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Diversity Notes from the Granite State News Collaborative
603 Diversity: NH News Briefs
A journalistic look at our state of diversity from the reporters at the Granite State News Collaborative. Land Acknowledgement Bill Fails
As cities and towns throughout the state celebrate their 400th settlement anniversaries over the next few years, HB 1357 would have included a symbolic acknowledgement in state law that New Hampshire now stewards what are Native homelands.
“Our state history is diverse, spanning through times of war and peace and we cannot discuss the formation of this state without the inclusion of the Indigenous land occupation and contributions,” Denise and Paul Pouliot of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People, who helped draft the bill language, said in a statement to legislators who were considering the bill.
Paul Pouliot said the legislation is consistent with what many churches, museums, schools and other institutions have already done by adopting land acknowledgement statements.
But, HB 1357 was killed in the House March 16 after a 183-151 vote. The Executive Departments and Administration committee had previously recommended the bill fail on a 10-8 vote.
Chair Rep. Tony Lekas, a Hudson Republican, wrote in the committee report that while it’s It is “indisputable fact that there were peoples in the land which we now know as New Hampshire,” the committee was concerned the bill might be construed as an avenue for land claims in years to come — “We can’t know how it will be seen or used in the future.” He added that the committee received testimony from a tribal genealogist with concerns about which specific indigenous people should be included in the acknowledgement.
“If people want to acknowledge and honor the peoples who were here before us it would be more effective to organize public celebrations of that history. That will likely be more
One local attempt to study the impact of bail reform never happened, highlighting NH’s data problem
In 2019, the state of New Hampshire set out to measure the impact of a bail-reform law that took effect a year earlier. It was an important question. Since the law’s passage, supporters and critics have argued over its effects.
Police have said too many defendants are missing court dates or committing new crimes while out on bail. The ACLU and other advocates say those claims are largely anecdotal, without real data backing them up. The state-commissioned study could have provided some answers. But it was never done.
In March 2020, the Pretrial Justice Institute — the Maryland-based organization the state had contracted with for the analysis — withdrew because it couldn’t get the data it needed, according to a letter the Collaborative obtained through a public-records request.
“Due to difficulties experienced by the jails in providing us the data needed to do our analysis, we have not been able to begin the project,” Tenille Patterson, one of the organization’s executive partners, wrote to the N.H. Department of Justice’s Grants Management Unit. “Moreover, it appears that those difficulties cannot be overcome in a way that would allow the project to proceed.”
Bail reform is often cited by racial and social justice advocates as necessary for a more equitable criminal justice system.
The study would have analyzed jail populations before and after the 2018 law,
effective than making a change to a statute that few are likely to see,” Lekas wrote.
The Pouliots, who go by the tribal titles Sag8moskwa and Sag8mo or lead female and male speakers, said House Bill 1357 was a symbolic opportunity to “address a historic oversight and to share the state’s past in an inclusive way.”
“I think the land acknowledgement is really important, said Anne Jennison, chair of the Commission for Native American Affairs, in an interview before the bill was killed, “because if it’s adopted, and if it’s used at state events, people are going to hear ‘the Abenaki people past and present.’ They’re going to hear ‘and present.’ It’s just a subtle thing that I think will permeate people’s consciousness after a while.”
– JENNY WHIDDEN, REPORT FOR AMERICA CORPS MEMBER,
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as well as its impact on court appearance rates, according to the letter. It’s not clear whether the study also would have looked at rates of reoffending while on bail.
The topic remains relevant. This session, the N.H. Legislature is considering bills that would make the state’s bail laws more restrictive in some circumstances.
– PAUL CUNO-BOOTH, GRANITE STATE NEWS COLLABORATIVE
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A year after Keene’s racial-justice report, work continues to make it a reality
A little more than a year after the ad hoc Racial Justice and Community Safety Committee in Keene wrapped up its work in March 2021 and issued a report containing more than 30 recommendations to make the city a more equitable and inclusive place, officials and stakeholders say some progress has been made, but more needs to be done.
The Keene racial justice committee began meeting in July 2020, a month after dozens of community members shared their personal experiences of racism, ideas for change and hopes for the future at a public forum on Zoom.
