Latest news with #JosephGraves
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years after fateful door knock; "Your world falls apart"
Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years he was killed in Iraq Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years he was killed in Iraq Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years he was killed in Iraq Pictures and tributes to his son, Joseph Anthony Graves, hang from walls and are displayed on shelves at Kevin Graves' home. There's a picture on his computer, too, that he'll always keep. "This was the last physical contact I had with him, and I'm so blessed to have this horribly grainy picture of my son and I together," said Graves. The photo of father and son embracing for the last time was taken on November 7, 2005. Less than nine months later, Graves got a knock on his door. "She said, 'Kevin, there's two soldiers. There's two soldiers on the front porch," said Graves. Kevin raised Joey in Discovery Bay as a single dad. He signed the papers for his then-17-year-old to enlist in the Army in 2003. The high school senior wanted to serve in the military in the aftermath of 9/11. Joey was just 21 years old when he was killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 25, 2006. "That's the day that your world falls apart," said Graves. Nearly 20 years have passed. But the tears and heartache for a child's life cut short never go away. "I just stared out at the water. I just stood at that window right there and stared out at the water," said Graves. Graves remembers Joey looking out for the ones who weren't always embraced, the underdogs. "Those are the people that Joey liked to help," said Graves. "He was a leader from behind. He wasn't necessarily a leader from in front." As Graves honors his fallen soldier, remembering times of laughter and joy embracing his child, and standing next to his best man, he hopes the rest of the country will also take a moment to remember. "I want everybody to take a moment and think about why they have those freedoms that they have," said Graves. "That's because of the sacrifices that have been paid by hundreds of hundreds of thousands of service members throughout the centuries who have given their lives so we can live in this freedom." A freedom that comes with a cost, on this Memorial Day. Graves also joined the military when he was 53 years old, serving as a chaplain. He runs the foundation, Some Gave All - the Joey Graves Foundation, with a mission to honor the fallen, support those who fight, and serve their families.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings revised
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Some Native Americans pressed the South Dakota Education Standards Board to hold off a year so that formal consultations could be held on how public schools should present information about indigenous people and cultures to their K-12 students. But the governor-appointed board's five members are instead following the recommendation from South Dakota Education Secretary Joseph Graves and have gone ahead with approval of a revised version of what are known as the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings. The board also decided during its meeting on Monday in Rapid City to adopt a first-ever set of computer science standards for K-8 students and approved a revised set of standards for English language arts. Pronounced oh-chet-ee sak-oh-in, the understandings originally came together through work by a group of indigenous elders and educators in 2008. South Dakota law requires teachers take a three-credit course in South Dakota Indian studies. But decisions on how to use OSEUs are left to local school districts. The main complaint voiced Monday about the OSEU revisions was that state government failed to formally consult with any of the nine tribal governments. Several people called for the state board to pause a year and allow time for the consultations. 'A rushed process cannot produce strong standards, but an inclusive one can,' said Deborah Bordeaux, executive director for the tribally-run Commission for Oceti Sakowin Accreditation and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The state board spent a half-hour listening to testimony from Bordeaux and eight others, and then considered for another 30 minutes what to do on the proposed OSEU revisions. Secretary Graves defended the preparation of the OSEU revisions, telling the board there was a complete review by a committee of 34 that was double the normal number and included anyone who asked to be on it. He said the review committee spent three days developing the revisions. Monday marked the last of the four public hearings that state law requires the board to hold before adopting or changing K-12 standards. The Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings had also become a regular agenda item for the state Indian Education Advisory Council, whose members include all nine of the tribal education directors, as well as a variety of other appointees chosen by the governor. 'So this was not a rushed process,' Graves told the state standards board. He added, 'If we continue to pause, my fear is we're simply going to pause forever.' Sarah White, an Oglala Lakota who founded and is executive director for the South Dakota Education Equity Coalition, said the Indian Education Advisory Council has been 'gagged and censored,' the group's meetings are scheduled without consideration for other duties of the tribal education directors, and that state Office of Indian Education director Fred Osborn has been 'superficial' in his dealings. Former Gov. Kristi Noem moved the Office of Indian Education from the state Department of Education to the state Department of Tribal Relations six years ago. 'To date not a single tribal consultation has taken place,' White said. State law says the Department of Education is to consult with the Indian Education Advisory Council to develop and review the OSEUs. The state board's president, Steve Perkins of Sioux Falls, said he was born and raised at Pipestone, Minnesota, a place of significance in Plains Indian culture. 'This is important to me,' he said. Perkins acknowledged that school districts vary in their use of OSEUs and said South Dakota generally was 'moving in the right direction' in recognizing the importance of indigenous people and history. But he also said that the state board and the state Department of Education clearly need to work harder on communication. Gov. Larry Rhoden, who succeeded Noem earlier this year, has called for a restart of relations between state and tribal governments. 'That's going to take some time,' Perkins said. He assured the people who had called for a pause that he wasn't voting against them. He said the process of revising the OSEUs was similar to what was done on the science standards that the board approved a year ago. The science standards weren't everything he wanted, Perkins said, but they were an improvement over the ones they replaced. 'This is even more important than that,' Perkins said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio writers' group publishing new anthology to counter book censorship
