cultural sensitivities in care for BIPOC, we strengthen families, communities, and the states future workforce.

It is an unfortunate reality that children growing up in low-income communities many times experience poorer health outcomes than their peers in more affluent communities. COVID-19 has made these disparities all the more stark.

Given the pandemic, children are spending more time at home than ever before and for some kids that means living in older homes that contain toxins and hazards like lead-based paint, mold, and unsafe windows and stairs that can lead kids to get sick or injured. Many families will also be faced with the choice of heat or eat this winter, meaning they will have to choose between paying their heating bill and going grocery shopping. Many also struggle with access to affordable and healthy foods as well as safe outdoor spaces to exercise and connect with nature.

All of these factors, often referred to as the social determinants of health, are strong factors that impact a childs ability to grow, learn and succeed to their fullest potential. Only about 10% of a childs overall health is the result of the health care services they receive. While equity in the health care system is critically important, we must focus on building equitable and healthy communities in order for all children to thrive.

Did you know that the average time between the onset of behavioral health illness symptoms and the start of treatment for kids in Connecticut is seven years? There are many reasons for this including stigma, insufficient community resources and, unfortunately, inequity in the quality of care given to minority populations. We know that COVID-19 has only exacerbated this crisis.

Now is the time to take action to strengthen our systems of care that support childrens emotional health and wellbeing.

It is essential that in 2021 Connecticuts state legislators, local leaders, for-profit and non-profit partners prioritize policies and programming that address the social determinants of health in our communities and promote health equity practices among our health care providers and systems. We must pragmatically support children in everyday life, as well as during crisis and trauma, so that they are ready for whatever the new year holds and reserve resilience for pursuing their dreams.

James E. Shmerling is the President and CEO of Connecticut Childrens Medical Center and David J. Hopkins is the President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Hartford.

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Investment in children's' health is critical to their future - The CT Mirror

Aurora James, founder of 15 Percent Pledge.

Corporations are often valued by the market based on whats called forward-looking statements whether its a new product or service, or a projection of elements of their business that will grow. This year, many of those statements included the language of racial justice and anti-racism, acknowledging the dire need for companies to do better when it comes to supporting the Black owned-and-operated economy, following a summer of mass visibility to the horrors of police brutality.

For some companies, like Paypal, putting their words into action looked like committing $530m to Black business support, in the form of direct grants and investments through community banks and credit unions. For other companies well, 2021 will evaluate who really meant their commitments and who were just trying out a new marketing strategy.

The skepticism about actual structures of accountability and transparency in business practices resonated with fashion designer and entrepreneur Aurora James. Thus she took matters into her own hands, and the 15 Percent Pledge was born.

The 15 Percent Pledge urges major retailers to commit at least 15% of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses (in alignment with the size of the Black population in the US), offering consulting services to help these corporations reach that goal. As of this writing, pledgees include some brands you may already know and love: like Sephora, West Elm, Yelp, Madewell, Vogue, Macys, Rent the Runway, and Bloomingdales. As a result of her efficient and smart advocacy for financial inclusion, James was named one of this years Bloomberg 50 an annual list of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders who have changed the global business landscape over the past year.

At my investment firm Candide Group, this year we took stock of the companies and funds that weve directed capital to, and found the majority of them were BIPOC and/or women led (with about 18% being Black-led). While theres always more work to do in deepening our alignment with racial justice, this outcome has been the result of just seeking out who we believe to be the best people for the job vs any specific commitment we made. However, we recognize that were an anomaly in the business world, and that many companies need an explicit commitment to hold them accountable to Black communities. I (virtually) sat down with James to talk about this, the importance of financial activism, and what investors need to know as we continue building a more just and sustainable economy.

Before we talk about how youve been driving capital into the Black business ecosystem, I want to touch on what brought you here namely, your own experience as the founder and owner of a small business. For entrepreneurs, we know that access to capital is often a recurring hurdle. Whats your money story when it comes to Brother Vellies?

James: I believe that historically, Black women have had to work twice as hard to get half as many opportunities. After launching Brother Vellies with just $3,500 of my own money, I never took outside investment. My brand has been completely self funded, which makes me very lucky and extremely rare. This year specifically has been tougher than others due to the pandemic, but it has for every business owner. I wasnt awarded anything from the first round of the PPP assistance money which meant that I had to get creative to ensure that my business would survive. We didnt want our community to have to think about buying luxury shoes and handbags to support a small business, so we launched a new section of the site called the Bodega that lists all items that cost less than $100. We also launched a subscription service called Something Special, where for $35 every month, our community members received something that we felt could bring comfort and joy at a time when there wasnt much to look forward to. This allowed us to continue working with our artisans around the globe, as well as allowed me to keep my employees and my business.

How did the idea for the 15 Percent Pledge come about? And why choose to focus on consumerism as your tool for social change?

Right after the tragic killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, we saw a lot of brands and influencers from across industries posting messages of solidarity, but not actually changing anything about their business. And at the end of May, I was on the phone with a friend talking about this as well as the struggles Black owned businesses are having during the pandemic. Statistics have shown that Black-owned businesses have been hurting more than any other racial group during the pandemic; at least 40 percent of Black businesses will not survive. As a business owner, and a Black person, I was especially torn up by this information and it inspired me to launch the 15 Percent Pledge. The Pledge urges major retailers to allocate 15 percent of their purchasing power to Black-owned businesses. Originally, I called out four retailers Target, Whole Foods, Shopbob, and Sephora. Sephora was the first major retailer to take the Pledge, but if all four had committed, we could have collectively put $15.5 billion dollars back into the Black community. Black people traditionally spend money within their own communities, but right now, with the rate of Black owned businesses shutting down or struggling to survive, the money leaves the community faster. We need to support these businesses, we need to close that financial inequality gap.

The instagram page obviously was and continues to be a huge public facing element of the campaign strategy. What was going on behind the scenes as you learned corporate partners were interested in signing on? How has the onboarding of these companies been?

The goal from day one was to partner with corporate retailers. We were thrilled when Sephora stepped up to become the first major retailer to commit to the Pledge. Their early leadership paved the way for retailers like MedMen, West Elm, and Macys Inc. M to follow. The onboarding process for each retailer or corporation is a bit different as their goals and strategies also vary. We make each process personal and then we work with them on their accountability and commitment to set a strategy with clear and attainable goals. We work together in the mission to put billions of dollars back into the Black community.

"Black culture is no longer available for free consumption."

The 15 Percent Pledge recently became a full fledged non-profit, complete with the exciting recent announcement of LaToya Williams-Belfort, a champion in the realm of racial justice, as the Executive Director. Why did you decide to codify this work into a 501c3 entity? For activists who may be working on similar campaigns, what would you say is the benefit of forming a registered non-profit?

After seeing countless acts of injustice and police brutality with zero accountability for the systemic inequities in our society and economy that allow racism to flourish in this country, I knew it was time for change. Meaningful DEI efforts and accountability from major retailers, corporations and business leaders was long overdue, and I saw a need to help provide companies clear, tangible solutions to drive equity across these industries. We are thrilled to have LaToya join us at The Pledge, and her years-long experience in the nonprofit sector and passion for DEI will be invaluable assets to our team. Forming a nonprofit allows us to build a community an intentional space for people to stay informed and get involved in this movement.

Pledges are of course powerful because of their ability to trigger real accountability. What are currently the main systems of auditing corporate partner supply chains? How do you envision the 15 percent pledge growing to other industries beyond retail and which ones?

The first step in committing to the Pledge is taking stock. We ask each brand to conduct an audit of their current spending power and how that is allocated. We find that if the retailer does its own audit, it will help keep them more accountable. We have already begun working with corporations that are not traditional retailers. For example Vogue Us committed to the Pledge with a goal of increasing its Black freelance talent representation to a benchmark of at least 15 percent of the total hires throughout the year. Talent includes writers, photographers, beauty teams and stylists. When Yelp joined, amongst its goals were to increase the representation of Black-owned businesses within its network through it community events calendar, to increase the share of Black-owned businesses in its network, and to develop its platforms Black-owned business attribute where businesses can self-identify as Black-owned on Yelp if they choose to. There are many ways that corporations can commit to the Pledge and if they want to do the work, we want to help them get there.

Switching gears a little bit, I know youre writing a memoir. Im anticipating youll be giving some of your perspective on the fashion industry, including sustainability. What do you think investors are getting right or wrong about the sustainable fashion industry?

I think we need to focus more on what brands are telling the investors as well as their own customers. The word sustainability has been used so much over the past few years and it has taken on so many different meanings. I feel that to be truly sustainable, we need to think about how we are treating the people we work with, what is going into and out of our supply chain, what is the content were putting out there and are we using that to inspire our community to feel like the best versions of themselves? The biggest shift I have seen in sustainability in my community has been the overall desire to consume less and cherish what you have more - which is definitely the ethos behind Brother Vellies. Its a little counterintuitive to the fashion industry but it's the language of Mother Nature.

Lastly as we approach the new year I have to ask, what are you most looking forward to in 2021?

There are so many things but I think its important that as we start the new year, that we dont go back to business as usual. We need to continue the work that we started in 2020 marching towards equality. I am excited to see what next year brings us.

Thanks to Jasmine Rashid for her contributions to this piece. Full disclosures related to my work available here. This post does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice, and the author is not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided herein.

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Aurora James Is Helping Companies Invest In Accountability With The 15 Percent Pledge - Forbes

December 17, 2020

O'AHU Working together with residents across O'ahu, the Honolulu Department of Community Services (DCS) organized the creation of urban gardens at seven City-owned, special needs housing locations this week. With the goal of providing sustainable, fresh produce for those facing food insecurity, more than 160 garden beds were crafted and 20 fruit trees planted through a Food Security-Scaping Program seeded with CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Funds. The project will benefit nearly 1,100 residents from vulnerable communities including: previously homeless families & youth, kpuna, domestic violence survivors, and low-income families.

"Growing our own food on-island is vital to making our community more resilient," said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. "Expanding our food production footprint will not only provide locally grown produce; it is part of a movement where the food we eat is grown, picked, processed, distributed, and prepared by the people of Oahu for the people of O'ahu. Along with helping to sustain the bodies of those affected most by the pandemic, this project will also feed their spirits as they see their hard work grow into what will become vibrant urban gardens."

At ALEA Bridge in Hale'iwa, program coordinators installed 13 garden beds and fruit trees like mulberry and avocado in late November. April Keller and her young son venture out to the flourishing gardens every morning to look at the array of growing vegetables, including tomatoes, squash, lettuce, and kale as well as herbs like mint.

"My son really loves tomatoes and picking them off the vine so we are both really excited to see them growing," Keller said. "He is fascinated with the whole process, and it's a good teaching opportunity for him."

Keller looks forward to tending the garden and making healthy meals and mint tea for her family. She recently harvested cabbage, cilantro, green onion, parsley, and kale from the gardens to create kalua pig and cabbage with cilantro rice.

"This pandemic has truly shone a light on the need for food security among our vulnerable communities. Each of these project locations is a place that has offered safety and stability to 'ohana through housing," said DCS Director Pamela Witty-Oakland. "Now we get to work together to plant literal seeds for their future that will help to feed nearly 1,100 residents not just for weeks or months, but for years to come."

Participating Affordable Housing Sites

People Served

ALEA Bridge serves formerly homeless families and youth.

