The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?
A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting.
Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law
Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color
Don’t Shoot Portland, University of Oregon Team Up for Black Narratives, Memory
The yearly Memory Work for Black Lives Plenary shows the power of preservation.
Grants Pass Anti-Camping Laws Head to Supreme Court
Grants Pass in southern Oregon has become the unlikely face of the nation’s homelessness crisis as its case over anti-camping laws goes to the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled for April 22. The case has broad implications for cities, including whether they can fine or jail people for camping in public. Since 2020, court orders have barred Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping laws. Now, the city is asking the justices to review lower court rulings it says has prevented it from addressing the city's homelessness crisis. Rights groups say people shouldn’t be punished for lacking housing.
Hundreds Gather at White House to Demand President Biden Let Youth Climate Case be Heard
‘We will not be silenced’ by the DOJ,' youth say ...
Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative
Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...
OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide
Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...
Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership
Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...
Governor Kotek Announces Investment in New CHIPS Child Care Fund
5 Million dollars from Oregon CHIPS Act to be allocated to new Child Care Fund ...
A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states
A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican...
Ex-police officer wanted in 2 killings and kidnapping shoots, kills self in Oregon, police say
SEATTLE (AP) — A former Washington state police officer wanted after killing two people, including his ex-wife, was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a chase in Oregon, authorities said Tuesday. His 1-year-old baby, who was with him, was taken safely into custody by Oregon...
Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...
KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...
Op-Ed: Why MAGA Policies Are Detrimental to Black Communities
NNPA NEWSWIRE – MAGA proponents peddle baseless claims of widespread voter fraud to justify voter suppression tactics that disproportionately target Black voters. From restrictive voter ID laws to purging voter rolls to limiting early voting hours, these...
Loving and Embracing the Differences in Our Youngest Learners
Yet our responsibility to all parents and society at large means we must do more to share insights, especially with underserved and under-resourced communities. ...
Gallup Finds Black Generational Divide on Affirmative Action
Each spring, many aspiring students and their families begin receiving college acceptance letters and offers of financial aid packages. This year’s college decisions will add yet another consideration: the effects of a 2023 Supreme Court, 6-3 ruling that...
OP-ED: Embracing Black Men’s Voices: Rebuilding Trust and Unity in the Democratic Party
The decision of many Black men to disengage from the Democratic Party is rooted in a complex interplay of historical disenchantment, unmet promises, and a sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. ...
Pro-Palestinian student protests target colleges' financial ties with Israel
Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel — or any companies that empower its ongoing war in Gaza. The demand has its roots in a decades-old campaign against Israel's...
Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi is 'tickled pink' to inspire a Barbie doll
Like many little girls, a young Kristi Yamaguchi loved playing with Barbie. With a schedule packed with ice skating practices, her Barbie dolls became her “best friends.” So, it's surreal for the decorated Olympian figure skater to now be a Barbie girl herself. ...
A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states
A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican...
What to stream this weekend: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift reigns
Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as...
Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'
Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...
Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace
Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....
A Russian strike on Kharkiv's TV tower is part of an intimidation campaign, Ukraine's Zelenskyy says
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile strike that smashed a...
Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company...
New federal rule would bar 'noncompete' agreements for most employees
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors...
Haiti health system nears collapse as medicine dwindles, gangs attack hospitals and ports stay shut
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — On a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti’s...
Modi is accused of using hate speech for calling Muslims 'infiltrators' at an Indian election rally
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's main opposition party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after...
5 migrants die while crossing the English Channel hours after the UK approved a deportation bill
PARIS (AP) — Five people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the...
This week saw two historic decisions from The Supreme Court of the United States as the justices dismissed challenges to President Obama's healthcare law and wrote marriage equality into US law. Those radicals!
But that news came late in a week overshadowed by grief for the victims of the mass shooting in Charleston.
VIDEO: President Obama's Eulogy
President Obama gave the eulogy for Reverend Clement Pinckney and the eight other congregation members of Emanuel AME lost on June 17, 2015. The service was at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
Bryan Stevenson: Our Real Problem with Race
The Marshall Project interviewed Bryan Stevenson, who runs the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson told them:
"I hear people talking about the civil rights movement and it sounds like a three-day carnival. Day One: Rosa Parks gave up her seat on the bus. Day Two: Dr. King led a march on Washington, and Day Three: we just changed all these laws. And we tell our history as if it's the true history when in fact that's not the true history.
