Civil Rights
The latest fear for Kansas schools: CRT is turning our children gay
Critical race theory is turning our precious children gay. No matter how loony it sounds, that was the terror coursing underneath the words of parents, advocates and legislators at a hearing last week by the 2021 Special Committee on Education. Remember, CRT is an academic theory taught by precisely zero K-12 schools in Kansas. Somehow, […]
Bob Dole championed ‘lives of greater dignity’ for Americans with disabilities
TOPEKA — In 1969, during his maiden speech on the Senate floor, Bob Dole focused his remarks on the rights and opportunities of individuals with disabilities, a subject with which he was intimately familiar. Dole’s passion for disability rights stemmed from his service as a soldier in World War II, where he was rendered unable […]
In book form, ‘The 1619 Project’ unrolls bracing historical corrective
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Holly McCall is the editor of the Tennessee Lookout, which first published this commentary. You’d have to be completely out of the political loop — and I […]
Hearing on critical race theory in Kansas schools veers into sex, religion and supposition
TOPEKA — A state education official told lawmakers Wednesday they need to “stop calling everything under the sun” critical race theory if they want to work together to improve student achievement. Ann Mah, a Democrat on the Kansas State Board of Education and former state representative, clashed with Republicans during a hearing on how CRT […]
U.S. Rep. Davids denounces gerrymandering of congressional district boundaries
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids pressing for federal election reform to tamp down temptation of state legislatures to gerrymander congressional district maps.
Kansas attorney general accuses KU, KSU of violating new vaccination exemption law
Kansas attorney general accuses KU and KSU of violating new state law guiding medical, religious exemptions to federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Colleagues, family reflect on the legacy of the late Kansas senator ‘Rip’ Gooch
TOPEKA — With memorial services to be held for the late Ulysses Lee “Rip” Gooch later this month, his former colleagues in the Kansas Legislature are recalling the legacy of the retired state senator and Wichita City Council member. Gooch died Wednesday at age 98, according to a post on Jackson Mortuary’s website. Funeral arrangements […]
Jury finds McMichaels, Bryan guilty of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder
A nearly all-white jury in a Glynn County courtroom Wednesday afternoon convicted three white men of murder in the death of Ahmaud Arbery as the 25-year-old Black jogger ran through their neighborhood in February 2020. Travis McMichael, seen all over the world in a viral video that shows him firing a shotgun into Arbery at […]
Kansas’ proposed vaccination freedom reform attracts heavy dose of skepticism
TOPEKA — Retired registered nurse Debbie Detmer insisted the Kansas Legislature fight the federal government’s effort to trample religious, medical and personal freedoms by compelling workers to be vaccinated during the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. The Shawnee grandmother said lawmakers convening Monday for the special legislative session devoted to COVID-19 must reinforce ideals of bodily autonomy […]
Immigrants make last-ditch plea for deportation protections, work permits in Build Back Better
WASHINGTON — Undocumented workers and immigration advocates are pushing for Democrats to keep work permits and protections from deportations in the final version of the $1.85 trillion social spending and climate package that the U.S. House is set to vote on as soon as Thursday night. Those immigration provisions face elimination when the bill moves […]
Kansas child death report looks beyond rep’s claim that critical race theory shames white girls
TOPEKA — Kansas children who kill themselves typically die with a gun or by asphyxiation, according to an annual report on adolescent deaths in the state. The team of health professionals, law enforcement officers, educators and attorneys who examine each child death in Kansas point to a history of physical or sexual abuse, family discord, […]
Day of action in DC for voting rights protections, promised reforms
Hundreds of people marched Wednesday in Washington, D.C., singing songs of struggle and calling for the passage of a voting rights bill by the end of the year. Rev. William Barber II marched alongside other faith leaders, poor and working class Americans and allied elected officials, filling the streets around the White House and demanding […]