Debate over a police bill last week turned into a discussion of Statehouse racism, with a white lawmaker asserting the House was too “loving and compassionate” to pass racist policy. A Black lawmaker disagreed.
Molly Adams/Lawrence Times
A weeklong series of events in Lawrence aim to educate the community about the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people, who are often denied justice. All are invited to participate in solidarity.
A recent assessment shows that inadequate wages, incarceration, lack of affordable housing, access to health care and more are top issues affecting public health in Lawrence and Douglas County. Health department staff members want to hear from the community to help shape the next health plan.
A controversial physician and author urged the Kansas Legislature to ban hospitals and medical schools from compelling students and employees to pledge allegiance to critical race theory, affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Almost one out of every three Black men ages 25-54 living in Douglas County were booked into the jail between 2017 and 2021.
That number is among findings in a recent report by the Vera Institute of Justice examining incarceration here.
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.