The true history is that for decades, we humiliated black people in this country every day. For decades we did not let them vote, we did not let them get full education, we did not let them work for pay, we did not let them live as full human beings with dignity and hopefulness, we denied all of these basic opportunities to African Americans, and we've never really talked about the consequences of that era of apartheid and segregation."
Find the full interview here: http://bit.ly/1RIwxT9
Flag Takedown
A woman climbed up the South Carolina State Capitol and took down the confederate flag. Bree Newsome and James Ian Tyson were arrested and charged with defacing monuments on state Capitol grounds.
That's a misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $5,000 and prison term of up to three years or both. They have been released. Read the full story.
Politico magazine's covered the flag discussion saying: The Confederate Flag was Always Racist.
Same Sex Marriage Victory
With cities around the country holding PRIDE events Sunday 28 June, celebrations were on display around the country. New York expected 22,000 people marching a 2-mile route and more than 2 million people to visit throughout the day. San Francisco's party welcomed close to 1 million people and Seattle hosted 500,000 parade watchers.
PHOTO: The White House lit up in rainbow colors in commemoration of the Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage on Friday, June 26, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Buzzfeed reported the reactions of all the candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination. http://bzfd.it/1KnOhEA
Larry Wilmore made fun of Bobby Jindal's presidential ambitions. Wilmore will look at the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage in his comedy show on Monday.
Here's a Key and Peele take on same sex marriage from last year.
The Supreme Court Left Healthcare Law Standing
Students cheered as they held up signs supporting the Affordable Care Act after the Supreme Court decided that the ACA may provide nationwide tax subsidies, Thursday June 25, 2015, outside of the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The New York Times said the decision delivers a big win for President Obama personally, and makes it more likely that access to healthcare is here to stay for many more Americans.
At the same time Republican foes of the law have not conceded defeat.
"House Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, promised to "do everything we can" to undermine the law. Jeb Bush, a Republican candidate for president, vowed "to repeal and replace this flawed law" if he succeeds Mr. Obama in the Oval Office."
Read the New York Times story: http://nyti.ms/1fYeRr9
White Woman and a Black Man change Places ...and Voices
Amar'e and Alexis enjoy Paris
Meanwhile in Paris, Amar'e Stoudemire and his wife Alexis Welch attended Balmain men's Spring/Summer 2016 fashion show. The basketball player spoke to The Associated Press about his love of design and style:
"All 6'10" (2.08 meters) of Stoudemire have stood out quite prominently in Paris fashion week this season — with the NBA player attending numerous shows including Balmain Saturday.
Stoudemire, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, is no stranger to the fashion scene and has attended Paris menswear weeks twice before — as well as having collaborated on his own fashion line.
He said it's great that more and more sportswear is being seen on the ready-to-wear catwalk, like in Givenchy's use of basketball top silhouettes or Balmain's use of baseball caps.
"I love fashion. And it's a sign of creativity that brands are mixing sports in their designs, like Givenchy," he said, at the Balmain show.
"I think in the last five or six years, collaborations with sports and fashion have really taken off — like my sporty collaboration with (designer) Rachel Roy in womenswear," he said."
PHOTO: Amar'e Stoudemire and wife Alexis Welch attended Balmain men's Spring/Summer 2016 fashion show., during Mode a Paris, in France, Saturday, June 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu)
Kanye West performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England.
Coming up this week:
Seattle City Council will talk about financial stability for the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute at its meeting Monday 29 June (9:30 am at City Hall). Also on the agenda: a Racial Impact Assessment of the King County Children and Family Justice Center. The workgroup has come up with three recommendations designed to eventually eliminate youth detention.
Multnomah County Board will reappoint Serena Stoudamire Wesley to the Portland Children's Levy at its regular meeting 9:30 am July 2. Commissioner Smith will proclaim Thursday July 2, Bring your dad to the doctor day.
Human Rights Watch reports that Kenya will host a regional conference on countering violent extremism. http://bit.ly/1SUK9xh