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Nice White Parents: We Know It When We See It

Chana Joffe-Walt

August 20, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

A Brooklyn school district has changed the zoning and middle school admission process to racially integrate schools and level the playing field. White children previously gained admission to schools with the most resources based on impressive grades and extracurricular activities. The new system is based on a lottery and can not screen students for test results or attendance. Black and Latino families have been demanding change since 1950, but this change was a result of the efforts of white parents. Critics question whether the motive was equality or anger over too many white kids kept out of good schools.

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Minnesota Freedom Fund Bails Out Those Who Can't Afford It

Bonita Gooch Jazzlyn Johnson

August 20, 2020 |

The Community Voice |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Minnesota Freedom Fund spent its first four years as a modestly funded nonprofit that used donations to bail people out of jail, as a means of countering a cash bail system that critics see as unfair to people living in poverty and people of color. From 2016 to early 2020, it had a budget of $100,000 per year and bailed out 563 people. Protests against Minneapolis police misconduct produced a windfall of $30 million in donations. The fund has excess funds, beyond what's needed to bail out protesters, and faces some criticism that it has freed people accused of violence.

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Courts rule

Emma Athena

August 20, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

Almost half of U.S. states guarantee citizens’ rights to petition for ballot measures, but the coronavirus made gathering signatures in person infeasible. Massachusetts courts allowed electronic signatures, but other states have not approved virtual citizen initiative campaigns. Ballot initiatives allow citizens to advance solutions and enact structural changes without relying on support from elected officials. MA groups used DocuSign to gather 30,000 signatures to get a proposal for ranked choice voting on the ballot. Not all MA groups were able to quickly or successfully pivot to the e-signature process.

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Protecting Chicago's Homeless Population During Covid-19

Katie Scarlett Brandt

August 19, 2020 |

Chicago Health |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Over 100 organizations in Chicago that focus on helping those who are experiencing homelessness are now working together to provide COVID-19 testing and increase housing capacity throughout the city. Although testing teams have been visiting shelters to administer COVID tests, new facilities have been created to increase bed capacity and those with underlying medical conditions have been provided individual hotel rooms, the enhanced resources aren't necessarily reaching everyone.

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Is It Finally Time For Year Round School

Darcy Sprague

August 19, 2020 |

The Hechinger Report |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

Long summer vacations are a tradition in the United States, but some school districts are challenging the long-standing notion of summer break by using a different model—year-round school. School districts around the U.S. are considering adopting the model in the near future to combat the "COVID slide." School districts in Texas are finding that a year-round school calendar has helped students with former summer food insecurity and provides students who may be falling behind, a chance to catch up without a multiple-month summer interruption to their education.

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Why most top Foreign Office posts are held by women

The Economist

August 13, 2020 |

The Economist |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

More women are serving in top positions of the United Kingdom’s diplomatic corps with a female ambassador to the United States for the first time since the position was created in 1791. Women now hold about a third of Britain’s ambassadorships and the increase can be traced to several changes, including a public pledge to increase women in leadership positions. A reliable pipeline of women to fill the top spots was also nurtured, with nearly 60% of new foreign service employees now female. Grouping interviews forces management to see the big picture and diplomatic life has become more flexible for families.

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Vote-By-Mail Helped Perk Up Hawaii Turnout But So Did Some Competitive Races

Blaze Lovell

August 13, 2020 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

The August 2020 primary election in Hawaii was the first run entirely with voting by mail and the result was increased voter turnout in all of the state’s voting districts. In fact, the 47.8% voter turnout was the best the state has had in 20 years. The turnout increased by an average of 15% over the 2016 primary election. Some districts that historically have low voter turnout saw smaller gains and still had turnout that lagged far behind other districts.

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'An awakening': the George Floyd protests spur surge in Black voter registration

Megan Botel Isaiah Murtaugh

August 07, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Advocacy organizations conducted voter outreach and registered new voters at Black Lives Matters protests on a scale not seen since the civil rights era. HeadCount, a voter-registration organization, created QR codes that anyone with a printer could put on protest signs. Other attendees could scan the codes with their smartphones to immediately register to vote. The group registered 14,898 new voters in June 2020, compared with 1,204 in June 2016. Political organizing at the summer’s protest events contributed to higher turnout in local and national elections, particularly among Black and Latino voters.

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Can the LBJ Women's Campaign School build a pipeline for women candidates?

Barbara Rodriguez

August 07, 2020 |

The 19th |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The LBJ Women’s Campaign School at the University of Texas at Austin provides nonpartisan support for women running for political office and seeks to recruit more center-right women into the pipeline of political candidates. The inaugural class had 50 women - 33 Democrats, 12 Republicans, and 5 Independents/Other. The group was racially diverse, 58% identified as women of color, but there is room for improvement when it comes to recruiting Republican women. The LBJ program received a financial award from the Women’s Public Leadership Network, which helps center-right women get involved in politics.

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Full-Circle Support

Katherine Rapin

August 06, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia Black Giving Circle supports Black-led and Black-serving nonprofits, offering funding that was raised through the Black community. The giving circle has helped to build personal relationships with people of color, strengthen the community, and increase donation amounts to nonprofits tackling issues in the community. The initiative is an effort to model a more equitable form of philanthropy.

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