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They Don't Really Care About Us: Action Step

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They Don't Really Care About Us: Action Step

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Michael Jackson brought this song to incarcerated inmates who learned the dance and coordinated this dance video with the instructors who are all in black

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Michael Jackson's This Is It - They Don't Care About Us - Dancing Inmates HD

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Action Step: Life is Precious: incarcerated women

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Action Step: Life is Precious: incarcerated women

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Life Is Precious – Kirsta Niemie Benedetti

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Life Is Precious is a project to use art as a unique bridge between women serving extended sentences in Ohio Reformatory for Women and the outside community. Storytelling through writings and interactive artwork exhibit alongside portraits of the women to convey the complexity and dimensionality of each person.

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Artivism: Women and Aging-Uncertain Futures: Action Step

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Artivism: Women and Aging-Uncertain Futures: Action Step

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Uncertain Futures is a collaborative artwork highlighting intersectional issues around work for women over 50 focusing on gender, age, race, disability and class.

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Ohio State community partnerships aim to identify disparities and improve health outcomes for Black men and women: Action Step

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Ohio State community partnerships aim to identify disparities and improve health outcomes for Black men and women: Action Step

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Improving health outcomes for Black men and women

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Researchers @OSUWexMed are creating a culture of health in the Black community by initiating programs designed to improve risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

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Exposing Racial Exploitation: Action Step

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Exposing Racial Exploitation: Action Step

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In a candid one-on-one conversation, Kara Walker and composer/musician Jason Moran discuss their collaboration for the Prospect.4 triennial in New Orleans, "Katastwóf Karavan" (2018). Installed at Algiers Point on the bank of the Mississippi River and activated daily across three days in February 2018, the work featured a thirty-two-note steam calliope performed by Moran and housed in a wagon developed by Walker.

A contemporary calliope, "Katastwóf Karavan" uses the mechanics of American manufacturing to uplift the voices it once suppressed. Historically this "music is used for people who are captive" Moran notes, eliciting feelings of both celebration and distress. "As a stationary object, it always needs to be activated," Walker explains. "When you have monuments or commemorative things that just exist, they sit there and they disappear."

Walker and Moran share how performing "Katastwóf Karavan" at Algiers Point pays tribute to Africans who were brought there to be sold into slavery in the 1700s. The calliope will honor "millions of ancestors, in a way that we aren't sure about what we're about to touch," says Moran. Not intended to live in one place, Walker hopes to tour the monument to other locations similar to Algiers, noting "there are many places like that in the Americas and I think that it's worthwhile to explore."

More information and credits

Credits

Producer: Ian Forster. Editor: Rosie Walunas. Colorist: Jonah Greenstein. Camera: Joshua Bagnall, Sean Brown, Mason Cash, Ian Forster, & Andrew Whitlatch. Sound: James Page & Michael Smedes. Production Assistant: Jazz Henry. Artwork Courtesy: Kara Walker & Jason Moran. Photography Courtesy: Ari Marcopoulos. Special Thanks: Allison Hemler, Mike Koller, Prospect New Orleans, Trevor Schoonmaker, Barb Smith, & Workshop Art Fabrication.

Extended Play is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the Art21 Contemporary Council; and by individual contributors.

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Licensing

Interested in showing this film in an exhibition or public screening? To license this video please visit Licensing & Reproduction.

Kara Walker explores the raw intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in her work, crafting vivid psychological narratives from a contemporary perspective on historical conditions. Over the past two decades, Walker has unleashed the traditionally Victorian medium of the silhouette onto the walls of the gallery, creating immersive installations that envelop the viewer. Walker's multi-media work-which includes drawing, watercolor, video, and sculpture-often reconsider grotesque caricatures, probing their persistence in popular culture and reclaiming their subjugating power to alternative ends.

An innovative and genre-crossing pianist, composer, and bandleader, Jason Moran has a venerable career as a recording and performing musician, marrying classical, blues, and jazz with hip-hop, funk, and rock in ways that continually expand genre boundaries. Moran has collaborated with jazz masters such as Charles Lloyd, Bill Frisell, and the late Sam Rivers, as well as the drummer Nasheet Waits and the bassist Tarus Mateen in the trio, The Bandwagon. Moran also collaborates extensively with a broad range of visual artists, including Adrian Piper, Joan Jonas, Glenn Ligon, Stan Douglas, Adam Pendleton, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, and Julie Mehretu.

"It made me think about the under representation of memorials about the institution of slavery in America."

How are artists answering the question: What is America today? Historical markers continue to shape the discourse of the new-normal and artists are responding with powerful works that are representative of the times. This playlist showcases how artists are responding to the dynamic nature of the United States and its parallels.

Art21 is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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Sending Out A Signal, Kara Walker & Jason Moran - Art21

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Our Priorities for 2024

Protecting Our Right to Vote

States have introduced hundreds of measures to restrict the right to vote. Our democracy must meet these challenges by adopting reforms that promote safe and accessible elections.

Quality Care for Black Americans

Over 10 million people have lost their Medicaid health coverage, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the impact. The federal government has the power to provide incentives and urge these state leaders to take the actions necessary to pause unwinding, and create an automated renewal process.

Fighting for Good Jobs

The NAACP is proud to continue standing in solidarity with our fellow advocates in the labor movement. As we continuously engage in conversations with corporations and Congressional members, one thing is clear - enacting a living, minimum wage nationwide is imperative.

Putting Black America First

The future of our democracy lies in America's forgotten corners. That's why the NAACP is working hard to recruit 300K volunteers across the country ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
- Derrick Johnson, President and CEO, NAACP

Driving Quality of Life through Data

NAACP and Brookings have partnered on The Black Progress Index, a new analysis of the places where Black people are thriving most, as measured through their life expectancy. In the spirit of W.E.B. Du Bois, we're working to provide insight into the local civic actions that can improve life expectancy outcomes.

