Author: Reporter

Before 19-year-old Davontez Johnson found himself in a preschool classroom at Dorothy I. Heights Elementary, he was a senior at a nearby high school who, like many students his age, was unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. Not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined himself standing on a colorful carpet, leading a gaggle of 4-year-olds in a chant and dance about phonics. “Words have parts — that’s syl-a-bles,” he said, enunciating for effect. The preschoolers craned their heads up at Johnson and echoed him. “Clap your hands now, syl-a-bles! Stomp your feet now,...

Donald Trump’s vision for education revolves around a single goal: to rid America’s schools of perceived ” wokeness ” and “left-wing indoctrination.” The president-elect wants to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports. He wants to forbid classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism. He wants to abolish diversity and inclusion offices. Throughout his campaign, the Republican depicted schools as a political battleground to be won back from the left. Now that he has won the White House, he plans to use federal money as leverage to advance his vision of education across the nation. Trump’s education plan...

More than 200 cities and counties declared racism was a public health crisis in the past few years, mostly after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis in May 2020. Racial justice advocates said they finally felt heard by the quick swell of political will to address disparities like disproportionate COVID-19 deaths or infant and maternal mortality rates. The declarations “signified this might be us finally breaking through the noise that they haven’t been willing to hear,” said Ryan McClinton, who works at the nonprofit Public Health Advocates in Sacramento County, California. Marsha Guthrie, the senior director at...

Election victories for Donald Trump and other candidates whose campaigns demeaned transgender people reinforced a widespread backlash against trans rights. For America’s LGBTQ-rights movement, it adds up to one of the most sustained setbacks in its history. For transgender Americans, it is personal: There is palpable fear of potential Trump administration steps to further marginalize them. But there is also a spirit of resilience – a determination to persevere in seeking acceptance and understanding. “I just went through an election where I couldn’t watch a sports event on TV without seeing a commercial where trans people were portrayed as...

Questions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and changes to queries about race and ethnicity are on track to be asked in the most comprehensive survey of American life by 2027, U.S. Census Bureau officials said in November. The new or revised questions on the American Community Survey will show up on questionnaires and be asked by survey takers in as early as three years, with the data from those questions available the following year, officials told an advisory committee. The American Community Survey is the most comprehensive survey of American life, covering commuting times, internet access, family life, income,...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and environmentalist, for years gained a loyal and fierce following with his biting condemnations of how the nation’s public health agencies do business. And that has put him on a direct collision course with some of the 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors, and other officials who work for the Department of Health and Human Services, especially with President-elect Donald Trump tapping him to head the agency. If confirmed, Kennedy will control the world’s largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget. The agency’s reach is massive. It provides health insurance for nearly...