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Durham, NC Just Finished Erasing $2.7 Million In Traffic Debt

Cinnamon Janzer

February 17, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

The DEAR program (Durham Expunction and Restoration) put 11,084 drivers back on the road legally and waived $2.7 million in fines in a purge of old cases that had revoked driving privileges for unpaid fines and fees. The two-year amnesty program, part of a national movement, took aim at the often racially disparate enforcement of state laws that burden the formerly incarcerated and others with unaffordable monetary penalties. Deprived of the right to drive, people either miss out on work and educational opportunities, or risk more traffic tickets, arrests, and fines.

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Seattle Bets on Equitable Development

Isabella Garcia

February 17, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

An Equitable Development Initiative was launched as a result of a racial equity analysis that gauged the effect that Seattle’s economic growth would have on communities of color. Funding for the initiative has gone toward capital for these communities to purchase real estate and develop projects that build up affordable housing, child care, food security, and other issues that would best serve longtime residents and prevent gentrification.

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Anti-human trafficking apps were meant to save lives. They're failing

Emily Ding Corinne Redfern

February 16, 2021 |

Wired |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

Since its April 2018 founding in Malaysia, the Be My Protector app has enabled interventions in 120 cases of suspected human trafficking, sparked by anonymous reports that its app enables. In about a third of those cases, which mostly involved migrant workers in South and Southeast Asia, the victims were able to return to their homes, while others were offered counseling. But, like the more than 90 such apps available around the world, Be My Protector has struggled to make a big impact. Many such apps capitalize on a trendy subject without a clear focus on improving conditions and helping victims.

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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 |

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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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An Atlanta Neighborhood Will Finally Own Property as a Community

Adina Solomon

February 09, 2021 |

Next City |

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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 |

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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 |

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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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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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