15

Mnoa Gardens provides affordable rentals for kpuna.

92

West Loch Senior Villages provides affordable rentals for kpuna.

173

Hale Maluhia shelters survivors of domestic violence.

56

Kahauiki Village serves formerly homeless families.

549

Vancouver House serves formerly homeless and at-risk families.

107

DE Thompson Village provides affordable rentals for kpuna.

100

"The project emerged out of an intentional response to implement multi-faceted solutions, prioritizing sustainable relief to individuals and families being hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis," said Lala Nuss, climate resilience and equity manager at the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency.

This project is inspired by the City's Community Recreational Gardening Program, founded in 1975 and supporting nearly 1,230 plots at 10 community gardens. In addition, the Mnoa Gardens plot neighbors the public community garden located at Mnoa Valley District Park. "This is a fine example of how a community garden model can be incorporated into diverse properties and potentially make a significant impact on food security and the health of our communities," shared Joshlyn Sand, Director of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens and the City's community garden system. "We have seen the passion that our communities have for these kinds of gardens, and now this amazing program can help empower more future gardeners in so many ways."

The project is made possible by a private-public partnership with the Honolulu Department of Community Services, the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Land Management, Hawai'i Community Foundation, SSFM International, Supersistence, local landscaping companies, and community-based nonprofits.

The Department of Community Services (DCS) is an agency of the City and County of Honolulu focused on creating opportunities to improve the quality of life for the people of O'ahu. DCS oversees the City's work in key areas such as housing, homeless services, community development, aging & disability resources, grants, housing & rental assistance, workforce training, and youth services.

This press release was produced by the City and County of Honolulu. The views expressed are the author's own.

Excerpt from:

Urban Gardens Created To Address Food Insecurity In Honolulu's Vulnerable Communities - Patch.com

The National Museum of the American Latino is one step closer to becoming a reality after Congress approved legislation to begin the process of development of the museum as part of a $900 billion must-pass Covid-19 relief spending bill, NBC Latino reports. The bill just needs to get approval from President Trump who would need to veto it since both the House and the Senate approved it. Supporters have spent decades trying to get congressional approval for the Latino museum including the Friends of the American Latino Museum (FRIENDS), the only non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a National American Latino Museum in Washington, DC. This year marks 26 years that the charitable organization has been advocating for the creation of the museum.

Rep. Tony Crdenas from California and a co-sponsor of the museum bill said the legislation would establish a Board of Trustees to help guide the Smithsonians development of the museum, and would also authorize a 50 percent federal match to money raised privately for design and construction costs. We need a Latino Museum not only for its symbolic significance but, more importantly, for its educational purpose, Crdenas told NBC.

The National Museum of the American Latino Act was added to the spending bill after Sen. Mike Lee of-Utah, blocked a scheduled voice vote on the museum and on a bill to establish a womens history museum. He said with regards to the Latino museum that the nation was creating an array of segregated separate but equal museums for hyphenated identity groups. NBC reports.

Latino representation is sparse among the collections of the Smithsonian, the largest museum, education, and research complex in the world. In 1994 the Willful Neglect report demonstrated such a strong absence of Latino history that it seemed intentional, a fact the institution acknowledged in the report. The report included 10 recommendations among them the development of a Latino museum and an increase in the number of Latinx in the Smithsonian workforce. The National Museum of African American History and Culture established in 2003, was the last Smithsonian museum approved by Congress and The National Museum of the American Indian was established in 1989.

Estuardo Rodriguez, President, and CEO of FRIENDS previously shared with HipLatina that the objects that would be included would reflect the cultural, political, scientific, and medicinal contributions by Latinos in the U.S. It would also highlight how Latinos have fought in every war since the Revolution, and prominent Latino leaders and changemakers including astronaut Ellen Ochoa, baseball player Roberto Clemente, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.

Among the supporters for the museum are music producer Emilio Estefan, actress Diane Guerrero, actor John Leguizamo, and writer and activist Julissa Arce who celebrated the historic moment by posting an emotional video on Instagram. There will be a Latino museum on the National Mall in DC, where we deserve to be, where our stories deserve to be told, she said.

Twenty-six years in the making, the determination of so many in Congress, in business, the arts, and across our communities, finally pays off. A museum that highlights the contributions of Latinos and Latinas to our nation at a time when the pandemic has so disproportionately impacted our community seems very fitting, Estuardo Rodriguez, President & CEO of FRIENDS tells HipLatina in a statement. We are eager to see the White House sign the bill into law and continue our work to not only help raise the millions that will be needed but ensure that the National American Latino Museum opens its doors alongside all of the iconic museums on our National Mall for the millions of tourists that desire to understand what has truly made our nation great.

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Congress Approves Creation of National Museum of the American Latino - hiplatina.com

PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD) Fighting the clutches of the opioid epidemic is Pekin man Joe Rogers. He advocates for Central Illinois men battling against drug and other substance controlling issues.

This weeks CI Hero said its his duty to lend a hand up away from a path of addiction.

On the outskirts of Pekin lies a nondescript building. Inside it houses the mission of Adult and Teen Challenge Illinois (ATCI). It helps men ages 18 and above fight against the opioid epidemic. Its located at 2400 N. 8th Street in Pekin.

The impact that were having in this area is significant, not only just to the area but our entire state and all the communities. Addiction doesnt discriminate.

Rogers is the director of operations for ATCI. The 12-month faith-based recovery program is a base-model for future centers across the nation.

Teen Challenge Illinois, our Pekin mens center, has been elected by Teen Challenge USA as the innovation center for the future, said Rogers. So, what that means is they use our center as a model moving forward for all Teen Challenge centers in the United States. And part of that is because of some of the programming that weve added to our program.

Rogers holds his reasoning for advocacy close to his heart.

I lost my 24-year-old son to an intentional heroin overdose, said Rogers. That really put it on my heart to do what I do. Im also a product of this program, so I kind of came through the ranks.

ATCI has been impacting lives for 20 years. Rogers also serves the area through his involvement in the Peoria mayors Opioid Task Force, Peoria Recovery Project, and Dont Shoot Program.

Pekin ATCIPhone: 309-673-3716Website: https://www.teenchallengepeoria.org

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CI HERO: Pekin man helps men break free from the clutches of addiction - CIProud.com

TL;DR:

Pull out the red pen and start crossing out whats no longer working. Do not go into 2021 with the mentality of this is how weve always done it. This year has shown us that we need to adjust how we serve our audiences.

Pull all the email data you can for the past three years. If the data is showing you that no ones reading your sports content in email, pandemic or not, then nix that newsletter. Find out what other channels resonate more with that audience, create a strategy around serving them there, and invite those newsletter subscribers to join you.

Do this for all your newsletters. Commit to developing a more intentional strategy around your newsletters that have high engagement, retention and loyalty rates.

If you think automating your daily and weekly newsletters will take work off your plate, youre wrong. Theyll make your job harder when your subscribers start tuning out and unsubscribing and youll have nothing to show for all your work at the end of the year.

The next time you think of automating a newsletter, instead think of how you can innovate. Innovation sometimes looks like subject-line testing, removing content from the lineup thats not performing, suppressing chronic non-openers for a few sends, developing segments, implementing re-engagement emails, and trusting your news judgment on what your subscribers need in the moment.

Less is always more. Modern designs are impersonal and they signal transactional relationships especially after the holiday onslaught of retail emails well all be drowning in soon enough.

Redefine your relationship with your subscriber via the more simple and intimate: plain text. Plain text is where its at, my friends. And if you insist on an image, go ahead and add a simple header to that email but thats it. Use your good old print-days typography and layout skills to weave a story via email.

Curation and engagement are now the bare minimum required to keep anyones attention past the welcome email. Think beyond the click and toward the share for increased retention and loyalty rates. You want your subscribers to rally their network toward your publication by sharing signup links on their socials, group chats, and the online communities theyve invested in. Nurture them toward these actions with carefully crafted retention journeys and loyalty programs.

Jacque Palmer is a senior content strategist focused on newsletters for Gannett.

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The rise of the plain-text email newsletter - Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard

Introduction and summary

The movement for LGBTQ rights in this country has gained widespread support among religious Americans of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Yet for too long, media narratives have painted a picture of secular LGBTQ rights activists positioned against anti-LGBTQ opponents who are motivated by their religious convictions. This study shows that the way media outlets frame these stories, based on whose perspectives they include or do not include, can play an influential role in setting political agendas. As public opinion in faith communities and nationwide support for LGBTQ rights have shifted dramatically in recent years, does news media coverage of the intersection of faith and LGBTQ rights reflect this changed landscape? The Center for American Progress examined this issue by studying articles that appeared in select national and local newspapers across a 15-month period.

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The context for this study was the broad acceptance of LGBTQ rights by religious groups in the United States. Large majorities of every major religious group favor nondiscrimination laws that protect LGBTQ people. Majorities in every major religious groupwith the exception of white evangelical Protestantsalso support marriage equality. Religious Americans strongly support LGBTQ rights, and this reality should be reflected to ensure fair and accurate media coverage.

This studys top finding is that news media coverage of religion and LGBTQ rights more often cites religiously identified sources that oppose LGBTQ equality. This overall finding starkly contrasts with the support for LGBTQ rights expressed by religious Americans. While 66.3 percent of religiously identified sources expressed negative or anti-LGBTQ sentiment, public opinion polling of religiously affiliated Americans suggests that only 25.8 percent oppose nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

Other major findings include:

This study leveraged qualitative content analysis to review news articles published by four national publications (The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post) and 10 local publications (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, The Charlotte Observer, The Detroit News, The Houston Chronicle, The Kansas City Star, and The Tennessean) between April 2019 and June 2020. The authors analyzed a total of 458 national and 195 local news articles addressing the intersection of religion and LGBTQ issues. The 1,880 sources who were identified in these articles were analyzed for their individual type, organization type, religious affiliation, and overall sentiment toward the LGBTQ community and related issues. Messages in favor of LGBTQ equality were coded as positive, those opposing LGBTQ equality were coded as negative, and those asserting perspectives that were neither positive nor negative were coded as neutral. This study primarily interrogates the 951 religiously identified sources in these articlesfor example, individuals who cited my Christian faithas well as their positive or negative sentiment toward LGBTQ equality. The categories that were used for individual type and organization type were derived from a relevant previous study conducted by the University of Missouris Center on Religion and the Professions.

Figure 1

This study is a comprehensive review of relevant articles published in specific outlets across the United States, yet the religious affiliations of the articles sources are not reflective of Americas diverse religious landscape. (see Figure 1) A similar study conducted by GLAAD in 2012 demonstrated an outsize focus on evangelical Christian sources; this CAP study encouragingly demonstrates a more representative proportion of nonevangelical Christian sources. However, there remains minimal representation of growing groups of non-Christian faiths, including Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims who, combined, make up approximately 3 percent of the U.S. population.

Figure 2

The study found that sources sentiment varied significantly depending on their religious affiliations. (see Figure 2) Sources affiliated with evangelical Protestantism, general religious perspectives, and unspecified Christian perspectives comprised the highest shares of negative sources of the religious affiliations that appeared in the study. Eighty-five percent of evangelical Protestant-identified sources espoused anti-LGBTQ views in the study. While polling indeed suggests that this religious group is the least supportive of LGBTQ equality, this still amounts to an overly negative representation of evangelical perspectives on LGBTQ equality. The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) indicates that less than half of this religious group opposes LGBTQ equality: 38 percent of white evangelical Protestants oppose LGBT nondiscrimination protections, and 46 percent oppose same-sex marriage. Similarly, approximately 54 percent of Roman Catholic-identified sources espoused anti-LGBT views, whereas the PRRI indicates that 23 to 26 percent of Catholic groups oppose LGBT nondiscrimination protections.

