Latest news with #systemicRacism
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Report outlines ways to improve N.W.T.'s health-care system for Indigenous patients
A new report on health care in the N.W.T. lays out a number of ways to improve the system for Indigenous patients, by addressing systemic racism as well as underrepresentation in senior leadership positions, among other things. The report, titled "Honouring the Voices of Indigenous Peoples," was done by a team composed of advocates and health service representatives from across the territory and backed by the non-profit Healthcare Excellence Canada with federal funding. The original focus was on the Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife and the work being done by the Indigenous Wellness Program there, but it evolved to include insights from across the territory's health-care services. It's not the first analysis of longstanding issues in the territory's health-care system, so the report stresses the need to build off of existing work and implement its recommendations. The 99-page report outlines several actions for change and steps to achieve them. It's focused on patients, staff, program design, and institutional design and leadership. Preet Dhillon is the project manager for the report. Dhillon said its 13 recommended actions for a more culturally safe health-care system came from relationship-building and listening to community members' experiences. "It was their honesty and their vulnerability and the strength that they have, that lie at the heart of this work. And we hold the trust that they have in us with very deep respect," said Dhillon. "It's all of our hope that as residents engage with the report and read it, that they truly feel seen and heard and that their voices and experiences are valued and being used in a way to inform change that will ultimately support them in their future health care." The report says that both health staff and patients want to see more Indigenous leadership in the system. "Decisions that impact Indigenous peoples in the [Health and Social Services] system should never be made without Indigenous representation at the table," it reads. Indigenous representation in senior staffing in health care is slim. For 2022-2023, the territorial government identified two Indigenous senior management employees out of 29 in the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA). Within the Department of Health and Social Services, there were two out of 17. The report also highlights racism experienced first-hand by Indigenous people and makes recommendations to address the issue. It describes participants who encountered "outright racism" from health staff, and encounters ranging from stereotyping comments made toward patients to neglect of care. Participants have said they've been left feeling doubted or ignored by the health care system. "Some described instances of reporting symptoms of serious health issues, feeling that their concerns were not taken seriously at Health and Social Service facilities, and being advised to take Tylenol without receiving proper diagnosis," the report says. Recommendations for improvement The report lists 13 recommended actions for improvements. One is aimed at addressing individual and systematic racism within the system. It would involve health system leaders taking three separate cultural and anti-racism training programs and developing a system to monitor training outcomes. To increase Indigenous leadership and representation, the report recommends that NTHSSA look into creating a territorial Indigenous branch of the organization. It also suggests strengthening support for and expanding the elder-in-residence program at Stanton Territorial Hospital, including by hiring a female elder to be a part of the program. Fraser Lennie, the report team lead, said the report has been submitted to health officials, and that the work was done in time to be shared at the Hotıì ts'eeda annual gathering last week.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Fox News
Crockett claims Republican opponents would throw her 'back in chains'
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, claimed on Tuesday that conservatives would enslave people like her if they could, claiming their opposition is just another incarnation of old hatreds. Crockett argued that current Republican attacks are an outgrowth of the mentalities behind slavery and segregation. "It is easier, in my opinion, to do what's right every single day that I go in and serve and do right for everyone. Because at the end of the day, I know that there was a time and a place, and if they could, they would throw me back in chains," she claimed on the "Outlaws" podcast. "Somehow, those that came before us managed to break loose of the physical chains, even though we still have a bunch of systemic chains that we are still kind of wrangling with." Such battles, she said, make her reflect on the country's past. "I think about the fact that they also had this justification as if we were different, as if we didn't all bleed the same and we weren't the same," she added. "And so, as the attacks seem new, they really are tired and old, and we've been through them before. And I can recognize the hate no matter if we're talking about in the '50s or if we're talking about in 2025." Crockett claimed that as Republicans are poised to face a backlash, the "superpowers" of people like her will be revealed. "And so with me, I know that we've persevered past them. We have still been able to accomplish so much despite them," she said. "And I truly believe that as we walk into this next season — this losing season for the haters — I think that we will again be able to transgress and show that, like, we are great, we are normal. We are actually — if anything — we got superpowers, as far as I'm concerned." At another point, podcast host TS Madison described feeling "so afraid as a Black trans woman" in modern America, asking the congresswoman, "What is going on?" "I like to say, 'They hate you because they can't be you.' So every little hate that they spew your way, my way, it is because they know that they see how beautiful we are inside and out, and we walk in that greatness every single day," Crockett said. "And there is nothing that they can do that will diminish us or make us feel less than, even though that's what they want us to believe we are. So let me just say thank you for living your truth, because that really takes courage." Crockett went on to argue that whether one is Black or identifies as transgender, there are those who "get all riled up about anybody that is not old, White, male and rich."
