Monthly Archives: May 2022

Washington, D.C.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has designated this week as Justice40 Week of Action, which includes the release of a new report to Congress offering a formal response to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC)s recommendations on Justice40, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), and Executive Order 12898 on federal actions to advance environmental justice. In addition, CEQ launched an environmental justice website and series of stakeholder engagement meetings to share vital information on the Justice40 Initiative with communities and other stakeholders.

The Equitable and Just National Climate Platform (EJNCP) members, a coalition of environmental justice and national environmental groups, released the following Justice40 critical next steps and statement:

The White House has made important progress advancing the presidents historic Justice40 Initiative and goal to deliver at least 40% of federal climate and infrastructure investment benefits to disadvantaged communities. Achieving the Justice40 goal would set the country on a long overdue course to correcting persistent injustice by mobilizing substantial new investments in legacy pollution cleanup, pollution-free energy and transportation, workforce development, quality affordable housing, and critical clean water infrastructure in communities that need it the most. There is still much work to be done to ensure that the federal government effectively invests in communities historically left behind, including action from Congress to pass the stalled budget reconciliation bill with crucial investments to advance environmental justice priorities.

Congress must act now to secure substantial, long-overdue and much-needed climate and environmental justice investments through budget reconciliation legislation. The Senate must urgently pass a comprehensive package of investments to address the climate crisis and environmental injustice. This package must support environmental and climate justice block grants and other programs to clean up pollution and create toxic-free communities, healthy ports, and climate-resilient communities and infrastructure.

The administration must also advance strong policies and regulations to reduce pollution. This includes developing and implementing a strong cumulative impacts policy and a regulatory strategy with an intentional focus on pollution reduction in low-income and Tribal communities, and in communities of color to improve public health and create economic opportunities in disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized and impacted by high levels of toxic air and water pollution.

We welcome CEQs Justice40 Week of Action to elevate and advance these important priorities, and engage with communities. A new series of Justice40 briefings, a new environmental justice website and a report responding to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Councils recommendations on implementing Justice40 and strengthening federal actions to protect the environment and public health for all communities are important ways to keep communities aware and involved. Now is the time for the administration to double-down on its whole-of-government approach, in direct engagement with communities, to ensure the promise of the Justice40 Initiative is fully achieved in communities across the country.

Intentional community outreach is essential to ensuring effective Justice40 implementation. We look forward to continued work from CEQ to ensure the website is updated to meet the real-time needs of our communities. CEQs Justice40 briefings will also provide a way for communities around the country to engage in the Justice40 process alongside other stakeholders. Integrating community feedback on Justice40 programs and the CEJST must be an essential part of moving this initiative forward in an inclusive way. All agencies must be held accountable for delivering on this mandate. EJNCP members looks forward to continuing our work with CEQ to support the historic Justice40 Initiative.

Justice40 Implementation Progress

Funding Examples

Critical Next Steps

Continue Justice40 implementation. Specifically, the administration must:

EJNCP Members signed on to the statement:

Center for American Progress

Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy

Center for the Urban Environment of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research, Kean University

Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

Earthjustice

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform

Green Door Initiative

Harambee House - Citizens for Environmental Justice

League of Conservation Voters

Los Jardines Institute

Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition

Midwest Environmental Justice Network

Natural Resources Defense Council

New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

ReGenesis Project

Sierra Club

Tishman Environmental and Design Center at the New School

Union of Concerned Scientists

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The Equitable and Just National Climate Platform Commends the Council on Environmental Quality's Justice40 Week of Action - Earthjustice

Equitable Growth is committed to building a community of scholars working to understand how inequality affects broadly shared growth and stability. To that end, we have created the monthly series, Expert Focus. This series highlights scholars in the Equitable Growth network and beyond who are at the frontier of social science research. We encourage you to learn more about both the researchers featured below and our broader network of experts.

There are more than 1.6 million Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders currently living in the United States, andapproximately370,000 people in the predominantly Pacific Islander-populated U.S. territories and freely associated states in the Pacific region. As demonstrated in theMap of Colonial Impactpublished by Empowering Pacific Islander Communitiesan organization that engages NHPI communities in culture-centered advocacy, leadership development, and researchthe economic realities of these communities is shaped by the many diverse and complicated relationships between the U.S. government and ancestral NHPI lands.

The U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies, as well as some state and local agencies and universities, now collect disaggregated data on21 distinct Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander ethnic groupsrelated to median income, employment rate, and educational attainment, among other socioeconomic indicators. Collecting and using such administrative data is vital for researchers to examine the experiences of NHPI populations and for policymakers to develop and target policies that address the economic challenges that NHPI communities face. Many of these hurdles stem from intentional policy choices made over the years and carefully constructed political institutions that uphold structural racism and pervasive discrimination in the United States.

May isAANHPI Heritage Monthin the United States. This months installment of Expert Focus highlights community leaders and scholars across disciplines doing research on NHPI populations and their experiences in the United States. This includes work on COVID-19s disproportionate impact on NHPI communities, community-based economic development, Indigenous history, and using Indigenous knowledge to combat climate change and guide sustainable development efforts.

Such research demands insights from across the social sciences, health, history, law, and interdisciplinary fields, such as environmental studies and ethnic and gender studies. And this research must be grounded in Indigenous rights, histories, and knowledge to guide the creation of inclusive and equitable policies for these communities.

This interdisciplinary research will be even more telling if paired with an increase in the diversity of scholars from NHPI backgrounds studying these topics. As Randy Akee, an associate professor in the Department of Public Policy and American Indian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and an Equitable Growth grantee, recently wrote:

One of the many pitfalls of not having diversity among researchers is that certain areas of research, outcomes, and evaluation tend to be forgottenmany of which could inform future research and policy decisions. These areas of unexplored research opportunities are often only known to the communities in which they are being put into practice, which means that without researchers from those communities, they will probably remain unknown.

University of Victoria, British Columbia

Hklani Aikauis a professor of Indigenous governance at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. Her research focuses on contemporary Native Hawaiian identity and politics, Indigenous resurgence and climate change in the Pacific, U.S. race relations, and the restoration of Indigenous food systems, specifically Native Hawaiian kalo (taro) cultivation. She has written extensively on the experience of Native Hawaiian and other Indigenous peoples, incorporating theories and themes from Indigenous feminist theory, gender studies, and religion.

Aikaus forthcoming book, Indigenous Resurgence in an Age of Reconciliation, co-authored with Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark and Aime Craft, will examine the central concerns and challenges facing Indigenous nations in their resurgence efforts and seeks to center the work, knowledge, and strategies for resurgence of these communities. She is also the co-editor of the 2019 book, Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawaii, a guide for decolonization in which Hawaiian artists, activists, and scholars direct tourists to places and experiences that highlight the complex and fraught history that Native Hawaiians have with colonialism, military occupation, food insecurity, high costs of living, and climate change.

Pomona College

Sefa Ainais the associate dean of students and director of Draper Center for Community Partnerships at Pomona College, as well as the director of the Asian American Resource Center. He is an accomplished activist and educator in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. He is also a board member of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities and a founding member of the National Pacific Islander Education Network, an organization that works to help Pacific Islander students pursue their educational goals, including through mentorship and networking.

