Cory Henry headlines 24th Annual Selby Avenue JazzFest
The historic Selby Avenue JazzFest, September 12-14, features nationally and locally known jazz artists, great food, a village market and a family fun zone, all along Selby Avenue.
The JazzFest performance lineup includes Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles, The Yuko Mabuchi Trio, HEYARLO, Brio Bass, Walker West Jazz Ensemble and Selby Avenue Brass Band, who all will perform on Sept. 13. Cory Henry is a Grammy-winning artist, composer, producer, and keyboardist known for his genre-bending sound across soul, jazz, gospel, R&B, and funk. A Brooklyn native and former child prodigy, he made his debut at the Apollo Theater at just six years old. Henry rose to prominence with the jazz-funk collective Snarky Puppy, earning three Grammy Awards during his time with the group. Since launching his solo career, he’s released critically acclaimed albums including Art of Love, Something to Say, Operation Funk, and Live at the Piano. His 2025 project Church won the Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album.
Yuko Mabuchi is a celebrated pianist known for blending jazz, classical, R&B, and blues into a vibrant, cross-cultural sound. Originally
from Fukui, Japan, she began classical training at age four and later moved to Los Angeles, where she quickly gained recognition in the jazz scene.
Yuko has performed at venues including Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, was a guest of the National Cherry Blossom Japanese Jazz series in DC, and major Jazz festivals including Richmond, San Jose, Atlanta and Monterey. Yuko has released six albums and her latest single, “ETHEREAL” is a favorite on SiriusXM. Her newest project, “QUANTUM” mixes Jazz, classical and Latin genres.
Known for performing in traditional kimonos, she honors her Japanese heritage while championing jazz as a universal language. Offstage, she supports young musicians through her work with the Watts-Willowbrook Youth Orchestra.
HEYARLO is a Minneapolis-based instrumental group known for lush, genre-blending soundscapes that fuse soul, funk, hip-hop, and jazz. Featuring DeCarlo Jackson (flugelhorn), Mickey Mahoney (bass), Evan Slack (guitar), Sam Rosenstone (keys), and Rick Haneman (drums), the band creates immersive, unpredictable music
that’s as smooth as it is intricate.
Each member is a standout in the Twin Cities music scene, with credits ranging from Hippo Campus to Sid Sriram. Together, they craft original compositions that invite audiences to vibe out, lean in, and experience something truly fresh.
The Jazz Festival is organized by Walker West Music Academy, which took over for founders and long-time organizers Mychael and Stephanie Wright, the former owners of Golden Thyme Coffee & Café.
The performances are free and open to the public at the intersection of Selby and Milton Avenues in the Summit-University neighborhood. There is free on-street parking throughout the neighborhood as well as at the JJ Hill Montessori Magnet School lot at Selby and Oxford. There are also a number of handicap parking spots east of Chatsworth near the back of the stage and there is a handicap drop-off and pick-up area at Milton and Hague.
Food trucks will be available at the Festival. And local artists will participate in a village market. Children can play games at a family fun zone.
Most of the per-
formances will take place on Saturday, Sept. 13. Complete schedule: https://selbyavejazzfest.com/schedule/ On Friday, Sept. 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. a special Masterclass “Jazz,Tech & The Future—Shaping the Sound of Now” will be held at Walker West, featuring Kris Johnson, Q Million Riddim and Room3Jazz. Another Masterclass will be held from Sunday Sept. 14, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Walker West featuring Cory Henry, a Grammy winning keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist. Both events are free but require registration because of limited seating. https://selbyavejazzfest.com/masterclass/ The JazzFest began in 2002 as the United States was still recovering from the terror attack on September 11, 2001.
“You could just tell that people were feeling pretty somber,” Mychal Wright explained. “I then thought to myself, ‘I’m tired of feeling this way. We need to celebrate the good things that are going on in this world…especially here on Selby.’ Nothing gets people together like a good old-fashioned block party, so we took it from there.”
The first JazzFest took place on Milton Avenue
between Dayton and Selby Aves. Some 600 people attended. The day started rainy and cold but at midday the sun came out.
“It turned out to be a perfect fall day which was great because I think most folks were tired of feeling down about the events of the past year,” Wright recalled.
More than 20 years later, the JazzFest draws 12,000 people and has become a signature event in St. Paul.
Last year, Wright and his wife Stephanie stepped back from JazzFest duties and asked Braxton Haulcy, Executive Director of Walker West, if the school would be interested in supporting the Fest.
“Taking JazzFest aligned with our strategic plan,” Haulcy said. “We want to be out there performing. We’re sending our kids and our teachers out through the community to perform on behalf of Walker West. There are two ways that people heal and benefit from music. It’s from learning it and listening to it. Those two things, those two anchors, are what’s going to be driving Walker West going forward. We’re going to put as much investment in performing as we do in education.”
More about the JazzFest: https://selb-
Heartbreak at Annunciation: Minneapolis confronts trauma, gun violence, and healing
80s and 15 schoolchildren. The tragedy has left a community in mourning and searching for answers.
A dark cloud loomed over South Minneapolis last week as news broke of a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, a Pre-K through 8th grade institution rooted in the community’s heart. On the morning of August 27, 2025, during what should have been a joyful backto-school mass, a lone gunman opened fire through a church window, killing two children, aged 8 and 10, and injuring 18 others. Among the injured were elderly parishioners in their
“This is unspeakable evil,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in a press briefing. “These kids were literally praying. They should have been learning, laughing, playing on the playground, not dying.” Frey urged the public not to weaponize the shooter’s identity, stating, “Those using this tragedy to villainize our trans community, or any community, have lost sight of our shared humanity.”
The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin West-
man, was an alumnus of the school. Authorities confirmed Westman was armed with multiple firearms including a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. They also confirmed that Westman and took his own life following the attack. His mother, Mary Grace Westman, had worked at the school until her retirement in 2021.
Broadcasting from the KFAI 90.3FM program The Conversation with Al McFarlane, host Al McFarlane and Dr. Oliver Williams, a nationally respected expert in family violence and cultural competence, joined the conversation as a specialist in trauma, mental health, and community healing within African American contexts. Dr. Williams unpacked the layers of grief and systemic failure surrounding this tragedy during the weekly Healing Circle segment.