WE NEED YOU IN THE FIGHT

Each and every NAACP member makes a difference to the complex, ongoing work of advancing racial equity. We have driven the hardest-fought wins for civil rights and social justice - with you by our side, we can accelerate the next milestones for Black Americans.

Join this multigenerational network of activists dismantling structural racism by using your power to take action on the most pressing issues of our time.
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Years the NAACP has spent fighting against racism and discrimination in communities across the country

We tackle today's toughest challenges

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NAACP is leading the fight for justice

Ensure that Black America continues to thrive
This year will be pivotal. When it comes to civil rights and social justice, we have the unique ability to secure more wins than anyone else. The issues that affect our community will make or break how we continue to thrive in this country. Together, let's amplify the voice of Black America to make sure solutions to our most pressing issues are equitable.

NAACP in your community One NAACP

We are advocates united in the fight to end racial inequality.

Our Priorities for 2024

Protecting Our Right to Vote

States have introduced hundreds of measures to restrict the right to vote. Our democracy must meet these challenges by adopting reforms that promote safe and accessible elections.

Quality Care for Black Americans

Over 10 million people have lost their Medicaid health coverage, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the impact. The federal government has the power to provide incentives and urge these state leaders to take the actions necessary to pause unwinding, and create an automated renewal process.

Fighting for Good Jobs

The NAACP is proud to continue standing in solidarity with our fellow advocates in the labor movement. As we continuously engage in conversations with corporations and Congressional members, one thing is clear - enacting a living, minimum wage nationwide is imperative.

Protecting Our Right to Vote

States have introduced hundreds of measures to restrict the right to vote. Our democracy must meet these challenges by adopting reforms that promote safe and accessible elections.

Quality Care for Black Americans

Over 10 million people have lost their Medicaid health coverage, with communities of color bearing the brunt of the impact. The federal government has the power to provide incentives and urge these state leaders to take the actions necessary to pause unwinding, and create an automated renewal process.

Fighting for Good Jobs

The NAACP is proud to continue standing in solidarity with our fellow advocates in the labor movement. As we continuously engage in conversations with corporations and Congressional members, one thing is clear - enacting a living, minimum wage nationwide is imperative.

Putting Black America First

The future of our democracy lies in America's forgotten corners. That's why the NAACP is working hard to recruit 300K volunteers across the country ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
- Derrick Johnson, President and CEO, NAACP

Driving Quality of Life through Data

NAACP and Brookings have partnered on The Black Progress Index, a new analysis of the places where Black people are thriving most, as measured through their life expectancy. In the spirit of W.E.B. Du Bois, we're working to provide insight into the local civic actions that can improve life expectancy outcomes.

WE NEED YOU IN THE FIGHT

Each and every NAACP member makes a difference to the complex, ongoing work of advancing racial equity. We have driven the hardest-fought wins for civil rights and social justice - with you by our side, we can accelerate the next milestones for Black Americans.

Join this multigenerational network of activists dismantling structural racism by using your power to take action on the most pressing issues of our time.
Join NAACP today

Years the NAACP has spent fighting against racism and discrimination in communities across the country

We tackle today's toughest challenges

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30% likelihood of a Black person to be stopped without just cause than a white person

65% of Black adults have felt targeted because of their race

675k calls made by NAACP volunteers to Black voters in 2020

10 battleground states reached during 2020 election year

10X more income made by White families than Black families

80% higher mortgage denial rate for Blacks applicants than white applicants

32% of Black students lived in poverty in 2018

45% of Black students attended high-poverty schools in fall 2017

34% of COVID-19 deaths were among non-Hispanic Black people

3x Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes

68% of Black Americans live or have lived within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant over the past several decades

60% of Black Americans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites

300k young people have participated in the NAACP ACT-SO Achievement Program

40+ years producing top Black talent through ACT-SO

NAACP in your community One NAACP

We are advocates united in the fight to end racial inequality.

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The NAACP has the largest and most comprehensive civic engagement program for Black voters. We've been organizing and activating thousands of supporters and volunteers. With Super Tuesday behind us, we're all in to protect democracy - but we need your support. Join the fight now - donate today!

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NAACP builds Black political power to end structural racism. Let's put end to race-based discrimination together: become a member, advocate, or donate today.

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10 Examples of Systemic Racism in the USA

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10 Examples of Systemic Racism in the USA

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In the United States, there's a political battle raging over the concept of systemic racism. One side claims racism is the domain of individuals and isolated incidents - if it still exists at all - while the other side argues racism is woven into the fabric of the country's systems. Who's right? One can find evidence of systemic racism by taking a close look at areas of society like education, employment, housing, healthcare, the criminal justice system, and immigration policy. On the surface, a single stat may have more than one explanation but taken all together, the data paints a clear picture: someone's race affects things like their education, how much money they earn, where they can live, and the kind of medical care they receive. Here are six examples of systemic racism in the United States:

Education

In many ways, access to education lays the foundation for the rest of a person's life. A lack of good schooling limits a person's employment opportunities and income potential, which has a ripple effect on every area of their life and their children's lives. School discipline is a big source of racial disparities. According to 2013-2014 data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, Black K-12 students are almost 4 times more likely than white students to get one or more out-of-school suspensions. Black girls in particular are much more likely to be suspended compared to white girls, but it isn't because they're committing worse offenses. According to a report from the National Women's Law Center, Black girls are 5.5 times more likely than white girls to be suspended. Native American girls are 3.3 times more likely to face suspension.

Systemic racism affects education quality, as well. School districts with the most Black, Native, and Latino students get significantly less revenue than districts with fewer students of color. For districts with 5,000 students, that can mean losing $13.5 million. Less funding means fewer computers, fewer teachers, outdated textbooks, and run-down buildings. Even in schools with resources like gifted-education programs, racial disparities are a problem. In one study, after adjusting for factors like standardized test scores, researchers found Black students were 54% less likely to be referred to gifted-education programs. Lower-quality education and fewer resources affect where - and if - a student attends college, how many loans they need, if they graduate, and more.

