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.

Transgender Delegates Highlight Diversity at DNC

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 27, 2016   

PHILADELPHIA -- The diversity of delegates to the Democratic National Convention stands in sharp contrast to last week's Republican Convention in Cleveland.

There were 18 African American delegates at the RNC - less than one percent of the total. But at the Democratic Convention, there were 71 African American delegates from Texas alone. And that diversity extended to other minority groups as well.

"We are female and male, we are African-American and white,” said Melissa Sklarz, board co-chair with the Empire State Pride Agenda and one of the more than 25 transgender delegates to the DNC. "We have representatives not only from New York and California and Texas; we also have representatives from Nebraska and Montana, and Utah."

One transgender delegate, Mara Keisling of Washington, D.C., serves on the Democratic National Convention's Platform Committee.

Following President Obama's reelection in 2012, the Republican National Committee determined it needed more diversity. But instead, Sklarz said, the proportion of African-American delegates to the RNC - which was never much higher than six percent - has plummeted.

"The Democratic Party is trending as more diverse, more open, creating more opportunities,” Sklarz said. “And the Republican Party is doing the exact opposite."

Support for Republican nominee Donald Trump is polling within the margin of error for zero percent among black voters.

Transgender people have been the focus of recent discriminatory legislation in several states. Sklarz said being welcomed into in a major party's political process is a huge victory.

"This is part of a political coming-of-age of our transgender communities,” Sklarz said. "Our next goal is to start electing transgender people in state legislatures."

Two transgender women won congressional primaries this year. Misty Snow is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Utah, and Misty Plowright is running for a House seat in Colorado.



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