“We’ve got to find ways to reach people before it happens,” said Dr. Williams, a renowned voice in violence prevention and community mental wellness. “So many perpetrators of violence share something in common, a profound sense of disconnection, isolation, and emotional discomfort.”
According to Williams, these underlying struggles often go unnoticed or unsupported. “They don’t know where to go, or they’re sur-
rounded by people and places that don’t encourage seeking help,” he explained. “When someone lacks a sense of belonging or control, violence can become their language of expression.”
McFarlane echoed the urgency, tying the Annunciation shooting to a string of recent violent events across Minneapolis, including a separate shooting near Cristo Rey Jesuit High School that left one dead and seven injured. “Our city is experiencing public trauma,” he said. “And every parent dropping their child at school is now asking: ‘Will my baby be safe?’”
Williams emphasized that the community must go beyond mourning and prayer. “We need common-sense solutions,” he urged. “Other countries limit access to firearms. Why can’t we? We can’t keep saying this is about the Second Amendment while children die in churches and classrooms.”
He pointed to the broader social implications, citing his brother Dr. William Oliver’s research: “Mass shooters often operate in extreme social isolation. Unlike other forms of violence, mass shootings have no normative support. Nobody
The ‘roots’ of slavery and its lasting effects
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
In 2021, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) launched a global news feature series on the history, contemporary realities, and implications of the transatlantic slave trade. Today, leadership in America is trying to erase this history. This is Part 6 in the series.
Kunta Kinte: What’s snow, Fiddler?
Fiddler: Never you mind, boy, never you mind. Let’s get on back to home. I got enough trouble teaching you the difference between manure and massa. ‘Course there ain’t all that much difference when you gets right down to it.
“The first time he had taken the massa to one of these ‘high-falutin’ to-dos,” as Bell called them, Kunta had been all but overwhelmed by conflict-
ing emotions: awe, indignation, envy, contempt, fascination, revulsion—but most of all a deep loneliness and melancholy from which it took him almost a week to recover. He couldn’t believe that such incredible wealth actually existed, that people really lived that way. It took him a long time, and a great many more parties, to realize that they didn’t live that way, that it was all strangely unreal, a kind of beautiful dream the white folks were having, a lie they were telling themselves: that goodness can come from badness, that it’s possible to be civilized with one another without treating as human beings those whose blood, sweat, and mother’s milk made possible the life of privilege they led.”
―Alex Haley, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.”
“I still have a dream.
It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation
will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
The year was 1976, and America was still feeling the aftershocks of the Civil Rights Movement, the murder, some eight years earlier, of Martin Luther King Jr., and the end of the Vietnam War. King’s death, along with the murders of President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Sen. Robert
Gov. Tim Walz to call special session on gun laws after Minneapolis school shooting
restore a 67-67 tie in the House under a Republican speaker, and Senate Democrats have just a one-vote majority.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz plans to call a special legislative session to consider tougher gun laws following a shooting last week at a Catholic school in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 21 people injured.
The Democrat told reporters Tuesday, after welcoming children back to a public school in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan, that he’ll be making calls to lawmakers and working on a plan over the next couple of days. Walz said he intends to propose a “very comprehensive” package that could include an assault-weapons ban.
But it’s not clear if new restrictions on guns could pass the closely divided Minnesota Legislature. A special election this month is expected to
“To be very candid, just in a very evenly divided (Legislature), I’m going to need some Republicans to break with the orthodoxy and say that we need to do something on guns,” Walz said.
GOP legislative leaders, whose support would be critical to any changes, complained after the governor floated the idea of a special session Friday that he had failed to consult them.
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, said she had a “long overdue” conversation with Walz later Tuesday.
“If he decides to call a special session, anything that we do needs to have biparti-
Democrats demand answers on Epstein files while D.C.’s Mayor Bowser issues update on the federal surge
By April Ryan Black Press USA Washington, DC Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent
“We want answers,” and “don’t care whose names are in the files, ” said Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), a member of the House Oversight Committee. Her comments came after a meeting with Jeffrey Epstein survivors and House Oversight and Reform Committee members Tuesday on the Hill.
In recent months, there has been strong bipartisan concern over President Trump’s affiliation with Epstein, including Trump loyalist Marjorie Tayler Greene (R-GA), who has led a loud outcry for answers.
Democrats led the push for this meeting in the House Oversight Committee, which has also released 32,000 Epstein files.
Epstein, the multi-millionaire and former close friend of Trump, was accused of pedophilia and sexually abusing and trafficking women. He was found dead in his prison cell in 2019. Meanwhile, on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue in the Oval Office, President Trump discussed his health concerns with the press during a Q&A session. The president had not been seen publicly for three days.
Concerns arose after the president’s recent disclosure of venous insufficiency.
In typical fashion, Trump downplayed the seriousness of his condition and his absence last week from public view.
The issue of violence in the nation’s cities was also a topic, particularly in Chicago and Baltimore, two cities that Trump has called “hell holes,” adding with intention, “We are going to Chicago!” There have been nine people killed in Chicago since Friday. However, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he will not contact or work with the president on this issue and is refusing any National Guard presence.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a Mayor’s Order on Tuesday managing the District’s response to the Safe and Beautiful Task Force, established by the President, as well as the Presidential declaration of emergency. According to a statement released by the Mayor’s Office, “During and after the Presidential emergency, the Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center (SBEOC) will manage the District’s response, coordinate centralized communications, and ensure coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.” Importantly, the Order requests that “federal partners adhere to established policing practices that maintain community confidence in
By Pulane Choane Contributing Writer
By Steve Karnowski Associated Press
Credit: Joe Nelson (Bring Me The News)
Community members gather outside Annunciation Catholic Church in South Minneapolis, surrounding a growing memorial with flowers, stuffed animals, and signs bearing messages of love and remembrance following the devastating school shooting that claimed two young lives and injured 18 others
Credit: AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks outside the Annunciation Catholic School following a shooting Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Minneapolis.
Credit: Joe Nelson (Bring Me The News) Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey addressed the media outside the scene of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, calling it an “unspeakable evil” and urging the community to reject fear and hatred.