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
New York's Challenges In Budgeting For Racial Equity
In 2022, New York City voters added provisions on racial equity to the city charter. But ... More implementation has been slow and halting and required reports not issued. In the November 2022 election, New York voters overwhelmingly approved three amendments to the New York City's charter to 'lay the foundation for achieving racial equity.' But the legally required implementation of the amendments is far behind schedule, and despite its progressive reputation, New York is lagging behind other US cities on comprehensive racial equity policies. New York's charter lays out the city's governing vision, the roles and activities of the Mayor (executive) and City Council (legislative) and establishes standards for city policies. (City courts are mostly governed as part of the state's court system.) In 2021, almost a year after the murder of George Floyd that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, New York's then-mayor Bill de Blasio appointed a special New York City Racial Justice Commission. The commission was charged with proposing charter amendments to 'root out systemic racism across New York City.' The commission proposed three ballot initiatives, with voters approving them by 70% or more. Underscoring the desire for racial equity, the amendments included a new preamble to the City Charter. It calls out the historic 'violence and systemic inequity that continue to be experienced by marginalized groups.' The preamble says 'collective values' undergirding racial equity created 'duties, obligations, and authorities' that would 'guide the operation of our city government.' The amendments went into law almost immediately, with detailed implementation language written and incorporated into the charter in December of 2022. The new legal requirements require the city to 'undertake a process of citywide and agency planning and reporting with a goal of eliminating racial inequity.' The city's sweeping duties include defining overall city goals and specific strategies, 'throughout the city government's policymaking, operations, and workforce,' including attention to neighborhoods. Performance indicators and revisions to data when necessary also are part of the mandate. All of this is to be specified in a mayoral-issued racial equity plan, with adequate time and feedback from other elected officials and public before it is finalized. And the plan is meant to be coordinated with the city's budget process, along with review by the newly-established independent Commission on Racial Equity (CORE), also created by the charter amendments. To date, Mayor Eric Adams' administration has not issued any racial equity plans, preliminary of otherwise. CORE has been carrying out its own mandated duties, including gathering public input on racial equity priorities, but that process was intended to work with and inform the Mayor's racial equity planning. After missing repeated deadlines for issuing plans to be coordinated with the FY2026 budget process, CORE issued a letter calling on the Mayor to release the preliminary plan 'no later than March 21, 2025.' That call has been echoed by the city's Public Advocate, and the Progressive and the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucuses of the City Council. But as of this writing, there hasn't been a public response, or a racial equity plan, from the Mayor's office. I work on a joint project of the New School's Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy and the Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institution. At the Institute, we analyzed the city's public budget documents to look for attention on racial equity by agency, spending, and other measures. We did a word search for the terms 'race,' 'racial,' 'racial equity,' 'Black,' and 'charter.' We found no systematic attention to racial equity in the hundreds of pages in public budget documents we examined. If the city is linking a racial equity strategy to the budget process, as the charter requires, it is not apparent in the publicly available budget documents. Measuring and pursuing equity is challenging, but it can be done. There is a wealth of practice on how to look at equity for specific policies, from a number of institutions. Our joint New School and Brookings project has conducted specific racial equity analyses as a 'proof of concept' on transit subsidies and on wages paid by nonprofits to human service workers, reviewed racial equity efforts around the nation, looked at local land use decisions and racial equity, and documented racial equity analyses and policies from around the country. The Institute also is developing a pilot framework for assessing equity across a city's budget, with special emphasis on transparency and community input from marginalized communities. Budget equity involves a variety of complex technical issues, but must be driven by a set of values. The Institute's founding director Darrick Hamilton has anchored the work in values and guided our work by saying 'we value what we measure and we measure what we value.' One of our key findings is that racial equity is not just issuing new policies or spending plans. It must involve political leadership with adequate resources , guidance, and data to city agencies to examine their existing operations along with real community involvement. Existing programs and continuing spending usually are well over 95% of a city's operating budget, so an effective racial equity strategy must focus on existing programs to have a substantial impact. New York has some promising practices. The Department of City Planning, after urging from community organizations and some elected officials, created an online 'Equitable Development Data Explorer' along with a mapping tool to measure housing displacement risk for specific city neighborhoods. