In the News

By Rachel Dissell, Brie Zeltner, The Plain Dealer

By Ben KleineSoutheast Missourian Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair’s three take-aways from the briefing were focuses on implicit-bias training, using social media to engage the public and using data for transparency and crime prevention. Cape Girardeau officers receive implicit-bias training annually, Sgt. Adam Glueck said.

By Al HegginsSalisbury Post What’s particularly tricky about implicit bias is that these unconscious associations may not align with our espoused beliefs and values. We may espouse “I don’t see color.” We embrace “We’re all just one big family.” We lift up “Hire the best person for the job.” But it’s not quite that simple. You see, we have to break the fever. We have to flip the script again by feeding the truth and starving the lie.

By Kitty McConnellColumbus Alive

By Lisa AbrahamColumbus Dispatch Mikelle and his 12-year-old brother, DeMarco, attended as part of a group from I Am My Brother’s Keeper, a program of the Kirwan Institute at Ohio State University that mentors at-risk boys. Program assistant Annalisa Perez said the class seemed like a fun option when she and program assistant Michael Northern were searching for activities for the boys. The class marked Mikelle’s first attempt at cooking, and McCoy provided plenty of instruction and laughs.

We are all human beings. But as human beings – as products of where we grew up and our genetic and gender makeup – we all have conscious or unconscious biases that affect our thoughts and actions. “Until we are able to learn and accept those things, it is a challenge to create an inclusive society,” said Janet Green Marbley of Columbus, Ohio, chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the ABA’s Center for Professional Responsibility.

On Monday, Sharon Davies, Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute, was a guest on WOSU Public Media’s All Sides with Ann Fisher, where she spoke on the dangers of Implicit Racial Bias and its role in the recent shootings in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights and Dallas.

It’s that subconscious little kernel of prejudice that probably exists within all of us. We explore implicit bias: where it comes from, how it influences our decisions and what we can do about it. Guests:

Published in the Columbus Dispatch By Ben Sutherly

Published in the Columbus Dispatch By Alan Johnson Sharon L. Davies, the executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, said in response that the “race or gender of a victim, and the county of the crime, should not influence who is sentenced to die … Ohio citizens and lawmakers should review the findings of this important research.”

Aired on PBS NewsHour

Published in the Newark Advocate By Maria DeVito Joshua Bates, with the Kirwan Institute, was a panelist and spoke about the movement Black Lives Matter and race in America.

By Brie Zeltner, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Infant mortality rates are measured by the number of babies who die before their first birthday, per thousand live births. Cleveland’s rate is about 13, one of the worst in the country. Ohio’s infant mortality rate is 7.4, ranking us 45th in the nation.

Columbus Dispatchby Mark Ferenchik A report by Ohio State University researchers suggests that efforts to boost housing in Columbus’ Hilltop neighborhood should focus not just on the poorest and most blighted areas, but also on those closer to the tipping point.

The Ann Arbor NewsBy Ryan Stanton Matt Martin, senior researcher at the Kirwan Institute for Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, talked about the Opportunity Index and how mapping the changing landscape of opportunity can contribute to equity and sustainability. He emphasized it’s more complex than just mapping poverty and income.

Columbus Dispatch by Joe Blundo I realize that Columbus likes to think of itself as an exception to the declining Rust Belt city trend. But let’s get real: Franklin County’s 2013 poverty rate of 18.1 percent was virtually identical to that of Cuyahoga (Cleveland) and Hamilton (Cincinnati), according to a study by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University.

Cleveland Plain Dealer Rachel Dissell, Brie Zeltner, The Plain Dealer In 2014, the city had contracted with a private inspector to assist with a backlog of cases. That brought the total number of qualified inspectors to two for an average of up to 500 cases per year, according to data analyzed for The Plain Dealer by The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University.

Alternet.orgBy Karen Dolan, Institute for Policy Studies

Cleveland Plain Dealer By Rachel Dissell, Brie Zeltner With the help of data experts at Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, we pinpointed nearly 70 census tracts in the county — almost all in Cleveland or East Cleveland — where as many as 1 in 3 children are likely poisoned.

Cleveland Plain DealerBy Rachel Dissell, Brie Zeltner Here in Cleveland, where a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded plan is under way to improve the failing public schools, no one seems to be paying much attention to the lead factor.