2023 Civics Edition
May 30, 2023
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A View From the Ground
News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from URL Media's network of Black and Brown publishers.
Demonstrators participate in a March for Our Lives rally in Pflugerville, Texas, in 2018. Credit: Scott Olson for Getty Images
Texas law restricts students from engaging in democracy: Prism reports that an existing law in Texas, HB 3979, entails a hidden stipulation that prohibits schools and teachers from requiring or awarding credit for students who are in “direct communication” with their local, state, or federal politicians. Some students who say their political opinions are rarely represented now worry that this law further prohibits them from engaging in democracy. “If these politicians don’t hear what the students feel, they’re gonna pass laws that influence our lives so greatly without even having our voice be represented,” said Katie Chou, a high school student at Plano West Senior High School in Dallas. Read more here.
Minn. Gov. Tim Walz signs recreational cannabis into law: Today, Minnesota became the 23rd state in the country to legalize recreational cannabis. Senator Lindsey Port, the bill’s chief author for the Senate who spoke to Sahan Journal last month, said the bill is one of the most equitable marijuana legalization laws in the nation. “We have an obligation to make sure that there is a level of opportunity for folks who have been harmed and whose communities have been harmed to succeed in this industry,” they said. The law will go into effect on August 1. Read a shortlist of the bill’s key measures here.
Haiti's artists speak up for nation's future: What do a dancer, a filmmaker, a painter, and a museum curator have in common? They all understand the powerful impact and social change that art can have on society. Art can disrupt dominant narratives with alternative thoughts, said Kantara Souffrant, who works for the Milwaukee Art Museum. Stephen Duncombe, co-founder of New York University’s Center for Artistic Activism, told the Haitian Times that art has the power to influence people’s hearts and mobilize public opinion. This is precisely what concerns an elite class within democratic societies, he added. Hear from contemporary Haitian artists who talk about how they’re using their craft to challenge stereotypes about their nation and uplift Haitian culture.
More: Making sense of Haiti's 'constitutional crisis' (URL Media)
From shelter to stability: a first-time homeowner’s journey in N.C.: For Yesenia Rios, the path to homeownership might have been long and arduous, but it’s also been worthwhile. Five years ago, the mother of three left New York with her children in search of a new life in North Carolina. However, between then and now, Rios moved a total of five times. “When I moved to North Carolina things got complicated for me. I ended up in a Christian shelter,” she told La Noticia in a recent phone interview. It was at that shelter where Rios met volunteers from the housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, and through those connections Rios created a path of stability and affordable homeownership for her and her family. Read her story here.
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