Aina has spent much of his career supporting and cultivating opportunities for nontraditional, marginalized, and first-generation college students, including establishing a leadership pipeline for Pacific Islander students to access internship and fellowship opportunities in Washington, D.C., California, and Hawaii. From 2010 to 2014, he served as vice chair of then-President Barack Obamas Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, advising the administration on ways to improve quality of life for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups through federal initiatives and likewise to boost the involvement of these communities in these programs.

University of Hawaii at Mnoa

Kamanamaikalani Kamana Beameris a professor at the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa and the Dana Naone Hall chair in Hawaiian studies, literature, and the environment. His research centers on Indigenous agency and Hawaiian economic development, as well as governance, land tenure, and resource management in Hawaii. Beamer is a founder ofAloha Kuamoo ina,a community based non-profit focused on social justice and ecological peace for Hawaii. As co-founder ofina Aloha Economic Futures, a grassroots organization, he worked to develop a vision for Hawaiis economic recovery and future grounded in a core set of values and in bringing community together.

Beamer is an ongoing collaborator on the Circular Economy study, mixing this modern economic approach with the Indigenous principles of aloha inarespect, reverence, and justiceto build sustainable, efficient systems. Reflections on this work will be published this summer in Ecology and Society, in an article titled Island and Indigenous systems of circularity: How Hawaii can inform the development of Universal Circular Economy Policy Goals.

University of Minnesota

David Aiona Changis a professor of history at the University of Minnesota. His research specialties are race and nationalism, Indigenous and Native Hawaiian peoples and history, U.S. colonialism, and borders and migration in Hawaii and North America. In his most recent book, The World and All the Things Upon It: Native Hawaiian Geographies of Exploration, Chang studies the ways that Native Hawaiians explored the outside world after European colonizers landed on the islands shores in the late 18th century.

His current research projects include an examination of the relationship between Native Hawaiians and Indigenous communities in Canada and how colonialism complicated the fur trade they established, as well as an anthology of writings on the meaning of indigeneity in various countries written by historians from North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Changs work examines Indigenous peoples role as active agents of global exploration and migration, and highlights the importance of understanding both Indigenous people and the world more broadly from Indigenous perspectives.

University of California, Los Angeles

Richard Calvin Changis a Native Hawaiian attorney and the data analytics director and co-founding member of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Data Policy Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 2021, Chang was appointed to the U.S. Census Bureaus National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations, which considers issues that impact hard-to-reach populations in the United States. His current work focuses on raising awareness of COVID-19s disproportionate impact on NHPI populations and ensuring the community is accurately represented. He previously worked in nonprofits focused on supporting NHPI communities, including serving as the president (and currently on the Board of Directors) of the Pacific Islander Health Partnership, which educates, trains, and builds the capacity of Indigenous NHPI communities to improve health outcomes, reduce health disparities, and boost access to high-quality healthcare.

Chang also helped found the nonprofit Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, where he co-authored and led the development of the first demographic profiles of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, providing an in-depth look at the social, economic, and political challenges and opportunities of these groups to better inform policy and advocacy. Much of his work focuses on data disaggregation for subgroups of Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, acknowledging that these different groups fare differently across the U.S. economy, labor market, and society.

Hawaii Community Foundation

Michelle Kauhaneis the senior vice president of Community Grants and Initiatives at the Hawaii Community Foundation, an organization dedicated to investing in and strengthening Hawaiis communities. In this role, she leads the organizations grant-making process via its CHANGE framework, through which nonprofits doing work in six main areasCommunity and economy, Health and wellness, Arts and culture, Natural environment, Government and civics, and Educationreceived approximately $7 million in funding in 2021 alone. She previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, where she focused on deploying capital in underserved Native Hawaiian communities across Hawaii.

Throughout her career, Kauhane has worked to support vulnerable communities in Hawaii and improve economic outcomes among Native Hawaiians. She is currently a commissioner for President Bidens Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services committee that advises the Biden-Harris administration on issues of equity, justice, and anti-discrimination for AANHPI communities. She also serves on the Community Advisory Council at the Federal Reserve of San Francisco to offer perspectives on the economic and financial-service needs of low- and moderate-income populations in Hawaii.

Equitable Growth is building a network of experts across disciplines and at various stages in their career who can exchange ideas and ensure that research on inequality and broadly shared growth is relevant, accessible, and informative to both the policymaking process and future research agendas. Explore the ways you can connect with our network or take advantage of the support we offer here.

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Expert Focus: Scholars researching how Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities navigate the US economy, labor market, and society - Equitable...

There are people across the globe living past 100, and some even living beyond 110! In a world with so many incidents of heart attack, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, it's hard to imagine that there are entire communities that avoid premature death and live such long, healthy lives.

But how do they do it? This is the question asked by many researchers who have devoted their work to the Blue Zones-five regions in the world with the highest concentrations of centenarians and supercentenarians.

The five Blue Zone communities achieve their longevity through healthy eating, natural movement, community, and developing a sense of purpose. And shockingly enough, they are also known to relax at the end of every day with a nice glass of red wine!

While drinking in excess can have detrimental consequences on your health, research continues to back up the idea that a modest amount of wine, especially red wine, can help your heart and overall longevity. In fact, out of the five blue zones, four of them regularly drink wine at the end of the day, which naturally leads to the question of whether or not this contributes to their longevity.

One 15-year study by the University of California found that daily habits like drinking wine, drinking coffee, spending time with friends, and daily exercise could lower your risk of premature death.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Red wine is full of powerful antioxidants that have been found to help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, may help lower the risk of stroke, can help manage cholesterol, and can help reduce the risk of neurodegenerative disease.

And in Sardinia, Italy, people sip on a type of red wine called Cannonau wine. This specific type of Italian wine is known to carry at least twice as many heart-healthy flavonoids and nutrients as other types of red wine.

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Not only does the wine itself provide health benefits, but Blue Zone centenarians benefit from how they drink it as well. For example, regions like Ikaria and Sardinia are known to decompress at the end of the day by spending time relaxing and drinking wine with friends.

This helps them not only lower their stress levels and find intentional moments of calm, but it gives them an excuse to be around their loved ones, something that has been shown to help increase longevity.

This information doesn't mean that you should start drinking alcohol on a daily basis, especially if you don't already. An important component to take into consideration with these facts about longevity and wine is that people in the Blue Zones experience other factors that contribute to their long lives, many of which are different than what we have here in the U.S.

For example, Sardinians drink red wine on a daily basis, but they also eat very little processed food or added sugar, limit their consumption of meat, and they don't remain sedentary for long periods of time during the day.

So while we can still get many positive heart-healthy benefits from wine, Americans partake in many habits that are not healthy for their heart. This includes things like eating fast and processed food, consuming too much sugar, binge drinking, and not getting enough daily exercise.

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The #1 Drink The Longest Living People Sip On Daily Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

DENVER On Friday, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) held a walk-in demonstration at several Denver Public Schools schools to show support for teachers of color.

DCTA representatives said educators of color at Denver Public Schools are often pushed out of the classroom and the district isnt doing enough to recruit and retain educators of color.

I've seen other colleagues really face retaliation for expressing concerns about what they see in their community when they see examples of racism in the school, said Kevin Adams, DCTA member and DPS social studies teacher.

Adams said being a teacher of color at a DPS school can be an isolating experience.

You can feel that your perspective is not always valued, especially when it comes to the needs of BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) children and BIPOC communities, Adams said. I've experienced microaggressions on the daily. But also, I think being an experienced teacher.... I've been able to use my voice a lot more than I think some other Black educators and brown educators have been able to use their voices.