The negativity of the Christian unspecified and general religious categories is noteworthy. In multiple cases, American Christianity as a whole was portrayed as being inherently opposed to LGBTQ rightsan inaccurate depiction of the majority of American Christian attitudes. For example, some articles used overgeneralized terms such as religious-minded voters and Christians to describe opponents to same-sex marriage:

Christians say secular activists are trying to make it impossible for those who dont accept same-sex marriage to do business; same-sex couples say they are looking for the same rights in the public square that straight people have.

The Republican firebrand, who as chief justice defiantly opposed gay marriage and defended the public display of the Ten Commandments, has maintained a following among some religious-minded voters. Our religious liberty is presently under assault as Christians, he said.

Portraying religion and LGBTQ rights as inherently contradictory is directly related to the efforts of some conservative Christians to reframe their anti-LGBTQ advocacy as a matter of religious freedom, thereby making it more difficult to challenge in the public square. By failing to identify specific Christian denominations or traditions, and in many cases simply leaving the self-identification of an anti-LGBTQ actor as religious, journalists are seemingly unintentionally conforming to this intentional political strategy by the religious right.

Of all religious affiliations included in this study, mainline Protestant and Jewish sources had the highest proportions of positive views. This reflects the pro-LGBTQ attitudes of these religious groups reported in public opinion polling.

Figure 3

This study also found that a significant portion of positive sentiment was accounted for in articles mentioning Buttigieg, the former Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the proposed schism within the United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. (see Figure 3) These two highly covered events had a significant effect on the average sentiment of religiously identified sources cited in published articles. As the first openly gay major presidential candidate and a high-profile Democratic politician who spoke openly of his Episcopalian faith, Buttigiegs candidacy challenged the so-called God versus gays framing that has been prominent in national news media coverage. And as a high-profile denominational conflict, the proposed split of the United Methodist Church brought the voices of LGBTQ-affirming clergy and community members to the fore.

Notably, approximately 47 percent of religiously identified sources were positive. When the sources from articles mentioning Buttigieg or the United Methodist Church were omitted, this proportion dropped to approximately 39 percent. This suggests that these two major stories led to the increased visibility of pro-LGBTQ people of faith, likely spurring increased journalistic interest in these key political events in which positive faith sources were central to the storyline.

Buttigieg publicly asserted his LGBTQ identity as part of his vision of faith:

My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man and yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God.

He challenged the notion that the Republican Party and its conservative values have a monopoly on faith in the political square:

Buttigieg, who is vocal about his Christian faith, told the crowd gathered that he wasnt afraid to make faith and values part of his campaign, proving and asserting that God does not belong to a political party.

Values, Buttigieg said, no longer belongs to one side of the aisle.

While ideologically diverse United Methodist congregations navigated the uncertainty of an impending split, LGBTQ-affirming United Methodist clergy and congregants were elevated in local and national news coverage:

Tampa Bay area church leaders who support inclusion say its about time. That included the Rev. Andy Oliver of Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, who faced possible discipline for officiating at a same-sex wedding that violated church rules. Its a great day for inclusion for the United Methodist Church.

Rosenquist, who is the lead pastor at First United Methodist Church, said that denying LGBTQ marriage would give a message of lack of inclusivity and lack of tolerance. She believes that goes against Gods message of love. Not only do we welcome you, but we offer you full rights and privilege, Chappell said.

This study found a significant relationship between the sources role in the news storycategorized by individual typeand their sentiment. (see Figure 4) Most sources consulted in the sample of articles were religious spokespersons, activists/advocates, and community members.

Community members perspectives on LGBTQ issues did not mirror those of religious spokespersons. They also represented the highest proportion of pro-LGBTQ perspectives among the individual source types. However, religious spokespersons were consulted approximately two times more than community members in the sample and thus had greater influence on the overall findings.

Figure 4

In some stories, community members and religious spokespersons were cited together to highlight intrafaith tension, as was the case with the debate over Brigham Young Universitys honor code, in which hundreds of students protested the enforcement of specific prohibitions on same-sex relationships and other activities. As religious congregations across the country grapple with LGBTQ inclusion, community members are arguably as important to consult as official religious spokespersons in order to understand the viewpoints of broader religious communities. The importance of consulting community members is underscored by recent polling indicating that while the majority of American adults identify with a specific faith tradition, three-quarters of this demographic report making important decisions without consulting religious leaders.

Figure 5

Examination of the religious affiliations of individual types also demonstrates that a majority of activists/advocates and politicians/government officials were reported as generically Christian or religious. (see Figure 5) In contrast, a majority of religious spokespersons were identified with their Christian denomination or congregation, such as mainline Protestant or evangelical Protestant. Furthermore, despite the existence of a broad coalition of pro-LGBTQ faith activists, the majority of activists/advocates who were identified as generic Christian or religious were negative. (see Figure 4)

These trends further suggest that the particular belief systems of activists/advocates and politicians/government officials are often reported as representing all or the majority of Christians or generally religious Americans. For example, one article described the anti-LGBTQ advocacy of the Family Research Council as supporting Christian causes:

Tony Perkins, the president of Family Research Council, a group that supports socially conservative and Christian causes, said on Friday that the news was tremendous for children, birth moms and adoptive families. Thanks to President Trump, charities will be free to care for needy children and operate according to their religious beliefs and the reality that children do best in a home with a married mom and dad, Mr. Perkins said in a statement.

Figure 6

Among articles that featured party-identified politicians/government officials, the authors found a significant statistical relationship between party sentiment and faith identification. (see Figure 6) At first glance, 24 percent of positive, Democratic officials were identified with their faith, whereas 23 percent of negative, Republican officials were identified with their faith. However, when Buttigieg is omitted as a source from the sample, only 10 percent of pro-LGBTQ Democratic sources are identified with their faith. (see Figure 7) Thus, without citations of Buttigieg, anti-LGBTQ Republican officials would be identified with their faiths more than two times more than pro-LGBTQ Democratic officials would be identified with their faiths. This further emphasizes the substantial role Buttigieg played in shifting the narrative that religion is contradictory to LGBTQ rights in the political arena.

Overall, Republican officials were religiously identified more often than Democratic officials, and the overall share of religiously identified pro-LGBTQ officials was less than that of anti-LGBTQ officials. This dichotomy positions religiously identified Republicans, approximately 91 percent of whom espoused anti-LGBTQ views, as the political authority on religions intersection with LGBTQ rights in the legislative arena. Yet 78 percent of Democrats in Congress identify as Christian, and 96 percent of the 116th U.S. Congress self-identifies with a religion. As anti-LGBTQ advocates increasingly assert religious liberty to justify their positions, this right-wing monopoly on faith is likely working to the disadvantage of the LGBTQ rights movement at large. For example, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was the only religiously identified source cited in an article regarding anti-LGBTQ legislation:

[Gov. Kemp] and other supporters see it as a noncontroversial way to defend against what they view as a siege on Christian values.

In the few instances where pro-LGBTQ politicians asserted their faith in response to the anti-LGBTQ position of their colleagues, readers can glean majority religious perspectives on LGBTQ rights that are clearly reflected in public opinion polling. For example, one article provided Kentucky Sen. Phillip Wheelers (R) justification for homophobic comments related to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) posing with drag queens:

What I thought indecent was the fact that they wore outfits that mocked the Christian religion and mocked traditional values, Wheeler said. Thats what Ive got a problem with, is the mockery and the fact that the governor would pose and support that.

The author also cited Gov. Beshears response:

[Gov. Beshear] said Thursday that he was proud to make history with his appearance. Its time to move beyond the hatred and the division and treat everyone the way that theyre supposed to be treated, he said. For me, its a matter of faith, morals and doing whats right.

To provide another example, Lt. Gov. Dan Perry (R-TX) recently vocalized his support for a bill that would enable state-licensed professionals to deny people services based on their religious beliefs:

Its unfortunate that were living in a day and time that people of faith, that are very well balanced, cant practice their faith openly in the public square anymore. So thats the reason why I took this on. But its that important to me because its not about the here and now. Its about where were all going to spend our eternity.

In the same article, Sen. Royce West (D-TX) invoked his own faith to challenge the bill:

[Sen. West] likened the bill to earlier civil rights debates when politicians cited their religious beliefs to enact racist policies, calling the bill a subjective and not objective bill.

I go on and on about how our religious beliefs have been perverted by some people in this country, West said Wednesday. I think this is a perversion right now. This is going to be a seminal moment in the history of this state.

Figure 7

The study also found a significant relationship between sentiment and the type of organizations with which sources were cited. (see Figure 7) In the sample, sources were predominantly associated with religious and advocacy/political organizations. Roughly 8 out of 10 businesses and social service organizations that identified with a religious tradition espoused the highest proportions of negative sentiment. This is likely reflective of ongoing legal battles regarding business owners and social service organizationsfor example, the debate around adoption agenciesand prompts further inquiry as to why anti-LGBTQ sources that are religiously identified are presented as the majority voice on these issues. For example, dozens of non-religiously identified businesses weighed in on the debate around anti-LGBTQ policies in Floridas tax credit scholarship program, condemning discrimination and withdrawing their donations. Notably, only 11 percent of religiously identified businesses were associated with pro-LGBTQ perspectives. This trend differs from the overall study findings: 2 in 5 businesses, religiously identified or not, demonstrated pro-LGBTQ perspectives, and 3 in 4 of businesses that were not publicly identified with a religious affiliation demonstrated support for LGBTQ equality.

Additionally, advocacy/political organizations were divided nearly evenly in positive and negative sentiment. However, the language used to identify anti-LGBTQ advocacy/political organizations varied among news stories. For example, the Alliance Defending Freedoman organization that represents some of the anti-LGBTQ businesses and social service organizations described in the news articleswas identified simply as a conservative advocacy organization in one article and a conservative Christian organization in another article by the same publication. Such inconsistencies in journalists identification of anti-LGBTQ sources can significantly affect readers interpretation of the news event. While the reason for these inconsistencies is unclear, journalists should avoid identifying anti-LGBTQ sources as religious while omitting religious leanings for pro-LGBTQ sources, even when both may be religiously motivated.

Since its contemporary emergence in the 1980s, the religious right has intentionally and deftly saturated media narratives around LGBTQ rights, to the virtual exclusion of pro-LGBTQ religious voices. Given Pew Research Centers finding that a majority of LGBT Americans are people of faith and that people of faith have remained on the front lines of the movement for LGBTQ equality since its inception, the medias historical framing of religious and LGBTQ interests as contradictory is both inaccurate and erasive. Furthermore, scholars have found that such media frames can substantially influence political agenda-setting and the publics understanding of these issues.