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene candidly states 'our neighborhoods are segregated by race and wealth,' providing community health profiles with over 50 measures by specific neighborhoods. But compared to some other cities, New York's efforts are piecemeal and uncoordinated. Although several cities (Philadelphia, Washington DC, Portland, Dallas) have strong racial equity analytics and practices, Chicago is perhaps the nation's most comprehensive. In his 2025 Budget Overview, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson foregrounds 'Equity and Engagement,' clearly stating that 'Budget Equity is the process by which all departments account for the progress they are making to advance racial equity.' The city maintains an online 'Chicago Equity Dashboard' with data on key neighborhood indicators, and an online site showing 'Racial Equity Action Plans' for each city agency. Although New York voters spoke strongly in favor of racial equity analysis in coordination with the budget and using it to guide agency management and practices, the city has not met its deadlines. Of course, budget processes and comprehensive management of billions of dollars and many different agencies and policies is difficult and hard work. But the experiences of other large cities, especially Chicago, shows progress can be made. And now all cities must worry about the active hostility to diversity and racial equity coming from the Trump Administration. There will doubtless be many battles around federal funds, mandates, regulations, and court fights around equity in the next few years. That hostility means cities are now the best hope for progress on racial equity. When the city's Racial Justice Commission was charged in 2021 with drafting the ultimately successful ballot measures for racial equity, Darrick Hamilton (named as a commissioner) said 'This city, and this nation, are faced with an unprecedented opportunity to think big.' New York's voter-approved mandate calls for 'a city where the worth, talents, and contributions of all people are valued and recognized' by 'closing of gaps in policy, practice, and allocation of city resources through the prioritization of access, opportunities, and resources to those people and communities with the greatest need.' That indeed presents 'an unprecedented opportunity to think big.' The next few years will show if New York is up to the challenge.
SBS Australia
4 days ago
- Health
- SBS Australia
Queensland Health faces class action over allegations of systemic racial discrimination
Thursday Island Hospital is managed by Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service, which is facing allegations of racial discrimination in the class action. Credit: AARON BUNCH /AAPIMAGE A class action against Queensland Health has been launched in the federal court alleging systemic racism at two remote Hospital and Health Services. Litigators, JGA Saddler Lawyers, say there are clear breaches of the Racial Discrimination Act by North-West Hospital and Health Service (NWHHS) and the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS). The NWHHS and TCHHS service 47 of Queensland's most remote communities, many of which have high populations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The case alleges that racial discrimination resulted in substandard health care being provided which in some cases, led to death. JGA Saddler director Rebecca Jancauskas said the team would examine healthcare provision over three decades as part of the lawsuit, from December 1996 to March 2025. She said evidence dating from this time shows instances of ongoing systemic racism. 'We've heard horrible, harrowing stories of people who've been turned away and who have suffered extreme outcomes as a result,' she said. 'Their health has suffered, and in some cases, they've passed away as a result of the care that has been doled out. 'We will say that this can very clearly be distinguished between allegations in terms of an overloaded or inappropriate health system. 'We say the evidence will show that this is racial discrimination.' Ms Jancauskas said while the lawsuit was based on experiences of racial discrimination, there was room to amend the case's scope, with allegations of negligence expected as well. Prominent human rights barrister Joshua Creamer has been engaged to represent the interests of the claimants. Earlier in the year Mr Creamer was involved in community meetings in the Torres Strait, which heard from community members on the matter. Mabuyag and Murray Island Elder Tassi McDonald recounted her experience working in health, opining that the system had changed for the worst. 'It's gone – the health system has gone flat – I see it in front of my eyes, because I'm an old health worker,' she said. 