Employment and wealth

Systemic racism's effect on employment is well-documented. It begins with the hiring process. Black Americans with "white-sounding" names receive 50% more callbacks for their job applications. Even having a college degree doesn't necessarily help one's chances. Between 2010-2012, one study showed that while only 6% of all engineering graduates were unemployed, 10% of Black college graduates with engineering degrees were unemployed. Despite these numbers, is getting a degree still worth it for everyone? Studies show that while white college-educated households enjoy higher lifetime earnings and better economic achievements, this doesn't apply to Black college-educated households. The reason is tied to the fact that white college graduates are much more likely to get (and give) financial support for education and/or home ownership from their parents, while Black college graduates are more likely to be the ones supporting their parents.

What about income? Workplaces are still discriminating against people of color, especially women. While white women earn about 79 cents for every white man's dollar, Black women earn 63 cents while Hispanic/Latina women earn 58 cents. Black men earn about 71 cents per dollar. According to a Citi report, the Black pay gap alone equals about $2.7 trillion. All that lost income leads to higher rates of poverty within non-white communities. According to census data from 2019, Black and Hispanic Americans were over-represented in poverty compared to their representation in the overall population. The data represented an improvement from years past, but the COVID-19 pandemic most likely undid that progress.

Homeownership

Systemic racism in housing has a long history. The National Housing Act of 1934 formalized redlining, which effectively provided housing to white families and left out people of color. Instead of getting to live in the newly-established suburbs, Black Americans and other people of color were segregated into urban housing projects. The government was not subtle. According to the Federal Housing Administration's reasoning, if Black Americans bought suburban homes, the property values would go down. This would put the loans of white Americans at risk. There was no evidence of this and in fact, as Richard Rothstein explains, property values actually went up when Black Americans moved in because they were willing to pay more for housing than white Americans. The FHA's justification was racism pure and simple.

Redlining has lasting consequences to this day. Black homebuyers are more likely to be denied a real estate agent appointment, while housing lenders are more likely to recommend subprime loans to Black homebuyers even if they qualify for prime loans. According to real-estate brokerage firm Redfin, just 44% of Black householders own their homes as opposed to 73.7% of white householders. Compared to white neighborhoods, similar homes located in Black-majority neighborhoods are worth 23% less.

Healthcare

The healthcare system has abused non-white people (especially Black Americans) for centuries. It's so prevalent it has its own term: "medical racism." Hiding behind the veneer of science and medicine, doctors and researchers in the 1800s promoted ideas like phrenology (which is the belief that the shape of a person's skull relates to their moral character) and that Black people were naturally submissive and therefore meant to be enslaved. From 1932-1972, the US government recruited Black men with syphilis, saying they would treat them, but instead left the disease untreated to study its progress. The Tuskegee study is one of the most infamous examples of healthcare abuse.

Systemic racism in healthcare is still prevalent. It can show up in odd ways, such as the belief that Black patients feel less pain. Studies show that Black people are significantly less likely to receive pain medication and when they do get it, they get it at lower doses. When Batten professor and social psychologist Sophie Trawalter went to learn why, she found the belief isn't always linked to negative feelings about race, but rather a belief that race is biological. This shows that even someone with good intentions can end up perpetuating systemic racism. How can the healthcare industry deal with its issues? A more diverse medical field can help. Only around 5% of doctors are Black. White doctors represent 56% of the field, while Asian doctors are 17% and Hispanic doctors are around 6%. These stats matter because research shows more ethnic diversity in the medical field leads to better outcomes and increased trust.

Surveillance and the criminal justice system

Like many examples, discrimination begins early in the criminal justice system with police surveillance. In 2020, a study using a dataset with 100 million traffic stops across the US found that Black drivers are 20% more likely to get stopped than white drivers relative to their residential population. Once pulled over, Black drivers are then 1.5-2 times more likely to be searched than white drivers, despite the fact they're less likely to be carrying guns, drugs, or other illegal contraband. Are we sure race is the factor? That same study found that as the sun sets and it gets harder to tell the race of a driver, there's a 5-10% drop in the number of Black drivers stopped. Other forms of police surveillance, like wiretaps, aerial surveillance, and facial recognition, also target people based on their race.

Once a person is in the criminal justice system, their race impacts what happens next. Black youth are more than 4 times more likely to be detained or committed to juvenile facilities compared to their white peers. According to a 2017 report, Black men got 19.1% longer sentences for the same federal crime than white men between 2012-2016. This accounted for factors like criminal history, age, citizenship, and education. The long-term effects of systemic racism? Despite making up just 13% of the US population, Black people make up 38% of the population in jails and prisons. In certain states (like Michigan, Virginia, Louisiana, and North Carolina), more than 50% of the prison population is Black.

Immigration policy

Race and immigration policies in the United States have always been closely aligned. It's all about who the US considers worthy of citizenship. When the country was first deciding who could be a citizen in 1790, only "free white persons" with good character and who had lived in the US for two years were eligible. Eligibility expanded, but the US remained deeply invested in the type of person who entered the country. Millions of mostly white immigrants entered the country illegally from the early 1900s through the 1960s, but were generally welcomed and lawfully employed. Non-white immigrants did not enjoy the same privileges. As more people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America began arriving, policies got stricter. Chinese immigrants were a favorite target early on. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was the first comprehensive federal immigration legislation. It banned all immigration of Chinese laborers for a decade with few exceptions.

As the 20th century rolled in, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924, which set up a quota system to limit immigration. To keep "undesirable" immigrants out (like immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia), the law was based on census data from 1890, when most immigrants were white Protestants from Western and Northern Europe. Policies like this shaped the population of the United States and helped stoke anti-immigrant and racist sentiments. Today, Mexican immigrants are a frequent target, but studies show Arab and Asian immigrants also experience higher rates of racial discrimination than white immigrants. This impacts access to education, healthcare, housing, civic participation, equitable employment, and more.
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5 Examples of Systemic Racism in the USA

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In the United States, there's a political battle raging over the concept of systemic racism. One side claims racism is the domain of individuals and isolated incidents - if it still exists at all - while the other side argues racism is woven into the fabric of the country's systems. Who's right?