After a series of meetings and public forums, the committee issued its report, with numerous specific recommendations for city government, the school system, local employers and other institutions to consider.
The report was unequivocal in its call for action, citing testimony from local residents “who experience racist slurs, aloof comments about slavery, school curricula that are inadequate regarding the important experience and influence of Black Americans, lack of anti-racism policy, fear of reprisal for any response to racist activity and lack of racial diversity in important services” such as health care.
A year after the report was issued, city officials and other stakeholders described the steps they’ve taken to implement some of the report’s recommendations.
In August, for example, the Keene City Council adopted a declaration committing the city to welcoming “people of all colors, creeds, beliefs, lifestyles, nationalities, physical abilities, and mental abilities,” and vowing to “condemn and never ignore acts of bigotry, oppression, and hatred.”
The city also worked to make hiring more inclusive by, for example, making sure the process centers on necessary skills and requirements, to limit opportunities for implicit bias, as well as advertising openings — including for police officers — on job boards focused on minorities and veterans.
The Keene Public Library has also stepped up efforts to diversify its collections.
Local mental-health emergency response has also improved thanks to the state’s
National study finds self-perceived social status may affect Latino cardiovascular health
New research, published by the Journal of the American Heart Association, examines the correlation between migration and behavior in Latinos, focusing on how a self-perceived sense of prestige and accomplishment impacts their health.
Fifteen thousand Latino adults in the U.S. were participants in the first-of-itskind study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The adults in the study lived in San Diego, Chicago, New York, and Miami and ranged from 18 to 74 years old.
Study participants were asked to rank themselves on a social ladder relative to other people in the U.S. Levels go from one to ten and address indicators like education, work, and social connectivity.
The study suggests that Latinos with high education levels in their countries, but who can’t pursue careers in the U.S. because of their language or credentials, showed low cardiovascular health markers. On the contrary, when study participants think they’ve achieved prosperity in their new jobs and lifestyle, their health improves.
The researchers compared that data to lifestyle habits and found out that the higher the score, the better the chances Latinos had of living a healthy life.
Some of the cardiovascular illnesses related to a self-perceived low social status are high blood pressure, inadequate levels of cholesterol and glucose, heart attacks, or strokes.
But if a person ranked higher in their self-perception, the study suggests, they’re more likely not to smoke, have an active life, and be more social, all steps that contribute to better cardiovascular health.
Latinos who believed their social status was higher were more likely to have ideal scores on body mass index, physical activity, and fasting blood sugar.
“We don’t know how a subjective perception works in the brain,” Piedra said. “But we know humans by nature make a lot of comparisons,” said lead author Lissette Piedra, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Piedra says her study can also help states like New Hampshire, which has seen a new wave of immigration, offering more community services in Spanish.
funding of regional mobile crisis teams.
While it wasn’t specifically recommended in the report, many community members asked the Keene Police Department to equip officers with body-worn cameras in 2020. Both KPD and the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office are in the process of doing so.
Meanwhile, organizers say other key recommendations will be tackled by the newly formed Monadnock Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Coalition. That includes setting measurable goals for racial equity in the community, conducting regular surveys and creating forums where community members feel safe sharing personal experiences with racism.
– PAUL CUNO-BOOTH, GRANITE STATE NEWS COLLABORATIVE
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“New Hampshire has experienced a growth of their Latino population, but there isn’t a great sense of community like in New York or Miami.,” Piedra said. “Anything you can do to establish co-ethnic places like bodegas, churches, and community centers can impact those internal medical responses.”
–GABRIELA LOZADA, REPORT FOR AMERICA CORPS MEMBER, NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO
These articles were adapted from stories shared by and with partners in The Granite State News Collaborative as part of our race and equity project. For more information visit collaborativenh.org. “ APD values team members with diverse experiences, backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.
Differences lead us to improve and strengthen the way we solve difficult problems. When we respect and embrace different perspectives and ideas, the solutions we can come to collectively are smarter, stronger, and better than if we all see the world in the same way.”
Sue Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG
President and CEO of APD
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