Tag Archives: Northern America

Age, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Canada News | First Nations

Rash of suicide attempts leads to emergency declaration in Ontario First Nations community
  • Soon after the Attawapiskat First Nation’s council had declared a state of emergency following months of suicides and suicide attempts, 16 members of the northern Ontario First Nation attempted to take their lives.
  • Since last fall, the community has seen more than 100 suicide attempts among its population of 2,000, with victims ranging in age from 11 to 71.
  • Poor standards of living, limited healthcare access, and the legacies of brutal policies against First Nations have contributed to high indigenous suicide rates, with suicide/self-harm the leading cause of death among indigenous people under the age of 44.

Read more:
“How the Attawapiskat suicide crisis unfolded” (The Toronto Star)
“First Nations community grappling with suicide crisis: ‘We’re crying out for help’” (The Guardian)
“5 more Attawapiskat youth attempt suicide in ‘spiralling situation’” (CBC News)

(Image Credit: Chris Wattie/Reuters, via The Toronto Star)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Mississippi governor signs sweeping anti-LGBT bill into law
  • House Bill 1523 allows for businesses and government workers to set religiously based workplace policies and refuse service to LGBT and unmarried cohabitating individuals on religious grounds, including public accommodations, adoption, foster care, counseling, and marriage certificate registration.
  • Governor Phil Bryant claimed the law didn’t conflict with federal laws but merely provided protection for persons who for religious reasons wished to refuse service to LGBT customers and clients.
  • The bill declares the government cannot discriminate against such “persons,” which includes a “sole proprietorship, or closely held company, partnership, association, organization, firm, corporation, cooperative, trust, society or other closely held entity.”

Read more:
“Mississippi Governor Signs Sweeping Anti-LGBT Bill Into Law” (BuzzFeed News)
“LGBT couples can be refused service under new Mississippi law” (The Guardian)
“Religion law adopted in Mississippi over gay rights protest” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Rogelio V. Solis/AP, via BuzzFeed News)

Nationality + Migration

Canada News | Immigrants & Refugees

Canadian government warns refugees and other immigrants about phone scams
  • Extortionists have targeted new arrivals, homing in on those with non-English/French last names and demanding money to avoid denaturalization, passport seizure, or deportation.
  • Total complaints—including new arrivals—reached 15,000 in 2015, ten times more than the previous year, and already number more than 5,000 in 2016.
  • More than 1,100 victims, native-born and immigrant, have lost more than C$3.5 million (US$2.68 million) since 2014.

Read more:
“Canada warns refugees, immigrants about phone extortion scams” (Reuters)
“RCMP warn of phone scam targeting and threatening immigrants” (CBC News, January 2015)
“Phone scam targets immigrants across Canada” (Global News, January 2015)

(Image Credit: via CBC News)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Feature | Black

The Precarity of Black Urban Farming in Detroit

“If we want a stake in the process of controlling our own life, we’ve got to own land. If we are to create a society that values black life, we cannot ignore the role of food and land.”

With de-urbanization over the last few decades having freed up tracts of land both large and small, Detroit would seem to be prime real estate for local urban farmers, a rare chance to bring significant agriculture to a mid-sized American city. Given Detroit’s predominantly black population, it would also appear to be a golden opportunity to reconnect urban African Americans with their agricultural history. Urbanization, proprietary exclusion, and cultural shame from centuries of forced and coerced labor have contributed to a widening gap between African Americans and agriculture. Black land ownership, one of the few historical forms of intergenerational black wealth, has decreased dramatically over the last century, from 20 million acres in 1910 to 8 million today. The situation in Detroit, which opens access to farming without ownership, doesn’t look posed to fix that.

Public Radio International features the stories of the black urban farmers of Detroit facing difficult odds as the city hoards land titles and wealthy outside speculators buy up the remaining deeds in controversial deals that further marginalize Detroit natives.