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Action Step: Spain's 'Robin Hood Restaurant' Charges the Rich and Feeds The Poor

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Action Step: Spain's 'Robin Hood Restaurant' Charges the Rich and Feeds The Poor

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On a frigid winter night, a man wearing two coats shuffles into a brightly lit brick restaurant in downtown Madrid. Staff greet him warmly; he's been here many times. The maître d' stamps his ID card, and the hungry man selects a table with a red tablecloth, under a big brass chandelier.

The man, Luis Gallardo, is homeless - and so are all the diners, every night, at the city's Robin Hood restaurant. Its mission is to charge the rich and feed the poor. Paying customers at breakfast and lunch foot the bill for the restaurant to serve dinner to homeless people, free of charge.

It's become Spain's most sought-after lunch reservation. The restaurant has poached staff from luxury hotels. Celebrity chefs are lining up to cook once a week. For paying clients, the lunch is fully booked through the end of March.

The restaurant opened in early December, and is run by an 80-year-old Catholic priest, Ángel García Rodriguez, whom everyone knows simply as "Padre Ángel."

"I want them to eat with the same dignity as any other customer," Father Ángel says. "And the same quality, with glasses made of crystal, not plastic, and in an atmosphere of friendship and conversation."

Outside, there's a sign listing the house rules: Patrons are allowed to sing as they please, as long as it doesn't disturb other customers. They can use the free wifi and borrow a cell phone if they need to make a call. They're free to bring their own food and order only drinks, if they prefer. Or they can take over the kitchen for a birthday party or other special celebration.

As founder of Messengers of Peace, a local charity, Padre Ángel has also converted an abandoned church nearby into a sort of community center. It's the only church in Madrid that's open 24 hours a day - with free coffee, television and places for patrons to sleep. He or a colleague celebrates Mass there daily.

On the night NPR visited, the Robin Hood waiters served mushroom consommé, followed by roast turkey and potatoes. For dessert, there's a choice of vanilla pudding or yogurt.

Gallardo, the man in two coats, says the meal reminds him of Christmases past, before the accounting firm he ran went bankrupt and he had to lay off 60 employees. He shows NPR some photos on his cell phone of a dining table holding a huge spread of sweets and a bottle of French wine. He says the photos were taken two years ago at his home, which he has since had to sell to pay debts.

"We were just like any other family," says Gallardo, 48, shaking his head. His wife has now left him.

He lives on the street now, sleeping in ATM machine alcoves.

As for his future, he says: "My future is now. I can't even talk about tomorrow. I'd like to know, but I don't what it holds."

Spain's economy may be out of recession, but its effects are lingering. Unemployment still hovers near 20 percent. The Robin Hood Restaurant feeds more than 100 needy people each night, in two shifts.

Back in the kitchen, the restaurant's dishwasher has just broken down. A volunteer plunges her hands into the sink and starts washing plates by hand.

"Some of our diners are very educated, and some are a bit ashamed to be here," says Nieve Cuenca, a retiree who comes to help out in the kitchen once a week.

"I love this work. It's the best thing I've ever done in my life," she says, elbow-deep in soapy water.

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Spain's 'Robin Hood Restaurant' Charges The Rich And Feeds The Poor

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As the country reels from its financial crisis, a new restaurant, run by a Catholic priest, lets paying daytime customers foot the dinner bill for homeless people to dine with dignity - and style.

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Women in Sports: The Good, The Bad, The Sexist

As we celebrate Women's History Month, we'd be remiss not to mention the impact women have had in the world of athletics. It's been 50 years since Title IX became law, and women are still facing barriers and discrimination in and out of the game. From attacks against female sports reporters to unequal pay causing foreign detention, here is the good, the bad, and the sexist on women in sports.

The Good

I'm generally a glass-half-full kind of gal so let's start off with some good news. After last year's Fyre festival-esque reveal of just how unequal the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments were, there have been updates . Namely-no pun intended- the women's NCAA tournament can finally be called March Madness! Another first, after the Supreme Court ruled that student-athletes could profit off their name and likeness, many female athletes have leveled the playing field in terms of earning potential with lucrative endorsements. UConn basketball player Paige Bueckers was the first NCAA athlete-of any gender!-to sign with Gatorade. ESPN has also sold all of its ad slots for the women's basketball tournament. What was that again about people not watching women's sports?

Women coaches have had a moment, too. Iconic coaches like Dawn Staley and are leading incredible women's programs and breaking records left and right. Coaches like Katie Sowers and Jennifer King broke barriers and paved the way for the NFL to have the most female coaches in their history last year. Becky Hammon left the San Antonio Spurs to be the head coach of the WNBA Las Vegas Aces, but there were still seven women on NBA coaching staffs this season !

As a former broadcast journalism major, I always have a soft spot for women reporters, and there are so many incredible Black women absolutely dominating the sports reporting world right now. Maria Taylor had to deal with the public airing of her colleague's racist remarks-and then leveling up to cover the Olympics and rocking her natural hair on air ! Malika Andrews got to do a broadcast with her sister. Cari Champion and Jemele Hill got their own show. It's safe to say Black women are holding it down, per usual!

The Bad

It is not new that women athletes are underpaid, underappreciated, and undersupported. WNBA star Liz Cambage has been one of the latest players to speak out about how so many WNBA players are forced to play overseas during their off-season to make enough money. Not only is this demeaning, but it can lead to injuries or even worse, dangerous, international detention like we've seen unfold with Brittney Griner. The USWNT reached a big settlement this year in their equal pay lawsuit but so many other women athletes are still in the fight for equal pay. Shoot, the for taking a charter plane, something that is commonplace for college men's teams but apparently not allowed for professional women athletes. Liz Cambage said it best: "It's hard when you have the best league in the world, but we're not treated like the best athletes in the world."

