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

First, a motivational thought:

***

Dennis Patterson Releases Book About Being Black in Idaho

Via Idaho State Journal … In addition to personal examples in which Patterson experienced racial discrimination while living in Idaho Falls, “Black Pearl” details the experiences, complete with names, dates and places, in which other African Americans in Southeast Idaho encountered racism and discrimination, both at the INL and in their personal lives. Such stories includes a deep look inside a 2013 story involving a black family in which two black men were tased inside of their home following a noise complaint filed by a neighbor. Read More.

University of Illinois’ football team will include a black fist and social justice messages on helmets

Via CBS News … The University of Illinois’ football team has changed their helmets to include messages of social justice and a black fist, the school announced on Thursday. The change comes as many college and professional teams have used their platforms to make statements about social justice and racial equality. 

The Fighting Illini will debut the new gear during the season opener against Wisconsin on Friday. During the season opener, the team will trade their traditional orange helmet with a blue “I” for a helmet with a black “I.” For all games, the players will wear helmets with a small rear decal of a black fist and their choice of phrase: “Black Lives Matter,” “I Fight Against Racism,” “Together,” “Equality” or “United.” Read More.

Teaching Antiracism to the Next Generation of Doctors

Via Scientific American … A psychotic Black woman admitted to a psychiatric emergency room is discharged “to the streets,” despite being pregnant and disorganized. Several white health care providers, noting her history of methamphetamine use, joke “she’s always like this” and claim she is “at baseline,” suggesting she is inherently inferior and unworthy of treatment. They make no effort to contact her family, provide prenatal care or admit her to the hospital, carelessly disregarding the potential harm to her and her unborn child.

When two Black parents refuse a potentially life-saving organ transplant for their child, the pediatricians consider reporting them to child protective services for neglect. The pediatricians themselves neglect to fully explain the complex medical details to the terrified parents. Only when a consulting psychiatric service recognizes the parents’ legitimate fears and the absence of appropriate education do the pediatricians refocus on improving medical care, rather than reporting. Read More.

Addressing Accessibility in Remote Learning

Via The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice … Join us on Twitter at 3pm EDT for our next twitter chat hosted by our intern Sharaya Morrison We will be discussing current Accessibility in Remote Learning! Don’t miss out on the discussion!

Judge drops third-degree murder charge against former officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s death, but second-degree murder charge remains

Via CNN … A Hennepin County judge has dropped a third-degree murder charge against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, but denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss two other charges against him.

Chauvin still faces the higher charge of second-degree unintentional murder and a second-degree manslaughter charge in Floyd’s death on May 25, which sparked nationwide protests and a reckoning over race and policing this summer.

In the ruling issued Wednesday, Judge Peter Cahill also denied motions to dismiss charges against the other now-former Minneapolis police officers, who have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Read More.

Citing a ‘toxic atmosphere,’ a Black admissions employee resigns from Loyola University, prompting a discrimination probe and calls for racial justice on campus

Via MSN … At Loyola University Chicago, where fewer than 6% of undergraduates are Black, Marcus Mason-Vivit’s presence comforted minority students who rarely found someone who looked like them on campus. … In a scathing resignation letter that quickly circulated on social media, he called the admissions office a “toxic atmosphere of hostility, intimidation, fear and manipulation … especially pertaining to people of color” and described an incident where his boss, the dean of undergraduate admission, allegedly made a racially disparaging remark. His departure has prompted Loyola to initiate an investigation.

Now, students and faculty are rallying behind Mason-Vivit, raising questions about Loyola’s newly stated goal of “becoming a fully inclusive anti-racist institution.” Read More.