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

Vann R. Newkirk II

February 11, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

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

Paulina Villegas Hannah Knowles

February 05, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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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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‘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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HBCU student media confronts local news bias

Alexis Wray

February 02, 2021 |

Scalawag |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Greensboro, North Carolina

In 2018, The A&T Register, the online student-run newspaper for North Carolina A&T State University, the largest Black university in the country, conducted a media investigation. It examined the way local media wrote headlines that associated the university with crime. They examined headlines that fell into two categories; those that used the campus as a locator for crime, or headlines that based outdated affiliations. Then, the editor-in-chief, Alexis Wray, presented their findings to local outlets hoping to effect change. They did. Their investigation led to changes in future headlines.

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"We're not just relics of the past": How #NativeTikTok is preserving Indigenous cultures and inspiring a younger generation

Li Cohen

January 28, 2021 |

CBS News |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Navajo Nation, United States

Native and Indigenous individuals are using TikTok to share aspects of their traditions, challenge stereotypes, and empower young people to be proud of their culture. The videos range from instructional, teaching people indigenous languages or dance, to putting a "cultural spin" on trending content. The hashtag #NativeTikTok has over 1.3 billion views and users comment that the videos help them feel more connected to and proud of their cultures. The videos follow the tradition of preserving culture through storytelling and offer positive representations of Native and Indigenous people and their cultures.

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Worker-Owned Cooperatives are Building Their Own Investment Network

Oscar Perry Abello

January 28, 2021 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Cooperatives are getting the funding they need through a “nationwide network of loans funds and incubators that specialize in supporting and investing in cooperative businesses.” Coops lack access to traditional funding and are typically member funded. The new source of funding has allowed historically marginalized Black and Hispanic communities the opportunity to create coops where workers share ownership equally.

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Is D.C. Finally on the Brink of Statehood?

Nora Caplan-Bricker

January 27, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

51 for 51 is an advocacy group fighting for DC statehood by educating people about DC residents’ taxation without representation and training advocates in other states, mostly young people, to lobby their senators to support a statehood bill. Organizers also bird-dogged democratic presidential candidates for a public pledge of support for statehood, which 18 did. The group has also gained new support for ending the filibuster, which is needed to pass a statehood bill in the Senate. Support for statehood is at its highest, with a bill passing the House of Representatives for the first time in June 2020.

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Local group gives LGBTQ, BIPOC communities and allies inclusive recovery space

Billy Jean Louis

January 26, 2021 |

Charlottesville Tomorrow |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlottesville, Virginia

Diversity in Recovery created an inclusive space for the LGBTQ community, Black and Indigenous people, people of color, and allies, many of whom report negative experiences because of their race, sexuality, and/or gender in other recovery groups. The group provides a safe and affirming space to support each other in recovery and discuss issues that also impact recovery, including conversations about trauma and current events, such as racial injustices and political insurrections. Because of Coivd-19, the group meets twice a week on Zoom, which has enabled people from outside the city to attend.

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2 Years After Legalizing Cannabis, Has Canada Kept Its Promises?

Ian Austen

January 23, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada

Since Canada legalized recreational use of marijuana two years ago, prosecutions for possession of small amounts of the drug have all but disappeared, erasing a major racial disparity in Canadian law enforcement. But other aspects of the country's plan for racial equity to flow from legalization have yet to be realized. Few of the estimated 500,000 people with possession convictions on their record have managed the daunting process of getting their records cleared. Illegal sales still flourish, and Black and indigenous people have not found much success in the growing legal side of the business.

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