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio writers' group is responding to a rise in school and library censorship by publishing a new collection of stories that tackle topics often the focus of banned books, like religion, race and immigration. The Ohio Writers' Association's newest anthology titled 'Should This Book Be Banned?' releases on Feb. 16 featuring 30 stories and poems written by 'a kaleidoscope of perspectives,' including those from the LGBTQ+ community, various racial identities, religious clergy and academia. Each story aims to boost representation for these groups through characters navigating complex themes, demonstrating how certain actions impact marginalized communities. State employees in Ohio ordered to return to the office full time 'We have straight and LGBTQ, we have stories about the trans experience, we have critiques and examinations of religion from both atheists, as well as the ordained and clergy,' said Joseph Graves, a United Methodist pastor who is also the group's president. 'It's just interesting to me, the spectrum from atheist to clergy, student to professor, gay to straight. But, these stories, all from those different perspectives, they all kind of fit together.' A nonprofit organization, the association supports professional and emerging Ohio authors through education services like conferences and workshops, peer critiquing, and the publication of anthologies where the majority of sales go back to the authors. Graves said this year's anthology was meant to feature generic fiction, but the association decided to pivot in response to the growing effort to ban certain books in U.S. schools and libraries. The 2023-2024 school year recorded the highest instances of books bans, more than 10,000 nationwide, according to a report from literature and human rights advancement organization Pen America. Florida and Iowa recorded the highest number of book bans, with over 4,500 bans in Florida and over 3,600 in Iowa. Pen America analyzed the content of the most commonly banned books, and found they overwhelmingly include books with people and characters of color, 44%, and books with LGBTQ+ people and characters, 39%. Nearly 60% of these banned titles were written for young adults, and discuss topics like grief and death, substance abuse, suicide, mental health, and sexual violence. Graves said the association wants to embrace 'an individual's ability to discern for themselves what they read,' and hopes 'Should This Book Be Banned?' will provide a glimpse into these complex topics and help readers overcome innate biases while increasing empathy for those who may seem different. While the anthology was planned before November's election, Graves noted this mission has been amplified in the wake of the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Ohio State LGBTQ+ scholarship under review after affirmative action reversal 'The relevance of this collection keeps getting multiplied as things progress, but our intent hasn't changed from the very beginning,' said Graves. 'The great thing about stories, you don't have to agree with them to understand them. There are stories in this anthology that make me uncomfortable … but, in the understanding, I find empathy sneaks in and we can see people's true humanity.' The anthology also arrives as inclusion in the classroom is under debate through multiple forums in Ohio, like a resolution passed in 2023 by Big Walnut Local Schools to ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags and other symbols promoting 'activist causes' from the classroom. Another district, Warren County's Little Miami, introduced a similar proposal this year that has since been rejected. Other measures include an incoming Ohio law requiring teachers to notify parents before teaching 'sexuality content,' which also protects programs like LifeWise Academy and religious released time. Separate legislation proposed at the Statehouse last year would've charged educators with felonies for handing out 'obscene' books. A public hearing for that proposal came shortly after a New Richmond public school teacher was suspended for three days without pay for having books with LGBTQ+ characters in her classroom. Another lawsuit saw Jackson Local School District pay $450,000 to a middle school teacher who resigned last year for refusing to address two transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns. Ohio Kay Jewelers worker fired for opposing same-sex marriage, lawsuit says Graves said attempts 'to whitewash society' minimize the experiences of minority communities. While some of the stories in 'Should This Book Be Banned?' are fiction, Graves stressed they all 'capture the essence of what it means to be human in a way that other people maybe don't understand.' 'There's beauty in hearing people's stories. I find that stories are the best way to increase empathy, and I personally think empathy is one of the great values we need, as a person of ordained faith and as a clergy person,' said Graves. 'Empathy and treating people with respect and understanding people's stories is what we need more of.' 'Should This Book Be Banned?' can be purchased through Amazon and other retailers beginning on Feb. 16. The association is celebrating the anthology's release with a launch party the same day featuring readings from the anthology and opportunities to meet the authors. Visit to learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