The future is in the bubble you’re not listening to
By Haley Taylor Schlitz, Esq.
There are moments when you can feel history pressing against the present, when the air is thick with everything unsaid. Sitting in the Democratic National Committee meeting last week in Minneapolis, I felt it. Not because of what was wrong in the room, but because of what the room revealed about the country we are trying to hold together.
We are living in a political era defined by complexity. Ideology still matters, but so do identity, technology, and the ways each generation speaks about power. The same fight for
the future is happening in three different bubbles that rarely touch each other, each using its own language, each convinced it holds the center of gravity.
One bubble is the one I sat in last week. It is the world of traditional politics, a space where institutions still carry weight and process defines the pace. Speeches are carefully shaped, applause lines are crafted, and the seriousness of the stakes is acknowledged. That world matters. It is rooted in history and responsibility. But for my generation, the language of procedure can feel distant from the urgency we live with every day. We have come of age in a world shaped by school lockdown drills, climate anxiety, racial injustice, and the slow unraveling of democratic norms. Our sense of danger is different, our timeline shorter, and sometimes what we need
to hear cannot fit inside careful sentences. There is another bubble entirely, where politics sounds and feels completely different. Governor Gavin Newsom has decided to meet Donald Trump on his own turf and in his own style. He has filled his social media with memes, parody, and all-caps declarations designed to grab attention and hold it. What makes his approach stand out is that it is not just style. When Republicans pushed mid-decade redistricting in Texas to secure more congressional seats, Newsom countered with a plan to put California’s own maps on the ballot. It is bold, sometimes messy, but impossible to ignore. It proves that a new kind of political language is being written in real time.
And then there is the third bubble, the one where so
many of my peers live. It exists in our group chats, on TikTok, and across the platforms where culture and politics are inseparable. Creators like Lynae Vanee speak to us in ways that feel alive and whole. Her July Love Island video was not just about a reality show. It was a reflection on voter suppression, racial bias, misogyny, and democracy itself, stitched together with humor, frustration, and sharp clarity. It is why her work moves through our conversations. For my generation, the group chat is the focus group. This is where ideas are tested, where narratives are challenged, and where meaning is made.
What struck me last week was not disappointment. It was dissonance. These bubbles rarely meet. Traditional politics, combative messaging, and cultural storytelling exist on parallel tracks, shaping different nar-
ratives and reaching different audiences, yet we are all bound by the same urgent stakes. That gap between them is both the problem and the opportunity.
Any politician, campaign, company, or movement that figures out how to cross these spaces will not just win attention. They will shape power. That requires holding history and innovation in the same hand. It means respecting institutions while also disrupting the stories that no longer work.
It means speaking in a language that resonates with each audience without losing sight of where we need to go.
For Gen Z, this is the world we are inheriting. We move between these bubbles constantly, navigating a political landscape where TikTok videos set the tone of cultural debates before cable news catches up, where memes carry as much weight
as press conferences, and where our group chats unpack policies before headlines even land. We live inside a collision of old frameworks and new tools, and we have to learn to translate between them if we want to be heard.
The DNC meeting last week was not the whole story. It was one thread in a much larger, tangled conversation about power, belonging, and the future. If Democrats, and anyone seeking to lead, cannot bring these worlds together, we risk talking past the very people we most need to reach. We risk missing the urgency of this moment entirely.
Bridging these bubbles will not be easy. But the future will belong to those willing to try, to act boldly, and to listen as fiercely as they fight.
By Paul M. Collins Jr.
with supporting the former New York City real estate mogul.
During the 2016 presidential election campaign, candidate Donald Trump took the unprecedented move of releasing a list of his potential Supreme Court nominees.
But Trump didn’t assemble this list himself. Instead, he outsourced the selection of his judicial appointments to leaders of the Federalist Society, an organization in the conservative legal movement.
As Trump explained in a 2016 interview, “We’re going to have great judges, conservative, all picked by the Federalist Society.”
This was a strategic decision by Trump. By turning to the Federalist Society, he was able to court conservative and evangelical voters who may have been otherwise uneasy
In his first presidential term, Trump appointed three justices affiliated with the Federalist Society – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett – in addition to hundreds of lower federal court judges. Federalist Society affiliates are current or former members of the organization, as well as individuals who interact with the group, such as by attending Federalist Society events, but who may not claim membership.
We are political science scholars who recently published research in a peer-reviewed journal showing that Supreme Court justices affiliated with the Federalist Society are more conservative and more consistently conservative than other justices, meaning they seldom deviate from their conservative voting behavior.
Our research suggests that, despite Trump’s recent criticism of the organization and its leadership, justices affiliated with the Federalist Society will advance the conservative legal agenda decades into the future.
But this won’t always involve supporting Trump’s agenda. Here’s what you should know, and why it matters.
The Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies was founded in 1982 with the goal of providing intellectual spaces for conservative law students who felt their views were dismissed by the legal field. It has grown tremendously over the past 40 years. Today, it boasts more than 200 chapters and over 70,000 members.
Unlike other conservative public interest groups, it does not advocate for specific issue positions. Instead, it promotes its goals primarily through education and networking.
The Federalist Society’s educational mission is pursued chiefly in law schools. That’s where it trains the next generation of lawyers in the approaches and goals of the conservative legal movement. This includes promoting the judicial philosophy of originalism – the idea that the best way to interpret the U.S. Constitution is according to how it was understood at the time of its adoption.
Originalism is often used to justify conservative outcomes.
For example, Justice Clarence Thomas, a prominent member of the Federalist Society, has called for using originalism to reconsider Supreme Court precedents involving the right to contraception, same-sex marriage and same-sex consensual relations.
The Federalist Society network also connects junior members with more senior members, helping young lawyers obtain prestigious clerkships and positions in government and the legal profession. These lawyers tend to associate with the Federalist Society throughout their careers.
Federalist Society affiliates learn that promoting the group’s interest is also a way of
promoting their self-interests as they move up in the legal world.
For Supreme Court justices, this networking has tangible benefits. For instance, Justice Samuel Alito accepted a luxury fishing vacation in 2008 organized by Leonard Leo, the former executive vice president and current co-chair of the Federalist Society. The estimated cost of the fishing trip was more than $100,000.