Instead of focusing on ways to improve women's athletics, it seems that horrible people would rather focus on demonizing trans athletes. Swimmer Lia Thomas has had a powerhouse year but has been unjustly held as the token enemy of TERFs. State legislatures are passing bills left and right to ban trans kids from sports, fear-mongering and manufacturing division within sports teams that simply isn't there. Professional women athletes have shown their support for trans athletes in various ways yet male athletes have been largely quiet. What are you waiting for?

The Sexist

Even though women sports reporters are not physically playing the game, they are not exempt from baseless, sexist attacks. Mina Kimes shared awful emails she received from viewers, but that didn't stop former NFL player, Jeff Garcia, from taking aim at her. After insinuating she didn't "understand" football because she never played it professionally, Kimes was proven correct in the NFC Championship game and had plenty of fans to back her up.

Since the Tokyo Olympics were postponed, it felt like we got back-to-back Olympics with the 2022 Beijing Winter Games in February. Even though women won the most medals on Team USA, women athletes were still subject to "violations" just like they were in Tokyo. Why are we still having this fight? Why do official team uniforms differ by gender? Athletes should be able to wear a uniform that is comfortable and productive to their athletic performance, period. On top of dress code rules, there was some serious sexist b*llsh*t and condescending reporting. It is not asking too much for women athletes to be respected.

Despite fighting all the battles, women athletes continue to run the game on the court, on the field, in their pre-game fits, in their activism, and beyond. Anyone still saying "peOplE DoNt caRe aBOut wOmEn'S spOrtS" is clearly wrong. Let's celebrate Women's History Month by supporting women's athletics. Mark your , build your , and buy tickets to your local teams!

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Women in Sports: The Good, The Bad, The Sexist

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As we celebrate Women's History Month, we'd be remiss not to mention the impact women have had in the world of athletics. It's been 50 years since Title IX became law, and women are still facing barriers and discrimination in and out of the game.

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BREAKING NEWS: Iowa State Cyclones star Audi Crooks has quietly purchased the small diner where she used to eat on credit during the early years of her basketball journey — and now the diner serves 120 free meals every day to homeless people……leiii – BestTopixs

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BREAKING NEWS THAT TOUCHED A NATION: How Iowa State Star Audi Crooks Turned a Small Diner Into a Beacon of Hope

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Former hotel converted to apartments for the homeless

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Former hotel converted to apartments for the homeless

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Female offenders have always been thought of in different ways from male offenders, as less delinquent, less dangerous, and less involved in criminal subcultures and as a consequence they have less frequently provided a focus for criminological theory. The treatment of young females in three modern practice settings -- an observation/assessment center, a police juvenile bureau, and a regional "secure" assessment/remand center -- was documented to examine what practitioners think about their clients and how complicated the notion of sexism becomes once it is placed in an administrative context. It is concluded that images of female offenders are mediated by a whole host of factors that cannot be linked directly to sexist ideology. 4 tables, 1 figure, 157 notes, appendix, bibliography, and index

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Female offenders have always been thought of in different ways from male offenders, as less delinquent, less dangerous, and less involved in criminal subcultures and as a consequence they have less frequently provided a focus for criminological theory.

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Parable Coffee is Rewriting the Story on Coffee Shop Operations in Columbus: Action Step

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Parable Coffee is Rewriting the Story on Coffee Shop Operations in Columbus: Action Step

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Parable Coffee is Rewriting the Story on Coffee Shop Operations in Columbus

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Led by owners Ben Willis and Jeffrey Clark, Parable Coffee is rewriting the story on coffee shop operations, including living wages.

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For Red Gilbert, 6 years in state prison proved easier than living through the first 5 months after his release.

After he left jail, with no job and nothing but $50 and a bus ticket in his pocket, Gilbert experienced daily uncertainty and stress including unstable housing, mostly in homeless shelters.

"I know that makes no sense," said Gilbert, who now works as a mental health and reentry peer specialist for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in South Texas. "But [in prison] I didn't have to worry about eating. I didn't have to worry about having a roof over my head. I didn't have to worry about having a bed to lay down in. All of this stuff was provided for me. I was just caged in."

Gilbert, who left prison in 2007, benefited from more of a safety net than many of the more than 7 million people annually who are released from U.S. jails and prisons. He was married, and his wife stood by him while he served time for several drug convictions and then while they tried to find work and housing. But given his record, Gilbert was turned away more times than he could count, until he landed a job about 3 months after his release.

Still, he said, "You are set up to fail. I had somebody, but we didn't have anything else."

These days, Gilbert is part of a cadre of peer specialists, reentry services, and other nationwide efforts designed to connect formerly incarcerated men and women with housing, behavioral health care, and other vital help. The goal, including the use of techniques to address criminogenic risk factors such as antisocial attitudes or antisocial peers, is to reduce the risk of reincarceration. Among former prisoners, 5 out of 6 will be arrested at least once in the first 9 years after their release, according to a U.S. Department of Justice analysis published in 2018.

Psychologists, who already provide assessment and treatment within the criminal justice system, play a notable role with reentry efforts, including holding leadership roles in programs, supervising caseworkers, and coordinating between the legal system and rehabilitation efforts. There has been evidence that such reentry initiatives can successfully reduce recidivism, according to a review of research ( Peters, R. H., et al., The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Vol. 43, No. 4, 2017).

Still, such efforts are dwarfed by the massive needs of these vulnerable individuals during the first year following release, particularly the first several months, psychologists say. Despite notable programs and initiatives emerging over the past decade, more investment and focus are required at this critical juncture, said Sarah Desmarais, PhD, president of Policy Research Associates in Delmar, New York, which oversees projects that include operating the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) GAINS Center for Behavioral Health and Justice Transformation.

