skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Race Expert: Iowa, Like Trump, Has Bias Problems to Address

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 17, 2017   

DES MOINES, Iowa – President Donald Trump's comments in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, Va., are leading some people to see what many minorities have seen all along, according to a cultural competence expert in Iowa.

Trump is being criticized for blaming racial violence in Virginia on, "both sides."

Des Moines School Board member Dionna Langford, who works for the organization Children and Families of Iowa, says racial disparities are evident throughout the state. She says they're apparent in Iowa education, health care and justice.

"We always fluctuate between number one and three for incarcerating the highest percentage of African-Americans in the country,” she points out. “We can't say that's because black folks are more prone to crime. Research debunks that. So, there's something in our system, in how we do business."

Langford says if individuals could live in minorities' shoes for even a day, they would begin to see how prevalent such bias is.

In the meantime, she's hopeful that people will reject the president's rhetoric and begin donating time to organizations that give them a window into other cultures.

Langford, who is certified in critical cultural competence and engages in social work, argues that there's nothing to misunderstand about a variety of comments from Trump that both political parities have criticized. She says it's very clear and it's unfortunate that the larger community didn't see it coming earlier.

"The conversation, it's black and white for me,” she states. “There's nothing missing from it. This isn't like, to me, a wolf in sheep's clothing. He's always, he's always, been a wolf."

Langford says there are many constructive ways that communities and businesses can work to address bias.

She gives the example of a company that is lacking a representative number of minorities. The answer, she says, isn't to hire unqualified candidates but to look critically at why enough minorities aren't being attracted to apply.
,




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021