But Denver West High School Teacher and DCTA Representative Dez Baldonado said teachers of color shouldnt be the only ones speaking up.

I am a middle-aged white woman. But I also know that it is not just people of color's responsibility to do this I have a responsibility to stand up, Baldonado said.

Baldonado said DPS claims to support diversity but low retention rates for teachers of color prove otherwise.

They've made our educators of color so uncomfortable, that despite everything that the union is doing to try and help them, they're leaving, Baldonado said. I want DPS to start making the rubber meet the road to follow what they claim. For DPS to be supportive of our students of color and educators of color, we have to help abolish systems of racism. Right now, it's a lot of talk.

State and local data shows about 70% of DPS students are students of color while 30% of teachers are teachers of color.

In response to the walk-in, DPS sent the following statement to Denver7:

We were made aware of a sit-in in support of our educators who identify as BIPOC that occurred today at West High School. We want to express our support for our students' rights to share their voices, including through a peaceful protest. We also want to share our support for our BIPOC teachers.

Our school district serves a diverse community, and we take pride in our commitment to recruit and retain educators who reflect that diversity. We are intentional with our diversity hiring events. One area of focus for our diversity recruiting efforts is locally in our community and within our current staff. We are proud to offer a competitive Total Rewards Benefits package for our BIPOC Teachers.

Part of our retention strategy for our BIPOC educators includes our Reach One Mentoring Program, which provides a confidential space for educators of color to build relationships.

We also offer our DPS Belong Groups, which are intentional spaces for people with similar backgrounds to gather together to celebrate and create community. We also routinely survey BIPOC educators. From the results, we work to create meaningful and lasting changes that serve them.

Oftentimes, you're the only one and you feel like, you know, your role is to defend the kids. I came into this profession for BIPOC students, Adams said.

Adams said while he encourages students of color to be their authentic selves, hed like to see DPS support teachers of color, who also want to exhibit authenticity.

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Denver teachers participate in 'walk-in' to support teachers of color - Denver 7 Colorado News

May 25 marks two years since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police. Its the nine minutes and 29 seconds that sparked an international movement for racial justice. Political leaders vowed change, businesses across the globe committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and many others, including some at the University of St. Thomas, began having important conversations about what it means to be anti-racist.

At this two-year mark of George Floyds murder, members of the St. Thomas community shared their reflections about what this day has come to symbolize and where we are as a society.For some university leaders, including incoming Interim President Rob Vischer, the day was further magnified by the tragic events that unfolded a day earlier in Uvalde, Texas, where a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School claimed over 20 lives.

Rob Vischer made the following statement about both events:

"The Christian author Henri Nouwen wrote, 'I am beginning to see that much of praying is grieving.' Today, we have so many reasons to pray, and to grieve. On this, the second anniversary of George Floyds murder, our community mourns anew for the young lives lost yesterday in Texas, mere days after the racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo. Words fail us, but the heaviness of our world is unmistakable. Please show grace to one another, and to yourself."

Others around campus also shared reflections.

Dr. Yohuru Williams, founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative and Distinguished Chair and history professor at St. Thomas:

We, as a country, have made great gestures: countless statues of people like Thomas Jefferson, Christopher Columbus, Confederate leaders and others who have supported racism have come down in cities all across the country, but the real work is still ahead. The reopening of the streets around George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, a site that had been symbolic of healing, is problematic because it is that desire for a tragedy with a happy ending that always sets us up for getting off the exit ramp before the work is done.

Americans have a very short memory and we find ourselves in this endless cycle of these abuses. Whether it is the passage of a piece of legislation, the outcome of a criminal trial or the creation of some organization, many will assume the work is done and not invest deeper. Now is the time to lean in and think differently about how we address issues of housing and education and access to affordable health care and things that often drive people to crime. We need to spend less time figuring out how we go after the so-called criminals and put more focus on the issues that are helping perpetuate the lawlessness that people see in their communities.

I was moved very much by Jerry Blackwells summation in the Chauvin trial last year where he talked about the bouquet of humanity that came together that day to plead for George Floyd's life and these were people from all walks and different races and different cultures who recognize that something was wrong and spoke out in that moment to try to protect George Floyd. I think we have to adopt that as our motto. In this community we need to be the bouquet. Whatever spiritual gifts or talents, expertise that we can bring to conversations that can translate into tangible action that's what we need to commit to.

Kenneth Cooper, director of the Ciresi Walburn Leadership Fellows & Excel! Research Scholars Programs:

The execution of Mr. George Floyd remains among the darkest events in American History. The tragedy should have led to massive legal and social reforms, but Blackness remains under attack in our country. How can we stay optimistic with efforts to suppress Black voting rights, ban affirmative action in higher education, keep Black youth in dilapidated school systems, and make grocery shopping a life or death event? Our allies must move away from safe spaces to brave places if Black liberation matters. Their efforts must be intentional and perpetual. Black folks in America cannot achieve true freedom and enfranchisement unless those with the power want to create the same outcomes.

Professor D. Todd Lawrence, director of English Graduate Programs; and co-director, Urban Art Mapping Project.

"I don't know what to say on a day like this, so I thought, I'd read a poem."

Father Joseph Taphorn, Saint Paul Seminary rector and vice president:

As we reflect on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, which occurred just a few miles from our university, it's important to remember a fundamental truth that binds us together as a human family: That God our Creator loves each and every one of us and that His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, came to set us free from sin and death. Racism and senseless violence are opposed to the new life that Christ promises us. Sadly, such violence continues to mark our world; we now mourn for those innocent children and teachers in Uvalde, Texas, whose lives were taken just yesterday. The sober anniversary of George Floyds death today and the recent news from Texas remind us of the need for ongoing conversion in all of our hearts to eradicate hatred so that together we may stand to defend human life and dignity.

Dr. Sadaf Shier, associate chaplain, Campus Ministry:

My husband and I visited George Floyd Memorial a few days ago. The memorial reminds us that the knee on George Floyds neck has dehumanized the entire humanity. It reminds us that we have forgotten that we all are sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and that the sanctity of human life and human identity is priority over all boundaries of race, religion, class, nationality and gender. Less than a quarter mile away from his memorial is memorial cemetery Say their Names that symbolizes the graves of all those beloved Black men and women who were killed due to racist police brutality.

When I looked at these memorials, the last sermon of Prophet Muhammad [Peace be Upon him] came back to me with new meaning.

O people! Listen to me very carefully, your Lord is one, Listen to me very carefully, your father is one. Listen to me very carefully, an Arab has no preference over a non-Arab; neither has the black any preference over the white (or red) and nor has any white (red) over the black, save piety. . . . (Blessed Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon Him during his farewell Hajj sermon in 632 A.D).

I felt as if Adam and Eve were asking us, Why on earth do you discriminate against your own siblings? These beloved Black men and women (and hundreds and thousands of others like them) who have been slaughtered by the racist machinery of society are asking us this question, Why are you treating your own kin like this?

I need to hold myself accountable for my inactions and silence. Let us ask ourselves, How can we prevent our own implicit biases and the implicit and explicit biases of others from doing injustices to our fellow human beings?