"It is the most significant period of time in a person's involvement in the criminal legal phase," she said. "I really believe we can do a lot of important work and treatment while they're in custody. And it can fall apart if we don't have the right supports and safety nets in place to support their successful reentry."

Black adults and youth are notably impacted by systemic racism at every stage of the criminal justice system, according to data compiled on racial disparities by the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization in Northampton, Massachusetts. The analysis, which relies upon federal data, found that Black individuals are more likely to be arrested or incarcerated than White individuals. For instance, 2,272 out of every 100,000 Black men were incarcerated in state or federal prison in 2018, more than double the rate of Hispanic men (1,018 per 100,000) and more than 5 times the rate of non-Hispanic White men (392 per 100,000).

Once incarcerated, individuals of all demographic backgrounds are likely to be coping with at least one behavioral health condition. Among those in U.S. prisons, 37% report a mental health diagnosis, as do 44% of people in jails, according to a 2017 report by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Moreover, no one can avoid being incarcerated without suffering some degree of trauma on top of any preexisting sexual, psychological, or physical trauma, said Sandra Smith, PhD, a peer programs manager for Via Hope, a Texas-based nonprofit organization. She created Via Hope's reentry peer specialist certification training, which has been completed by more than 80 formerly incarcerated men and women, including Gilbert.

"There is a specific trauma related to being incarcerated that is pretty much indescribable," said Smith, who was incarcerated herself 2 decades ago. "First of all, it's losing your liberties-losing the ability to do anything on your own. And you're constantly being yelled at. You're constantly being demeaned."

From there, individuals walk into a world where the logistics can prove overwhelming-everything from finding a job and somewhere to live to keeping up with parole and avoiding the old neighborhoods, people, and patterns that landed them behind bars in the first place. This world also may be unrecognizable. One psychologist described how caseworkers in her program devote considerable time to teaching individuals how to use a smartphone, as well as how to use the subway metro cards.

"It's like climbing Mount Everest in your bare feet," said Arizona forensic psychologist Joel Dvoskin, PhD. "It's kind of amazing that a fair number of people don't come back right away," he said. "It's a tribute to the human spirit that people manage to do this without much help."

Chicken and egg

Too often, these individuals didn't receive help for mental health or substance use challenges prior to their incarceration, said Roger Peters, PhD, a clinical psychologist and emeritus professor in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Peters coauthored a study that looked at prior treatment among more than 18,000 men in U.S. jails and found that 62% didn't report any previous behavioral health care ( Hunt, E., et al., Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1, 2015).

"These are people who have never engaged voluntarily in treatment, for the most part, and who aren't savvy to what the benefits of treatment are," Peters said. Plus, amid the often macho culture of men's jails and prisons, seeking out behavioral health care can be viewed as a sign of weakness or vulnerability, he said.

In cases where individuals are taking prescribed medication while incarcerated, the clock begins to tick upon release to get them into care before their pills run out, said Robert Morgan, PhD, a researcher in mental health care and the criminal justice system, as well as dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. "Oftentimes they'll leave with a seven-day supply, something to give them at least a little bit of a start, but not much," he said.

The risk of overdose is particularly high shortly after release, said Jessica Klaver, PhD, a forensic psychologist and chief program officer at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), a private nonprofit organization in New York City. They are also vulnerable to rearrest for minor crimes rooted in poverty and immediate needs, she said.

"They're coming out and they have no money," Klaver said. "They have no job. They steal things like toothbrushes. They steal deodorant. It's crimes that make you want to cry."

Looking back, Gilbert believes that he struggled with undiagnosed depression during his first months. How could someone not, he said? "It's very, very depressing to realize that you literally have nothing but what you're carrying on your back."

In his peer specialist role, Gilbert gets referrals from a six-county region in South Texas, low-income men and women who have been arrested and have a mental health diagnosis or substance use issue. Gilbert provides support from the time of arrest through court hearings and jail, striving to line up mental health treatment, housing options, and other safety net services to help after their release.

They aren't required to work with him, and some don't. But Gilbert, whose client load was supposed to be 12 to 15 people, was working with more than 60 individuals in various stages of the criminal justice system last summer. "There needs to be more people doing what I do," he said.

Once released from jail, these individuals often face the same chicken-and-egg dilemma that Gilbert did. It's difficult to land a job without the stable housing that's needed to get a decent night's sleep and keep clothes clean. But to find housing-already a steep challenge when one has a prior conviction-a paycheck is required, he said.

In Gilbert's case, he frequented Goodwill's employment center in San Antonio so often, getting on the computer to search for jobs, that a director there offered him employment helping customers and restocking. "It was easier to hire me to work for them, than to look at me every day," he said with a laugh.

Easing community reentry

At one of the reentry programs operated by CASES that assists people leaving state prison, caseworkers work hard to make contact prior to release, to explain the services that the program provides, and to gain insight into their most pressing needs, Klaver said. For instance, she said, "It's January in New York, what size boot do you wear?"

They put together a duffel bag with a few items of clothing, underwear, socks, snacks, and toiletries. The caseworker brings that bag-a small up front investment to hopefully avert minor thefts later-to the first meeting at the parole office.

At that meeting, the caseworker hopes to build the client's trust with the organization, Klaver said. "It's all about engagement in the beginning." Once that baseline of trust is in place, "maybe we could cajole them to go see that psychiatrist," Klaver added.

Similarly, the mental health agency Community Connections reaches out to Washington, D.C., residents shortly before their prison release. Many of these individuals are typically referred because of a history of mental illness, said David Freeman, PsyD, chief clinical officer at the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that provides behavioral health and other services to marginalized residents. They assist with obtaining services, such as applying for Medicaid and housing programs, and provide psychotherapy blended with case management, he said.

"The psychotherapy part is, What is it that you want to accomplish? What are the things that are going to trip you up? Who do you trust? How do you check that out?"

