by Jesse Hagopian | Oct 3, 2026 | Book Bans, censorship, DEI, News Analysis, Teaching
Sixth-grade history teacher Sarah Inama was told by administrators in Idaho’s West Ada School District to remove a poster from her classroom that carried a simple but profound message: “Everyone Is Welcome Here.” Beneath the words were hands of many different skin tones. Although upset about the directive, Inama initially complied. But the decision weighed on her. She began asking herself…
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by Sasha Abramsky | Sep 24, 2026 | censorship, DEI, Discrimination, DOGE, Donald Trump, grants, Harvard, National Institutes of Health, NIH, OMB, Op-Ed, Russell Vought, Science, Trump Administration
Over the last two years, in an effort to stamp its ideology on the country’s premier academic and scientific institutions, the Trump administration has repeatedly moved to exert control over how grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are distributed. According to reporting by The New York Times and other outlets, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by Russell Vought…
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by Alecia Taylor | Sep 19, 2026 | African American Studies, Black History, black studies, DEI, education, Florida, Higher Education, News, Northwestern University, Racial Justice, Ron DeSantis, Trump Administration
For Northwestern University alumna Keala Uchôa, the university’s recent decision to restructure its African Studies program and cut two staff positions is hardly surprising. The move isn’t isolated. Over the years, the university and students have clashed over protests, a faculty member has sued over not getting tenure, and some current and former students — including Uchôa — say they’ve been…
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by Mike Ludwig | Aug 4, 2026 | AI, censorship, ChatGPT, Deepfakes, DEI, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Federal Trade Commission, First Amendment, free speech, FTC, News Analysis, Racial Justice, Regulation, Trump Administration, xAI
To understand the stakes of the debate over AI regulation, look no further than Minnesota, where tech oligarch Elon Musk is once again generating embarrassing headlines. Last week, a federal judge denied a request from Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI to block a Minnesota law banning nude deepfakes used to sexually harass women and girls from taking effect.
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by Barbara Rodriguez | May 18, 2026 | Black Maternal Health, Congress, DEI, health care, News Analysis, Reproductive Rights
The word “Black” has been almost completely removed from a package of bills that have long been viewed as Congress’ main legislative vehicle to address the Black maternal health crisis, frustrating some advocates who feel Black women are being erased from the policy. The key change this year is the title. The Momnibus Act — filed in mid-March — was called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus…
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by Jesse Hagopian | May 16, 2026 | Authoritarianism, DEI, Democracy, Donald Trump, education, Iran, Nuclear Weapons, Op-Ed
Seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office in early May, Donald Trump delivered a disturbing lecture to a group of children huddled around him — most of them not yet even teenagers. They had been brought to the White House for what was supposed to be a celebratory event marking the reinstatement of the Presidential Fitness Test, dressed in brightly colored T-shirts bearing the government…
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