Kevin Henderson, DEI Fellow in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and associate professor in the Management Department at the University of St Thomas Opus College of Business:

On the two-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, I am reflecting on the work that still remains. A police officer kneeling on the neck of a Black man while other officers did nothing made it painfully obvious that the Twin Cities is not immune from racism. People of color already knew this, of course, but now the ugly truth was there for all to see. Two years later, I worry that the urgency that was present has softened, with other more pressing issues drawing our collective attention. On this anniversary, I pray that we recommit to the systems work that must be done to continue to move toward a more diverse and equitable world where the dignity of all people is respected and affirmed.

J. Phillip (Phil) Rosier Jr., PsyD., LMFT, a multicultural counselor in the Counseling and Psychological Services Center for Well-Being:

As I reflect upon the Anniversary event of the murder of George Floyd, I cant help but ask myself What has changed?Daunte Wright and Amir Locke are just a few of the deaths that have occurred after the killing of George Floyd. In addition, there have been hate crimes forged against Asian Americans, African Americans, members of the LGBTQIA community, and Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) community as a whole. We have met some success with expressing our concerns about these incidents, ensuring that some police officers and perpetrators of hate crimes are punished for their violent acts, but in the area of policy change we still do not have police reform, or effective gun laws. I am sure our inability to implement policy changes had an impact on the killing of Amir Locke and Daunte Wright and made it easier for mass shootings fueled by hate.

Policy changes seem to be difficult for us on a local level as well. On a local level, we have done a great job of expressing our concerns by acknowledging the transgressions against communities of color and difference. We have increased opportunities for dialogue, we are more aware of the toll these incidents have on our student body and staff, and we are forging new opportunities like the Good Trouble Scholarship, which help honor the needs for advocacy and change. It seems like the hardest part of preparing a society, community or school for fairness, equity and Inclusion is implementing policy, laws, and processes that protect the student body from inequity.

I would like all of us to reflect on our own departments and communities at St. Thomas and ask the question: Have I had uncomfortable discussions about policy change? Have I faced my fears and feelings of uncomfortability to change processes at St. Thomas? This is one way to honor George Floyd because I am sure it was uncomfortable to be unable to breathe for 9 minutes and 29 seconds under the knee of Derek Chauvin.

Read more here:

Reflections from St. Thomas Community Two Years After George Floyd's Death - University of St. Thomas Newsroom

Without national requirements, or even guidance, cities are on their own for what to do with the burgeoning logistics industry. A few, such as Howell, in New Jersey, are taking the hard step of creating a definition in their zoning ordinances for these facilities to regulate them. Others are expanding their industrial zones to make room for them, perpetuating environmental injustices baked into their local zoning codes. But most, experts said, are not doing anything at all, allowing these mega-warehouses to be built based on outdated or inadequate zoning codes that dont account for the environmental impact of new e-commerce facilities.

In South Central Fresno, a community nestled in the middle of Californias San Joaquin Valley, residents discovered theyd been zoned out of their own homes years after it had happened. It surfaced in 2017 when a few neighbors sought approval to remodel their kitchens and sell their homes and learned that the city had quietly overhauled its zoning ordinance and classified the area as a heavy industrial district.

That same year, Fresnos mayor welcomed an 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center. Just like on the opposite side of the country, in Red Hook, the behemoth was approved as a warehouse, which in this case required a scant state-mandated environmental review to comply with air quality requirements. In 2018, the beauty conglomerate Ulta built another facility, spanning 670,000 square feet, just a mile down the road.

While residents lacked municipal water infrastructure, reliant instead on backyard wells, the new warehouses next door were able to get drinking and sewer water pumped in. In addition, some of the largest facilities can be shoved into a new type of zoning district meant to act as a buffer between the neighborhood and the citys heavy industrial area. How, residents argued, can a facility spreading across almost 1 million square feet be considered a light land use?

Just like in Red Hook, the answer was partially hiding in Fresnos zoning code. In making zoning decisions, the city looks at what happens inside and outside buildings to decide their environmental impacts. Warehouse types are determined by the kinds of products they store chemicals and minerals, industrial equipment, automobiles, feed, lumber, commercial goods. Warehouses that store goods sold via internet orders fall under the same category in Fresno as those that hold janitorial and restaurant supplies, despite the much higher traffic they generate.

A lot of decision-makers have minimized and even trivialized concerns about air quality impacts on people in order to justify moving forward with development proposals, said Ashley Werner, directing attorney at the local nonprofit Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. Its the particulate matter and benzene trail that heavy-duty trucks leave in the air, the smog and dust coating homes, the light spilling inside all night.

Flanked by three state highways, the 180, the 41 and the 99, the neighborhood already receives more 2.5-micrometer particulate matter pollution than 97 percent of the states counties, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. When you look at the accumulative effects, it is just as impactful as a heavy-duty slaughterhouse, said Saunders, who works in community engagement at Leadership Counsel.

Katie Taylor lives across the street from the Amazon fulfillment center. The trucks shake her home constantly, their engines rumbling all hours of the day and night, sometimes so loud that it sounds like someone is knocking at my door, she wrote in a letter to the city council. The lights across the street are bright enough to disrupt her sleep and the constant flashing from traffic lights has left her daughter, who has Down syndrome and autism, particularly anxious.

For Yesenia Lpez Lpez, who arrived in Fresno 15 years ago from Mexico, the worst thing about the buildings is the additional traffic. Before, it was quieter, like living on a farm, she said. Now, there are people and cars all the time. Before Ulta built its facility, which Lpez Lpez can see from her home, shed never been involved in a car accident in her neighborhood. Last year, she was hit by cars twice while leaving for work before dawn.

Construction proceeds on an 1.4 million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center along Interstate 4 in Deltona, Florida in 2020. (Photo by Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto via Getty Images; reprinted courtesy of Grist)

The perpetual flow of vehicles has also damaged the communitys already cracked and dusty streets, and the neighborhood has lost its sole recreational space: an unpaved strip running along the street where the last-mile facilities are popping up. We used to go out with the neighbors, the elderly, Lpez said. The ladies with their husbands went to exercise, we walked or rode bikes. We cant go out there much anymore.

In 2019, advocates and residents stopped a 2-million-square-foot industrial park, with seven massive warehouses, from taking root next to the Amazon facility. But developers didnt give up, and another company applied to build a 420,000-square-foot facility to expand Amazons center.

About two dozen residents, some of them represented by Leadership Counsel, pushed to be heard in the planning process. After two months of talks, residents struck a deal with developers and the city, requiring paved sidewalks, safe pedestrian crossings, and up to $10,000 dollars for each affected family so they can double-proof their windows, install air filtering systems, and basically fortify their homes in any way you can when you have heavy-duty trucks passing less than 30 feet in front of you, Saunders said.

Residents and advocates also managed to convince the city to re-evaluate its 2014 overhaul of the zoning code. Under the proposal, homes and several religious buildings will go back to being classified as residential and public use. But even if it is accepted, people in South Central Fresno will remain surrounded by industrial plots.

This one-by-one approach has left community advocates and activists exhausted, said Werner. Instead, they are challenging the environmental review of the citys new zoning ordinance, which didnt analyze the environmental impacts of the new fulfillment centers. For Werner, an accurate definition of e-commerce facilities in Fresnos zoning code is useless if the city doesnt address the bigger picture: how through zoning, cities and counties are routinely directing noxious land uses to communities of color without protecting them. Today, the 97,000 people living in central, southeast and southwest Fresno areas with the lowest incomes and highest densities of industrial activity are 67 percent Latino, 23 percent Black and Asian combined, and only 8 percent white. In contrast, more than half of residents in Fresnos affluent areas are white. Fresnos Planning Commission did not respond to Grists request for comment.