Even if a plan had been developed before the release of an individual, such as housing, it can soon fall apart, Freeman said.

"Thoughtful housing plans are extremely rare," he said. "A lot of times the plans that people make are on a wing and a prayer." For instance, an estranged daughter might agree to having a formerly incarcerated parent live with her, not knowing what else to say. But once the parent arrives, it becomes clear that the housing situation is already overcrowded, which causes stress levels to rise, and the plan doesn't end up working out.

To help mental health clinicians better understand the issues and logistics involved with reentry, the GAINS Center provides some online resources. In addition, Policy Research Associates also operates SAMHSA's SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) Technical Assistance Center, which among other services, offers free online training to teach clinicians, case managers, and others how to enroll eligible individuals into disability and other programs, Desmarais said.

Finding ways to pay for behavioral health treatment and medications can pay off significantly, said Desmarais, who has conducted related research. One study she was involved with looked at hospitalized Medicaid recipients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and found that 31% were arrested at least once after being released from the hospital, mostly for misdemeanor charges. But routine outpatient treatment, including medication and mental health services during the first 90 days after hospitalization, significantly reduced arrests for misdemeanors and felonies ( Van Dorn, R. A., et al., Psychiatric Services, Vol. 64, No. 9, 2013).

Working in a leadership role, psychologists can also leverage their expertise to bridge gaps between the criminal justice, legal, and behavioral health systems, said Abigail Tucker, PsyD, a Denver-based clinical psychologist with extensive work in the criminal justice system and is the chief strategy officer for Polara Health, a nonprofit behavioral health provider in Prescott, Arizona.

In recent conversations with local county jail officials, Tucker learned how frustrated they were that people too often relapsed following release. "If you are struggling with substance use, there is a forced sobriety that happens while you're in detention," she said. "It can look like you're all clean and ready to go. But it's a controlled environment."

Starting earlier this year, formerly incarcerated individuals with substance use issues prior to incarceration are now taken directly to Polara Health's residential treatment program upon release, where they are typically treated for 2 to 4 weeks, Tucker said.

Therapeutic complexities

In the first several months after release, individuals may often cope relatively well, buoyed by their return to the community, Morgan said. But over time, initial plans may unravel, as their job prospects look bleaker or their living situation doesn't work out.

"Those stressors start to build," Morgan said. "And without appropriate access to mental health care to help manage things and provide support, that's when people start to get overwhelmed and start to deteriorate."

When providing therapy, it is important that psychologists address not only mental health issues but also any criminogenic risk factors that may boost the risk for recidivism, said Morgan, who is among those researchers who have studied these risk factors. One recent study that Morgan coauthored, which looked at the eight criminal risk factors among patients hospitalized in psychiatric facilities, found that those with risk factors were more likely to have been previously involved with the criminal justice system ( Bolaños, A. D., et al., Law and Human Behavior, Vol. 44, No. 4, 2020).

In a therapeutic session, a psychologist could work with a patient to identify friends or family members who demonstrate antisocial traits and develop strategies to minimize contact with them, Morgan said. A stoplight mnemonic approach can be useful, he said, asking the patient to sort peers into those who are red light individuals, with antisocial behaviors and criminal justice involvement, and others who fall into the yellow or green light categories. For an upcoming family barbecue, a psychologist might encourage a patient to think through how to limit interactions with red light individuals in pursuit of more time with prosocial friends and relatives, he said.

During meetings with patients, Freeman helps them think through how they will cope with elements of their postrelease plan, particularly scenarios that might be far from ideal. As one example, he said, someone might have planned to live with a sister while failing to consider that it would mean interacting with his or her abuser, who visits on weekends.

First, someone must be willing "to acknowledge that the plans that they have laid out are fraught," Freeman said. If no housing alternative exists, the next step is to brainstorm approaches for when the abuser visits. First, though, recognition is vital, he said. "I need a strategy. I need some help figuring out how I'm going to handle that. Other than hiding in my room, storming off, or getting high."

In her work, Tucker has trained therapists to watch out for interpersonal cues and remember that even seemingly routine questions-asked to better assist that individual-might feel more like a police interrogation. That therapist might be one of the first individuals someone who has been recently released has interacted with on the outside, she said.

If the interview seems to be off to a bumpy start, Tucker trains therapists to suggest taking a break. That way both parties can separate for a brief stretch, and the therapist can get guidance from a supervisor.

Despite the therapeutic challenges involved, this work can be profoundly meaningful, Morgan stressed.

"They have great need and not a lot of people who are willing to help them," Morgan said. "It's an opportunity to help people at their lowest point and to really make a significant impact in somebody's life."

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The formerly incarcerated are helping newly released prisoners cope with life after prison

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For Red Gilbert, 6 years in state prison proved easier than living through the first 5 months after his release. After he left jail, with no job and nothing but $50 and a bus ticket in his pocket, Gilbert experienced daily uncertainty and stress including unstable housing, mostly in homeless shelters.

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As a person of color, young woman and hijab-wearing Muslim, Haleema Ali often experiences racism, sexism and Islamaphobia due to these "immediately visible" traits. Like many people, however, what is not always immediately obvious is her socioeconomic background, although the discrimination she experiences as a result of it is.

"Classism can can manifest in many subtle ways, such as employees feeling left out of conversations in the workplace as they do not understand an inside joke based on the experiences of middle class co-workers, or in more overt ways such as mockery of regional and working-class accents," said Ali, an activist who has experienced classism across all the sectors she has worked in, from politics and education to charity and the arts.

"It can feel like we're playing class-bingo when we hear of ski holidays or, 'staycations'," she added. "For working-class people who couldn't afford many or even any trips abroad, a short break to Great Yarmouth was a holiday."

Ski holidays have featured among the countless stories of class-based discrimination Common People (an industry forum for working-class people in the advertising sector) has heard, too. Within 24 hours of setting up a WhatsApp group, more than 200 people from the creative ad industry had joined the conversation, which quickly became a safe space to share stories about comments colleagues had made about the way they talk, the types of drinks they choose on nights out, not having the same level of knowledge about food, wine and "highbrow culture."

