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

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  • The invisible shield: how activists and lawmakers are breaking down qualified immunity, Part 3

    April 15, 2021 |

    New York Amsterdam News |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Colorado

    The protests against police abuses in 2020 prodded numerous legislatures to challenge the legal doctrine of qualified immunity, which protects police officers from being sued for violating people's civil rights. Colorado's law, the first to pass, was a direct response to the protests, as was New York City's law. While one Colorado lawsuit has already been filed, the full effects of these laws and others in the pipeline won't be known for some time. Proponents say these changes won't transform police culture, but they are necessary precursors to making deeper changes.

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  • No badges. No guns. Can violence interrupters help Minneapolis?

    April 13, 2021 |

    The Christian Science Monitor |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    MinneapolUS puts unarmed community members on Minneapolis streets to prevent street violence, part of the city's effort to redirect resources from the police to other crime-prevention efforts. Four teams of 20 to 30 members, many of them former gang members and formerly incarcerated, have intervened in beatings and potential shootings. They use a public-health approach pioneered by the organization Cure Violence, which has proven effective in other cities.

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  • LEGO ramps could improve access for Philadelphians in wheelchairs

    April 13, 2021 |

    The Philadelphia Citizen |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Germany, Hanau

    An ingenious use of LEGOs has resulted in colorful wheelchair ramps around the German town of Hanau. The ramps are constructed using thousands of tiny LEGOs that are glued together and are able to withstand the weight of electric wheelchairs, strollers, and walkers. Although the ramps don’t comply with official building and safety codes, they’ve proven to be helpful and have remained in use in Hanau.

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  • Charlotte is taking a new approach to drug cases. It could change lives.

    April 13, 2021 |

    The Charlotte Observer |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

    The Mecklenburg County district attorney stopped prosecuting non-violent, low-level drug cases to free up resources to handle a backlog of more serious cases that built up during the pandemic. The policy had the effect of freeing people from the permanent stain of a criminal conviction and offering them drug treatment as an alternative to punishment.

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  • Playgrounds Designed With Accessibility In Mind Make Play Fun for Every Kid

    April 13, 2021 |

    Next City |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, St. Petersburg, Florida

    Playground designers and city officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, have gone beyond the basic requirements mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act in order to create a space that is truly inclusive. The park is “wheelchair accessible from bottom to top” and sets the standard for city parks that are focusing on more inclusivity.

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  • What do communities do when the police retreat?

    April 12, 2021 |

    The Washington Post |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Little Earth Protectors is one of several community patrol groups that emerged in Minneapolis' unrest after George Floyd's death in police custody. Named for a mostly Native American neighborhood with high rates of violence, the Protectors filled a vacuum left by short-staffed police who had lost support in the community. Patrolling the streets, usually unarmed, the Protectors mediate disputes, discourage drug and prostitution activity, and guard against property destruction. Seven larger groups doing this work have been given city contracts to provide their services if civil unrest breaks out again.

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  • In the wake of hate, the law is not always enough

    April 11, 2021 |

    Concord Monitor |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Dover, New Hampshire

    Hate crime laws apply to a narrow range of conduct, and often fail as a response to bias incidents that constitute hate speech but are not in themselves a crime. When high school students working on a history class project produced a video with a song treating the KKK and racist murders as a joke, the school and community responded not with prosecutions but with community dialogues to air differences of opinion about the incident. Students of color then formed a group, Project D.R.E.A.M., that expanded the conversations to the entire school, educating a mainly white community about the impact of racism.

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  • Once jailed, these women now hold courts accountable — with help from students, retirees and Fiona Apple

    April 09, 2021 |

    The Washington Post |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

    Court Watch PG acts as a traditional court watch program for Maryland's Prince George's County, but with a twist: the two formerly incarcerated women running it turned adversity, in the form of the pandemic's shutdown of trials, into opportunity in the form of a nationwide crew of volunteers watching over Zoom. The watchers attend bond hearings, where people jailed on pending charges try to gain pretrial release. After observing thousands of hearings, Court Watch PG has exposed flaws in the system, which it pushes to reform through the more than 100 "accountability letters" it has sent justice officials.

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  • Educators seek to spark systemic change by teaching Tulsa Race Massacre curriculum in Oklahoma public schools

    April 07, 2021 |

    OU Daily |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Oklahoma

    It took almost 100 years to expand education curriculum in Oklahoma to make significantly expand teaching about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Although the social studies standards in Oklahoma are updated every six years, they are now paired with a social studies framework in 2020 to serve as a “living document.” The state is also providing updated resources for teachers to incorporate these lessons in their curriculum for third to 12th grade classrooms.

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  • U.K. Community Leaders Step In to Aid Vaccination in Ethnically Diverse Areas

    April 06, 2021 |

    The New York Times |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United Kingdom, London, England

    To discourage the spread of misinformation about the Covid vaccine and decrease vaccine hesitancy in minority communities, religious leaders and other influential people in Britain have launched campaigns to dispel concerns. According to a survey about overall willingness to take the vaccine, the efforts – which include posters, sermons, a help line, and WhatsApp chats – have been working.

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