2023 Civics Edition
May 9, 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.
Flame, a drag queen, reads stories to children and their caretakers during a Drag Story Hour at a public library in New York on June 17, 2022. Credit: Seth Wenig for AP
Why NYC kids need storytellers in drag: We hear from Epicenter-NYC contributor Sam Zachar who gives listeners behind-the-scenes access to Drag Story Hour. Founded in 2015, Drag Story Hour is a literacy program that brings drag performers to libraries, schools and museums to share riveting stories and teach toddlers and children about kindness, acceptance and self-exploration. Its goal is to provide a safe space to promote reading, inclusion and diversity.The events, however, have become targets for homophobic and transphobic groups in recent years. In this podcast episode, Zachar speaks with storytellers, organizers and families about the importance of Drag Story Hour for all communities and why it should be preserved. 🎧 Listen to the conversation.ICYMI: Drag Queen storytime
Unions fight to include wage theft in OSHA’s new U visa program: Every year tens of thousands of undocumented workers experience workplace abuse. However, just two months ago the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began issuing U Visa certificates, which protects undocumented workers who have suffered physical or mental abuse on the job.The nonimmigrant visa is helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website. The visa also grants undocumented immigrants work permits and shields them from deportation. In spite of all this, Documented's Amir Khafagy reports that one key workplace issue is missing as a qualifying crime: wage theft. Read more about what's being done to expand U Visa eligibility.ICYMI: New OSHA rules empower immigrant workers
Investigating the intersection of health and inequality: Our Body Politic host Farai Chideya interviews Steven Thrasher, an LGBTQ scholar, journalist and author of “The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Diseases Collide.” They discuss Thrasher's new book, which explores how systematic marginalization determines who is most affected by public health crises like HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and mpox. Chideya then interviews Howard Polskin, founder of the newsletter "TheRighting,” which helps moderate-to-liberal audiences understand the stories that shape conservative Americans' political views.🎧 Listen to the full episode — and leave the show a voice message at 929-353-7006 if you'd like to suggest an upcoming topic.
Despite a tough school year, one Minnesota teacher is turning his pain into power: For 19 years, Michael Houston has been teaching math at Harding High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Of all the years he spent working in this field, this would likely be the one he remembers best. Just in 2023 alone, both a staff member and a student at Harding passed away unexpectedly. Then in February, a student was fatally stabbed inside the school — on his first day there.Despite the workplace traumas he, his peers and community has experienced, the beloved teacher and former school football coach was recently named Minnesota Teacher of the Year this past Sunday. It is one of the state's most prestigious honors, reports Sahan Journal. He says he hopes to use his platform to advocate for mental health, a curriculum that’s more relevant to students’ lives, and add teachers of color through both recruitment and retention. Read more here.+: How students of Langston University, Okla.'s only HBCU, navigated the pandemic (The Oklahoma Eagle)+: Afro Day commemorates power, community and self-love (WURD Radio)
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