"We've heard some real horror stories of the things people have said to them about their background when they start jobs and people facing quite awful comments - some probably with the intention of being mean but some just a lack of thought and understanding about the world," said Lisa Thompson, business director of strategy and planning at ad agency Wavemaker North and one of the co-founders of Common People.

Another story involved people calling a brand "chavvy" [British slang for describing insultingly how a person is dressed, behaves or speaks, that is thought to show a low social class and lack of education] during a pitch meeting and making derogatory comments about the people who worked there.

The stats around workplace classism are equally as stark. Professionals from working class backgrounds earn almost £7,000 ($8,300)(13%) less than their more privileged peers, are 28% less likely to have a management role, and a third less likely to be fast-tracked to a senior position. One in four people have had their accent mocked at work, with bias against working class and regional accents at a similar level to what it was in 1969.

While classism isn't a uniquely British issue, there are aspects that present differently compared with other countries. Betsy Leondar-Wright is a board member, project director and senior trainer at U.S. organization Class Action, and has run classism workshops in both the U.S. and U.K. She notes classist attitudes are more overt in the U.K. and there is a much stronger emphasis on education and parental occupation when it comes to recruitment and promotions. She has also noticed the "ugly" class discrimination that exists around the "chav" stereotype.

In the U.S., meanwhile, Leondar-Wright suggests intersections between class and race "perhaps exist to a greater degree," and in spite of there being "steady progress" in the number of college-educated African Americans working in professional and managerial positions, there remains a stereotype that "equates black and poor."

This was a common experience for one of Leondar-Wright's African American colleagues, she explained, who people would often wrongly assume was a single mother and change the way they spoke to her as soon as they learned she had a degree.

Breaking barriers

Social class impacts people at all stages of their careers. People from working-class backgrounds are less able to do unpaid work experience and take financial risks, and less likely to have the same access to professional networks - often afforded by parental occupation - who can provide advice, mentoring and advocate for them as they try to get a foot in the door.

"People are generally aware of social mobility when it comes to education, but how that disadvantage persists in the workplace is less well-understood and recognized," said Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF), which recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of the class pay gap.

"We see that in evidence of who gets into organizations; very often there's a recruitment gap between people from low socioeconomic backgrounds and their more privileged peers. A graduate from a higher socioeconomic background has a better chance of getting a job in a competitive environment, and five years after university they're more likely to be employed in a high-status job," she added.

This disadvantage exists even when people enter the same profession with similar qualifications and experience. Regardless of performance, those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds still tend to progress much quicker, which is what ultimately results in the class pay gap - the "leading indicator" of class discrimination in the workplace. It is significantly worse for women, disabled people and most ethnic minorities.

While this is a complex systemic issue for which Atkinson says there are "no quick fixes," there are examples of employers who are working to identify where the barriers exist and to break them down.

Management consultancy Accenture is among the top 10 employers in the Social Mobility Foundation's Index for social mobility, which ranks organizations on how they are performing in this area. The company is ranked highly for a reason: it offers virtual work experience, an apprenticeship option for those with few or no qualifications, and has provided over 1,300 work placements in the U.K. to people not in employment, education or training.

"Addressing social inequalities takes recognition, investment and commitment to do what is fair," said Camilla Drejer, Accenture's lead for citizenship and responsible business in the U.K. and Ireland. "This is a human issue, above all else, but that lack of leaders (and future leaders) from a lower socioeconomic background also deprives the organization of fresh perspectives."

Accenture is also a founding partner of Progress Together, a membership body working to drive socioeconomic diversity at senior levels in the financial services industry. Class discrimination is particularly shocking in this industry, with people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds earning £17,500 less, occupying just 11% of senior roles and progressing 25% slower than peers from more affluent backgrounds.

Ali believes providing a safe space for employees to actively talk about their lived experiences would be a positive step in the right direction for employers, as well as making sure class factors into all conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion.

Thompson, meanwhile, emphasizes the need to break down "automatic barriers which shut people out." Travel costs, expensive technology and being expected to work for free can deprive people from low socioeconomic backgrounds of the same career opportunities as their more privileged peers.

With this in mind, Common People Network has created a line of merchandise to raise money towards a creative bursary, which will go towards helping working class talent start out in the industry.

Measurement and transparency

Many employers recognize that social mobility is good for business, yet the challenge often lies in knowing where to start.

In addition to making sure internships are ringfenced for people from working class backgrounds, Atkinson says a key step for employers is to start measuring socioeconomic background data. The SMF recommends asking current and prospective employees three questions: what the occupation of their parents was when they were about 14 years old, the kind of school they went to, and whether they were eligible for free school meals.

"From that, you can start to build the conversations in your organization, see where your gaps exist and set targets around your interventions," Atkinson explains. However, given the stigma around class and potential discomfort in disclosing this information, she says it is "critical" that employees from all backgrounds understand why an employer wants that information, what they're going to do with it, and that they trust it will be used for a positive agenda.

"Making sure people are confident that it is being used to make an organization more open, accessible and easier to progress, is really important," she adds. "Leadership committing to how that data will be used is an important part of being successful in that exercise, too."

The SMF is now calling for it to be a legal requirement for companies to measure and publish their class pay gaps, which the foundation says only three companies currently do: accounting giants KPMG and PwC and international law firm Clifford Chance.

This kind of reporting is fundamental in holding companies to account and would certainly be a positive step towards making workplaces more inclusive, diverse and fair in future.

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How classism impacts the workplace and what employers can do to tackle it

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Classism is a systemic issue with no quick fixes, but there are steps companies can take to break the barriers that many people from working-class backgrounds face.

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TheKindCut offers free haircuts to those who are in need. WORKING FOR A CAUSE NOT FOR APPLAUSE. No Judgment! No Questions!