Civics 2/27

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

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News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from the URL Media network.

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Native teen’s death investigated as crime: The death of sixteen-year-old Nex Benedict on Feb. 8, a day after a physical altercation in a girl’s bathroom at an Owasso, Okla. high school, is now reportedly under a criminal investigation by police. Nex identified as non-binary, and their mother is a tribal citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. 

According to a Native News Online report, three girls attacked Nex, including grabbing them by the hair and beating them, in a high school bathroom after Nex poured water on them. The school district has said that there is “speculation and misinformation” about the circumstances of the altercation, but has been questioned as to why they did not file a police report. At recent vigils held for Nex, people have called for accountability for anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans violence. Read more here.

Georgia’s SB63 would roll-back cash bail reforms: A newly passed bill in Georgia would greatly expand the use of cash bail, a system that jails people based on their wealth or ability to pay for their freedom. Prism spoke with the Georgia branch of the ACLU, which says the bill “unconstitutionally criminalizes poverty and restricts conduct protected by the First Amendment.” Among 30 new bail-restricted offenses under the measure are obstruction of justice, fleeing or attempting to elude police, and rioting. 

Data indicates that Black individuals are most likely to be impacted by the legislation, as 51% percent of Georgia’s jail population is Black people, who are also more likely to be assigned higher bail than white people. Critics further argue that SB63 measure unfairly limits the ability of charitable  organizations – like Black churches, who have historically carried out the practice – from posting bail for groups of people, while allowing this for bail bond companies. 

Read more in Prism.

‘Black women…we cast our votes, but are not represented': In a stirring op-ed by Black Voice News executive editor Stephanie Williams, the growing tensions between Black women’s support for the Democratic party, and the sense that there is a lack of reciprocity, clash. At the center of the argument is the highly-anticipated contest for California’s Senate seat, with various candidates including Democratic House Representatives. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. Porter, Adam Schiff, and Republican Steve Garvey vying for the spot. Williams argues that “the [Democratic] party can’t seem to put real support or money behind viable Black women candidates – even those eminently qualified like Lee and this, despite there not being a single elected Black woman in the U.S. Senate.” 

More: Keeping it Real: For Representative Barbara Lee, the CA Senate Race Ain’t No Crystal Stair (Black Voice News)

A report from the Knight Media Forum: As layoffs continue across the media, local news continues to be a shining light for a way forward, per the conversations at the recently held Knight Media Forum in Miami, Florida. In a report back for Epicenter NYC, which she founded, URL Media’s Co-Founder and CEO S. Mitra Kalita points out that there is hope to be found in the marriage of philanthropy and news, and in getting specific in the communities we center in our reporting. Read her full article here. 

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