Early research suggests a correlation between positive cases of COVID-19 and deaths in areas with higher levels of air pollution.
Like COVID-19, the burden of air pollution is not evenly shared in Kansas and Missouri
Posted inCivic Engagement
Wide-ranging policies give Kansas and Missouri cops discretion for violence
Policy solutions to stop police killings are gaining more traction in local governments. Launched in early June by the nonprofit police reform group Campaign Zero, a data-backed research platform called 8 Can’t Wait outlines eight specific use-of-force policies to reduce the number of police killings. But local adoption of these policies varies widely, an analysis by The Beacon found.
Posted inHealth
In Kansas City, the Latinx community faces extra challenges with COVID-19
In Kansas, Latinx people contract COVID-19 at a rate 5.7 times that of non-Hispanic residents for cases in which ethnicity was reported — 22.9% of cases are missing ethnicity data. Latinx people accounted for almost half of COVID-19 cases in Wyandotte County, where 29.8% of the population is Latinx, for cases where ethnicity data is known. Latinx people also face greater disparities in accessing testing.
Posted inCivic Engagement
Activists want to defund KCPD. Here’s what that means.
Amid mass protests against police violence in Kansas City and throughout the nation, one three-word phrase keeps coming up: “Defund the police.” But what does it actually mean? The Beacon spoke to local activists to explain the thinking behind the phrase that has caught national attention. Calls to defund the police are rooted in critiques that police departments receive exorbitant funding that should instead be reinvested into programs that directly aid the community. It is that dichotomy — of a police department with too much money and social programs with too little — that local activists say they want to change.
Posted inHealth
‘We’ve seen this trend before’: The deadly disparities of COVID-19 for Kansas City’s Black community
COVID-19 is shining a light on health disparities that the Black community faces, but it isn’t the first disease to do so. In addition to higher rates of COVID-19, Black people in the Kansas City area have access to fewer permanent testing sites than the white population. The health disparities behind increased cases of COVID-19 among the Black community in Kansas City can be traced to several factors.
Posted inHealth
In testing for COVID-19, Black and Hispanic people in Kansas and Missouri have fewer options
In Kansas City — and similarly across the U.S. — racial and ethnic minorities face worse outcomes and greater disparities when it comes to catching, surviving and being tested for COVID-19. In both Missouri and Kansas, Black people are contracting COVID-19 at rates higher than their share of the state population. On both sides of the state line, Black people are dying at a rate over two times their population share.
Posted inEducation
Kansas and Missouri colleges are scrambling to navigate higher ed in a COVID-19 world
With an increase in COVID-19 cases in Kansas and Missouri and less than two months before the semester begins, college administrators in and around Kansas City are still scrambling to figure out exactly what school will look like this fall in a coronavirus world — and if students are going to show up.
Posted inCivic Engagement, Journalism
The Beacon launches free texting campaign around social justice and racial equity
A new program will deepen our commitment to social justice and racial equity coverage. Through texting, we can deliver the news to more of the community, including those without access to secure, reliable internet.
Posted inCivic Engagement
Small and mid-sized towns in Kansas and Missouri are seeing mass protests like never before
A Beacon analysis found that over 50 small towns across both states have witnessed a protest in the weeks following George Floyd’s killing.
Posted inCivic Engagement
Kansas City faces a big obstacle when it comes to police reform: local control of its police department
At a time of mass protests against police violence — where calls to increase officer accountability and even defund police departments are being amplified across the country — Kansas City, Mo., stands out as the only major U.S. city without local control of its police department. For 80 years, a board appointed by the Missouri governor has controlled the police department.