And Thomas was treated to decades of high-end vacations and private school tuition for his grandnephew –whom he raised as a son – by billionaire businessman Harlan Crow, a Federalist Society donor.
In short, the Federalist Society is a network of lawyers and judges who share a conservative outlook on the world and aspire to etch the conservative agenda into law through judicial decisions.
Our research
Our research sought to answer two interrelated questions. Are justices affiliated with the Federalist Society more conservative than nonaffiliated justices, and are they more consistently conservative?
To illustrate this, consider former Justice David Souter, whom President George H.W. Bush appointed in 1990 and who had no connections to the Federalist Society. Despite
being a Republican appointee, Souter often voted with the court’s liberal members, such as upholding abortion rights in 1992. In 2005, he wrote the majority opinion in a ruling that prevented the Ten Commandments from being displayed in courthouses and public schools.
To determine whether justices affiliated with the Federalist Society are different from even other judges appointed by Republican presidents, we examined almost 25,000 votes cast by Supreme Court justices between 1986 and 2023. We started with 1986 because that’s when the first justice affiliated with the Federalist Society –Antonin Scalia – joined the high court.
We classified votes as conservative or liberal according to a well-established methodology. For example, conservative votes support the restriction of reproductive freedom, are anti-business regulation and generally disfavor policies that promote the rights of vulnerable populations, such as the LGBTQ+ community. Liberal votes do the opposite.
We found that justices connected to the Federalist Society are about 10 percentage points more likely to cast a conservative vote than other justices, even other justices appointed by Republican presidents. And they are more con-
sistent in their voting behavior, seldom casting votes that go against their conservative values.
The Federalist Society’s lasting impact
These findings have important implications. Justices on the modern Supreme Court serve for about a quarter century on average. And every current Republican-appointed member of the court is affiliated with the Federalist Society.
This means that Americans are likely to see justices affiliated with the Federalist Society advance the agenda of the conservative legal movement for decades to come. This has already happened in recent decisions that curtailed reproductive freedom, eliminated affirmative action in college admissions and expanded the powers of the president, including immunizing the president from criminal prosecution.
President Trump has recently had a high-profile breakup with the Federalist Society, calling Leo a “sleazebag” and expressing his disappointment with the organization.
Trump’s outburst followed a ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade that blocked his sweeping tariff program against China and other nations. This happened despite one of Trump’s first-term judicial appointees sitting on the panel. Notwithstanding this acrimony, this term will give justices affiliated with the Federalist Society the opportunity to further solidify the conservative agenda. Cases involving LGBTQ+ rights and federal elections are on the docket. And the court will be adding other important issue areas as it fills out its caseload for the 2025-26 term, which starts on the first Monday in October. Disclosure statement The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article,
Supporting religious diversity on campus is a surprising consensus among faculty across the red-blue divide
By Matthew J. Mayhew Professor of Higher Education, The Ohio State University
Universities, often perceived as bastions of progressive thought, are increasingly reflecting the broader political polarization gripping the nation.
Faculty members represent a university’s core identity and mission. They express the values of the institution in numerous ways, including teaching, mentoring, advising and researching.
In my research into the impact of college on student development and learning, I – and others – have found that faculty are the most important people influencing student learning, development, persistence and degree attainment.
However, no systematic efforts have ever been undertaken to find out how faculty’s work is influenced by their understanding of university life and religion – until now.
The Templeton Religion Trust, a charity focused on improving societal well-being
through understanding individual well-being, funded a recent national survey my team and I administered to 1,000 faculty members. The survey asked faculty about their perceptions of university life, including free speech and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, often shortened to simply DEI.
The survey results reveal a striking divergence in perspectives on the often divisive issues of free speech and DEI among faculty. Those differences showed up particularly along the red state and blue state divide.
Yet, amid these deep disagreements, a surprising point of bipartisan consensus emerges: faculty members’ belief in the importance of religious, spiritual and secular inclusion in diversity efforts.
State political leaning is key
Survey responses represented national trends across various factors, including region, institutional control, institutional type and academic discipline.
In part of the analysis, we uncovered that the political leanings of a state – how a state
voted in the presidential election of 2024 – play a significant role in what faculty perceive about free speech and DEI programming.
Even more compelling, significant differences reported by faculty from red versus blue states showed up consistently across gender, race, religion, academic discipline, faculty rank and whether the faculty member was employed at a private or public institution.
In other words, political leanings of a state were strongly associated with faculty perceptions regardless of these other factors.
Measuring the right to free speech
We asked faculty four questions related to their First Amendment rights, which we presented as: “The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition.”
Working closely with experts in legal epidemiology, we asked faculty the extent to which they agreed with the following statements: a) the First Amendment is relevant to my job as a faculty member; b) the First Amendment is relevant to my research engagement; c)
my institution provides me with my constitutionally mandated First Amendment rights; and d) I am aware of my rights and responsibilities as they relate to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
While awareness of First Amendment rights appears consistent across the board, a notable difference arises in faculty members’ perception of institutional protection of those rights.
Faculty in blue states are significantly more likely than those in red states to report that their institutions uphold their constitutionally mandated First Amendment rights. This implies a potential disconnect in how freedoms are experienced and protected, depending on the political leanings of the state where an institution is located.
Measuring attitudes about DEI
The divide deepens when it comes to DEI, defined in the survey as “campus diversity programs” in some instances and “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in others.
When compared with faculty in blue states, those in red states are far more inclined to view DEI efforts as “overreach,” agreeing with the statements that “diversity programs
generally do more harm than good on college and university campuses” and “the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion on college and university campuses has gone too far.”
Conversely, blue state faculty largely disagree with these assertions. When compared with faculty in red states, those in blue states were more likely to agree that “campus diversity programs support student success,” demonstrating a stark ideological chasm on the value and impact of DEI.
This partisan disagreement extends to the very concept of banning DEI programs.
Red state faculty show moderate support for banning DEI, suggesting a belief that current efforts to curtail campus diversity initiatives are, according to survey response options, “well justified.”
Blue state faculty overwhelmingly support the continuation of these programs. They gave strong endorsement to the idea that “colleges and universities should continue to offer identity-specific organizations and programming.”
