Research & Publications

In September of this year, I sat down with a friend of mine to discuss the collateral effects of mass incarceration, how he found himself caught in the cradle-to-prison pipeline, and how he now works to disrupt the pipeline for the youth in his community.

For 18 months, Wyandotte County community members and local organizations have called on Election Commissioner to make voting easier for voters who speak a primary language other than English. This week, Mayor Tyrone Garner and Unified Government Commissioner Melissa Bynum joined them, and we delivered a petition signed by over 1,000 people calling on Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Election Commissioner Michael Abbott to provide multilingual voting materials.

This past primary election, we had volunteers at 86 polling locations in the state. Here are the Reports From the Field:

Your ability to vote and make your voice heard can vary severely based on where you live. Many decisions affecting voter access are made at the county level, meaning two neighbors on opposite sides of a county line could have dramatically different options on how to vote. One example of this is Shawnee County.

By training citizens to serve as poll monitors, floating poll monitors, and county captains, we are establishing a robust network of election protection across the state. Together, we can uphold the integrity of our democratic process, ensuring that every vote counts and every voice is heard.

I’m a youth advocate for children in the welfare system and a mother of five, and I have also navigated the adult justice system. I know from personal experience how our current bail system in Kansas criminalizes poverty – I was given a one-million dollar bond for six months on a probation violation for misdemeanor theft.

Kansas imprisons fewer juveniles than ever before, but sharp racial disparities stubbornly persist.

Little did Tom know that he would take part in one of our nation’s most historic events, simply by visiting his local bar. For the next year or two, Tom visited Stonewall as a "young, gay man on the prowl," and reveled in the hedonistic aura of New York City in the late 1960's. On the anniversary of Stonewall, we sat down with this unique Kansan who was there.

My husband and I are the parents of a remarkable transgender woman. She is brilliant, beautiful, and funny. She’s a good friend and sister, and she cares deeply about her community. Transitioning hasn’t been easy, and she has worked hard to become the person she is today. Her journey would have been much harder, however, without the support of people who love her and the professionals who provide her health care.