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American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old—And Hanging by a Thread

Vann R. Newkirk II

February 11, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mississippi

The federal Voting Rights Act required states to ensure access to the polls for Black voters and created federal enforcement mechanisms. The law worked well in the Jim Crow South, but it wasn't built to deal with racial disenfranchisement more broadly. Congress and the courts have stripped important provisions from the bill over time, like those ensuring enforcement. A 2013 Supreme Court ruling dismissed the need for preemptive measures to protect Black voters, which created an opening for states to pass more restrictive voting laws that have created unfair burdens for Black, Latino, and Indigenous voters.

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As COVID-19 Damages Black Appalachian Communities, This Mother, Daughter Team Are Working to Save an Unexpected Casualty: Black History

Kristen Uppercue

February 09, 2021 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Uniontown, Pennsylvania

The Fayette County Traveling Museum collects, preserves, and shares Uniontown’s Black history. The owners sift through archives, libraries, and donated boxes of materials, which are displayed as educational resources. The museum, which before COVID-19 was set up at schools and churches, details the early history of African Americans, both enslaved and free, the town’s Underground Railroad stop, prominent Black community figures, and the area’s Klu Klux Klan presence. Video and oral histories of older residents also encourage young people to explore their history and make the information more accessible.

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An Atlanta Neighborhood Will Finally Own Property as a Community

Adina Solomon

February 09, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

A new model for community-owned real estate is attempting to bridge the racial wealth gap and build neighborhood wealth in Atlanta. Instead of watching prime real estate go to investors who would hold onto the building for a profit without any regard for how the space served the community, The Guild is purchasing local real estate. The organization has previously worked with entrepreneurs and business initiatives to boost Black-owned business profitability and combat commercial gentrification.

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Denver successfully sent mental health professionals, not police, to hundreds of calls

Grace Hauck

February 06, 2021 |

USA Today |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

In its first six months, Denver's STAR program (Support Team Assistance Response) handled 748 emergency calls that in the past would have gone to the police or firefighters. Two-person teams of a medic and clinician helped people with personal crises related mainly to homelessness and mental illness. None of the calls required police involvement and no one was arrested. The city plans to spend more to expand the program, which is meant to prevent needless violence and incarceration from calls to the police that other types of first-responders can better address.

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Inside the L.A.P.D.'s Experiment in Trust-Based Policing

Michaela Haas

February 05, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

The Community Safety Partnership Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department has worked for a decade in 10 neighborhoods to prevent crime through building trust among residents, rather than through the LAPD's costly and troubled war on gangs. One study found that through long-term involvement in neighborhood life, with highly trained officers working closely with community organizers, CSP had helped increase public trust, save public money, and lower violent crime.

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After Capitol riot, desperate families turn to groups that ‘deprogram' extremists

Paulina Villegas Hannah Knowles

February 05, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Groups like Parents for Peace and Life After Hate use former radicals to counsel people in the grip of right-wing extremism. Bombarded by pleas for help by families since the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, these groups use a series of meetings to help people examine the roots of their ideology, with an aim of helping them discover for themselves the irrationality of their hatred and other beliefs. While one researcher says the methods show signs of effectiveness, success is defined mainly in individual stories of change, in a hard-to-measure process of "personal and idiosyncratic" introspection.

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A GOP Governor and BLM Activists Agreed on Restoring Voting Rights to Felons. Will It Last?

Kaila Philo

February 04, 2021 |

Politico |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Iowa

More than 3,000 Iowans voted in the 2020 presidential election thanks to an executive order signed by the Republican governor after a protest campaign by activists to erase Iowa's permanent ban on voting by people with felony records. But that number was just a fraction of those newly eligible to vote, due to limitations in the order and a lackluster effort to inform the public. Iowa has a disproportionately high number of disenfranchised Black citizens who could be helped by a more permanent constitutional fix. That fix has now been stalled by the choice to act by executive order.

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Vermont Plans to Send Cash to Immigrant Farmworkers Left Out of Stimulus

Elizabeth Hewitt

February 04, 2021 |

Civil Eats |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

Vermont approved coronavirus relief funding for immigrants who did not qualify for federal aid in the first round of the CARES Act. Migrant farm workers play a vital role in Vermont’s dairy industry and were hailed as essential workers who ensured a functioning local food supply during the pandemic. Undocumented immigrants have disproportionately been affected by the pandemic, but the majority of states have not provided this demographic with a financial security net.

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This Honduran lawyer reunites families separated at the US-Mexico border. It involves difficult road trips — and detective work.

Michelle Wiley

February 04, 2021 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Honduras

Justice In Motion helps Central American people who were separated from their children by the U.S. government when they attempted to migrate into the U.S. One lawyer in Honduras has succeeded many times in her three dozen searches for parents who lost contact with their children and themselves are hard to find. Justice In Motion and its allies are suing the government and try to help parents with their asylum petitions, in addition to seeking family reunification.

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‘Make no mistake': Drag queens are leading a racial reckoning in Chicago's famous LGBTQ neighborhood

Jake Wittich

February 03, 2021 |

The GroundTruth Project |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Black Drag Council launched after a series of protests that called on Chicago’s LGBTQ neighborhood to address racial discrimination and oppression. A handful of businesses quickly agreed to a live-streamed town hall to discuss ways to increase inclusivity. As a result, a prominent host of popular drag shows was ousted for racial discrimination and the business chamber dropped the neighborhood’s nickname, “Boystown,” from marketing materials because it is not inclusive. The Drag Council has also raised tens of thousands of dollars in cash and supplies to support Black- and trans-led initiatives.

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