Civics 4/9

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

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

Medical student Nobles Antwi and his classmates recite an oath they wrote together during the University of Minnesota Medical School’s annual White Coat Ceremony for the class of 2026 Friday, Aug. 19, 2022 at the Northrop Memorial Auditorium on the University campus in Minneapolis. The Class of 2026 on the Twin Cities Campus includes 167 students, half of whom are Black, Indigenous and people of color. (Photo by Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via Getty Images)House Republicans are trying to upend DEI in medical schools: Students in medical schools across the country are bracing for legislation that could significantly impact DEI programs. In a new bill proposed by Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), the bill aims to cut federal funding for medical schools with DEI programs as part of a larger effort to protest diversity initiatives in medicine. “For me, it’s this mix of shock and disappointment,” said Joel Bervell, a medical student at Washington State University. Prism cites an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal where the congressman called DEI in medical schools "quackery," and explains that the legislation would require schools to stop teaching topics such as intersectionality, colonization, and white supremacy; dissolve scholarships, classes, and programming designed to benefit racialized students; and eliminate DEI offices. Read more here.

Service providers demand access to Latinx incarcerated population: Community-focused programs like ReSET Justice Collaborative are a godsend for people who have experienced incarceration, like Carlos, a 29-year-old from Honduras who was promised work that never materialized and turned to selling drugs instead. It's one of many programs within the San Francisco County Jail system serving incarcerated Spanish-speaking populations by providing substance use disorder treatment, anger management, cultural activities, English classes and more. Since Carlos' involvement with ReSET, he has secured employment after incarceration — a job he still has two years later — and has turned away from drugs. 

Programs like ReSET present a solution to an increasingly dire problem for San Francisco's prison system, which has seen an influx of Latinx people in the last year, a population El Tecolote reports has grown since the city's crackdown on drugs. But routine lockdowns and staff shortages have made it difficult for incarcerated Latinx people to access rehabilitation programs and other training opportunities in Spanish, leading service providers for the incarcerated Latinx population to call for access to the prison facility at a recent Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board meeting. Read more about why these programs are needed here.

Minn. bill aimed at preserving Black families would now cover most of state's foster kids: In recent years, advocates for The African American Family Preservation Act have fought for legislation to address systemic gaps in the state's child welfare system, including foster care removals, termination of parental rights and disproportionate investigations of child maltreatment. Sahan Journal reports that advocates of the bill — now in the House judiciary committee — face new obstacles. The legislation, originally intended for Black children and families, has been revised to include all “African American and disproportionately represented children” essentially encompassing all children in foster care (with the exception of children who are members of Native American tribes). If enacted, Minnesota would become the first state in the country to raise the Indian Child Welfare Act-established standards for virtually all children in foster care. Read more to learn about the legislation and what's at stake.

Why we need BIPOC media, even for an eclipse: The question of whether media for and about communities of color is only relevant for certain topics misses the mark because our experiences and perspectives are woven into every aspect of life, writes Mitra Kalita for URL Media. Take yesterday's solar eclipse as an example.

Leading up to the celestial event, NABJ’s Black News & Views, a digital site curating excellent journalism on issues that affect the Black diaspora in the U.S., highlighted astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker's eclipse prediction of 1789, advancing science and how Black people were viewed in society. The site also featured an exclusive essay from one of Banneker's descendants about the innovative discoveries and works of her ancestor. Kalita also amplifies stories you likely didn’t see in mainstream media from URL Media partners, including Epicenter-NYC's guide to watching the eclipse safely, and PushBlack's write-up on watching the eclipse while incarcerated and more. Read more about how our partners covered the 2024 solar eclipse here.

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