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Dolph Briscoe, PhD, a history scholar and lecturer at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, discusses how the current protests and clashes between demonstrators and police compare with those of past decades. Briscoe, whose teaching and research interests include the civil rights movement and African-American studies, says the present unrest and demands for equality can be better...

For black Americans – particularly men – growing up in better neighborhoods doesn’t diminish the likelihood of going to prison nearly as much as it does for whites or Latinos, new Cornell research shows. “If you’re a black male in America, it doesn’t matter much if you come from a good neighborhood or a bad...

One-third of American families have lost income since the beginning of shutdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, with such losses striking families from all economic groups, according to a new nationally representative survey by the RAND Corporation. About 30 percent of households, representing all levels of income, are having trouble paying their bills. The problem...

High-profile police shootings and deaths of black men in custody – or even while out jogging – bring cries of racism across the country. The May 25 death of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis and the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020 by a white...

Despite longstanding popular belief, bicycle lanes can actually improve business. At worst, the negative impact on sales and employment is minimal, according to a new study from Portland State’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC). The report is part of a larger National Street Improvements Study, conducted by Portland State University, with support from consulting...

Nearly half of all respondents in some states report food insecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, according to new research from University of Arkansas sociologists. Results of an online survey of 10,368 adults taken the last week of March indicated that respondents from Southern and mid-Southern regions were more “food insecure” than the...

A Northwestern University evaluation of a procedural justice training program involving more than 8,000 Chicago Police Department (CPD) officers shows it reduced complaints filed against police by approximately 10%. It also reduced use of force by 6% in the two years following officers’ training. “The CPD is undergoing significant reform on multiple fronts, through a...

Experts have predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in the worst financial crisis in the United States since the Great Depression. While the full scope of the financial fallout remains to be seen, furloughs, job losses and pay cuts resulting from the outbreak have already hit many people hard, and such financial challenges can...

Food insecurity in Vermont has increased by one-third during the coronavirus pandemic, from 18.3% to 24.3%, according to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Vermont at the end of March. The increase in food insecurity was strongly correlated with employment status. Among survey respondents overall, 45% had lost their jobs, been furloughed or...