No matter what the economic development trend is at the time, the most impactful harmful uses always go to these neighborhoods, Werner said. Thats not just a fact of nature. Thats intentional. And its by design. A solution needs to target the underlying biases and be comprehensive, she said.

One hundred and ten miles north of Fresno, a small Northern California community called Morgan Hill might have a solution.

The rumors first appeared on Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social media platform for neighbors to connect. In May 2019, a user posted an aerial shot of Morgan Hills city limits with the message: Urgent alert!!! Horrible project on the way! The post then explained that a developer called Trammell Crow planned to build a 1.1-million-square-foot technology park that, by all accounts, looked a lot like an e-commerce distribution center.

The building would stand 55 feet tall, have 199 docks to load and unload goods, and 752 parking spaces for workers. The site would be placed near a high school, a senior living community, and a health center. A small group of residents came together as the Morgan Hill Responsible Growth Coalition, or MHRGC. For months, they handed out flyers, sent emails, and went door-to-door to inform the community about the project. By October, hundreds of concerned residents showed up to an in-person city Planning Commission meeting where developers were presenting their designs.

At the heart of the discussion was the citys zoning code definition of a warehouse, adopted in 2018. Its very broad. Its very vague. It enables a lot of interpretation, Jennifer Carman, who works at the planning department, said 13 minutes into the meeting. Then, looking directly at the commissioners, she explained: Our zoning ordinance does not define a fulfillment center at this time. Should it be regulated differently than a warehouse and distribution and, or, be prohibited?

For nearly three hours, dozens of people spoke in front of the commission against the project. In the months that followed, the pressure kept mounting. In October 2020, the Morgan Hill City Council approved an amendment presented by the planning commission that included new definitions for fulfillment centers and parcel hubs.

A bicycle station stands near Mission Bay Kids Park in Morgan Hill, California in 2019. (Photo by Josie Norris / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; reprinted courtesy of Grist)

The council defined a fulfillment center as a building with a minimum of 100,00 square feet, 24 feet tall, and where e-commerce products are stored and distributed either to consumers or through a parcel hub, the last step in the e-commerce distribution network or the so-called last-mile facilities. Not only did they define the new land uses they effectively banned fulfillment centers from Morgan Hill. Council members kept working with the Morgan Hill Responsible Growth Coalition and in April 2021, they enacted even stricter definitions: prohibiting buildings bigger than 75,000 square feet; 34-foot-high ceilings over more than 25 percent of the building; and more than one dock-high door per 25,000 square feet.

Closer to New York City, several municipalities are trying to pass similar changes addressing zoning loopholes. Howell, New Jerseys town council recently approved an ordinance that separates warehouses defined as facilities involved in short to long-term storage of bulk materials and products and distributed in bulk with little to no material repackaging, repurposing, or breakup and fulfillment centers, places that receive, store, separate, and distribute products to individual consumers.

Experts, however, argue that while changing definitions is vital to fixing the inequities baked into zoning codes, its not a silver bullet. Such changes wont address the pollution that communities are already experiencing from existing e-commerce facilities and other polluting industries close to their neighborhoods. They point to the Inland Empire, an area encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties close to the Los Angeles Port, where e-commerce warehouses arrived 20 years ago.

Last May, Californias South Coast Air Quality Management District approved the first legislation in the country regulating the indirect sources of pollution trucks and cars generated by the giant warehouse facilities. The legislation requires that warehouses and fulfillment centers larger than 100,000 square feet encompassing about 3,000 facilities in Southern California report their pollution impact to the air district, which then scores each facilitys impact. Those companies that score high impact numbers can then pick from a list of mitigating options to improve their ratings, like electrifying part of their fleet or installing solar panels. If they dont want to comply or cant reach zero, they can pay a fee that will help to clean up communities.

Bautista, from the NYC-EJA, said many frontline communities dont oppose all industrial activity, as a certain level keeps property prices low shielding neighborhoods from further gentrification. In Red Hook, this is particularly urgent. Ten years ago, Superstorm Sandy completely altered the neighborhoods makeup. As longtime residents who were unable to fix their homes left, wealthier people came in, driving up housing prices. Developers started paying attention, envisioning a similar fate as other waterfront neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Red Hook soon became one of Brooklyns most expensive areas to buy new property.

What these waterfront neighborhoods really want is to be job centers in the new economy of the Green New Deal, Thaddeus Pawlowski, an urban planner and resiliency expert at Columbia University, said during a panel discussion about the sprawl of e-commerce facilities in the neighborhood.

Bautista dreams of blue-collar jobs to build the wind turbines needed for one of the countrys largest offshore wind projects, slated for Long Island Sound. But the distribution center crisis has shown him that growth has to be done carefully. Thats part of the reason why NYC-EJA, Earthjustice, city assembly member Marcela Mitaynes, and the grassroots organizations UPROSE and The Point CDC launched a coalition urging the city to include a definition of last-mile trucking facilities in the zoning code based on size and the number of vehicle trips per day.

We would like to see a definition or special category made for e-commerce facilities, which would allow for special permitting, public review, and/or extra mitigation, said Disa, from Earthjustice. Ideally, the amendment would define last-mile trucking facilities based on size and the number of vehicle trips per day, allowing regulators and communities to fully understand the impacts.

Rebecca Weintraub, spokesperson for New York Citys Department of City Planning told Grist that the department is currently working with several city agencies, including the departments of transportation and health, to better understand where e-commerce distribution centers are locating, and even congregating, and their effects on the health of surrounding neighborhoods. She did not specify if there are plans to review zoning regulations in the city.

Bautista remembers what it was like growing up in Red Hook in the 1970s and 80s. The citys bankruptcy left renovation of the neighborhoods sewer system unfinished for months. A building in his block fell from lack of maintenance, killing a man and his daughter. In the following decades, Bautista spearheaded the fights trying to keep power plants and other industrial activities away from the community. Red Hook eventually won a defining battle against a waste transfer station slated for next to one of the neighborhoods largest parks.

Today, a 311,796-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center is being constructed in that same spot. For Bautista, that reality is bittersweet.

You know, I didnt win that fight just so Amazon or Ikea or whatever companies could build warehouses, he said.

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A 'Warehouse' by Any Other Name - Next City

For Karen Ridges, the choice was clear. Youre asking me not to do a chore that I hate anyway for a whole month? And, in the process, its something small that might help the insects in the ecosystem. It seemed like a no-brainer, Ridges says of the first time she learned about No Mow May. The movement encourages homeowners to refrain from cutting their lawn for the entire month of May in order to help pollinators find food in the form of early flowering plants and weeds that pop up among the grass.

Ridges was immediately intrigued, and she took a look around her Illinois community to see if anyone was organizing a local campaign. When she couldnt find anywhere to turn, she started her own group. The No Mow May Illinois Facebook page started gaining members, who turned to Ridges and each other for advice and tips. One request that kept popping up was for a sign, something to display on an unmowed lawn explaining why the homeowner was letting the grass grow. There are free printable sign templates like this available online, but with the color printing involved, the printing estimates were too costly. Instead, Ridges and her husband designed their own black and white signs, collected money from the interested participants and drove around their community handing them out.

