Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 2571 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

N.Y.P.D. Will No Longer Force Women to Remove Hijabs for Mug Shots

Alan Feuer

November 09, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Two Muslim women arrested on minor charges and forced to remove their hijabs for mugshots sued the New York Police Department and won a settlement that changes the department's policy. The women said they were humiliated and shamed by having to bare their heads in front of male strangers, which is against their religious teachings. The NYPD agreed to allow religious head coverings in booking photographs under most circumstances. The NYPD had attempted to modify its photo practices in the past, but had not officially changed its main policy manual, which it will do now.

Read More
Go to Original Story
2020 was the first-ever presidential election where people cast votes via smartphone

Talib Visram

November 09, 2020 |

FastCompany |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Utah

2020 was the first presidential election where a limited group voted using a smartphone app created by Voatz, expanding access to people with disabilities, those in Covid-19 quarantine, and people out of state due to an emergency. Advocates say it is cost-effective and secure, though many disagree. Voters are biometrically identified and matched to legal records. Ballots are cast on mobile devices and stored on the blockchain until Election Day, when they are printed and counted with other mail-in ballots. Use is expected to increase in the future and pilots are planned in Brazil and other locations.

Read More
Go to Original Story
It Took a Group of Black Farmers to Start Fixing Land Ownership Problems in Detroit

Rhonda J. Smith

November 06, 2020 |

Planet Detroit |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Two urban farmers launched a GoFundMe and raised $55,000 to help provide land security to Black farmers in Detroit. Through the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund, they will select applicants to grow crops for five years and provide technical assistance to growers who want to purchase their own land. The amount raised is not enough to help everyone who needs it, but organizers hope city programs make land more accessible to neighborhood residents.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Analyzing the risk

Angela K. Evans

November 05, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder County, Colorado

The Colorado Pretrial Assessment Tool uses a formula to weigh the risk of releasing someone from jail while they await trial. While prosecutors say the tool is better than nothing, critics, backed by a study of the tool's effects, say it disproportionately harms people of color and people experiencing homelessness. Risk assessment algorithms consider a number of facts about a defendant's past and present to predict whether they can leave jail without committing new crimes or failing to make court appearances. But because they penalize already-overpoliced populations, they are not considered objective.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Los Angeles voters just delivered a huge win for the defund the police movement

Roge Karma

November 04, 2020 |

Vox |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles County, California

By framing their police-reform proposal as an investment in community services rather than a bid to take money away from policing, the Re-Imagine L.A. County coalition of racial and criminal justice advocacy groups won voter approval for what could be the most significant realignment of public safety spending since the 2020 policing protests began. Los Angeles County voters approved Measure J, which mandates that the county allocate 10% of its $8.8 billion discretionary local budget to "direct community investment," and not to law enforcement. The Sheriff's Department accounts for $2 billion of that budget.

Read More
Go to Original Story
HIV/AIDS Clinical Trial Network builds Black Clevelanders' trust in COVID-19 studies

Brie Zeltner Rachel Dissell

November 04, 2020 |

FreshWater Cleveland |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

The HIV/AIDS clinical trial network’s 30 sites have spent years building trust among historical marginalized communities so that more clinical trial participants come from communities of color. Educational outreach, awareness-raising efforts, and one-on-one conversations are among the strategies used to make the scientific process more transparent. The engagement model is upfront about abuses from the past and uses straightforward explanations with no medical jargon. Infectious disease experts are using the trust-building model to increase the racial diversity of participants in COVID-19 vaccine trials.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Indigenous Colombians mount a spiritual defense of the Amazon

Ocean Malandra

November 04, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Mocoa, Putumayo

Five different Indigenous groups formed an alliance known as the Union of Traditional Age Medics of the Colombian Amazon to practice spiritual ceremonies and community healing based on the ingestion of a potent hallucinogenic tea known as yagé. These groups are at risk of physical and cultural extermination due to deforestation. By engaging in traditional yagé ceremonies, they use their traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom to help make decisions and retain their autonomy in the rainforest.

Read More
Go to Original Story
HIV/AIDS Network Helps Build Black Clevelanders' Trust In COVID-19 Studies

Rachel Dissell

November 03, 2020 |

The Land |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Black and Latinx enrollment in clinical studies has nearly doubled in HIV vaccine clinical trials due to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network in Cleveland implementing an engagement model that addresses community distrust through education and community participation. Now, as clinical studies are launched for a COVID-19 vaccine, the organization has pivoted to ensuring that institutions don't engage in "helicopter research," but instead involve the communities in the research efforts.

Read More
Go to Original Story
On Tribal Land, Banishment, Rehabilitation and Re-entry Add Up to Justice

Emily Schwing

November 02, 2020 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Toksook Bay, Alaska

Remote Alaskan villages traditionally followed the native practice of banishing members of their communities for serious, chronic wrongdoing. Created in the absence of a functioning criminal justice system of police, courts, and jail, banishment provided safety for families and communities from people prone to violence. Though rare, the practice persists even when limited forms of law enforcement and state justice processes are available. People who are incarcerated or on parole who are also banished can be denied the rehabilitative benefits of their family and cultural home.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Cities deploy dedicated teams to combat racial disparities exposed by Covid

James Peterson

November 02, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

Several cities across the U.S. have organized Racial Equity Rapid Response (RERR) teams to address and combat "the racial disparities exposed and exacerbated by Covid-19." Although each city's version of this team looks slightly different, some commonalities exist such as enacting the teams at the municipal level and relying on community connectivity to drive impact.

Read More
Go to Original Story