Race

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which meets at City Hall, accepted a draft plan of more than 100 recommendations for reparations to eligible Black residents. But the move was largely procedural and doesn't bind the city to any of the proposals.

San Francisco will discuss reparation proposals — but even supporters are split

7:03am March 18, 2023

by Vanessa Romo

While many cheered the possibility of a huge financial windfall for the city's Black residents, one civil rights leader says the proposal is a distraction from tangible efforts to redress racism.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs a law to include the rights of LGBTQ people in Michigan's Civil Rights law on Thursday, March 16, 2023, in Lansing, Mich.

Michigan Democrats are getting their way for the first time in nearly 40 years

8:08am March 17, 2023

by Colin Jackson (Michigan Public Radio Network)

For the first time in decades, Democrats run the show in Michigan, passing legislative priorities they've been after for years: repealing a 1931 abortion law, repealing right-to-work and more.

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Wanda Irving holds her granddaughter, Soleil, in front of a portrait of Soleil's mother, Shalon Irving, at her home in Sandy Springs, Ga., in 2017. Wanda is raising Soleil since Shalon died of complications due to hypertension a few weeks after giving birth.

Health & Safety

Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports

5:39pm March 16, 2023

After years of high rates, the country hit a new high during the pandemic, far exceeding rates in other developed nations. Black women are at especially high risk.

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A land acknowledgment is a statement before an event recognizing the indigenous communities that originally inhabited the event space. Above is a detail of a Tribal Nations Map by Aaron Carapella. Read more about Carapella's mapping project.

So you began your event with an indigenous land acknowledgement. Now what?

4:09pm March 15, 2023

by Chloe Veltman

Statements recognizing indigenous rights to territories seized by colonial powers may be well-meaning. But some indigenous leaders fear these acknowledgements may become routine and performative.

Former state lawmaker Kay Bounkeua takes a break from her work as her daughter Ryla Bounkeua plays with Kay's stepdad Jeffrey Strong in Rio Rancho, N.M, March 13.

Only New Mexico lawmakers don't get paid for their time. That might change this year

1:57pm March 15, 2023

by Alice Fordham

Most states pay or offer some financial compensation to state lawmakers for their work. Not New Mexico. That can be a barrier for many people trying to enter politics. A new bill could change that.

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Physicians say roughly half of all preterm births are preventable, caused by social, economic and environmental factors, as well as inadequate access to prenatal health care.

The U.S. has a high rate of preterm births, and abortion bans could make that worse

5:00am March 15, 2023

by Sarah Varney

The rates of premature birth in the U.S. are high, especially in certain states. Experts worry that states restricting abortion have fewer maternal care providers than those with abortion access.

National

The family of a man whose body was found in Mississippi calls for a DOJ probe

3:02pm March 14, 2023

by The Associated Press

The family of a Mississippi man whose dismembered body was found in November said his newly released autopsy report shows he was murdered, and they called for a federal investigation into the case.

Johnny Thomas, mayor of tiny Glendora, Miss., runs a small civil rights museum dedicated to the Emmett Till story.

National

Landmarks fall, memories fade. Civil rights tourism may protect Mississippi history

5:00am March 14, 2023

There's a new push to develop civil rights tourism in the Mississippi Delta where local groups are using federal dollars to preserve the stories before memories fade and landmarks are lost.

This image provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections shows Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, Miss. Cox, who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors in December 2020, was sentenced Thursday, March 9, 2023, to 42 years in prison.

National

A man burned a cross in a hate crime. He's now being sentenced to 3.5 years in prison

4:45am March 14, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

Axel Cox said he chose to burn the cross in front of his Black neighbors because of their race, saying he "intended to scare them into moving out of the neighborhood."

The FBI seal is pictured in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 10, 2022. The number of hate crimes in the U.S. jumped again in 2021, continuing an alarming rise, according to FBI data released Monday, March 13, 2023. Most victims were targeted due to race or ethnicity, followed by sexual orientation and religion.

New FBI data show reported hate crimes in the U.S. jumped in 2021

3:18am March 14, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

Nationally, the number of hate crimes reported by the FBI increased from 8,120 in 2020 to 9,065 in 2021.