This schism reflects the ongoing national debate about the role and scope of DEI in higher education. Faculty perspectives mirror the political sentiments of their respective regions.
Amid this significant polarization, a crucial area of common ground emerges: what we call religious, spiritual and secular inclusion.
That’s the idea that DEI efforts should include programming and activities designed to help students from all religious, spiritual and secular backgrounds belong and succeed.
Religious, secular and spiritual diversity
Despite their sharp
disagreements on other aspects of DEI, both red state and blue state faculty overwhelmingly agree that “colleges and universities should provide support for students of all religious, secular, and spiritual identities and backgrounds.”
And both groups similarly reject the notion that “campuses should not concern themselves with religious, secular and spiritual diversity.”
The findings from this survey highlight the complex landscape of faculty opinion in higher education. While significant difficulties remain in reconciling differing views on free speech and DEI, the shared commitment to religious, spiritual and secular inclusion offers a potential path to agreement.
By focusing on areas of consensus, institutions can begin to foster more inclusive environments to serve the needs of all students, regardless of their background or beliefs. Understanding these nuanced perspectives is the first step toward building more cohesive, pluralistic and intellectually vibrant academic communities across the nation’s varied political terrain.
Disclosure statement
Matthew J. Mayhew receives funding from the Templeton Religions Trust, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Merrifield Family Trust, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Merrifield Family Trust, and the United States Department of Education.
2025 college guide
The only ranking that tells you both is the Washington Monthly’s revised and expanded 2025 College Guide The Washington Monthly magazine released its 2025 college rankings, which upend everything you thought you knew about which colleges are the best.
Other college rankings, like those by U.S. News, reward universities for their wealth, prestige, and exclusivity—ensuring that the top ranks are always dominated by the same 10 or 20 elite schools, which few students can get into, much less afford. By contrast, the Washington Monthly measures colleges and universities by how much they help ordinary middle- and working-class students get ahead economically and become good citizens. Those are the outcomes most Americans—students and taxpayers—want from their investments in the higher ed system. As a result, half of the top-scoring institutions on the Washington Monthly’s Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars list are hidden gems that most students don’t know about—and that in many cases outperform elite universities.
The University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley ranks 21 slots above Harvard University.
Florida International University places eight positions above Duke University. The highest-ranking elite school, Princeton University, comes in at number five,
immediately below three campuses in the California State University system, including second-place Fresno State. The number one college in America, according to the Washington Monthly, is Berea College, a liberal arts school in rural Kentucky. Berea offers a high-quality education for close to zero tuition, thanks to a work-study program that reduces costs and gives students valuable job skills.
To help students in their college search, the magazine offers short profiles of 25 of these high-performing schools—ranging from world-renowned Johns Hopkins University to unsung regional public universities like Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and the University of Central Florida. With growing federal attacks on higher education and public concerns about its value, the Washington Monthly in 2025 has revised its rankings—first published in 2005—to provide an even clearer picture of how individual colleges are performing. Its Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars ranking combines all four-year colleges and universities into a single master list that allows readers to see how any college or university— public or private, big or small— stacks up against all the others.
The magazine has also created two new companion rankings: America’s Best Colleges for Research, which shows that the universities driving innovation aren’t just in blue states—and neither is the damage from the Trump administration’s research cuts.
America’s Best Hispanic-Serving Colleges was created in collaboration with the
nonprofit Excelencia in Education.
The 20th anniversary issue of the annual Washington Monthly College Guide and Ranking also includes “best bang for the buck” listings by region and rankings of liberal arts, bachelor’s, and master’s institutions. All are available at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/2025-college-guide. Washington Monthly editor-in-chief Paul Glastris says, “Our changes take account of new realities facing higher education. We’ve revamped our methodology to focus even more squarely on what we think Americans most want from our colleges and universities: that they help students of modest means earn degrees that pay off in the marketplace, don’t saddle them with heavy debt, and prepare—indeed, encourage— them to become active members of our democracy.” Praise for Washington Monthly’s Approach At a time when consensus is lacking on most matters, the Washington Monthly college rankings receive positive reviews from top education leaders. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona says, “Rankings should not reward colleges for the students they keep out, but those they admit and support through graduation. By doing just that, Washington Monthly’s rankings are a vital resource for students, parents, and taxpayers alike.”
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says, “If you want to know what really counts in higher education, look at the Monthly‘s rankings—you’ll find some welcome surprises.” Mark Schneider, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former director of the National Center for Education Statistics, says, “I appreciate the Washington Monthly’s focus on active citizenship, economic mobility, and the attention it gives to regional ‘comprehensive’ universities — the ‘workhorses’ of America’s higher education that seldom get the recognition they deserve.”
By BlackPress of America
Jeenah Moon/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The Washington Monthly magazine released its 2025 college rankings
Annunciation
From 3
justifies them. But still, they keep happening.”
The healing process must start with dialogue and community-based prevention as McFarlane and Williams agreed.
“We’ve got to create spaces where people can talk about their pain before they act it out,” Williams said. “Not everyone learns healthy ways to manage their anger or hurt. But we can teach that.”
The two community leaders spoke of displacement, how unresolved trauma in one
Slavery
From 3
Kennedy – both of whom were proponents of civil rights and equal opportunity for African Americans and other minorities – were reminders to many that America still had not come close to achieving the slain leader’s “Dream.”
What’s more, in 1976, author Alex Haley released his family’s autobiography, “Roots.”
It would not only go on to become a best-selling book, but a much-watched and talked about ABC Television mini-series that re-awakened everyone to the darkness, horrors, and inhumanity of the transatlantic slave trade. “Alex Haley tapped into something very special, the idea that black Americans have been, are, and will always be compelled to understand their history,” said Dr. Kellie Jackson, an assistant professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley University.
Jackson’s research focuses on slavery, abolitionists, violence as a political discourse, historical film, and black women’s history. That “Roots” spawned an era where African Americans would give their newborn children African-themed names was no surprise and counts as an important moment in self-recognition, said Jackson, whose new book, “Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence,” examines the conditions that led some black abolitionists to believe slavery might only be abolished by violent force. “For many African Americans, giving their children names with meaning is incredibly
Democrats
From 3
law enforcement officers, such as not wearing masks, clearly identifying their agency, and providing identification during arrests and encounters with the public.
area of life gets projected onto unrelated people or places.
