Race and ethnicity

Kansas has a new anti-DEI law, but the governor has vetoed bills on abortion and even police dogs

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TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas’ Democratic governor on Friday vetoed proposed tax breaks for anti-abortion counseling centers while allowing restrictions on college diversity initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature to become law without her signature. Gov. Laura Kelly also vetoed a bill with bipartisan support to increase the penalties for killing a law enforcement dog or … Read more

Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson confronts history at US pavilion as its first solo Indigenous artist

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VENICE, Italy — Jeffrey Gibson’s takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft, which is immediately evident on approaching the bright red facade decorated by a colorful clash of geometry and a foreground dominated by a riot of gigantic red podiums. Gibson, … Read more

Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai producing. An election coming. ‘Suffs’ has timing on its side

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NEW YORK — Shaina Taub was in the audience at “Suffs,” her buzzy and timely new musical about women’s suffrage, when she spied something that delighted her. It was intermission, and Taub, both creator and star, had been watching her understudy perform at a matinee preview last week. Suddenly, she saw audience members searching the … Read more

AI-generated fashion models could bring more diversity to the industry – or leave it with less

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CHICAGO — London-based model Alexsandrah has a twin, but not in the way you’d expect: Her counterpart is made of pixels instead of flesh and blood. The virtual twin was generated by artificial intelligence and has already appeared as a stand-in for the real-life Alexsandrah in a photo shoot. Alexsandrah, who goes by her first … Read more

In death, 3 decades after his trial verdict, OJ Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides

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For many people old enough to remember O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, his 1995 exoneration was a defining moment in their understanding of race, policing and justice. Nearly three decades later, it still reflects the different realities of white and Black Americans. Some people recall watching their Black co-workers and classmates erupting in jubilation at perceived … Read more

Librarians fear new penalties, even prison, as activists challenge books

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When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach … Read more

Book Review: Short story anthology ‘The Black Girl Survives in This One’ challenges the horror canon

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Ahh, the Final Girl — a point of pride, a point of contention. Too often, the white, virginal, Western ideal. But not this time. “The Black Girl Survives in This One,” a short story anthology edited by Saraciea J. Fennell and Desiree S. Evans, is changing the literary horror canon. As self-proclaimed fans of “Scary … Read more

Kansas lawmakers race to solve big fiscal issues before their spring break

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TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Legislature is scrambling to address tax cuts, funding for disability services and immigration issues ahead of its annual three-week spring break starting next week. Most bills that don’t pass by then won’t be considered when lawmakers return April 29 for a short wrap-up session. Republicans disagree over how to cut … Read more

This is how reporters documented 1,000 deaths after police force that isn’t supposed to be fatal

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After George Floyd was killed under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee, reporters at The Associated Press wanted to know how many other people died following encounters in which law enforcement used not firearms but other kinds of force that is not supposed to be fatal. The U.S. government is supposed to track these non-shooting deaths, … Read more

Why did more than 1,000 people die after police subdued them with force that isn’t meant to kill?

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Carl Grant, a Vietnam veteran with dementia, wandered out of a hospital room to charge a cellphone he imagined he had. When he wouldn’t sit still, the police officer escorting Grant body-slammed him, ricocheting the patient’s head off the floor. Taylor Ware, a former Marine and aspiring college student, walked the grassy grounds of an … Read more