This study found a meaningful improvement in the proportion and diversity of pro-LGBTQ sources of faith cited in news articles regarding issues at the religion-LGBTQ rights intersection, compared with the 2012 GLAAD study. This shift is likely due in part to Buttigiegs bold candidacy and the tide-shifting split of the United Methodist Church, as well as years of robust advocacy by national organizations and local faith communities that continue to educate religion reporters and elevate pro-LGBTQ voices of faith. However, anti-LGBTQ faith voices remained the slight majority of religiously identified sources that were cited in more than 650 local and national newspaper articles between April 2019 and June 2020, which does not reflect the majority-progressive positions of Americans of faith on LGBT issues.

To advance more accurate, inclusive, and effective representations of Americans of faith on LGBTQ issues, CAP offers the following recommendations for journalists, policymakers, business leaders, and everyday people of faith.

Journalists must make an intentional effort to consult more diverse perspectives when writing stories regarding the issues at the religion-LGBTQ rights intersection. While the provocative comments of famous white evangelical religious leaders and well-resourced anti-LGBTQ advocacy organizations may be the most accessible, polling data of religious Americans on LGBTQ issues make clear that these loud voices are not representative of everyday Americans. Journalists could better represent religious Americans perspectives on LGBTQ equality by increasing their coverage of growing non-Christian religious groups (see Figure 1) and by intentionally consulting religious community members rather than primarily deferring to official religious spokespersons. (see Figure 4) Thus, journalists must consult more diverse sources to reflect actual trends of public opinion in these communities and more accurately depict influential news events.

The high proportions of negative, unspecified faith sources (Christian unspecified, general) compared with specified faith sources suggest that journalists inadvertently present the minority perspectives of religious Americans who are opposed to LGBTQ rights as generally Christian or generally religious. (see Figure 2) While this may be in part due to how certain activists/advocates and community members self-identify in media appearances, it is the role of journalists to do due diligence to identify their sources and their organizational affiliations beyond religious, Christian, or even conservative Christian. The diversity in opinion among Christian subgroups alone makes clear that further specification will lead to more accurate stories. When journalists only cite the self-identification of a major leader such as Jeff Sessions as Christian, they inadvertently play into the intentional political strategy of religious-right actors to position themselves as the broad authority on issues of faith.

In legislative debates regarding LGBTQ rights and religious liberty, it is especially crucial that pro-LGBTQ politicians of faith cite their own beliefs to counter politicians who deploy religious language to justify anti-LGBTQ policies. This study found that if citations of Buttigieg were excluded from the sample, more than two times more anti-LGBTQ Republican officials cited their faith than pro-LGBTQ Democratic officials. Buttigiegs news visibility as a gay man and practicing Episcopalian had a notable impact on both the studys overall findings (see Figure 3) and the partisan nature of how religious identity was paired with pro- and anti-LGBTQ positions. (see Figure 6) These trends underscore how if even a few high-profile politicians assert their faith more publicly and regularly in LGBTQ-affirming discourse that implicates religion, it can substantially affect how the public perceives these issues.

Business leaders of faith must be vocal in supporting LGBTQ rights and in referencing their religious values or tradition when doing so. The overwhelming majority of religiously identified sources associated with businesses espoused anti-LGBTQ views (see Figure 7), thus positioning those sources attempts to discriminate against LGBTQ people through litigation as the authority on business-related issues in the public square. Given the demonstrated power of LGBTQ-affirming corporations in influencing legislative outcomesfor example, the Equality Act and Tennessee religious freedom legislationand ongoing litigation efforts by anti-LGBTQ businesses, this is especially important for advancing LGBTQ inclusion in the private and public sector.

The Trump administration has empowered religious-right actors who support the individuals, organizations, and corporations that seek to discriminate against the LGBTQ community. As supported by this study, despite improved visibility of pro-LGBTQ people of faith, the minority voices of the religious right continue to occupy the mantle of religion in news media coverage of LGBTQ issues. This misrepresentation has likely strengthened the profile of anti-LGBTQ advocacy priorities in the public square. As many Americans optimistically transition into a new administration on the shoulders of the monumental Title VII ruling that affirms the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans, the country faces impending challenges of anti-LGBTQ litigation under dozens of conservative, lifetime federal judges. This research provides valuable insights into the current news media landscape and advocacy openings for the movement for LGBTQ equality at large.

Media coverage of LGBTQ issues and religion should fairly represent the views of religious communities in the United States. This comprehensive CAP study of recent media coverage in select national and local media outlets shows that there are more religiously identified anti-LGBTQ sources cited than religiously identified pro-LGBTQ sources. Journalists have a responsibility to improve the diversity of voices in their coverage and to make sure religious communities voices are accurately represented.

Rucha Modi is a research consultant with the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress.

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons is a fellow with the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center.

Maggie Siddiqi is the senior director of the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center.

Rasheed Malik is a senior policy analyst for Early Childhood Policy at the Center.

The authors would like to thank Dr. James Desveaux, associate director of the Center for American Politics and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles; Kyle Nelson, Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles; and Dr. Debra L. Mason, professor and director emerita of the Missouri School of Journalism and the Center on Religion and the Professions, for their assistance with this report. The authors would also like to thank CAPs Art and Editorial teams for their contributions.

This appendix contains further details about the authors sample identification and qualitative content analysis procedures.

This study sought to understand the following questions:

To explore these research questions, the researchers identified a sample of articles published by four national publications (The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post) and 10 local publications (The Denver Post, Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Detroit News, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, The Tennessean, The Houston Chronicle, and The Dallas Morning News) published between April 2019 and June 2020. This time frame was identified based on recency and research feasibility. The 14 publications were identified based on their circulation numbers, publishing company, and geographic location, taking into account states of particular interest based on their existing LGBTQ nondiscrimination legislative and judicial conditions.

More than 3,500 articles that addressed LGBTQ rights and religious issues in proximity were identified with media monitoring software through a Boolean search (LGBT* OR LBGT* OR L.G.B.T OR L.G.B.T. OR L.G.B.T.Q. OR L.G.B.T.Q OR Gay* OR Lesbian* OR Transgender* OR Bisexual* OR Nonbinary OR Queer* OR Homosexual*) NEAR/30 (Faith* OR Religion* OR God* OR Church* OR Clergy* OR Spiritual* OR Rev. OR Reverend* OR Bishop* OR Mosque* OR Temple* OR Synagogue* OR Chapel* OR Pastor* OR Rabbi* OR Imam* OR Monk* OR Priest* OR Christian* OR Protestant* OR Catholic* OR Evangel* OR Islam* OR Muslim* OR Jew* OR Judaism OR Mormon* OR Hindu* OR Buddh* OR Bible* or Quran* OR Torah* OR Talmud*) NOT (Category: Arts) NOT (Category: Fashion) NOT (Category: Music) NOT (title: op-ed) NOT (title: opinion) and manually reviewed for relevance and duplicity (e.g., an Associated Press wire piece that ran in several publications). Opinion and commentary pieces and sports, arts, entertainment, obituaries, and international articles were omitted from the article pool through the Boolean search and manually. However, U.S. sources cited in international subject articles (e.g., Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) were included.

The researcher in this study used a combination of human-coding and computer-aided textual analysis to analyze the identified articles and the sources cited within each article. The 653 articles that were included in this study were coded for headline, publication, author(s), and date of publication. Qualitative content analysis software was used to flag terms of interest from the aforementioned Boolean search within the article text, for more precise review by researchers. All 1,880 sources that were cited addressing issues at the religion and LGBTQ intersection within the articles were categorized by their individual type (academic/educator, activist/advocate, business representative, community member, journalist, medical/psychological expert, politician/government official, religious spokesperson, or witness/bystander); organization type (not identified, advocacy/political, business, educational institution, governmental, media organization, recreational, religious, research center/think tank, social service organization); religious affiliation (not identified, general, atheist/agnostic/humanist, Buddhist, Roman Catholic, interfaith, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, evangelical Protestant, historic Black church, mainline Protestant, Native American religions, or Indigenous African religions). The categories for individual type and organization type were derived from a previous study conducted in 2012 by the University of Missouris Center on Religion and the Professions.

Individual type, organization type, and religious affiliation were determined through the information available in the article text. Notably, sources individual type may differ from their organization type. For example, Buttigiegs individual type was most often coded as politician/government official since he was often identified as the mayor of South Bend Indiana, and his organization type was most often coded as advocacy/political since he was often reported in the context of his 2020 presidential campaign. Additionally, while this report explores primarily religiously identified sources, all sourcesincluding those coded as not identified for religious affiliationdiscussing issues at the religion and LGBTQ intersection were coded. For example, in the cases where Buttigieg was not identified with his faith, his religious affiliation was coded as not identified, even though the researchers are aware of his religious background.

Religious affiliation determinations for Christian sourcesmainline Protestant, evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic, historic Black church, other Christian, or otherwere made according to guidelines by the Pew Research Centers Forum on Religion and Public Life. Sentiment was determined both by the explicit language and underlying meaning of the sources quotes, or the authors characterizations of the sources messages as related to LGBTQ issues. Pro-LGBTQ messages were coded as positive (e.g., United Methodist Church pastor affirming LGBTQ inclusion in their congregation); anti-LGBTQ messages were coded as negative (e.g., Roman Catholic school official asserting religious liberty as justification for firing a gay teacher); and messages that were neither positive nor negative were coded as neutral (e.g., academic religion expert delivering an objective assessment of the impact of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints baptism policy).

After the article coding was completed, the researcher created cross tabulations of the categorical data points and used chi-squared tests for figures 35 and 78 when all expected values for cells were greater than 5 to determine statistically significant (p < 0.05) associations between categorical variables of interest (e.g., religious affiliation and positive/negative sentiment).

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How Religion and LGBTQ Rights Intersect in Media Coverage - Center For American Progress

The meeting was brief and all business, but it was positive.

Just two months into her new position as community policing coordinator, Officer Emily Burt-McGregor is still feeling her way through the job. Her goal, however, is clear: to create positive interactions with Maplewood residents now, in order to hopefully prevent negative intervention from other officers later.

What does that look like?

Earlier this month it looked like an officer and a property manager sitting down for a chat about lease options regarding drug use in an apartment complex. The manager wishes the police would respond faster to calls. The officers show up, but can do nothing about the smell of weed in the hallway thats long-since dissipated.

The department would like the property manager to use her lease options to evict drug users when it becomes known to her. Roles and responsibilities are defined. Concerns noted and action steps discussed.

For Grace Fielder, property manager at Maple Ponds Homes, the personal visit is meaningful because it shows the department is taking her concerns seriously.

Its definitely nice to know that I have a specific person to go to when things do arise, she said.

Burt-McGregors position is just one piece of a multi-pronged approach the Maplewood Police Department has been using to change its culture from strictly law enforcement to more of a community-policing approach. Their efforts are getting noticed.

In September, the department was honored with the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerces Leaders in Local Government award. Also, Ramsey County is poised to embed a social worker into the department in January, the first in the county outside of St. Paul, to help with mental health calls.

Maplewood was one of the first cities that approached us and wanted to begin the conversation, said Ann Barry, Ramsey County director of social services. We felt they were ready.

Following the race riots of the 1960s and the upheaval of the Vietnam War protests, police departments in the United States began to reassess their goals and philosophies.

Community policing became the buzzwords of the 1970s through the present, a style which focuses on controlling underlying causes of disorder in a neighborhood. Departments worked on increasing opportunities for positive contact with residents to improve trust and help officers become familiar with residents and their concerns.

In the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs, police departments have also had to learn to work with an influx of non-English-speaking immigrants that began in the 1950s.

