Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • ‘Boys and girls have equal freedom': Kerala backs gender-neutral uniforms

    In an attempt to provide ease of movement to girl students while playing, Valayanchirangara primary school introduced "gender-neutral" uniforms for all its 756 students that eliminated the earlier requirement for them to wear skirts. It has since inspired several other schools in Kerala to similarly change their uniforms and snowballed a movement, supported by the state's education minister no less, where more such measures to promote gender equality in schools are being encouraged and adapted.

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  • At-home businesses are growing. Women and people of color benefit the most

    Local laws that allow people to use their homes as a hub for their at-home businesses are providing more entrepreneurial opportunities, specifically for women and people of color. There’s already evidence that these new regulations are leading to more women starting businesses, as the number of businesses owned by women grew by 27% during the pandemic.

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  • The Prisoner-Run Radio Station That's Reaching Men on Death Row

    At Texas’ Polunsky Unit, 106.5FM The Tank is a prison radio station run by and for the prison's incarcerated men, including nearly 200 on death row for whom the radio's shows form "a community center for men who can never leave their cells." The death-row prisoners, like many others in the prison, live in solitary confinement with no access to classes, jobs, or TVs. But they are allowed radios, and the prison warden allowed the creation of The Tank using donated equipment. Shows range from advice and religion to music of all sorts. All the shows are recorded as a security precaution.

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  • Burlington, Vt., ‘defunded' its police force. Here's what followed.

    In Burlington, a city of progressive politics with a police department long seen as forward-looking, city leaders' decision in June 2020 to respond to social-justice protests by cutting the police force by 30% has backfired in a number of ways. By moving quickly without an analysis of optimal staffing or how to shift duties to other agencies, the "defund police" measure prompted more police resignations than expected. Residents complain about conditions on downtown streets that make them feel unsafe. The city has since restored some of the police positions while moving more deliberately toward alternatives.

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  • Women-run media network rewrites women's roles

    Khabar Lahariya, India’s only feminist news network, employs female journalists to cover hyper-local issues within their communities. Khabar Lahariya has become a blend of activism and journalism and has a reach of 10 million viewers each month.

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  • Oakland's success shows how Philly-wide restorative justice could work

    Modeled on a long-running and successful program in Oakland, Philadelphia schools' Relationships First program uses restorative justice to reform school discipline. The program follows a three-step approach to changing culture. At its core, teachers and students deepen their relationships so that when they use group dialogue to address the harm that people have caused, the chances for healing are greater. Violence has dropped when it was used in one Philadelphia neighborhood in cases of serious offenses. In Oakland, expulsions, suspensions, and racial disparities are all way down.

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  • Community Sponsorship in the UK: A win-win approach for resettling refugees?

    Community buy-in for refugee resettlement is providing a legal avenue for those seeking asylum. Local groups across the UK have come together with the intention of helping refugees get settled. The groups raise money to be used by families to get through the first few months in addition to helping them open bank accounts, register for services, practice English, and more.

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  • 'It seemed like our lives didn't matter'

    The murder of Ahmaud Arbery sparked nationwide rage, but the people most affected by local racism felt it most keenly. A Better Glynn formed to seek reforms in Glynn County law enforcement after years of status-quo racism and resistance to change. The group worked with an existing group of Black pastors and other leaders and found success in the firing of the police chief, his replacement by the county's first Black chief, the district attorney's reelection defeat, and the beginnings of police reforms.

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  • St. Paul police credit jiu-jitsu training for reducing injuries — and excessive force settlements

    When St. Paul police studied controversial cases in which officers used physical force, they found troubling examples that were products of the training given to officers. So they began training new and veteran officers to use tactics inspired by the Brazilian martial art jiu-jitsu, which prizes teamwork by two officers to use leverage to restrain resistant people rather than using brute force, weapons, or chemicals. In the six years after the training began, St. Paul officers used force far less often, injured far fewer people, and cost the city much less money in settlements payments.

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  • ‘An utter failure': Law meant to clear old convictions, including for marijuana possession, helps few

    In 2018, Massachusetts legislators passed a law allowing people with certain lower-level criminal records to seal the records or expunge convictions altogether. The law was meant to remove the burden that a criminal record imposes on people seeking jobs or renting apartments, particularly when the conduct is no longer illegal, such as marijuana possession. Thousands have managed to get their records sealed. But relatively few have sought or won expungement, thanks to an overly restrictive and complicated process that hasn't been explained well to those who could benefit.

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