Civics 3/12

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

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Abortion is an important election issue among Black women, according to new poll: A new poll from KFF, a company that focuses on health policy research, finds that nearly half of voters say abortion is one of the main reasons they're voting in this year's presidential election, with a disproportionate number of voters who have these considerations identifying as Black, Democrat, women, and young voters between the ages of 18 and 29. 

Black Girl Times spoke with Jaribu Hill, executive director of the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights (MWCHR), and Dázon Dixon Diallo, founder and president of Atlanta reproductive justice organization Sister Love, Inc., about why the issue is front of mind for many Black women this year and beyond: "Black women have seen the dreadful alternative when people are not allowed to have safe abortions, to have a choice,” said Hill. In her message, Hill highlights the detrimental effects abortion bans can have on girls, women of color and poor women, especially in the case of the 13-year-old Mississippi girl who was sexually assaulted and forced to carry a pregnancy to term last August. 

Diallo says that Black women understand how abortion impacts their intersectional identities and the life-altering social and economic implications when it comes to abortion, including maternal mortality and questions one would ask themselves: “Can I afford it? Will it take away my opportunity to get out of my low-income designation? There’s much more to it than ‘Is this my time to have a baby.’” 

Read more here.

Following the passing of Nex Benedict, serious questions linger: The February death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old, straight-A, life-loving student who was unabashedly queer, in Oklahoma has driven many within the LGBTQ+ community to protest anti-LGBTQ+ culture and legislation across the state. At a recent rally coordinated by gender equality advocates and supporters in Owasso, Oklahoma, the town where Benedict lost their life after an incident in a school bathroom, some expressed frustration with "the culture of hate" created by conservative lawmakers, citizens and school administrators toward their community. (Since Benedict's untimely death, local and national outlets have reported the public's frustration with the lack of updates from Owasso High School.) “It’s that culture that needs to change, and until it does, it will be hard to protect Queer people like Nex,” Aren Deakins, a 2018 Owasso High School graduate, told The Oklahoma Eagle. Read to learn about the history of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the state and more here.

Survey shows that anti-Asian hate remains prevalent in NYC: If you think hate crimes have decreased since the pandemic started four years ago, think again. A recent survey conducted by The Asian American Foundation (TAFF) shows that the incidence of anti-Asian hate crimes remains prevalent in places like New York City — and is even higher than pre-Covid days. "... it’s by no means safe out there. And what’s being reported is just the tip of the iceberg," TAAF CEO Norman Chen tells AsAmNews. 

TAFF's survey, which includes interviews with nearly one thousand Asian Americans across four languages, including Chinese, Korean and Bengali found that 70% percent reported feeling unsafe in different public settings, 62% said they had witnessed a hate incident and more than half of women reported being fearful of taking public transportation, with some avoiding it altogether. Read more here.

‘Outright insulting’: Minn. agency under fire for Hmong translation: Sahan Journal reports that a state health department removed a Facebook post after hearing from several Hmong community members that the post was riddled with errors in the Hmong language, adding the text was confusing and poorly translated. The Facebook post included an image with text and a short caption, reminding Minnesotans with Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare to update their address and other personal information so that their insurance coverage is not interrupted. Critics say it's not the first time they've seen errors in Hmong translations, and that state agencies should be held to higher standards."There needs to be greater quality control, particularly from our public institutions," says Lee Pao Xiong, director of the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, which serves more than a million people in the state, often translates critical information for communities in Hmong, Somali, Vietnamese, Spanish and Russian. Read more here.

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