Latino students were once the fastest-growing group in U.S. colleges. Due to COVID-19, that is no longer the case. Latinos and other communities of color continue to bear a heavy burden of the pandemic economic fallout, making it harder for families to send their children to college. In response, George Fox University, a private university in Newberg, Oregon, launched the Liberation Scholars Program. The program offers seminars, mentoring, and more for high school students at Woodburn High School, according to Mario Garza, a college and career counselor at Woodburn. “I think what we try to do, and I think what George Fox is doing with us through their Liberation Scholars program, is really trying to build up the toolbox for all of these kids,” Garza said, according to ...
Thanks to the efforts from the student-led community organization Gente Organizada, Pomona Unified School District will no longer allow police patrols to monitor campuses. The decision comes after years of campaigning against discriminatory practices by school police, which was amplified after the racial justice protests of 2020. Removing school police means Latino youth are safer from discrimination in school, as Pomona (71% Latino), a city in Los Angeles County, is home to many Latino and immigrant families. “This is a milestone that has been met,” said Caroline Lucas, a Pomona youth organizer, according to Los Angeles Times. “For me, it means that leaders can experiment with what transformative activists have been trying to do.”
A Campaign Sparked by an Act of ...
Companies emitting harmful waste and gasses into the Earth’s atmosphere will now have to abide by strict regulation policies recently passed by Colorado’s state legislature. The new law will require these businesses to more closely monitor their emissions standards — more importantly, the data found must be published publicly. Not only will the law ensure transparency, it could also save countless lives, according to Carmen Abrego Vasquez, a member of the Colorado People’s Alliance. “[This bill] an important step to making sure we have transparency and hold corporate polluters accountable, she told the Colorado Sun. “The majority of people who live in my community are Latinos or immigrants and this is a step to improve our lives. We have a right to know what’s in ...
For the first time, the Healthy People 2030 guidelines have added four objectives on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), a step to recognize the systemic impact of childhood trauma on health. ACEs, such as abuse and poverty, are a public health crisis. None of the past Healthy People editions ─ 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 ─ had an objective to address ACEs as part of its national guidance to promote health and prevent disease. Now there are four objectives! This is a huge win for the 2,214 Salud America! network members who emailed public comments and other child development and public health professionals who submitted nearly 3,000 additional comments to add ACEs-related objectives. “I was surprised to learn ‘adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)’ and ‘childhood ...
More than 25,000 public comments were submitted to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on proposed changes to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Our team at Salud America! developed three model comments asking FHWA to adopt a public health and Safe System Approach to reframe and rewrite the 700-page MUTCD, one of transportation engineering’s “bibles” that guides road creation. More than 2,100 people visited our model comments over 30 days and nearly 450 people submitted our model comments. “This enormous volume of comments (a more than ten-fold increase over the last time the MUTCD was updated in 2009) demonstrates the degree to which Americans want change,” according to a post from the National Association of City Transportation Officials ...
Climate change is wreaking havoc on communities across the US. The health impacts are already felt among Latinos and other people of color. That’s why a group of researchers started an exciting project: Science Moms. This "nonpartisan group of climate scientists and mothers," including several Latinas, are working to connect with other women in hopes of creating a grassroots movement to address climate change for future generations. "We founded Science Moms to help mothers who are concerned about their children's planet but aren't confident in their knowledge about climate change or how they can help," Science Moms state on their website. "Together, we aim to demystify climate science and motivate urgent action to protect our children's futures."
Women Step Up for Climate ...
Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. That is why, on April 29, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars within the next year. The aim is to save lives and prevent future generations of smokers. This decision was made in response to a citizen petition filed in 2013. Public health and civil rights groups have long argued people of color have been disproportionately harmed by menthol cigarettes. The tobacco has industry targeted its ads at Black and Latino communities for decades. “Banning menthol—the last allowable flavor—in cigarettes and banning all flavors in cigars will help save lives, particularly among those disproportionately affected by these deadly ...
Countless children across the country struggle with access to healthy, clean water at school. Schools that provide their students with water bottle refill stations can significantly improve their health over time. Cities and states throughout the U.S. are doing just that by installing these kinds of fountains in their schools. Legislators in Arkansas (7.7% Latino), with the help of the American Heart Association (AHA), recently passed a law to require all new schools built in the state to provide a water bottle fountain to their students. “We know drinking enough water can improve a child’s performance in school, making it easier for them to learn,” said Dave Oberembt, government relations representative for the AHA in Arkansas, in a statement. “Substituting water for ...
We know secondhand smoke is deadly. We also know that, inside places like apartments, people are exposed to secondhand smoke as it travels through doorways, halls, windows, ventilation systems, and electrical outlets. So what if we could cut secondhand smoke exposure in the home? Well, after a national media campaign to reduce cigarette smoking in homes in Scotland, hospital admissions of under-five-year-old children dropped 25%, according to a recent study in Lancet Public Health. "Our findings suggest that smoke-free home interventions could be an important tool to reduce asthma admissions in young children, and that smoke-free public space legislation might improve child health for many years, especially in the most deprived communities," according to the ...