Theres been far more interest than I expected. I thought people would want to keep their nice manicured lawn, and we live in an area where people are really proud of that, Ridges says. Instead, word of No Mow May and the signs spreadand kept growing. It had a bit of a viral effect. If there were two people who wanted signs one day, there were four the next day. Although its still a small percentage of her neighborhood, Ridges says the local effort took off in a surprising way.

Since its start in 2019, No Mow May has grown in popularityand especially so this year. The movement was launched by Plantlife, a British conservation charity. It grew roots in the US a couple of years ago when the city council in Appleton, Wisconsin suspended its mowing activities in May 2020. Now, the effort is supported by organizations such as Bee City USA, an arm of the nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Bee City USA works to help communities protect local pollinators, including more than 3,600 species of bees native to America.

Pollinators, who after a long, cold winter are on the hunt for food in early spring, are responsible for one in every three bites of food. That is extremely essential to our survival. And based on international research, up to 40 percent of pollinator species on Earth may be at risk of extinction in the coming years from habitat loss, says Laura Rost, Bee City USA co-ordinator.

Photo by Matthew Shepherd.

Rost says No Mow May helps plenty of bee species (and other pollinators) seeking food sources at a crucial time. She hopes the movement will help people incorporate other bee-friendly tools into their lives. We hope that it sparks a conversation and allows homeowners and communities to reconsider their practices and their local ordinances, says Rost. If [cities] realize that the negative impacts are minimal, they might consider softening their lawn ordinances year round, allowing for eight-inch lawns instead of four. So, this is testing the waters and an opportunity to try something that might be more pollinator friendly.

Does No Mow May actually work to protect and help pollinators? Yes and no, says Peter Landschoot, professor of turfgrass science at Penn State University. There can be real downsides to letting your grass grow wild, particularly in a month such as May. That is a time when you get a lot of rapid growth in grasses and weeds. And if you dont mow for the entire month, and then at the end of the month you mow again, youre probably going to do a fair amount of damage to the grass, he says.

Photo by Tippman98x, Shutterstock.

When it comes to lawn care, the rule of thumb is to never remove more than one third of the grass leaf at a time or you risk damaging the plant and thinning out your lawn. Landschoot says regular mowing actually stimulates new growth of grass, so it can improve the density of your lawn. Additionally, there could be other factors to worry about with long grass, such as pest control, fire hazards or just the esthetics and property values.

The other aspect that I look at is function, says Landschoot. It keeps a short ground cover around the house so that you can walk over your property, you can have a barbecue out in the back and you can play badminton, you can get around and take care of your flowerbeds without stepping on other plants and causing damage. So, I look at that as kind of a functional aspect of the landscap,e too. Turf grasses allow many Americans to have access to a green space that requires relatively minimal maintenance.

While there are grasses native to different regions in North America, the concept of a lawn is a product of colonialism. Early European colonists in the northeast found that pasture grasses didnt grow in their new communities, and their animals died out after eating through the supply of native grasses such as annual ryes and marsh grass. Colonists began shipping over European grasses, including some that we might associate with America. That Kentucky bluegrass? Its not from Kentucky. Those new-to-this-land grasses spread widely, and they now make up the majority of American lawns. And while the blades of grass might be small in size, they take up a lot of resources. Covering two percent of American land, lawns use more water than any agricultural crop. A 2005 study using NASA satellite images estimated at the time that lawns covered 49,000 square miles in the United Statesroughly the size of Greece.

Although lawns have come under fire recently for being monocultures, often of non-native plants, Landschoot says thats not always the case. Typical lawn seed contains a mix of grass species, often perennial rye grass, Kentucky blue grass and fescue, a type of grass that grows well in shade and colder weather. And within those species, there can be multiple cultivars of grass. Even in grass seeds that exclusively focus on one species of grass, Landschoot says there can still be multiple cultivars, so you might actually have eight different grasses in there. Thats helpful in case a pest comes through or a particularly hot or cold spell. An issue with one species of grass may not impact the others, so your lawn wont suffer as much.

Instead of refraining from mowing, Landschoot says a better way to help pollinators might be to focus on planting native plants instead. I would do some research on what the best plants to put in your landscape to attract pollinators are, and then maybe develop beds or various plantings around your property to attract those pollinators, such as annuals and perennials, he says. Thats also what Bee City USA recommends, if participants want to continue their initiative to help pollinators beyond No Mow May.

In Montreal, Jane Sorensens yard is filled with native plants, and she even expanded the green space to cover her driveway. Sorensen also advises other people who are interested in replacing their lawns with native plants and walks them through the process of reclaiming their greenery. Up until the 1970s and 80s, having an asphalt and nice tar blacktop driveway was a status symbol. Then people started [using individual paving stones]. And now its like, actually, this is kind of overkill considering that there are environmental benefits to not doing this, says Sorensen. We just need more people who are willing to do it, and then people will start realizing that this is a third type of driveway, its not a signal of disuse.

The biggest piece of advice Sorensen has for people who are interested in taking on a project like hers is to jump in and work with intentionality. While she says that her yard takes less work to manage than a traditional grass lawn, if neighbors arent used to what youre doing, it can look a little eccentric. Thats the biggest hurdle that people have to get over, says Sorensen.

Photo by I.P. Visual Solutions, Shutterstock.

So, even though youre letting things grow, make it clear that you know what youre doing. Some manicuring or trimming will help or add in a personal touch in the garden such as a wind chime or garden gnomeanything that shows this is an intentional choice. Nobody wants to have a neighbor that just neglects things to death, says Sorenson. But showing that you care is the biggest thing to getting it accepted by other people.

Maryland resident Dan DEramo, who turned his front lawn into a vegetable garden, says that his yard is often a conversation-starter with his neighbors. Instead of traditional turf, he put up half a dozen raised beds, planting different crops each season depending on his mood. This year, the front yard garden is filled with a lot of peppers and other veggies that he plans to pickle and ferment.

While he gets a lot of use out of his garden, he does acknowledge that hes a rarity in his community. Just looking down my street, I see miles and miles of grass and shrubs and trees. And people put money and time and effort into maintaining those shrubs and grass and trees to look pretty, DEramo says. I personally think a well-kept, organized, balanced garden is also very pretty to look at. Plus, he says, he also gets to eat the fruits of his labors.

While hes the only one in his neighborhood without a traditional front lawn, he still has folks coming up to him when hes outside gardening, commenting on the plants hes growing and the work it takes. Hes convinced a few people to grow a pepper plant or two in their own yards. Theres a lot of wasted space out there, considering that we have a food shortage, DEramo says. We can combat the problems that we say we dont have a solution for.

For Karen Ridges in Illinois, No Mow May has had its ups and downs. Her efforts, while successful in motivating others to let their grass grow, did inspire a bit of backlash. One woman said that she couldnt do this because of ticks in the long grass, Ridges recalls. Other people pushed back, claiming that she was taking work away from landscapers.

But, ultimately, participating in No Mow May has changed how Ridges relates to her lawn. Shes decided to have a landscape architect come to her property and help her plan out a space full of native plants and grasses such as prairie clovers, asters and wild bergamot. The transition will take some time, but Ridges says its as much for the pollinators as it is for her and her family. The amount of rain in the Midwest that weve seen over the last five or 10 years, we have to do something different; otherwise, well have to accept that our basements will become unusable, she says. We need plants that are water loving to help with the changes. Because the grass isnt going to cut it.

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Why More Americans Are Rethinking Their Lawns - Modern Farmer

Early this week, Marcus Campbell, the incoming Superintendent of ETHS, called one of the graduating seniors at home and asked to visit.