“This young man returned to a school he once belonged to, but instead of love, he brought violence,” Williams said. “That’s displacement. And it’s devastating.”
Williams also urged communities not to generalize the shooter’s gender identity. “I can’t judge an entire group based on one person’s actions,” he said. “Some of my dearest friends are gay, lesbian, or transgender. What matters is the content of their character.”
The conversation also turned inward. Both McFarlane and Williams reflected on past parenting practices, specifically,
important. What’s remarkable about ‘Roots’ is that despite the master’s attempts to rename Kunta Kinte, ‘Toby,’ the name in popular culture and memory never stuck,” Jackson said. “Kunta Kinte is only referred to by his African name. I think this is a signal of the value African Americans place on names. In the 1970s and beyond, giving black children Afrocentric names provided not only a feeling of pride, but a sense of heritage in history.”
Jackson continued:
“Naming children after great rulers such as Nzinga, Kenyatta, or Chaka still resonates with many black parents today. I know parents who have given their children the name Obama. Names that are also signposts to historical moments. What’s more powerful than your name?” Still, those names come with a price because many agree that hate is as American as Apple Pie and baseball. And, victims of such hate not only include the once enslaved African American, but America is a country where it was once illegal for all women to vote.
It’s also a country that not only devastated Native Americans, but today still prevents those living on reservations from casting a ballot despite the historic amount of bloodshed and despair brought upon that group.
“I believe America does owe Native Americans the chance to cast a ballot,” said Shawn Halifax, a cultural history interpretation coordinator at the MacLeod Plantation Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. “I understand that what the law is and what people who are attempting to exercise their rights are told the law is, can be two different things,” Halifax said.
America has always
Credit: The Conversation with Al McFarlane / YouTube Screenshot
Al McFarlane, host of The Conversation with Al McFarlane on KFAI 90.3FM, speaks with Dr. Oliver Williams during the Healing Circle segment. Dr. Williams is a retired professor of CommunityBased Participatory Research (CBPR), Cultural Competence, Family Violence, Social Services, and Specific Cultures (African American) at the University of Minnesota.
the normalization of corporal punishment in Black households. “I stopped spanking my
had a system of discrimination and prejudice against all groups who were not identified as “White Anglo-Saxon” native, said Walter Palmer, the founder of the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School in Philadelphia and current faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches urban studies, social policy, and practice. “Because historically American indigenous native’s language, culture, history, customs, and way of life has been wiped out and they have been a ward of the government, they lost their personhood,” Palmer said of Native Americans. “As American citizens, native indigenous people should be entitled to all the same privileges, rights, and entitlements as all other American citizens,” he said.
Palmer said America has continued to try to hold onto slavery, but in more legal forms like hate groups and prisons. “After the abolishment of slavery and the end of the Reconstruction period, there was the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, which was a replacement of the slave patrols after this period,” Palmer said. “America always used the prison system as a means of threat, intimidation, and social control, and this was later enlarged to use Chain Gangs and Jim Crow laws to further control the African Americans,” he said.
Palmer said “Roots” was built on the legacy of prior black historians over the past two hundred years, like Fredrick Douglass, William B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, G. Carter Woodson, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. “The connection that African Americans have had to the African Diaspora goes back
While the Mayor’s Order does not establish an end date and includes the language “on a continuing basis,” the President’s Order establishing a crime emergency in the District of Columbia is set to expire on September 10. Bowser’s order authorizes continued collaboration beyond the deadline but is not universally endorsed by local elected officials.
Washington, D.C., Councilmember Zachary Parker posted to X: “This moment shows the limits of individual leadership and the strength of collective power. The truth remains: most Washingtonians want decisions guided by our community values, not federal overreach. We keep us safe.”
daughter when I realized I was passing down violence, not discipline,” McFarlane shared. “I
to the ‘Back to Africa’ movement of the early 19th century, like the American Colonization Society, that was created in 1821,” Palmer said. For the 20th Century, “Roots” proved a watershed moment, Halifax said. “I imagine it inspired an incredible number of people to seek to learn more about their family’s past, because they knew little about it or had not been listening carefully to the stories of their elders,” Halifax said. “I think ‘Roots’ influenced some white Americans. I think the movie helped place the notion in the minds of many whites that enslaved populations were families and communities that experienced pain and suffering, that experienced joy and wonder, that were founders and builders of this country. That they were more than property,” he said.
Halifax continued:
“I think ‘Roots’ helped usher changes regarding the placement of African Americans within the context of our national history. Of course, this did not happen just because of ‘Roots.’ “In fact, I think ‘Roots’ was a crashing wave into America’s consciousness that had been pushed by a
apologized to her, and I apologized to myself.” Williams agreed: “Our ancestors may
swell generated during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements that preceded it. Stories from America’s history were to be highlighted as “American History” and were decided by white male academics. “I think ‘Roots’ helped send a message. Historians needed to be more inclusive in their storytelling. It was during the 70s and 80s that more inclusive social histories were being researched and pursued in academia, and academia began to become more diversified. “By the 90s, museums and historic sites began recognizing that there is more to America’s story than just rich white guys, their families, and the wars they waged. And equally important, it was by then that people began demanding more of these stories. Unfortunately, following the crashing wave of Roots, there has been a very slow seep into the American conscious as a whole.”
“I think evidence of its importance is in the fact that its remake was released the same year as the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” Halifax said. “I suspect that was not an accident. We have a long way still to go. The study by
have spanked to protect us from racist violence. But that doesn’t mean we have to carry that forward. We have other tools now.”