And with an increase of drug use, among other factors, mental health calls have increased substantially.

The Maplewood Police Department has confronted all of these challenges head-on, hoping to adapt to their changing community while remaining tough on crime.

What were trying to do is bring about a cultural change within the police department so that our staff understands whos in our community, understands who our residents are and the different cultures that are here, explained Scott Nadeau, Maplewoods public safety director. Its really a great two-way exchange where our community gets to know our officers and sees them as people, not just as a uniform that shows up when bad things happen.

The police shooting of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights in 2016 had a profound effect on Maplewood. It played into the hiring of Nadeau in 2017, who had built a reputation for himself in Columbia Heights as a chief who wanted to do more than just law enforcement.

I think that he is a visionary, said Maplewood Mayor Marylee Abrams. I think what he is doing is more transformative than what I would typically characterize as being, you know, police reform. Reforming sounds like you kind of take everything thats old and just remix it. And I dont think that thats what were doing at all.

So, what are they doing?

Nadeau has attacked the problem on three fronts: reshaping the departments staff to better reflect the citys population, increasing police-community outreach and reaching out for help from Ramsey County regarding mental health calls.

Since Nadeau started, there has been a 125 percent increase in hiring of non-traditional police officer candidates. Thirteen of the last 18 police hires have been women and/or people of color.

How did he do this? Four ways: intentional recruitment and marketing, changing the hiring process to allow non-traditional applicants, allowing community members to craft interview questions, and using entry-level and volunteer positions to support the department.

He created a recruiting committee that seeks out candidates who fit their police departments goals. These members go to job fairs, visit colleges and work on getting the word out about Maplewoods priorities.

We are looking for community-centric people that dont see their jobs necessarily as just law enforcement, Nadeau said. The majority of what we do is assisting people in crisis. Its disputes, its non-enforcement activities. We are trying to find the people that have that big-picture view of what policing is and the importance of going out and solving problems in the community in a way that doesnt always include enforcement.

He created an online application process that asks more open-ended questions in order to get a better sense of the candidates skill set, philosophy and mindset.

The city and department developed the multicultural advisory committee, which advises on hiring and allows community members to ask interview questions.

Nadeau also used alternative hiring methods to fill entry-level paid and volunteer positions. One of those is Pathways to Policing, a program that allows a candidate with a four-year degree to change careers to become a police officer. For recruits selected for the program, the city covers the cost of law enforcement in-class and tactical training and pays the recruit up to 70 percent of a starting officers salary.

Maplewood has brought on three candidates this way, one of them being Officer Burt-McGregor who used to work for the U.S. Postal Service.

It was a total game changer because it pays you not only for your education, but it pays you while youre in school, she said. I could go to school, I dont have to go deeper into debt and Im still getting an income.

The department also utilizes the community service officer position, which is a paid, part-time post, and the reserve program, which is on a volunteer basis, as another way to job shadow officers.

When Nadeau took over the department, officers were participating in a few dozen hours of community outreach per year. In 2019, that number increased to 2,000 hours. Every public safety employee, which includes police, fire and EMS, is required to participate in at least 15 hours of outreach per year, as part of their work.

Opportunities in 2019 included nearly a dozen events at apartments, shelter and mobile home communities, monthly programs with senior citizens to educate them on financial scams and other safety issues, and youth events.

Maplewood police hosts annual junior high police academies for students, mentors through Big Brothers Big Sisters programs, and participates in bicycle and helmet giveaways at community events.

Alesia Metry, a retired Maplewood officer who has been hired back on a part-time basis to help with community outreach events, says its not just the community that benefits, but the officers as well.

When I was a patrol officer, I loved community outreach, she said, telling a story about a student with behavioral problems she met with once a week and saw marked improvement. It helps us see these are real people these are moms, these are kids, these are great people.

In 2019, the Maplewood Police Department responded to 461 calls for a person in crisis, 86 calls for suicides in progress andhandled 698 calls where the primary cause for law enforcement presence was mental illness.

To try to get in front of this, the department has a mental health outreach team in which police, firefighters and paramedics work together to identify people in the community who are at risk and then try to work with them by making regular visits.

Added to that could be a full-time employee from the Ramsey County Health Department embedded in the police department to assist on mental health calls. The county board is expected to vote on it by the end of the year.

This will be someone trained in both mental health and social work who will work with law enforcement and the person, the family and everyone on the scene, explained Barry, the countys social services director. That could look like de-escalation. It could look like connecting someone to services. They will work side by side with law enforcement to help them understand mental health issues, what it looks like and how to help.

Nadeau hopes to use the hire as a single point of contact for officers struggling to navigate mental health resources.

No one has all of the resources youd ever want, Nadeau said. But we knew that working together, we could leverage resources and professions and talents in a way that we can be more productive. And now to have this problem-solving ability through the social worker, I think it will really help us to potentially get to that next level of being able to solve this.

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Maplewood PD says their efforts to reshape policing culture starts with who they hire - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Hundreds of thousands of drivers traverse the Broadway Curve section of I-10 each day, and the Arizona Department of Transportation will begin construction on the 11-mile stretch of the freeway in 2021 in the regions largest freeway redevelopment project to date.

Maricopa County, including the East Valley, continues to grow year after year, ADOT spokesperson Tom Herrmann said. If we were to do nothing, we would be approaching a gridlock.

Construction will take place on I-10 between I-17 and Loop 202, including the Broadway Curve. The project will affect freeways in Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe and the town of Guadalupe. The Broadway Curve project marks the states first major freeway reconstruction effort, Herrmann said.

This is a much-needed improvement to I-10, Herrmann said. The Broadway Curve sees about 300,000 vehicles a day and is the second-busiest section of Arizona freeways.

According to data from ADOT, officials expect the number of drivers on this segment of the freeway to grow by 25% by 2040. The project is expected to save drivers 2.5 million hours annually otherwise spent in traffic, according to the Maricopa Association of Governments, the entity responsible for planning Maricopa Countys major highway improvements.

Jenn Daniels, former Gilbert mayor and current member of the Arizona State Transportation Board, said the project is a massive undertaking.

Ultimately this project will improve access at businesses, Daniels said. It will help with the weekday traffic and, specifically, cut down on the amount of time that people ultimately will spend commuting or trying to access this particular area or navigate through this particular part of our region.

Herrmann said ADOT expects to finalize the construction contract by early 2021, and the project is slated to begin in mid- to late 2021 and take about three years to complete. The project is expected to cost about $643 million, but the final cost will be determined in the negotiation process, Herrmann said. Funding for the project stems from Proposition 400, a dedicated sales tax for transportation approved by Maricopa County voters in 2004, Highway User Revenue Fund and federal funds.

Project details

Throughout the course of the project, construction crews will widen I-10 from four to six general-purpose lanes and two HOV lanes between 24th Street and US 60, according to ADOT.

Herrmann said ADOT will be building a collector-distributor road system between Baseline Road and 40th Street to separate local and through traffic on I-10. Drivers getting on or off the freeway in these spots will stay in the new lanes to get on and off the freeway, Herrmann said.

What that will do is make traffic flow more safely and ultimately make I-10 safer, Herrmann said. A lot of people right now are switching lanes very quickly because of how the exits are lined up. Its difficult even when traffic is light, you have to quickly merge. This will not only help keep traffic flowing, but it will prevent the I-10 from getting more congested and make it much safer with these specialized lanes for entering and exiting.

The project will also add a fourth general-purpose lane on I-10 from US 60 to Ray Road and will modify the connection at SR 143, Broadway Road and US 60 to improve traffic flow and safety to and from Sky Harbor Airport. Herrmann said crews will also replace ramps at I-10 interchanges at SR 143 and US 60 with new ramps, including building new bridges.

ADOT will also add three pedestrian bridges to connect communities, Herrmann said.

Im really excited about the collector-distributor roads, said Kristin Myers, a transportation planner with the Maricopa Association of Governments. As a user of the system, I do have to maneuver through traffic coming in to work and going out to different places. It will be nice to use these and have less congestion and to not have to go on the mainline freeway.

Myers said the improvements will allow for drivers to spend less time in traffic, with rush hour estimated to move 37% faster.

It will be a complete improvement, Myers said. For commuters, its a 2.5 million-hour savings per year.

Economic effects

The Broadway Curve is known as a key commerce corridor connecting the East Valley and downtown Phoenix as well as connecting the region to Sky Harbor Airport.

Herrmann said the corridor is integral to the Valleys export-based economy, with products manufactured here and sold elsewhere bringing new money to the state. He said ADOT has been working closely with trucking associations and local businesses to spread the word about the project ahead of the start of construction.

The Maricopa Association of Governments estimates the project will create $658 million in new economic activity for the area.

ADOTs expansion of the Broadway Curve is indicative of the state and regions intentional infrastructure planning, ensuring our busy commuter corridors meet the demands of our growing market, said Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Modern and dependable infrastructure allows for easy and reliable access to the region and consumers, which is vital in securing new businesses to Greater Phoenix.

Daniels said the roadway improvements will also improve access to 4,637 businesses.

It will have a current impact, Daniels said. But it will grow local business sales by a substantial amount when there is better access.

Chandler Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Terri Kimble said the widening of the Broadway Curve is a long time coming.

As a major intersecting hub of commuters for the Valley, the initial construction project may be cumbersome to commuters for the duration of the project, but the payoff here will be huge, Kimble said. Its a chance to open up and expand the transportation infrastructure allowing access to top employers for our workforce.

Herrmann said ADOT and other officials are aware construction will create challenges as crews work to expand the freeway and cause temporary road closures or blockages. He said most of the work will be done at night and on weekends to mitigate traffic congestion.

There will be short-term challenges and inconveniences in exchange for long-term benefits, Herrmann said.

Daniels said, in order to maintain the infrastructure of Maricopa Countys freeways and roadways, managementeven if it is a temporary inconvenience to driversmust occur.

"Weve invested billions of dollars in this system, Daniels said. What a travesty it would be if we walked away from the system and said, Its going to take care of itself. It doesnt. Transportation will never take care of itself. I kind of look at transportation as like a living, breathing organism, and it just requires constant diligence and keeping it alive and healthy, just like any other living thing.

Read more from the original source:

Construction to begin on crucial stretch of I-10 in 2021, affecting drivers across the Valley - Community Impact Newspaper

This year has put another pandemic front and centre in fashion schools: anti-Black racism.

Over the summer, fashion schools released a flurry of statements on their social media platforms condemning anti-Blackness in response to the murder of George Floyd and the re-energised Black Lives Matter movement. But thousands of students and faculty members quickly called out what they saw as hypocrisy, leaving comments and creating new accounts to document practises that devalue and discriminate against Black lives at fashion school.

In my own conversations with Black students at the fashion school where I am Chair, I learned firsthand how fashion education undermined their love of fashion. These students said they learned about white fashion history in classes that ignored or trivialised Black fashion histories; they said faculty questioned the relevance of their designs when they were grounded in Black narratives or assumed they were creating work about their experiences as Black people; they said that they rarely had Black teachers and that they were judged harder than their white peers.

At my school, we are on a journey to radically transform our curriculum and culture. Based on the approach my colleagues and I have put into practice, here are five steps that fashion schools can take to create the conditions for racial justice. While these steps can be used to advance social justice more broadly, given the recent BLM uprising and the calls for fashion schools to address anti-Blackness, my examples confront and address anti-Black racism specifically.

