Check this site regularly for human rights-related news, updates, and more, collected from our Facebook page and elsewhere.

First, from Dr. Marybeth Gasman of Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions:

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Enough Already: Multiple Demands Causing Women To Abandon Workforce

Via NPR … Here’s a stunning stat: Women are leaving the workforce at four times the rate as men.

The burden of parenting and running a household while also working a job during the pandemic has created a pressure cooker environment in many households, and women are bearing the brunt of it. It has come to a head as a new school year starts with many children staying home instead of returning to their classrooms in person because of the pandemic. And its forcing many women to make a difficult choice and drop out of the workforce altogether. Read More.

Was Cleopatra White? After Controversial Gal Gadot Casting, Experts Weigh In

Via Newsweek … Soon after news broke that Gal Gadot will portray Cleopatra, a debate emerged about not whether the Israeli actress was capable to play part, but whether a white woman should be playing the Queen of the Nile at all. Newsweek spoke to some experts on ancient Egypt to find out what the prevailing theory is regarding Cleopatra’s ethnicity. Read More.

Why is it Only Women Who See Sexism Everywhere?

Chelsea Gaona Lincoln reposted an informative set of memes. Read More.

Twin Falls High football coach suspended after using ‘inappropriate racial language’ in class

Via KTVB … TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The head football coach at Twin Falls High School has been put on administrative leave after he used “inappropriate racial language” in class.

School administrators say on Sept. 29 they were notified about the matter involving teacher and coach Ben Kohring. They say the inappropriate racial comments were made during a lesson and not directed at or about any individual. Kohring teaches freshman foundations, physical education and is the school’s head football coach. He’s been employed with the school district for 14 years. Read More.

Militia network spurred by COVID has spread to 16 states, report says

Via Kansas City Star … Ammon Bundy, who led the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016, began building the People’s Rights network in March, says the report by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights and the Montana Human Rights Network. Since then, the report says, the network has rapidly grown to more than 20,000 members across the country. The network, which the report refers to as “Ammon’s Army,” includes militia members, anti-maskers, conspiracy theorists, preppers and people opposed to vaccinations. Its rapid growth has been boosted by the joining of Bundy’s far-right paramilitary supporters cultivated from armed standoffs over the years with a large base of new activists radicalized through protests over COVID-19 health directives, the report says.

“Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve documented the division and violence sown by Ammon Bundy and his far-right followers in the Northwest,” said Devin Burghart, president and executive director of IREHR. “To see Ammon’s Army continue to grow and gain a foothold in Missouri is cause for deep concern, for both democracy and public health.”

Despite all the talk of rights and freedom, the report says, “a culture of violence and fear lies at the center of the People’s Rights message.” Read More.

8 Million Have Slipped Into Poverty Since May as Federal Aid Has Dried Up

Via New York Times: The number of poor people has grown by eight million since May, according to researchers at Columbia University, after falling by four million at the pandemic’s start as a result of a $2 trillion emergency package known as the Cares Act.

Using a different definition of poverty, researchers from the University of Chicago and Notre Dame found that poverty has grown by six million people in the past three months, with circumstances worsening most for Black people and children. Underscoring those concerns, the Labor Department reported on Thursday that about 886,000 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of nearly 77,000, or 9.5 percent, from the previous week. Adjusted for seasonal variations, the total was 898,000. The recent rise in poverty has occurred despite an improving job market since May, an indication that the economy had been rebounding too slowly to offset the lost benefits. And now the economy is showing new signs of deceleration, amid layoffs, a surge in coronavirus cases and deadlocked talks in Washington over new stimulus. Read More.