As the Healing Circle drew to a close, Dr. Williams offered a sobering reminder. “There’s situational PTSD in communities after events like this. If we don’t address it, it festers. It replicates. Healing must be deliberate.” McFarlane concluded with a call to action: “We have to build communities that are emotionally intact, resilient, and loving. It’s not enough to survive. We have to thrive, and that begins by refusing to turn away.”
the Southern Poverty Law Center on how Slavery is taught in American schools is damning.” Halifax pointed out that it took 100 years for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to open. To lesser fanfare and just before the opening of that museum on the National Mall, two other smaller museums opened within a few months of each other. Both state that their purpose is to share the history of enslaved people and their descendants. Both are former slave labor camps, known euphemistically as plantations – the Whitney Plantation in Edgard, Louisiana, and McLeod Plantation Historic Site in Charleston, South Carolina. “As far as I know, they are the only two former plantation sites who have rejected the white dominated narrative, to look at these sites as places of memory for those held captive and enslaved and for those whose families survived,” Halifax said. “These two sites hold promise as places of healing where slavery, its legacy, and American racism can be examined. In the end, I think Roots has had an important and lasting impact.
san support,” Demuth said in a statement, noting that both parties showed they could work together in this year’s regular session. “If Governor Walz and Democrats are focused on partisan accusations and demands, this special session will not be productive for the people of Minnesota.” Demuth indicated in an earlier statement that Republicans might be open to expanding school security funding to include private schools, and providing more money for mental health resources.
While the governor didn’t give many details of his proposals, he said they won’t infringe on Second Amendment rights, but will protect students. He indicated his plan could include safe storage and liability insurance requirements, improvements to the state’s 2023 “red flag” law, and more funding for mental health. He also said he’s open to GOP ideas.
“If Minnesota lets this moment slide, and we determine that it’s OK for little ones to not be safe in a school environment or a church environment, then shame on us,” Walz said.
Separately, Vice President JD Vance will head to Minneapolis on Wednesday to pay his respects to shooting victims. His wife, second lady Usha Vance, is also going, and the pair plan to hold a series of private meetings “to convey condolences to the families of those affected by the tragedy,” the vice president’s office said in a statement.
The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, joined by several suburban mayors, held a Capitol news conference Tuesday to call on the Legislature to change a 1985 state law that prevents cities from enacting their own gun restrictions.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said they would strongly prefer for Congress and the Legislature to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines at the national and state levels.
“If you’re not able to do it, or willing to do it there, give us the ability to keep our constituents safe,” Frey said. “That is our call. That is our ask.”
Police over the weekend raised the number of injured to 21 — 18 children ages 6 to 15 and three adults — from Wednesday’s attack at the Church of Annunciation.
The shooter, 23-yearold Robin Westman, died by suicide after firing 116 rifle
rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows as hundreds of students from the nearby Annunciation Catholic School and others gathered for Mass on Wednesday.
While investigators last week said they had not found a clear motive for the attack, the shooter had connections to the school. Westman’s mother worked for the parish before retiring in 2021, and Westman once attended the school. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said last week that the shooter left behind videos and writings that “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable” but admiration for mass killers.
Tuesday was the first day back to class for most Minnesota public schools, but Annunciation students went back to school last Monday. No students have returned since the shooting and officials at the Catholic school have not yet said when their classes will resume.
Hennepin Healthcare said it was still caring for three patients as of Monday, and that it would not provide further updates. They included one child in critical condition and a child and an adult in satisfactory condition. Children’s Hospital of Minneapolis said one child remained there Tuesday but did not specify a condition.
Community
Family Nature Club
Practice observation and inquisitiveness and become familiar with what’s happening with the nature in our park spaces
Tuesdays 4:305:30PM at Powderhorn Park
Thursdays 5:006:00PM at Lynnhurst Park
Groups
Fall Nature Play
Learn and grow together with your little one while exploring and having fun outside with other children and their grownups. Ages 1.5 - 5 years with an adult.
Tuesdays 9:3010:30AM at Minnehaha Longfellow Gardens
Tuesdays 11:00amNOON at Minnehaha Longfellow Gardens
Tuesdays 10:0011:00AM at Deming Heights Park
Wednesdays 10:0011:00AM at Theodore Wirth Park
Wednesdays 10:0011:00AM at Lyndale Park Gardens
Thursdays 11:00AMNOON at Powderhorn Park
Fridays 10:0011:00AM at Lyndale Park Gardens
Fridays 10:3011:30AM at Brackett Park
Fun for All
Black to Nature: How Do You Like Them Apples
Saturday September 20 from 12:00pm-2:00PM at JD Rivers Garden for storytelling, arts and crafts, apple pressing and cider-making. Garden tours led by MPRB naturalists. Local artists will share stories and art making activities as part of the Black to Nature program series.
Outdoor Explore with a Naturalist at Deming Heights Park Saturday October 11 from 10:00am-11:30am to search for
signs of animal activity, observe plant life, and notice nature in the park during the fall season. Brush with Nature: Watercolors in the Wildflower Garden at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Sunday October 19 from 1:00-3:30pm to get creative with watercolors inspired by the nature!
Forest Bathing
A guided experience (fully clothed) through a natural area in a park, with thoughtful invitations to help you slow down and explore the world around you, followed by opportunities to share experiences with one another September 23 at Longfellow Garden Prairie from 6:00-7:30pmand October 17 at Mississippi River Gorge Park from 9:00-10:30am Nature Connections at Northeast Recreation Center, Thursday September 18 from 1:00-4:00pm - Make a Nature Journal. Make a simple softcover journal with a naturalist. We’ll discuss nature journaling and phenology, and then go outside to write/draw the first entries in our new journals!
Tuesday October 21 from 1:00-3:00PM - Signs of Fall Block Printing - Our nature observations will then inspire artistic creations inside through designs used to carve your own stamp to take home and use again and again.
Nature in Focus at Kroening Nature Center 1:002:30pm one Saturday September 27: Collecting Seeds on the Fall Prairie and October 25: Finding your Way: Compasses and Migration.
Grand Rounds Bike Tour with a Naturalist - Explore the deep and important connection this city has with water, both historically and today while touring the Minneapolis
Grand Rounds on bicycle. September 24Minnehaha Creek 10:00AM12:30PM
Wander with a Naturalist - Explore the park with a Naturalist at a wandering pace to make space for practicing observation and inquisitiveness of the nature around us. Take time to notice, explore, and get curious about our natural surroundings and wonder about seasonal changes, September 25 at Loring Park from 1:00-2:00pm and October 23 at William Berry Park from 1:00-2:00pm
Parties
Special Events - Star
Starry Minnesota
Sky - The Annual Star Party:
Chasing the Northern Lights at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary is Friday, September 19 from 5:00pm - 8:00pm with Stargazing at JD Rivers’ Garden from 7:009:00pm
Aurora Voyage:
Chasing the Northern Lights is at Kroening Nature Center Saturday September 20 from 8:0010:00pm
Minneapolis Parks
Education
Environmental
Environmental education is an opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds, and life experiences to make connections with nature, foster curiosity, and develop skills that will lead to a deeper understanding of the environment and why it matters.
