Republican governor candidate Derek Schmidt’s new campaign commercials castigate Gov. Laura Kelly for creating in 2020 a Commission on Racial Equity and Justice to search for solutions to problems within Kansas law enforcement agencies, despite affirming in October 2020 that he believed racial bias was present within Kansas law enforcement.
August Rudisell / The Lawrence Times
A former employee of Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center alleges that her supervisor asked her to make her hair “more white looking” because her natural Black hair looked “messy and unkempt.”
2020 brought a sharp rise in the already-dire rate of Black infant mortality in Kansas. Black babies are now nearly three and a half times as likely to die in their first year of life as white babies.
The Lawrence City Commission voted Tuesday to delay action on changes to its sanctuary ordinance that city staff said were necessary to comply with state law. The commission will instead give activists more time to work with the city on changes to the ordinance.
Black people are booked into the Douglas County jail at almost four times the rate of white people, and the incarceration rate of Black people in Douglas County is 6.5 times the rate of white people.
“I shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of my adult children. I should be able to drive, to go shopping — in Buffalo, in Lawrence, anywhere — without fear,” Edith Guffey writes in this column.
Rep. Ponka-We Victors-Cozad rejected the apology of a House Republican who said during a floor debate that he had to make certain Victors-Cozad was using a wooden gavel rather than a tomahawk to bring order to the chamber.
Contributed Image
Projects aiming to center Native voices, build community through step dance, and heal trauma through a yoga retreat are among those selected for racial equity grants this year.
Carter Gaskins via Tiffany Lewis/Contributed Photo
Tiffany Lewis wants to leave a legacy — for her children, her grandchildren and beyond. That desire, coupled with a growing compulsion to speak up when things aren’t right, have inspired her to launch her own business.
Lawmakers in the Kansas House began laying the groundwork last week for redirecting taxpayer money from public to private schools by holding a two-hour hearing on complaints two parents have with diversity and inclusion initiatives.
