roots

19May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

How Do We Undo The Deep Roots Of the Racial Wealth Gap

In the more than 150 years since the end of the Civil War, Black American wealth remains a fraction of that held by White Americans. Just after emancipation in 1865, African Americans owned 0.5% of national wealth. By 2019, that percentage had not risen above 2%. An analysis by the Brookings Institution found that the median wealth of White families stood at $188,200 while the median wealth of Black families was a mere $24,100. What’s worse is that this chasm has continued to grow. Between 1983 and 2016, adjusting for inflation, median White wealth increased by 33%, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. The median Black family, in contrast, saw their wealth decrease by more than half during that period. The pandemic has only exacerbated the situation. While closing this divide is...

Deep Roots Of Distrust Shape Vaccine Hesitancy In Polygamous Communities

13Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

CULTURE

Deep Roots Of Distrust Shape Vaccine Hesitancy In Polygamous Communities

In polygamous communities, deep roots of distrust shape vaccine hesitancy. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church or LDS church, followed government guidelines to protect members of their religious community. On March 25, 2020, the church closed its temples and encouraged members to wear masks. Leaders praised vaccination, which church President Russell M. Nelson, a retired surgeon, called a “literal godsend.” He and other senior members received vaccinations, calling on church members to follow their example. Fundamentalist branches of Mormonism, however – groups who began separating from the LDS church after it ended the institutionally sanctioned practice of polygamy in 1904 – took a different ro...

American environmentalism’s racist roots have shaped global thinking about conservation

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT, IN OTHER NEWS, VIDEO REELS

American environmentalism’s racist roots have shaped global thinking about conservation

The United States is having a long-overdue national reckoning with racism. From criminal justice to pro sports to pop culture, Americans increasingly are recognizing how racist ideas have influenced virtually every sphere of life in this country. John James Audubon relied on African Americans and Native Americans to collect some specimens for his ‘Birds of America’ prints (shown: Florida cormorant), but never credited them. National Audubon Society, CC BY This includes the environmental movement. Recently the Sierra Club – one of the oldest and largest U.S. conservation organizations – acknowledged racist views held by its founder, author and conservationist John Muir. In some of his writing, Muir described Native Americans and Black people as dirty, lazy and uncivilized. In an essay coll...

George Floyd’s death reflects the racist roots of American policing

3Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

George Floyd’s death reflects the racist roots of American policing

Outrage over racial profiling and the killing of African Americans by police officers and vigilantes has recently resurfaced following the death of George Floyd on May 25. Video footage a bystander took of Floyd’s death while a now-former police officer pressed his knee into the man’s neck quickly went viral. But tensions between the police and black communities are nothing new. There were many precedents to the Ferguson, Missouri, protests that ushered in the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014. Those precedents include the Los Angeles riots that broke out after the 1992 acquittal of police officers for beating Rodney King. That upheaval happened nearly three decades after the 1965 Watts riots, which began with Marquette Frye, an African American, being pulled over for suspected drunk ...

The #MeToo Movement’s Roots in Women Workers’ Rights

16Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

The #MeToo Movement’s Roots in Women Workers’ Rights

An unsung shero of the early 20th century, Rose Schneiderman organized women to fight for laws to protect them from sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Whenever new protest movements emerge, people look to history for lessons from activists and thinkers who came before. We all stand on the shoulders of those who struggled, sacrificed, and organized to push for a more humane society. #MeToo is one such movement. It has not only raised awareness about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault—particularly of women—but is also an example of what happens when those who are relegated to a second-class citizenship status come together to speak out. History is filled with courageous and heroic women who launched crusades for women’s liberation and workers rights, and c...