1. Own up to racism and discrimination

Fashion schools need to recognise how theyve inflicted trauma upon generations of Black students, faculty and staff. Academic leaders must create the time and space to apologise to their schools Black communities. These apologies should name the harm that has been caused, and voluntarily invite those who have been impacted to share their suggestions for change.

To redress the harm they have caused, fashion schools should take concrete steps towards reconciliation with Black communities. They should offer complimentary studio access, career mentorship and continuing education to Black alumni who were denied the opportunity to develop their potential and interests during their fashion education. At the same time, schools should offer ongoing workshops for faculty to help prevent anti-Black racism in the future. Workshops should teach them about racial injustice in fashion education, encourage deep reflection, and start their journey of learning about Black fashion histories and practices.

2. Develop a collective and comprehensive vision for justice

Embedding justice into fashion education has to be everyones work. However well-intentioned, creating equity committees limits anti-racism to those already committed to change and often to the Black staff and students who experience racism every day. It is vital that all faculty and staff play a role in advancing justice in everything they do because injustice shapes the entire system of fashion education, from student recruitment to developing course content to faculty hiring.

Rather than assume, schools should hold workshops to find out how their community understands justice in fashion education. Workshops should focus on the experiences and interests of Black students and faculty, but must also engage all stakeholders for the entire community to feel invested in change. The objectives that come from these workshops should be established as the schools guiding principles that direct all planning and decision-making because justice must be intentional and deliberate to result in meaningful change.

3. Embed justice into curriculum

Once the guiding principles have been established, schools must embed them into their curriculum. Programme directors and curriculum committees should first evaluate and revise their mandatory classes the course descriptions, learning objectives and content. These revisions should acknowledge and teach multiple and parallel fashion histories and systems, as well as the impact of colonisation and slavery on these fashion systems. In my school, we include a section in all course outlines that explain how the class honours our guiding principles. It allows us to hold ourselves accountable to teaching about Black fashion world views, cultures and practices.

Educators should also introduce new elective courses that offer students opportunities to deepen their knowledge and skills in Black fashion histories and practices. New electives might include Carnival fashion design and Black queer fashion histories. Alongside curricular revisions, schools with fashion research collections should acquire new objects to provide students with ample access to garments designed and worn by Black people. Schools will also need to develop sliding scales for guest lecturer honorariums. Due to discrimination in employment, many Black speakers and critics have to take time away from paid work to accept invitations to visit classes.

4. Welcome diverse ways of being

Fashion schools have often been hostile places for Black students and faculty. Current approaches to inclusion invite them in, but expect assimilation into white culture. For many prospective Black students, this hostility starts with the application process because they do not have access to the same training and support as their white peers to develop their portfolios. One approach to help prospective Black students might be to hire the schools Black alumni to host workshops for Black youth. At these workshops, alumni can share their experiences and mentor those youth who want to apply to fashion school. Schools should also redesign portfolio requirements to encourage diverse ways of knowing and practising fashion. But this redesign will only work if schools retrain faculty who evaluate portfolios. As the gatekeepers for schools, faculty need to recognise the barriers many Black students face and deliberately welcome them.

Once Black students start their education, schools need to cultivate culturally relevant student groups and mentorship programmes to support them in the face of continued anti-Black racism and discrimination. In my own school, Professor Caron Phinney established a Black Fashion Students Association to provide space for Black fashion students and alumni to discuss topics facing Black people in fashion and to host Black fashion professionals to share their experiences and mentor students in the group.

One of the most crucial steps fashion schools should take to eradicate the hostility facing Black students is to hire Black faculty who will reflect them and bring urgent knowledge into schools. However, there are significant barriers preventing Black faculty from gaining employment. To start, most job postings dont take systemic barriers to higher education and employment into account; they narrowly define job requirements and thereby limit who is deemed qualified. Hiring committees need to develop job postings that may better attract Black applicants and rethink qualifications outside of traditional understandings of success. For example, postings should consider community activism, public education and micro entrepreneurship as equivalencies to terminal degrees, academic experience and jobs at renowned fashion brands.

Current approaches to inclusion expect assimilation into white culture.

Faculty evaluation and promotion committees must develop new metrics for assessing Black faculty or they risk inviting their new employees into workplaces that do not allow them to flourish. Black fashion faculty are called on by students at their universities and beyond for guidance because they are often the only experts in their fields. Schools need to credit this time-consuming, invisible labour. Assessments of faculty must also equally reward research beyond journals and exhibitions to include public education and community work. It is only by valuing a range of contributions that Black faculty will advance to leadership roles in fashion education.

5. Establish partnerships that facilitate justice

Fashion schools must develop new partnerships and revenue streams to support Black students and faculty. For example, they should consider extending their teaching and research expertise into the fashion industry. My school takes what we are doing in the classroom and offers executive education on anti-racist and inclusive fashion practices for fashion organisations.

With this revenue, fashion schools can create scholarships and bursaries dedicated to Black students. The combination of racial and class barriers that many Black students face require them to hold multiple jobs to afford the costs of tuition and materials for class. As a result, these students are exhausted with less time and energy to focus on school-work compared to their white peers. Partnerships and revenue streams can also be used to hire new Black faculty members through endowed professorships, such as named Chairs in different areas of Black fashion, and to support cluster hires of several Black faculty members concurrently.

Fashion schools should develop relationships with Black-owned fashion businesses and Black-focused non-for-profit organisations. Rather than financial support, these partnerships can facilitate student internships and in-class projects. They allow schools to extend learning and mentorship opportunities for students beyond the status quo of white fashion organisations and professionals. These relationships can also provide pipelines for student and faculty recruitment.

Applying these steps will start the process of redressing the historic and continued injustices that Black communities face in fashion school. But justice is only the start. Liberation is that which justice ultimately strives towards. Then and only then will fashion education be transformed.

Ben Barry is Chair of Fashion and Associate Professor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Ryerson University and incoming Dean of Fashion and Parsons School of Design.

The views expressed in Op-Ed pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Business of Fashion.

How to submit an Op-Ed: The Business of Fashion accepts opinion articles on a wide range of topics. The suggested length is 700-1000 words, but submissions of any length within reason will be considered. All submissions must be original and exclusive to BoF. Submissions may be sent to opinion@businessoffashion.com. Please include Op-Ed in the subject line and be sure to substantiate all assertions. Given the volume of submissions we receive, we regret that we are unable to respond in the event that an article is not selected for publication.

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Op-Ed | How to Fight Anti-Black Racism in Fashion Schools - The Business of Fashion

Crystal R. Emery said she knows that if Black, Hispanic and Indigenous people are going to protect themselves from COVID-19 and become willing to be vaccinated, the messenger is as important as the message.

Emery, a New Haven-area filmmaker who is quadriplegic, has never let her disability stop her from improving the lives of other people of color. She has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affects the bodys peripheral nerves, as well as diabetes.

Now, Emery, 59, has teamed up with a range of people of color including churches and other community groups, to bring accurate information to people who have been mistrustful of media and who may receive inaccurate information from social media.

Nobody knows what to believe. Nobody knows what is real, Emery said. All of the Black and brown people were not getting the right information from sources that they respect. Those same communities have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, suffering disproportionately in the number of cases and deaths.

Through a video series, texts and infographics, Emery and her organization, URU The Right to Be, has launched Our Humanity, a project of really dealing with peoples mindsets and belief systems, she said.

Theres a huge gap here, and what I do well is creating information that lowers peoples defense mechanisms and that allows a new way or a different way to look at something, Emery said. It allows a clearer understanding of what those issues are.

Photo 8P3PDOTK ne122020CrystalCovid.5

She has the backing of former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and once and future Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, clergy, including the Rev. Boise Kimber and Bishop Theodore Brooks in New Haven and the Rev. Charles Stallworth in Bridgeport, and community leaders, including former New Haven Mayor Toni Harp and Karen DuBois-Walton, president of the Housing Authority of New Haven.

COVID has made the reality of racial and ethnic disparities in health care more stark than ever, Emery said. The CDC, the American Medical Association have all come out and said racism is a public health crisis, she said. The first part of bridging that gap is really creating prevention awareness that really looks like us. We have over 70 videos made by Black and brown doctors.

Its videos, its Instagram Live every Wednesday, where I have different experts speaking, where people can ask questions, make comments, Emery said.

Our goal is to reach at least 200,000 to 400,000 Black and brown people across the state, Emery said.

Online workshops will be offered in English and Spanish and faith and community leaders will be trained to disseminate information.

I call them community educators, Emery said. You have the direct touch but then you have the people that they touch.

Because getting both COVID and the flu is a no-win situation, she is working with Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center on both testing and immunizations.

There is so much to teach: how to properly wash hands and keep jewelry clean, understanding who youve come in contact with. You may think your bubble is two levels deep but in actuality its 10 levels deep, Emery said. You have to do this person by person. You cant send an email. If it was that easy, a lot fewer people would have become infected with the coronavirus, she said.

The infographics have been created by Shanina Knighton, a nurse and infection prevention researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, who has focused on getting the details across in an easy-to-understand way. The advice to wear a mask isnt helpful if someone doesnt know to keep it up over the nose or how to keep it clean, Knighton said.

Knighton said she would walk up to people and ask them if they understood her posters. If you dont understand it within 15 seconds of looking at it, I kept going back to the drawing board to make sure things make sense, she said.

DuBois-Walton said Emery has been an amazing whirlwind of activity. Shes just laser-focused on informing people of color and making sure the messaging thats developed is the messaging that will resonate in those communities, she said. She added she hoped the state would follow suit in its efforts to get Black, brown and Indigenous people tested and vaccinated.

Im so excited to be working with her on something thats right here in her backyard, DuBois-Walton said.

Kimber, pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church and president of the Greater New Haven Clergy Association, said hes been working with Emery to get the message out to the community that is affected the most. Thats where I feel that the state ought to be spending some time in how theyre going to get into the community.

He said the Black church is a primary way to reach the Black community and the churches have been made available for drive-through flu shots. We would hate for our people to get the flu and COVID at the same time, Kimber said. Theres nothing but death there.

Another supporter, the Rev. Abraham Hernandez, associate pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in East Haven, said, I believe that it is necessary to have a calculated and intentional effort, because its evident that the message has either not been effectively communicated to our people or we may need more of it.

Hernandez is executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, representing 300 evangelical churches. We believe the houses of worship are institutions of trust as well as community service agencies, he said. Our medical experts are people the community looks up to and trusts and our hope is to support those on the front lines by ramping our communication efforts.

Hernandez said Emery has the heart of a lion. She is so passionate about our minority communities and she has always been 100 percent committed to shining a light on the shortfalls. She chooses to be part of the solution. Were all in this together.

The Rev. Charles Stallworth, senior pastor of East End Baptist Tabernacle Church in Bridgeport, as well as a state representative, said Emery is putting forth a great effort. There are multiple outlets right now, so the struggle is which one is going to be most relevant, which one is going to be funded.

He said there has been mistrust about the COVID vaccine, because there was a perception initially to be a rush getting something out by the Trump administration. But while not wanting to force it on people who dont believe, Stallworth said he is trying to be as informative as possible and will get vaccinated when he is able to.