Read more:
“Black farmers in Detroit are growing their own food. But they’re having trouble owning the land.” (Public Radio International)

Additional:
D-Town Farm
Keep Growing Detroit
Earthworks Urban Farm
“7 Urban Farmers You Should Know” (The Root)
“Black Farmers to buy from instead of Whole Foods” (Blavity)

(Image Credit: Cybelle Codish/PRI)

Gender

Canada News | Women

Elective abortion services to return to Prince Edward Island for first time in more than three decades
  • The Prince Edward Island government announced that it has asked Health PEI to plan a new women’s reproductive health clinic, which will offer medical and surgical abortion procedures among other health services.
  • PEI has not offered on-island elective abortion procedures since 1982, forcing its residents to travel to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia for healthcare.
  • Activists had threatened the provincial government with a lawsuit, which few thought would withstand scrutiny under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Read more:
“PEI drops opposition to abortion, plans to provide access by year’s end” (The Globe and Mail)
“Abortion services coming to P.E.I., province announces” (CBC News)
“Canada’s Prince Edward Island ends abortion ban in province” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: The Washington Post/Getty Images, via CBC News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

U.S. federal judge rules Mississippi ban on same-sex adoption unconstitutional
  • Judge Daniel P. Jordan III found that the law interfered with gay and lesbian citizens’ equal protection under the law in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision overturning same-sex marriage bans.
  • Judge Jordan argued that Mississippi’s Department of Human Services couldn’t interfere with the “rights and responsibilities intertwined with marriage.”
  • The ruling came as the Mississippi Senate passed an extensive religious freedom bill, sending one of the most expansive anti-LGBT bills introduced after the establishment of the nationwide right to marry to the governor’s desk.

Read more:
“Mississippi Same-Sex Adoption Ban Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules” (BuzzFeed News)
“Federal judge overturns Mississippi’s adoption ban on same-sex couples” (The Guardian)
“Mississippi Senate Passes Sweeping Anti-LGBT Religious Freedom Bill” (BuzzFeed News)

(Image Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA, via The Guardian)

Class + Socioeconomics, Gender

U.S. News | Women

FDA eases restrictions around abortion pill, increasing access for rural and low-income women
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now allows for mifepristone (Mifeprex) to be legally prescribed and taken further into pregnancy (10 vs. 7 weeks), with reduced dosage (200 vs. 600 mg), and requiring only two rather than three doctor’s visits.
  • Medical professionals and researchers have held that the restrictions, based on science from the 1990s, were out of step with advanced medical and pharmacological understanding.
  • Conservative states have long restricted access to mifepristone, requiring the drug to be administered by licensed physicians and at times in the presence of the prescribing doctor.

Read more:
“New F.D.A. Guidelines Ease Access to Abortion Pill” (The New York Times)
“FDA backs expanded use of medical abortion pill” (Reuters)
“FDA Extends Abortion Pill Recommendations To Later In Pregnancy” (BuzzFeed News)

(Image Credit: Gabriella Demczuk/The New York Times)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Black

The Ongoing Arrest Disparity in Marijuana-Legal States

A recent study conducted by YouthFacts analyzing FBI Criminal Justice Information Services data has found that although arrests in states that have legalized marijuana possession have dropped dramatically, a disproportionate number of black people continue to be arrested relative to non-black peers. While arrests for marijuana in both marijuana-legal and marijuana-illegal states have been trending downward, the ongoing post-reform disparity continues to point to enforcement- rather than law-based problems in the U.S. criminal justice system.

