Why Some Black Americans are Skeptical of the COVID-19 Vaccine

By: Karly JungAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Fannie Lou Hammer, a civil rights activist who experienced and spoke out against the medical mistreatment of Black people COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.[1] Black, Hispanic, and Native American people are roughly three times more likely to… Read More

Legalization is Not the Endpoint: Observations from Nine Years of Marijuana Legalization

By Nathan BennettAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 In February, New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana, followed days after by the Virginia legislature approving a similar measure.[1]  When Colorado became the first state to legalize the drug in 2012, then-Governor John Hickenlooper cautioned: “don’t… Read More

Exposing Another Ignored Rift Within the System: Anti-Asian Hate

By: Meghan PateroAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 On March 11, 2021, President Biden recognized the struggles the entire nation has grappled with because of COVID-19 by delivering his first prime time address of his presidency.[1] Appropriately, much focus was dedicated to the new COVID-19 relief package as one of the… Read More

Letter from the Editors in Response to Increased Violence Against Asian Americans

art by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya (@alonglastname) provided for use in protest The China virus. Model minorities. The “Kung Flu.” When the COVID-19 pandemic began, so did the onslaught of racist messaging fueled by then-President Donald Trump. Many Americans were appalled at the apparent blaming of a pandemic on a… Read More

Legal Deserts: Race & Rural America

By Zachery NewtonAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Despite being the home of 20% of Americans, only an estimated 2% of practicing attorneys live in rural America.[1] It is not uncommon for rural counties to have few, sometimes zero, practicing lawyers. The shortage in these “legal deserts” is not for a… Read More

Reaction against the Denial of Comfort Women’s Voices and Truth

By Karly JungAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Across the globe, academics and activists mobilized to thoroughly examine a Harvard professor’s characterization of “comfort women” as prostitutes.[1] So-called “comfort women” consisted of women and girls from various countries (though primarily from Korea, a colony of Japan at the time) who… Read More

From Tuskegee to Today: The Fraught History of Black Americans with the Medical Field, and the Contemporary Issues Faced Under the Coronavirus

By Isha AbbasiAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Ding. The familiar, and now haunting, sound of a CNN news notification pierced my expecting ears. I was used to getting one a day now. Sometimes a mundane story about who won The Voice, most times a horrific statistic about the rapid spread and… Read More

Let’s Protect Size

By Abigail HesterAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Let me set a scene:             You’re a waitress. You’ve been in quarantine for months and are finally, finally, getting to return to work. You’re weary about COVID, but desperate to receive a consistent paycheck. During your quarantine, you’ve been one of the lucky… Read More

Stigma at Every Step: Mistreatment of Black Americans in the Opioid Crisis

By Nathan BennettAssociate Editor, Vol. 26             As the COVID-19 crisis extends into its second year in the United States, the years-long epidemic of opioid misuse continues forward—and may be worsening.[1] The opioid crisis is popularly portrayed as a problem of white America—suburban moms hooked on prescription pills… Read More

“Professional” Hairstyles: How Title VII Protections Have Condoned the Policing of Black Women’s Hair

By Jasmine BenjaminAssociate Editor, Vol. 26 Everyone is faced with the question of how to style their hair. However, this decision is of particular social, professional and economic import for Black women. According to recent studies, Black women are 83% more likely to report being judged more harshly on their… Read More