He called Emery one of those few persons that you get to meet in a lifetime who against all odds is out front leading. Her compassion and concern for others is remarkable.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382

Excerpt from:

Seeing 'a huge gap', activist's goal is to bring accurate COVID information to people of color - CT Insider

Joan Blades, Opinion contributor Published 7:00 a.m. ET Dec. 21, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden appealed for unity Wednesday in a Thanksgiving-eve address to the nation asking Americans to "steel our spines" for a fight against the coronavirus that he predicted would continue for months. (Nov. 25) AP Domestic

It has becomenormal to disrespect and even dismiss the humanity of people we dont agree with. This is dangerous and at odds with our ideals.

I first became involved in politics in 1998 when my husband and I shared a one-sentence petition with less than 100 of our friends and family asking Congress to censure the president and move on to pressing issues facing the country.

Love Bill Clinton or hate him, a huge number of Americans agreed that the impeachment was polarizing and not good for our country.The petition went viral. Since that time I have seen polarization escalate to a point where we seem incapable of effective governance.

Many of us are appalled that addressing the COVID-19 pandemic became polarized. Important conversations are necessaryabout schools, business, faith community gatherings, mental health and health.We need to be able to weigh the costs and the benefits of our actions.

But in our current state of distrust, anger and fear we appear to be incapable of productive engagement. As a result we have lose-lose outcomes. How did wearing a mask in public spaces become a political statement? Thedata is clear that mask wearing protects us, especially the most vulnerable.

The result of this election puts our stunningly different understanding of our country in stark relief.Millions of people are wondering How can those voters see things so differently?It is time for us to answer that question.We must commit to curiosity and listening.(Photo: Getty Images)

Media, leaders and we ourselves have made it possible to live in parallel narratives where we dont share agreement about even fundamental facts. It has becomenormal to disrespect and even dismiss the humanity of people we dont agree with. This is dangerous and at odds with our ideals.

It is time for us to step up to the challenge of restoring a shared narrative. We can be more intentional about choosing our news media. We have to stop consuming media tuned to catch our attention through focusing on our fears, anxiety and anger.

We can choose leaders whocall us to work together and model respectful engagement across differences.Most important, we can choose to have caring relationships with people who hold differing views from us.

The result of this election puts our stunningly different understanding of our country in stark relief.Millions of people are wondering How can those voters see things so differently?It is time for us to answer that question.We must commit to curiosity and listening.

We can own our part of this downward spiral and commit to turning things around. Itwill at times be uncomfortable and confusing.It also will be enriching and fun. Treasured friendships and nuanced understanding are natural outcomes of this kind of investment.

And itwill take patience. It took time for us to become this dysfunctional.

Restoring the capacity to collaborate is essential to producing long-term change. Our polarized swings from left to right and back again have the impact of a wrecking ball. What is created by one group is demolished by the other. Agreements that are embraced by a strong majority are immensely more robust.

I do not ever want to have another election season like we just endured.I want our communities and government to do the hard work of looking for solutions to complex problems so that we have everyone's best ideas in the room and the agility to adapt and learn from our efforts.This requires shared vision and some trust.

The good news is most people want a fair society, a robust economy and a healthy environment.There are many theories about how we achieve this, but once we understand this core vision is shared, perhaps we can treat each other with more grace and forgiveness.

We are experiencing a pandemic, climate disruption and a reckoning with our history of racial oppression.There are no easy answers. But we can do this. We must.

Joan Blades is a co-founder ofMoveOnandLiving Room Conversations.

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/12/21/bring-back-respect-caring-collaboration-to-fix-america-column/3955002001/

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America's future is dark unless we start working together and caring about each other - USA TODAY

NASHVILLE Tennessee voters are divided along partisan lines over issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election's outcome, according to a new Vanderbilt University survey.

"Political partisanship is the ultimate factor shaping Tennesseans' beliefs on every vital issue of the hour the pandemic, the economy and the election," said Dr. John Geer, the Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and co-director of the Vanderbilt-Tennessee poll. "The disparities in decision making between Tennessee Republicans and Democrats are at an all-time high, a signal to the new administration on the challenges that lie ahead to unify America."

The survey of 1,007 registered Tennessee voters was done between Nov. 18 and Dec. 8 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.6 percentage points. Vanderbilt University's Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions conducts the survey twice annually. It is directed by Geer and Josh Clinton, the Abby and Jon Winkelreid chair and professor of political science.

Republicans "overwhelmingly doubt the validity of the results of presidential election," according to Vanderbilt, which says just 12% of Tennessee Republican voters surveyed said they were confident that national votes were counted fairly and accurately. That compares to 97% of Democrats.

Even when assessing the accuracy of the vote count within Tennessee, which Republican President Donald Trump easily won over Democrat Joe Biden, Tennessee Republicans had more doubts about the accuracy of the results than did Democrats. Poll directors said that finding suggests Trump's repeated attacks on the process extended into red states and his own supporters.

Just 15% of Republicans polled here think Biden is the legitimate winner, while 70% think Biden is trying to "steal the election," according to the Vanderbilt survey.

Meanwhile, 95% of Democrats told pollsters they think Biden is the legitimate winner. And 70% of Democrats believe Trump, who still hasn't accepted the results, is trying to "steal" the election. At the same time, 35% of Republicans said they don't think Trump should concede after the Electoral College certifies the votes, which occurred this week after the survey was conducted.

"In no other time in recent history have we seen voters so skeptical and dissatisfied with election results," Geer said. "Even those voters satisfied with the outcome remain concerned that the opponent is trying to steal the election. Such obstinance must be curbed or could result in a long-term decline in the public's faith in democratic institutions."

When vaccines to protect people from COVID-19 become available to the public the first round are being distributed this week 75% of Tennesseans polled stated they are likely to get vaccinated.

But more than one out of three Republicans surveyed 36% said they are unlikely to get the vaccine, compared to just 15% of Democrats, according to pollsters. That comes despite increased concerns and awareness of the coronavirus at the community level.

For example, 80% of registered voters surveyed said they know someone who has contracted coronavirus, a finding that is consistent in urban, suburban and rural communities as well as partisanship. And 66% are concerned that they or a member of their family will get infected, a rise of 6 points from Vanderbilt's spring poll. Concern among Republicans polled rose 17 percentage points from last spring's poll, going from 37% to 54%. Concern among Democrats remains high at 88%, up 6 percentage points from spring.

Sixty-two percent of Tennesseans polled believe the pandemic is now a large or extremely large public health problem, an increase of 34 percentage points across urban, suburban and rural communities since last spring. Among Democrats, 83% think the pandemic is a large or extremely large public health problem, up 32 percentage points from the spring 2020.

But only 47% of Republicans think COVID-19 poses a large public health problem, according to the poll.

Polarization also impacts socializing and travel plans. Despite raised awareness and concern for COVID-19, 32% of Tennesseans said they don't plan to change how they would normally celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Fifty-two percent of Republicans said they won't change their plans, compared to only 14% of Democrats.

Just over one out of every five Republicans surveyed 22% said they don't usually wear a mask or face covering in a store or public place where they encounter other people. That compares to zero percent of Democrats and 11% of registered voters who are independents. Vanderbilt officials say a zero percent finding is "rare" in polling and underscores the "dramatic polarization" on mask wearing.

But Republicans, Democrats and independents do share something in common. They are somewhat or very concerned that the pandemic has harmed student learning, with 87% to 88% worried it has diminished learning for students at the elementary, middle school students and high school levels.

"It's clear that Tennesseans increasingly see the negative impact of the pandemic on their communities, especially as an inhibitor of public health and a quality education for their children," said Clinton. "Yet there still remains significant, intentional resistance to the CDC's top recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus."

The latest poll found Tennesseans' confidence in the U.S. economy rebounded to fall 2016 levels at 53%, up from 35% in the spring. Confidence in the Tennessee economy increased from 51% to 67%.

But Republican Gov. Bill Lee is taking a first-time hit in his job approval ratings, which dropped from 64% in May to 57% in the latest Vanderbilt poll.

The governor has come under fire from the medical community and Democrats who accuse him of not doing enough to stop the state's spiraling COVID-19 infection rates and now rising deaths.

"Democrats' approval of Gov. Lee declined by a significant 22 percentage points, which likely reflects dissatisfaction with his response to the pandemic among Democrats and independents," Clinton said.

But he noted Lee's approval among Republicans remains the same as it was in May, saying the governor's support in his Republican base "remains strong."

Thirty-seven percent of Tennesseans surveyed, meanwhile, said the pandemic continues to be the leading priority for Tennessee state government, followed by the economy (28%) and education (13%).

But there's a partisan split there as well: 64% of Democrats prioritized the pandemic, education (13%) and the economy (8%). But 40% of Republicans surveyed cited the economy as their top priority followed by the pandemic (19%) and education (13%).

Health care was the top priority for 9% of Tennesseans polled, followed by infrastructure at 5%.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.

Link:

Poll: Tennessee voters split along party lines over COVID-19, presidential election outcome and priorities - Chattanooga Times Free Press

My name is Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel. I am Kul Wiasa Lakota and a citizen of the Kul Wiasa Oyat, the Lower Brule Indian Reservation in central South Dakota on the Missouri River.I am a fourth-generation, Brings Three White Horses runner. My great-grandfather ran. My Lala (grandfather) Nyal Brings ran. My Ina (mother) Terra ran. Every time I run, I run for them. I run for my family. I run for my relatives.

I feel like I was born to run, even if I rejected it at times. My Lala took me on my first run, which ended on an uphill back home. I kept thinking: How is this fun?! But I saw the joy it gave him, so I stayed with it. Both my mom and grandfather had dreams to qualify for the Olympic Trials, and now that is my dream too: in the marathon. My Lala Nyal was a mid-distance runner for the University of South Dakota and was inducted into the USD Hall of Fame for his running accomplishments. Lala Nyal competed in the mile a few times with his friendly rival Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota; he adopted my mom and me after my grandfather passed away), with Nyal taking the victory. (Mills later won gold in the 10K at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.) My grandfather never mentioned this to us until Mills told us at Lala Nyals funeral. My mom and I were shocked to hear itbut the unmentioned victory shows the humility that my Lala had. My Ina Terra was a sprinter and my Lala was her coach. They both looked ahead to the 1988 Olympic Trials and planned every race and workout for her to reach that goal; however, her path led her to become an incredible pediatric, dialysis, oncology, and now COVID-19 nurse.

The best thing about running on the trails is that it helps me connect with Uni Maka (Grandmother Earth) and gives me a deeper appreciation of the lands that Native people cared for, which inspires me to keep protecting her for our next generations.

So, it was my At (dad), who really helped me to develop mental toughness for running and to believe in myself. I went from running as a tradition because of my family, to running for the representation of Native athletes, to loving running for just me, to running intersecting with my passion of advocacy. I mostly focused on the longer distances like the mile, relays, as well as running cross country in high school. Then in college, I really fell in love with running for myself and all that it gave back to me. I started with 5K and 10K races, then moved down to the shorter distancesa mile, 3K races, and relays. After college, I moved back up to longer distances, racing half marathons and eventually marathons, and in the last two years, I have been enjoying trail racing, which reminds me so much of cross country but is indefinitely harder. The best thing about running on the trails is that it helps me connect with Uni Maka (Grandmother Earth) and gives me a deeper appreciation of the lands that Native people cared for, which inspires me to keep protecting her for our next generations.