877.8 (2008) vs. 57.2 (2014)

Black arrest rate in Washington (per 100,000)

390.5 (2008) vs. 27.3 (2014)

Non-black arrest rate in Washington (per 100,000)

601.3 (2008) vs. 242.2 (2014)

Black arrest rate in Colorado (per 100,000)

293.3 (2008) vs. 103.8 (2014)

Non-black arrest rate in Colorado (per 100,000)

2.7 (marijuana-legal) vs. 3.0 (marijuana-legal)

Disparity in arrest rates across states

-76% (marijuana-legal) vs. -15% (marijuana-illegal)

Decrease in arrest rates across states from 2008 to 2014

Marijuana-legal states included: Colorado, Washington
Marijuana-illegal states included: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts

Read more:
“Are Young People and African Americans Better Off under Marijuana Reform?“ (YouthFacts)
“Pot legalization hasn’t done anything to shrink the racial gap in drug arrests” (The Washington Post)
“Black People Twice As Likely To Be Arrested For Pot In Colorado And Washington — Where It’s Legal” (ThinkProgress)

Age, Health + Ability, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. Research | Black & Children with Disabilities

Disproportionate Suspension Rates in U.S. Charter Schools

A new study has found that black students and students with disabilities are suspended at considerably higher rates than their peers in charter schools at both the elementary and secondary level. At the secondary level, Latino and Native American students join them in disproportionate suspension. The report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project spells particular trouble for black students with disabilities and has troubling implications in the fight against the school-to-prison pipeline.

4.1% (all students) vs. 9.7% (with disabilities) vs. 3.7% (without disabilities)

Suspension rates at the elementary level by ability

4.1% (all students) vs. 8.7% (black) vs. 2.1% (white) vs. 2.4% (Latino) vs. 3% (Native American)

Suspension rates at the elementary level by race/ethnicity

11.6% (all students) vs. 20.8% (with disabilities) vs. 10.6% (without disabilities)

Suspension rates at the secondary level by ability

11.6% (all students) vs. 22% (black) vs. 5.6% (white) vs. 9.1% (Latino) vs. 10.9% (Native American)

Suspension rates at the secondary level by race/ethnicity

7.8% (charters) vs. 6.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates at the K-12 level

15.5% (charters) vs. 13.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates of students with disabilities (K-12)

7% (charters) vs. 5.7% (non-charters)

Suspension rates of students without disabilities (K-12)

50+%

Suspension rate of students with disabilities at 235 charter schools

Years studied: 2011-12

Read more:
Charter Schools, Civil Rights, and School Discipline: A Comprehensive Review (The Center for Civil Rights Remedies)
“Students With Disabilities Suspended More Often At Charters” (Disability Scoop)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.S. News | LGBT

Georgia governor announces veto of anti-LGBT bill
  • Republican Georgia governor Nathan Deal announced he would veto House Bill 757, a bill introduced to protect faith-based organizations from anti-discrimination lawsuits.
  • Governor Deal’s announcement came in the wake of boycott threats from businesses and prominent entertainers as well as national backlash over the passage of a more extensive anti-LGBT bill in neighboring North Carolina.
  • Some Georgia senators have announced their intention to attempt an override, although successful veto overrides are rare in Georgia’s history.

Read more:
Transcript: Governor’s remarks on HB757 (Georgia Office of the Governor)
“Georgia Governor Rejects Bill Shielding Critics of Gay Marriage” (The New York Times)
“Georgia Governor blocks anti-gay law after boycott threats” (PinkNews)
“Senators calls for override of Deal veto of religious liberty bill” (The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

(Image Credit: David Goldman/Associated Press, via The New York Times)

Nationality + Migration

U.S. News | Undocumented Immigrants

New Mexico university recruits undocumented students as student activists continue to fight for reform
  • Silver City–based Western New Mexico University has begun an outreach program to recruit undocumented students, a group known as DREAMers after the proposed legislation providing a path to citizenship through higher education or military service.
  • Undocumented students face uncertain prospects for higher education because of their status, with financial aid restrictions and legal precarity constraining their prospects.
  • As colleges face declining enrollments, undocumented students have seen their appeal to admissions offices increase, while students across the country fight for visibility and legal reform.