It was not a normal request, but then, neither were the circumstances.

Campbell and Pete Bavis, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, and Keith A. Robinson, Associate Principal of Educational Services, visited the home of Megan Bang and Lawrence Curley to apologize to their son, Nimkii Curley, and present him with his diploma.

The young man did not receive his diploma with his peers at the graduation ceremony last weekend. Instead, he was told he could not walk across the stage or sit with fellow students if he insisted on wearing the eagle feather and beading on his cap, an Ojibwe beaded stole and Navajo necklace. All four items represent his heritage and some are considered sacred.

The RoundTable also visited with the family at their home and spoke to Nimkii Curley at length to understand what happened before, during and after the graduation ceremony. The family said the incident constitiutes an issue of religious freedom and cultural expression. And they have taken the story to social media, where it has received national attention.

The RoundTable also asked Campbell to talk about the incident. Campbell, who is ETHS principal, responded via email, writing: I think all that I have wanted to share, I have shared with the family. We had a nice conversation about this incident and we also discussed the stories and experiences of indigenous students at ETHS and around the country.

We are revisiting our rules about graduation. I hope to share something with the community this summer. We will not let this happen again.

Nimkii Curley is Turtle Clan Ojibwe and Black Sheep Salt Clan Navajo. He explained that the eagle feather is sacred and used for prayer. It is to indigenous people as important a religious symbol as a crucifix, a star of David, a hijab, a turban or a yarmulke is to those of other faiths. The feather represents generational respect, continuity and responsibility to ones community.

His mother, Megan Bang, Professor of Learning Sciences and Psychology at Northwestern University and currently serving as the Senior Vice President at the Spencer Foundation, explained the significance of each of the items. Bang is Fish Clan Ojibwe and Italian. Curleys father, Lawrence, is Black Sheep Salt Clan Navajo and Turtle Clan Ojibwe.

Curley said the event coordinators and security personnel interacted with him twice. The first time, he was in the waiting room with all of the other students. He was pulled aside and asked not to wear the beaded cap, the beaded stole and to hide the necklace so it would not be visible to the crowd. He declined.

He was offered a plain cap to wear instead, and he declined that as well. He was told he would not be able to walk across the stage to receive his diploma because his cap was altered, which ETHS does not allow. But he was told he could sit with his peers.

Yet, as he entered the auditorium with his classmates, a security guard and an event coordinator pulled him aside and asked for the feather attached to his cap. Curley said he explained he was unable to do that because of its religious significance.

His father, Lawrence Curley, a hydrologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, saw that his son was in a serious conversation with two adults who were not allowing him to walk into the auditorium with his classmates. He approached and tried to intervene to explain the religious concept to the adults confronting his son.

The security guard and event coordinator were resolute. They would not allow the younger Curley to sit with his friends unless he handed them the feather and decorated cap. He repeatedly explained he could not do that. But the choice demanded of him was stark: hand over the beaded cap and feather or leave the auditoriums main floor.

Curley said he followed his moral ethic and listened to what he had been taught by his parents, his grandparents and elders within his community. He sat out his graduation ceremony.

The young man told the RoundTable he sat in the bleachers with his family. His younger sisters were crying, his parents were both proud and furious, and other family members and friends, there to help celebrate, were bewildered. He wanted to stay to support his friends, but admitted to a reporter that when the school administrators spoke about the schools good record of practicing racial equity, he asked his parents if they could leave. They did.

As Bang explained, this was more than just a high school graduation ceremony.

She said: My father was 9-years old when he was taken [forced to attend a boarding school]. Hes a boarding school survivor. My son is the grandson and great-grandson of boarding school survivors. His grandparents were relocated from reservations to Chicago.

But they never graduated from high school. His dad is a high school pushout, who would eventually return to school and now has graduate degrees, but he did not get to participate in a high school graduation. Nimkii is the first one to graduate from a public high school. It has been hard to get through the school system here.

Everyone else may think that its not a big deal. But for us, the U.S. just released its first acknowledgement of the boarding school history. Its not in the distant past. Nimkiis paternal grandfather tells stories about what those experiences were like. He tells us stories that his grandmother told him about the Navajo long walk when Navajo were forcibly removed by the U.S. cavalry. These atrocities are not a long time ago. They are the stories of our family at the kitchen table now.

In May of this year, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland released the first volume of an investigative report on the impact of the countrys Federal Indian School Boarding Initiative, which was in place from 1819 to 1969.

The consequences of federal Indian boarding school policies including the intergenerational trauma caused by the family separation and cultural eradication inflicted upon generations of children as young as 4-years old are heartbreaking and undeniable, said Haaland in the report.

We continue to see the evidence of this attempt to forcibly assimilate Indigenous people in the disparities that communities face, she continued. It is my priority to not only give voice to the survivors and descendants of federal Indian boarding school policies, but also to address the lasting legacies of these policies so indigenous peoples can continue to grow and heal.

Bang said at the age of four her late mother-in-law was taken from her family. She told the stories of children who tried to retain their native language and were punished by having their lips forcibly burned on heated pipes. The children often dealt with physical, sexual and emotional abuse in addition to not being with their loved ones.

The report outlines these atrocities and many others, saying:

The investigation found that the federal Indian boarding school system deployed systematic militarized and identity-alteration methodologies in an attempt to assimilate American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children through education, including but not limited to renaming Indian children from Indian to English names; cutting the hair of Indian children; discouraging or preventing the use of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian languages, religions and cultural practices; and organizing Indian and Native Hawaiian children into units to perform military drills.

Despite assertions to the contrary, the investigation found that the school system largely focused on manual labor and vocational skills that left American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian graduates with employment options often irrelevant to the industrial U.S. economy, further disrupting Tribal economies.

Curley said his public high school graduation ceremony was going to be a cause for celebration for his family and community. He plans to study environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.

His mothers tweet about this incident went viral, with some 349,000 likes, more than 28,700 retweets and nearly 5,650 comments as of the afternoon Saturday, May 28. Media outlets from around the country and Europe have called to interview Curley and his family.

Curley told the RoundTable that this event was the culmination of years of frustrating experiences in public schools, most recently at ETHS. He spoke of being confronted constantly with negative stereotypes and imagery about Native Americans, the Chicago Blackhawks logo being the most frequently seen example.

Curley alternated between sounding frustrated and understanding. He said, I am so done with always having to be the person in the room to correct hundreds of years of racism. Native youth have to educate non-Native people about indigenous history and culture.

I cant speak for all Native Americans or my clans. I cant represent the entire race, especially in an educational setting. It is mentally taxing.

But moments later he said, Ive experienced this before. Its not new. Educating people who dont have knowledge, who are ignorant of history, is never easy. But its not their fault: their education failed them, so I try to be forgiving. I cannot not try its about justice. I cant fix this by myself. I need to allow people grace. Its a structural issue within society based on how U.S. history is taught. Its not intentional.

I want to be a catalyst for change, he said, if not for me, for the next generation. It means nothing if they dont follow through and make the changes they are promising. I am choosing to trust.

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ETHS and Nimkii Curleys exclusion from graduation - Evanston RoundTable

"So amazingly enough 60,000 people turn 65 every year in Minnesota."

Rob Lahammer knows senior care. He's the vice president of engagement and advocacy at Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS), a network of over 50 senior living communities throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. He's been working for PHS for 34 years, almost 40 years in senior care generally.

