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A secret settlement hid an officer's misconduct. Outside Maine, it would have been different.

Erin Rhoda

December 09, 2020 |

Bangor Daily News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

A Colorado law enacted in 2016 requires law enforcement officers to disclose their past disciplinary records when seeking a new job at a different agency. By making such disclosures automatic, the law standardizes hiring practices statewide, protects past employers from liability for making the disclosures, and most importantly prevents rogue officers from hopping from one job to the next undetected. Maine has no such requirement., and so some of its agencies might unknowingly hire an officer with a record of misconduct.

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How Portland Protesters Keep Each Other Safe

Isabella Garcia

December 09, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Behind the nightly protests against racism and police brutality on Portland's streets for more than five months stands a network of street medics and mutual aid groups dedicated to equipping and protecting protesters, and treating their injuries after clashes with police. Portland's already-vibrant street medic community responded to the policing protests with emergency medical care. Their work, plus that of other mutual aid groups, has taken on an added dimension during the pandemic, with masks and hand sanitizer added to the list of supplies.

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A grassroots push to save disappearing birds and bees forces change in Germany

Bridget Huber

December 03, 2020 |

National Geographic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Germany, Bavaria

Environmental advocates got 1.75 million signatures to change Bavarian farming laws to protect biodiversity. The Save the Bees Campaign calls for using subsidies to nearly triple the amount of organic farming, creating a network of wildlife corridors, and other actions to protect bird and insect life. Initial results show that, since the law took effect, the share of organic farmland increased and thousands of more acres of forest have been protected. Farmers have also adjusted their view of productivity, including protecting nature as a way to be productive. Similar efforts are happening across Europe.

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Year of racial awakening may topple Richmond's last Confederate statue

Noah Robertson

December 02, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, Virginia

Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue has become an example of American protest art as protesters have covered it in graffiti demanding racial justice and surrounded it with basketball hoops, gardens, tents, lawn chairs, and a grill for community gatherings. The site has become a symbol, a place of local pilgrimage, to collectively create a public space of belonging and protest racial injustices and systemic racism. The Lee statue is likely to be taken down soon, as all other confederate statues on "monument row" have been, because a judge recently struck down the legal challenges to the state’s plan to remove it.

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Biden victory in hand, Black church get-out-the-vote workers assess the future

Adelle M. Banks

November 25, 2020 |

Religion News Service |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgia

Faith leaders from communities of color mobilized voters to support candidates and policies that empower Black and Brown people. Events such as “Souls to the Polls” and the coalition-run Black Church 75 initiative, registered new voters and urged them to the polls around issues such as police brutality and racial injustices. Support from Black church members is credited with helping elect Democratic candidates, including Democratic senators in Georgia, as well as passing ballot initiatives, such as Measure J in Los Angeles that would decrease police funding in favor of mental health and housing resources.

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Female climate activists using Instagram to fight for Earth's future

Alexis Lanza

November 25, 2020 |

The 19th |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

A growing number of climate activists — mostly young women — are using social media to post about sustainability and encourage others to live a greener lifestyle. While climate activism can be a slow process, people are using Instagram to help make climate change feel more personal and energize followers to advocate for action at the local and national level.

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New Orleans actively releases videos of police shootings. Is it paying off with trust?

Christiaan Mader

November 23, 2020 |

The Current (Louisiana) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Once viewed as one of the nation's most brutal and corrupt police departments, New Orleans Police Department has earned steadily improving public support with a host of reforms. One reform that it took voluntarily, and in contrast with common practice in Louisiana, is to quickly release body-camera videos of police shootings and other uses of force. Though its effect is hard to untangle from other initiatives, video releases have become routine. In one case, a video prompted an official apology after proving rubber bullets were used against protesters. This helped lead to new restrictions on crowd control.

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Soccer star leads an awakening on child hunger in Britain

Shafi Musaddique

November 23, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

The pandemic has highlighted the issue of child poverty in England leading to public indignation and the reversal of a government policy that sought to end free meals for children during summer vacation. Professional soccer player Marcus Rashford brought attention to child hunger across the United Kingdom. When the government was slow to provide food, businesses filled the need by sending meals to families facing food insecurity.

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'It gave me hope in democracy': how French citizens are embracing people power

Peter Yeung

November 20, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France, Paris

Cities across France are using citizens’ assemblies, where a diverse group of citizens study important issues and make policy recommendations. In Paris, 150 citizens spent nine months working on the climate convention, which resulted in 149 recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. President Macron pledged more funding and accepted all but three of the proposals. The convention also showed how citizens’ assemblies improve community cohesion and reduce polarization. Ireland, the UK, and Belgium have also successfully used citizens' assemblies to address important social issues.

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Native American votes helped secure Biden's win in Arizona

Felicia Fonseca Angeliki Kastanis

November 19, 2020 |

Associated Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Navajo Nation, United States, Arizona

Organizations across the political spectrum increased voter turnout on Arizona’s Native American reservations. The Biden campaign targeted outreach to specific groups, such as Native women and veterans, and held Covid-safe election-related events, such as a parade to the polls. The Trump campaign ran advertising on reservations and featured well-known Arizona Native American Republicans at political rallies. Turnout increased anywhere from 12-14% on the larger Navajo and Hopi reservations (over 17,000 votes) to over 50% on smaller reservations. These increases helped Biden win Arizona by about 10,500 votes.

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