Read more:
“New Mexico College Seeks Immigrant Students in US Illegally” (AP via ABC News)
“Undocumented students come out of the shadows” (USA Today)
“The Folly of Under-Educating the Undocumented” (The Atlantic)

Health + Ability

U.S. News | Mental Illness

Texas prepares to execute man despite recognition of mental illness
  • Adam Ward was convicted of the 2005 murder of a code enforcement officer and sentenced to death, now set to become the fifth person executed in Texas in 2016.
  • On appeal, the federal district court acknowledged Ward’s documented bipolar disorder and paranoid delusions, which had been recognized and treated off and on since Ward was 3, but argued that it was insufficient to disqualify him from the death penalty.
  • Ward’s lawyers have appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, including an argument that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Read more:
“Execution Set For Man Courts Recognize as Mentally Ill” (The Texas Tribune)
“Texas Set To Execute Man Amid Claims Of ‘Severe Mental Illness’” (BuzzFeed News)
“Texas to execute Adam Ward unless Supreme Court intervenes” (AP via AL.com)

(Image Credit: tdcj.state.tx.us, via BuzzFeed News)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. News | Hispanic/Latino

Latino immigrants flock to naturalization campaigns across the U.S. ahead of November elections
  • Naturalization applications increased by 14.5% between June and December 2015 over the same period in 2014, with some analysts attributing part of the influx to the anti-immigrant rhetoric of Republican presidential candidates.
  • Of the 8.8 million authorized residents eligible for naturalization, an estimated 3.9 to 4.5 million are Latino, but hefty costs deter many from gaining citizenship.
  • Mexican immigrants in particular are under-naturalized, with only 36% of eligible immigrants having become citizens, leading to drives in states like Colorado, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada to promote naturalization among the remaining 2.7 million.

Read more:
“Latinos line up to get naturalized and stop Trump” (CNN)
“More Latinos Seek Citizenship to Vote Against Trump” (The New York Times)
“In Citizenship Drives, Latinos Sign Up to Vote Against Trump” (Vibe)

(Image Credit: Theo Stroomer/The New York Times)

Religion + Belief

U.S. News | Muslims

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President Obama delivers fervent speech supporting American Muslims at Baltimore mosque
  • Obama spoke at the Islamic Society of Baltimore in his first visit to a mosque during his presidency.
  • His 45-minute speech condemned ongoing anti-Muslim rhetoric and highlighted the long history and important future of American Muslims.
  • The visit included a pre-speech roundtable that included an Olympics-bound athlete, artists, doctors, community organizers, and other prominent leaders in the American Muslim community.

“You fit in here, right here. You’re right where you belong. You’re part of America, too. You aren’t Muslim or American. You are Muslim and American.”

Read more:
“Obama, in Mosque Visit, Denounces Anti-Muslim Bias” (The New York Times)
“President Obama at Maryland mosque: ‘You fit in here’” (The Baltimore Sun)
“At Baltimore mosque, President Obama encourages U.S. Muslims: ‘You fit in here’” (The Washington Post)

(Image Credit: Drew Angerer/The New York Times)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.S. News | Latinos

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Latinos turn out in record numbers for Iowa caucuses
  • An estimated 10,500 Latinos turned out to Monday’s caucuses, more than 10 times the number in 2012 and quadruple that of 2008, and comprised 4% of Democratic caucus attendees and 2% of Republican attendees.
  • The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) undertook a $300,000 nonpartisan effort to get at least 10,000 of the 50,000 registered Latino voters to attend caucuses throughout the state.
  • On the Republican side, two candidates with Cuban heritage (Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio) won first and third place, respectively, in a first for Latino presidential candidates.

Read more:
“The Effort To Turn Out Latino Voters In Iowa Worked” (BuzzFeed News)
“Latino Turnout in Iowa Demands Attention From Campaigns, Experts Say” (NBC News)
“GOP: Iowa Caucus Is a Big Win for Latino Candidates” (Latin Post)

(Image Credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images, via Latin Post)