"When I started it was eight, nine, 10% of the population was seniors. We're now sitting around 16, [but] it's going to be 25%. ... that's about 1 million people in Minnesota are 65 and older. So as far as the industry goes, there are more seniors right now, 65 older, I'm almost that so I hate to call them seniors, but 65 and older that are in K-12 education," Lahammer said.

He said that throughout his career, the services provided by these facilities has expanded and the bigger industry now is assisted living and memory care. A report by Cameron Macht and Anthony Schaffhauser for Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development, says that Minnesota is projected to add nearly 60,000 new healthcare jobs over the next decade. At the same time, the report found that while nursing and residential care jobs were up to almost 106,000 in December of 2020, after an initial dip in March 2020 because of COVID-19, in the entire year of 2021, this area lost almost 6,000 workers, down to just over 99,500. This loss they say is because of facility closures, people quitting or retiring.

Located in Hutchinson, Minnesota population about 14,500, Harmony River joined the PHS network in 2012 and is one of the more rural locations. Pam Wolling, clinical administrator at Harmony River, said that they've maintained 75% of their staff over the last two years, which of course means 25% has been turning over.

Lahammer said that there are about 23,000 open positions in senior care in Minnesota alone. "23,000. This staggering number, and about 20% of positions are open. Now before the pandemic, it was somewhere in the 12% range. So what's really changed ... is we have to attract people who want to work here," Lahammer said.

Sometimes people feel called to senior care and caregiving work, what Lahammer calls, "God's work," but sometimes attracting potential employees has to be more intentional, like the Hutchinson High School's TigerPath Program.

"The TigerPath Program is where they prepare students for the workforce," said Luke Krueger, the campus administrator at Harmony River. "We have partnered with the Hutch High School to have students come in here and work and get their clinicals done. ... They actually started their own nursing assistant program at the Hutch High School."

A collaboration between the chamber of commerce, leaders from the economic development authority and local businesses, Hutchinson High School started the TigerPath Program about seven years ago to expose students to what Andrea Moore, the TigerPath coordinator, calls "logical career pathways."

"They're industry recognized credentials and certifications and then the student leaves not only with a high school diploma, but with a certification that's valuable in the workforce," Moore said. "So, you know, just taking that all into account and then realistically saying, 'what can we do here at Hutchinson High School? What's realistic for us? Can we do a welding certification or can we do CNA?' A lot of people say, 'I wish I had this when I was in high school,' and most of it is just things that schools have been doing, but it's just so much more intentional."

Each student in their approximately 1,000-person student body chooses one of the four TigerPath options: stream, sci high, business and human services. And in the 2020/2021 school year, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) certification was added, complete with onsite labs.

"We really had a vision that we wanted to offer the CNA course and certification here within the walls of the high school, because we really thought, and it has turned out to be true, that more students would be able to participate in that programming and get that certification, if they could do it during their school day as one of their electives," said Moore.

"So that's a college credit course that they're taking. They take all the classes there, then they come here for their clinical experience," said Krueger. "We've actually been able to hire on some of those students that took the class at the Hutch High School."

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Aging with dignity: health care employee recruitment - Pioneer Public Television

Dear Friend,

This week, along with the nation, I mourned another senseless act of gun violence, this time involving elementary school children in Texas. I also applauded President Bidens executive order on policing reforms which I was pleased to see contained elements of legislation I was successful getting passed in the House last year. For much of the week, I was attending the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue to discuss with my European counterparts the critical issues of security, cooperation, climate change and the ongoing war in Ukraine. I also provided written testimony in favor of my horse-protecting PAST Act; introduced a bill to designate a new National Scenic Trail through Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina; discussed Ukraine and other matters with the Ambassador of Ireland; announced a significant HIV/AIDS grant to Shelby County; and offered a health tip. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see what Im doing as it happens.

Condemning Another Act of Gun Violence

Applauding the Presidents Executive Order on Policing Reform

Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation and Supporting Ukraine

Speaking Out Against Horse Soring

Introducing the Benton MacKaye Scenic Trail Act

Discussing Ukraine with the Ambassador to Ireland

Announcing $4.7 Million HIV/AIDS Grant to Shelby County

Weekly Health Tip

Quote of the Week

Condemning Another Act of Gun Violence

On Tuesday, the country witnessed another senseless act of gun violence, when a killer shot up a fourth-grade classroom in Texas, murdering 19 children and two teachers. This occurred less than two weeks after a gunman shot up a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 Black people. Clear-thinking people realize that taking measures such as universal background checks, red flag laws and ending the sale of assault rifles all of which I support -- would save lives.

Applauding the Presidents Executive Order on Policing Reform

On the second anniversary of George Floyds murder at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, President Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order to reform policing practices which included policies modeled on many of the elements of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. That bill, which passed the House in March 2021, included three measures I authored. The executive order contained the substance of my National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act, which would require law enforcement agencies to collect, compile, and submit data on the use of deadly force by specific law enforcement officers to the Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Statistics. I believe the executive order will improve relations between police and the communities they serve. See my statement on the order here.

Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation and Supporting Ukraine

I spent much of this week participating as a United States Delegate in the 84th Inter-Parliamentary meeting of the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue, meeting in Paris with European lawmakers focused on strengthening transatlantic cooperation, combatting climate change and supporting Ukraine in defending its sovereignty. The Europeans are very positive about our shared values and welcome a return to them under President Biden after the strained relationship under President Trump. As Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, I have been following all of these issues very closely and find it important to participate in these discussions.

Speaking Out Against Horse Soring

The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce held a legislative hearing considering my bill, H.R. 5441, the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act on Thursday. The bill would prohibit the soring, or intentional injury, of Tennessee Walking Horses to produce a desired high-stepping gait known as The Big Lick. See my statement to the Subcommittee here.

Introducing the Benton MacKaye Scenic Trail Act

Earlier today, I introduced the Benton MacKaye Scenic Trail Act, designating a 287-mile hiking trail through the natural beauty of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina as a new National Scenic Trail. See my release on the bill here.

Discussing Ukraine with the Ambassador to Ireland

On Friday, I met in my District Office with Daniel Mulhall, Irelands ambassador to the United States. Among the many subjects we discussed was the situation in Ukraine.We shared a conversation about our mutual friends and travel spots in Ireland. He knew the three Irish representatives with whom I met this week at the Transatlantic Dialogue, one of whom was directly related to Ethel Kennedy, the wife of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy, assassinated in 1968. I put him in touch by telephone with one of Memphis most famous Sons of Ireland, Mark Flanagan, and they had much to share about friends and places.

Announcing $4.7 Million HIV/AIDS Grant to Shelby County

On Wednesday, I announced an emergency relief grant to Shelby County for its Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs. This funding will save lives. See my release here.

Weekly Health Tip

Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are again going in the wrong direction, with 300 new cases reported daily in Shelby County. Beginning today, the Shelby County Health Department will begin administering the booster Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children five to eleven years old who have already received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. Please continue to take this situation seriously and please wear a face mask when you are indoors among people whose Covid immunization status is unknown.

Quote of the Week

As a nation, we have to ask: When in Gods name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in Gods name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done? President Biden Tuesday night responding to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

I wish everyone a pleasant Memorial Day.

As always, I remain.Most sincerely,

Steve CohenMember of Congress

Original post:

Condemning Another Act of Gun Violence - Congressman Steve Cohen