Over six months have passed since the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus disease a pandemic, and COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc. In the United States, communities of color face higher disease incidence and mortality, social distancing and mask wearing have become a flashpoint, and national leadership receives top-tier medical care while frontline essential … Read more
Aryaana Khan has spent much of her life rocked by climate disasters. In her home country of Bangladesh — a quarter of which is now underwater — the now-19-year-old student faced routine flooding and cyclones, disasters which only seemed to increase in number and intensity over the years, eventually forcing her family to immigrate to New York … Read more
For the roughly 681,000 Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who reside in congregate care settings such as group homes and state institutions, the coronavirus pandemic has wrought a tragic, and largely invisible, crisis. An estimated 13% of adults with IDD rely on these congregate settings for full-time support, with aid ranging from medical services … Read more
As we witness countless instances of brutality by law enforcement officers, police misconduct has now more than ever rocketed to the forefront of our national conversation. Unfortunately, the current system has proven unequipped to handle this misconduct and hold police accountable for their actions. After all, an outsized number of police officers who violate their … Read more
Upon hearing the news that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had passed away on September 18, I felt two things. The first, of course, was a profound sadness that her loved ones and the United States had lost such an important person. The second was uncertainty. Since she first joined the bench of the Supreme Court … Read more
When the pandemic suddenly thrust schools across Bergen County, New Jersey into shutdown in mid-March, Laura McKenna’s youngest son — who is on the autism spectrum — faced large-scale disruptions to his everyday life. He went five weeks without any live classes at all: his only instruction came in the form of worksheet packets. When … Read more
In many respects, North Dakota is one of the least significant of the 50 states. It comes in at 47th out of 50 in state population rankings. With a population of only about 760,000, it has a total of one representative in the United States House of Representatives. And despite tourism being the state’s third … Read more
On April 30, hundreds of armed protesters entered the Michigan State Capitol and demanded an end to the state’s stay-at-home orders. Cries of “Heil to Whitmer” and “Lock her up,” aimed at Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, echoed around the rotunda. Several of the protestors donned pro-Trump gear and Confederate flags. Such protests have become … Read more
In the last five months, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a physician, immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been branded as everything from a “Chief fearmonger” to a “public health fossil” as he has sought to guide the nation’s response to COVID-19. Fauci has become arguably the most well-known disease … Read more
Flu shots, exercise classes and local government meetings. While many Americans participate in these activities by bouncing around a city, between the nearest hospital and a highrise or two, rural Americans have only one place to go: school. Rural communities face health disparities, extreme poverty and food insecurity. Limited state and federal support forces schools … Read more