'There are more white nurses and white doctors.' Ms McDonald said she believed the Torres Model of Care, which allowed her to work out in community as an Indigenous Health Worker, functioned best. 'When I first started working, we were all about prevention and it's all curative now,' she said. 'Curative is different: when you're sick, you go down to hospital. I know that my people out there I see every day, they still need help. 'I feel for my people, that they still have more people dying.' Wakaid Tribal Council of Elders, who invited the lawyers to their community, say they are happy to work with them to interpret language. Wakaid Elder Robert 'Bongo' Sagigi, who has studied Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said Islanders had a right to 'free and prior, informed consent'. He called on the legal team to visit the outer islands of the Torres Strait where health issues are exacerbated by their remoteness. 'The lawyers have to go around to every island – [I told them], they got to do it, because we're talking about consent. 'Don't create things without consent and use data belonging to individuals to get money come through.' Queensland's Minister for Health, Tim Nicholls, said he would not comment on matters before the court, but emphasised that racial discrimination was unacceptable. 'I've met with a number of the mayors [and] they have been very clear to both the Premier and myself of the challenges that we face there,' he said. In recent years, both the NWHHS and TCHHS have been investigated in relation to their treatment of Indigenous staff and patients. Some of these reports already cite instances of Indigenous staff and patients who've experienced discrimination in those services. Mr Nicholls said he was awaiting an investigation currently underway into the cultural safety of the TCHHS processes, with a report originally slated for release in June 2024 now due in mid-2025. 'Once we've got that, we'll then look at what action needs to be taken,' he said. 'I think those two pieces of work which should be implemented will go a long way to helping address the issues. 'That implementation group, which the Director General has established, is all about moving to the implementation of those recommendations.' Interviews and feature reports from NITV. A mob-made podcast about all things Blak life. The Point: Referendum Road Trip Live weekly on Tuesday at 7.30pm Join Narelda Jacobs and John Paul Janke to get unique Indigenous perspectives and cutting-edge analysis on the road to the referendum. Watch now
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Five Years After Floyd
Five years ago this Sunday, Minneapolis police officers killed George Floyd. His murder set off protests and riots across the country. Demonstrators called for sweeping changes to policing and remedies for what they described as systemic racism in law enforcement. How much has changed? Nationwide, surprisingly little. States and cities enacted new policies aimed at improving policing, but the data suggests that these changes have had little impact on accountability or the number of killings by police officers. The changes After Floyd's murder, states and police departments banned chokeholds and no-knock warrants. They mandated body cameras. They rewrote guidelines about how to de-escalate a confrontation with a suspect. They educated officers about racial profiling. And more. The changes weren't universal, and some places did more than others. But every state passed at least some changes. In a few cities, the federal government intervened. It investigated and publicized police abuses, pressuring local governments into court-enforced consent decrees. These pacts forced police departments to make specific changes and let federal officials and court monitors track how the policies worked over time. Freddie Gray died in 2015 after a 'rough ride' while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department; a consent decree mandated that the city's police drivers follow the speed limit and provide functioning seatbelts when transporting detainees. At least, that's how consent decrees used to function. This week, the Trump administration dropped efforts to investigate or oversee nearly two dozen police departments. Meanwhile, killings by police officers rose from just over 1,000 in 2019 to around 1,200 in 2024. People killed by the police from 2015 through 2024 Death of George Floyd May 25, 2020 1,226 killings in 2024 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 2018 2024 2016 2020 2022 Death of George Floyd May 25, 2020 1,226 killings in 2024 1,250 1,000 750 500 250 2018 2024 2016 2020 2022 Based on an analysis of data compiled by The Washington Post and data from Mapping Police Violence By The New York Times Groups Trump has targeted for deportation 940,000 620,000 530,000 with humanitarian parole with Temporary Protected Status who used a government app to enter the U.S. 8.4 million without protections 940,000 620,000 530,000 with humanitarian parole with Temporary Protected Status who used a government app to enter the U.S. 8.4 million without protections Sources: Customs and Border Protection; Congressional Research Service; Department of Homeland Security By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