Running has given my life structure and helped to propel me forward, and it has also connected me to a new family, one that supports me as well as the amazing initiatives and fights led by Native organizations. In 2016, I ran my first marathon for the Running Strong for American Indian Youth at the Boston Marathon to help fundraise for their programming. In 2019, I ran the Boston Marathon again, as a chaperone to help raise funds for Wings of America. It was this race, and this moment, that I saw the power of my passions for advocacy and running intersect. I ran in prayer, dedicated 26 miles to 26 Indigenous women and girls, and began #RunningForJustice to help raise awareness to bring an end to this epidemic that impacts Indian Country. I saw the opportunity to share the competitive platform I have with those I care about, with those no longer here anymore, and bring along my relatives and communities.

Yes, I want to run fast, yes I have goals, but at the end of the day, its not about a medal, a record, or a fast time.

Being a fourth-generation runner is also about representation. As a Native athlete, I want to let other Native people and people of color know that these spaces can, and should, include us. Recently, I signed my first ever shoe contract with Altra Running as a professional Team Elite runner and became a professional runner with RABBIT Pro. After I signed my contracts, I kept thinking of my Lala Nyal and my Ina Terra, and that this is for our family and for Indian Country. Yes, I want to run fast, yes I have goals, but at the end of the day, its not about a medal, a record, or a fast time. Its about being intentional with my running to impact social change, to run in prayer, and to make space for Indigenous relatives missing and murderedfor Black lives murdered. Its about justice across all our movements and for all our communities most impacted by white supremacy, racism, and systemic oppression.

With my running, I am trying to create opportunities to call and bring people in. I want to help uplift, center, and provide education for people to know that Native people are still here. We are our own storytellers and we can control the narrative of our past, present, and future. In October, I organized an Indigenous Peoples Day 5K, 10K, and half marathon virtual run for anyone to participate and learn from Native people and to support Native-led heart work. In June, I partnered with Seeding Sovereignty to launch a virtual 5K, Running for the Health of All Nations to help raise funds to support our efforts in providing masks, hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes, and supplies to Indigenous communities impacted by COVID19. In November, for Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month, I organized the Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month Run and Wellness Challenge. These were such successes and was truly beautiful to see the support that came in.

Soon, Im launching the Running on Native Lands Initiative through my organization, Rising Hearts, and I have a bonfire campaign that ends on December 24 to help raise funds for Rising Hearts. And next year, Im organizing the Running on Native Lands virtual 5K, 10K, and half marathon, which will take place from February 1 to 10th, 2021.

So many of us are running with purpose. This year, I finished a 360-mile prayer run from Bears Ears National Monument in Utah to Salt Lake City, UT to raise funds to support SLC Air Protectors and Urban Indian Health Center of Salt Lake and carry and offer prayers for our relatives and communities. This was a powerful prayer run and I learned so much. Eleven Native runners from across Turtle Island (North America) came together to run in prayer. And then, I ran the Truthsgiving 30 miler Prayer Run. Not only is running is medicine but the laugher and joy we felt being together, was another unexpected medicine I felt.

Running is medicine. Running is healing. Running is family. Running is tradition. Running is prayer. And running is advocacy. This is why I run and what motivates me. Im excited to keep on running.

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I Am a Fourth-Generation RunnerHeres What the Sport Means to Me and My Family - Well+Good

Two years ago, Middlebury announced a community study titled How Will We Live Together. The study examined community building efforts at Middlebury, focusing particularly on the commons system and ResLife. The How Will We Live Together committee recommended dissolving the commons system, a recommendation that is only going into full effect this semester. With additional Covid-19 guidelines, this semester more than ever we should be asking ourselves: How will we live together?

The commons system was designed 22 years ago as a framework for intentionally creating community. In an ideal form, a commons would act like a college family: a place to find support and encouragement from peers, staff and faculty; it would be a source of pride and belonging for a student.

In my experience, Atwater commons was particularly successful in building community. Many of the freshmen for whom I was an FYC, for example, are still close friends as juniors. In my past conversations with former Atwater Dean Scott Barnicle, Ive understood that this closeness wasnt unusual for Atwater students, perhaps due to the centrality of the Allen common room to the Atwater Freshman community.

This echoes the How We Will Live Together Executive Summary, which states, spaces for socializing, [including] informal ones such as residence hall lounges . . . are extremely limited and in some cases and buildings, nonexistent. Put simply, there needs to be adequate spaces available for communities to form. In Allen, there is such a space.

As an innovator at heart, I am thrilled by some of the improvements that How We Live Together suggested. Lets create better common areas. Lets allocate resources, including deans and faculty heads, more equitably across campus. Lets improve our faculty-student connections. Lets create communities that seniors and first years alike can hold dear.

All the same, Ive been wearing my Atwater sweatshirt more in the last few weeks than I have in a long time.

Is it silly to cling so hard to an arbitrary housing allocation named after a long-dead college president? Perhaps. But symbols of a well-built community become identical to a set of important memories and relationships. Atwater is my FebYC celebrating my entry to ResLife. Its late night Ben & Jerrys with my hallmates during my first year. Its my three-person Quidditch team at the Commons Cup. Its dinners at the commons house and long talks with my dean. Its my fellow Atwater Febs and my former residents from when I was an FYC (whom I missed as much as anyone while I was abroad). Community provides a lasting sense of belonging, and Atwater was, for me, a true community.

With the loss of the commons, weve traded previously existing communities for the opportunity to ask: How could we live together? How can we build communities that we can be proud of? How can we connect students across ages, majors, student organizations and extracurricular interests? How can we connect students, faculty and staff outside of the classroom?

Covid-19 complicates these questions and our answers. Many of our community-building strategies concerts, parties, hall activities are more complicated this year, if theyre possible in the first place. At the same time, were depending on one another to stay healthy for the sake of our in-person classes and our physical health.

Ill only note in passing the obvious: life on campus in times of Covid-19 is more difficult and more stressful than in years past. In the understatement of the year, the CDCs website tells us that The coronavirus disease . . . may be stressful for people. CNN suggested that we look out for feelings of helplessness and a lack of interest in pleasurable activities as early warning signs of severe anxiety, but this year many pleasurable activities are cancelled and out of our control. If there were a time to have a strong community support system, this would be it.

This is simultaneously the year to recreate our community support system and to rely on that system more than any of us have before. It is a time that demands community solutions while those communities are being fundamentally recreated. Once again we must ask: How will we live together?

An important presumption Im making is this: community ought to be built intentionally. Theres nothing about the end of the commons, or even Covid-19, that requires us to create community frameworks to replace (or improve upon) the commons. Many of us will be fine without intentional community; we have our friends, our clubs, our classes in short, our communities already formed for us. But for those who fall through the cracks, there will be a world of difference. I have no interest in my community being one in which a first year (or sophomore, junior or senior) can get lost in the crowd. When I ask how we will live together, I mean to ask how we will intentionally ensure that everyone has the opportunity to find community here if they look for it.

I dont have a good answer to that question. Taking care of our mental health will be paramount; our ability to take care of one another in stressful times depends on having spare mental and emotional capacity. Reaching out to others, especially first years, is importantas is smiling more and bringing extra patience, care and love to everything we do. Every little thing we do in service of our community is a way of saying, Wont you be my neighbor?

This is no easy task, but it will make a difference. Do we want to remember our Covid-19 year as one characterized by ill will, paranoia, frustration and worry? Or will it be the year in which we took care of one another and created a new culture of community that lasts for the years to come?

Ben Beese is a member of the class of 2021.5.

Editors note: Editor in chief Bochu Ding 21 was a member of the How Will We Live Together steering committee.

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How will we live together? The Middlebury Campus - Middlebury Campus

Recent events in the United States have confirmed that systemic racism continues to exist and that tragedies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic take a greater toll on communities of color. If we are to stamp out these racial inequities permanently, it follows that we all need to come together to demand change from our civic leaders. And, individually, regardless of the color of our skin, each of us has an important role in this systemic change.

In 2018, the Society of Women Engineers added Diversity and Inclusion as a fourth goal to our Society strategic plan. We stated that SWE will champion diversity in the engineering and technology professions and will promote an inclusive environment. There are several objectives under that goal, including having our membership match the diversity of the engineering profession and fostering an inclusive culture to increase the diversity of the Societys leadership. We recognized that as a diversity organization, we needed to practice what we preached to employers and university partners. In short, we needed to do more. A good start, but I will be the first to admit we have fallen short.

Following the killing of George Floyd, the Society issued a statement condemning his murder, and we discussed collectively turning our pain into purpose. While many members were proud to see SWE take a stand in support of the Black community, many members also pointed out that we needed to start by looking within SWE. Examples such as the lack of diversity on the board of directors or exclusionary behavior at local section events were brought to our attention. FY21 President Heather Doty vowed to lead our efforts to be much more intentional about our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, beginning immediately.

We started by making a commitment to add at least one woman of color to the FY21 board of directors. A call for nominations was opened and, despite the short window, more than 50 nominations were received. Last month, the board of directors unanimously approved the appointment of two special directors: Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua, Ph.D., and Maisha Gray-Diggs, Ph.D. We are excited to have them join the board, and we welcome their much-needed insight and expertise.

We heard members tell us in no uncertain terms that this is for the Societys leadership to rectify and not a problem for the women of color to fix.

We also recognized that we needed to listen more and that we needed more diverse voices providing feedback to our board of directors. So, on July 22, we conducted two Listening Town Halls to hear directly from our members of color on their experiences in SWE and what we needed to do to improve the SWE experience for women of color, both locally and at the Society level. More than 180 members joined us that day to share and provide feedback. I will admit that much of the feedback was hard to hear. But we need to know where we are if we are to eliminate the inequities within the Society.

We heard members tell us in no uncertain terms that this is for the Societys leadership to rectify and not a problem for the women of color to fix. We agree 100%, but we want you at the table sharing your voice and keeping us accountable. Both SWEs board and staff will be using the feedback we received to develop our action plan. Though the sessions were recorded, we will report out on the discussions only in the aggregate, and the recordings will not be made public because we wanted to create a safe space so members could feel comfortable sharing.

We want to make sure that every member feels welcome and included, whether at a local Section event, on a committee, or at Society-level events. Nothing less is acceptable.

One outcome is clear: At all levels of the Society, training is needed for our leaders on intentional inclusion. We took a first step by hosting a Facebook live discussion on July 9 titled Lets Talk: Allyship for Black Engineers and Technologists (https://bit.ly/3gGzs2W). This is just a first step. The Society is currently meeting with several subject matter experts to help us develop training and a dissemination plan for leadership at all levels within the organization. We want to make sure that every member feels welcome and included, whether at a local section event, on a committee, or at Society-level events. Nothing less is acceptable.

The Society will also be looking at our leadership pipeline and the diversity of our committees, abstract reviewers, and awards and scholarship judges. We want to make sure that speakers, award recipients, and scholarship recipients reflect the diversity of our membership and the profession. This will include making sure that the mentorship and sponsorship of diverse members is intentional. Having diverse voices engaged across the Society will help us avoid our blind spots and be a truly inclusive organization.

We all have a role to play in eliminating systemic racism. I ask all of our members to join in helping SWE be a place where ALL women in engineering, regardless of skin color, feel part of our community.

In the words of Maya Angelou, in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. Lets make our SWE community strong!

Excerpt from:

Closing Thoughts: Being Intentional About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - All Together - Society of Women Engineers