racism
State school board to ask AG for opinion on anti-racism resolution
In the weeks after the death of George Floyd spurred a nationwide movement against racism and police brutality, members of the Ohio Board of Education passed a resolution to acknowledge racial inequities and urge school officials to drive out racism in the education system. The state school board is now pushing back against the resolution […]
State Board of Ed to consider allowing race theory discussion
Ohio’s State Board of Education is being asked to remove a “limitation on verbal public participation” on the topics of “critical race theory” and the “1619 project” at a meeting Tuesday. The term “critical race theory” has been used, typically by academics but more recently by conservatives, to discuss how supposedly race-neutral public policy can […]
Controversial race education bills enter Ohio House committee
Two bills seeking to ban “divisive” language about the role of racism in American history entered a House committee on Tuesday, along with plenty of debate over the measures. House Bill 322 and House Bill 327 were both presented by sponsors in the Ohio House’s State and Local Government Committee, despite Democrats’ efforts to have […]
Teachers come under pressure as politicians, parents battle over ‘critical race theory’
WASHINGTON — Teachers from Tennessee to Iowa to Ohio are swept up in a wave of outrage led by GOP politicians nationwide over how schools teach kids about race in U.S. history. Conservatives have pilloried much instruction about systemic racism as “critical race theory,” even when that academic term has never been mentioned. A half […]
State receives very few complaints on ‘divisive’ racial education concepts
Despite two different pieces of legislation seeking to ban the practice and a nationwide movement against teaching race’s impact on history and society, the state says they haven’t heard a public outcry. A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Education said it has received “only a small handful” of concerns about an academic study called […]
U.S. House condemns Atlanta shootings and Asian American racism
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning the March 16 mass shooting in Atlanta and reaffirming Congress’ commitment to combating racism and violence against the Asian American community, which has seen a spike in hate crimes since the onset of the pandemic. The resolution, H.Res. 275, passed, 244-180, though more than a dozen […]
Declaring racism a public health crisis brings more attention to solving long-ignored racial gaps in health
By Paul K. Halverson, IUPUI The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has joined hundreds of cities and counties across the country in declaring racism a public health threat. On April 8, 2021, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky called racism an epidemic that affects “the entire health of our nation.” Declaring racism a public […]
Former equity chief accused Ohio Department of Health of ‘toxic’ and ‘discriminatory’ culture
After a drawn-out drafting process, the Ohio Department of Health’s top spokeswoman agreed to stamp ODH’s name on a statement with the Ohio NAACP and Commission on Minority Health correcting a myth that racial minorities are less susceptible to COVID-19. However, communications director Arundi Venkayya clarified in an April 1, 2020 email that ODH would […]
Why our Asian-American community needs us more than ever
When I read of the massacres at several Atlanta area businesses, where six of the eight killed were Asian-American women, it hit me especially hard. That’s because I live just down the road from Atlanta, in an area with a wonderful Asian-American community, where the vast majority of locals are highly appreciative of their great […]
Demas: RBG is gone. This is why we fight.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, best known as a steely champion of women’s equality, gave voice to the voiceless. And as a legendary Supreme Court justice, she was committed to ensuring their rightful place in America until the day she died. We have lost so much as a country during these last four years of Donald Trump’s […]
Minority Strike Force issues final report on racial inequities, presents recommendations
Ohio’s Minority Strike Force released their final report, which laid out how disproportionate the health care and economic lives of people of color are across the state, and laid out ways to deal with it. The strike force was empaneled to collect information on COVID-19’s effect on African Americans and other minority populations, along with […]
How racism in US health system hinders care and costs lives of African Americans
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., the virus hit African Americans disproportionately hard. African Americans are still contracting the illness – and dying from it – at rates twice as high as would be expected based on their share of the population. In Michigan, African Americans are only 14% of the population, but […]