A wide variety of environmental education programs are offered at Minneapolis parks all year round, led by trained Naturalists who guide participants in finding joy in the natural environments all around us in Minneapolis.
Youth basketball registration Garden weeding volunteers
Open through September 30
Saint Paul Parks and Recreation offers winter basketball for ages 3-18. Free for ages 9 and up!
Fall youth programs
Registration is open for these after-school and no-school day programs for ages 3-11.
Rec Check: Free after-school program for youth in grades 1-6. Offered at 23 locations.
Rec Check Extended:
Full day care offered over MEA break on October 16-17. $10/ day. Offered at three locations.
S’more Fun: Before and after-school and full day options available for youth in grades K-5. Cost ranges $2442/day.
Recreation for Preschoolers: New openings available at both locations! For ages 3-5. Dates, times, and costs vary. Scholarships available. Registrations are accepted on a rolling basis until full. Register online, or visit a recreation center for more information.
Blood Drive at Jimmy Lee on September 12! Give blood at Jimmy Lee on September 12! Sign up to give blood any time between 8am-1pm. Sign up to save lives today!
A great family-friendly activity!
Join us at Churchill Gardens to help maintain its beauty! Everyone is invited! We hosting monthly weeding events from May to October.
Drop by between 5pm-7pm on the 3rd Monday of each month. No long-term commitment required.
Pre-Register for Churchill Gardens
(Intersection of Van Slyke Ave and Churchill St, south of Como Lake)
Monday, September 15 | 5 - 7pm and Monday, October 20 | 5 - 7pm
By a thread :: Downtown Saint
raised in Saint Paul and have many fond memories of Downtown. I fondly remember the smell of the cookies at the bakery in Dayton’s Department Store…” “They used to have a mechanical elephant in the kids department as well… I remember going to the movies
Letter to Editor
By Makayla Anderson
Youth Advocate, Nonprofit Founder, Minnesota Connections Academy, Bethel University Student
Volunteering is one of the most powerful ways young people can make a difference, yet many are surprised to learn just how much students already give back.
According to national statistics, over 26% of high school and college students par-
ticipate in volunteer work each year, contributing millions of hours to their schools, communities, and nonprofit organizations. These efforts range from food drives and tutoring programs to environmental projects and hospital support.
Not only does volun-
teering strengthen communities, but it also benefits students themselves. Research shows that young people who volunteer regularly are more likely to develop leadership skills, perform better in school, and feel a stronger connection to their communities. It even increases
their chances of future employment, as many employers value the teamwork, responsibility, and compassion gained through service.
Highlighting these statistics matters because it reminds us that students are not just the leaders of tomor-
row—they are leaders today.
By supporting student volunteer opportunities in schools and neighborhoods, we can build stronger, more caring communities for everyone.
American capitalism is being remade by state power
By H. Sami Karaca Professor of Business Analytics, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
Is the Trump administration trying to reshape American capitalism? Recent moves by Washington, such as taking a 10% share of semiconductor maker Intel, point to a shift in that direction. For decades, Washington has supported free-market capitalism. Today, the government appears to be supporting a new direction – state-directed capitalism.
As a professor at the Questrom School of Business who studies different economic systems, I find this reversal striking. My research is supported by the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute, which is trying to understand how business, markets and society interact. My previous research – finding, for example, that U.S. news coverage of capitalism was far more negative in the 1940s than it is now – suggests capitalism isn’t in retreat but is rather evolving. In what direction is
the Trump administration pushing it?
Types of capitalism
While many people bandy around the term “capitalism,” it actually comes in many different forms. The most basic definition of capitalism is when the means of production – such as factories, farms and offices –are owned by private individuals.
Capitalism is driven by profit. Some of the earliest descriptions of the profit motive that drives the whole system come from Adam Smith. As he wrote in 1776, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”
Who gets the profits and who controls the means of production determine the specific forms of capitalism. While there are many types, I want to focus on three of the most important.
Free-market capitalism, also called laissez-faire capitalism, is when the government takes a hands-off approach to the economy. The U.S. after the Civil War is a good example of free-market capitalism.
During the late 1800s, the federal government imposed few regulations on businesses.
State-guided capitalism is when the government chooses industries or companies to support. Favored sectors are given money and face looser regulations than nonfavored sectors. China today is an example of state-guided capitalism, where the state provides support for industries such as shipbuilding, steel and AI.
Oligarchic capitalism is when a very small part of the population owns key industries and controls the economy. Russia today is an example of this type of capitalism.
Each form of capitalism has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, free-market capitalism provides the most incentives to grow the economy, but the lack of rules often leads businesses to run roughshod over consumers. U.S. historians describe the late 1800s as the era of robber barons.
State-guided capitalism can dramatically boost the output of favored industries. However, if the government invests in the wrong industries, huge amounts of money can be
wasted propping up dying firms.
Oligarchic capitalism can rapidly invest in new areas and shift resources, but the profits enrich only a tiny elite.
Recent changes
The U.S. currently appears to be operating under a hybrid model of capitalism, blending free-market principles with elements of state capitalism.
One of the most recent changes is the Trump administration’s decision to take a 10% stake in Intel. Congress passed the multibillion-dollar CHIPS and Science Act in 2022 to bolster U.S. computer chipmakers. Intel is slated to receive US$11.1 billion in grants from the program and other government funding. The current administration has converted that public support into a 10% ownership of the semiconductor maker.
Intel isn’t alone. The government has recently become a shareholder in other companies it views as strategically important – a trend that seems likely to continue and possibly result in the creation of a “sovereign wealth fund.”
In July 2025, the Department
of Defense agreed to buy $400 million of convertible preferred stock in MP Materials. MP Materials is the only U.S. rare-earth minerals mine with integrated production capacity. The company said the Department of Defense would be positioned to become its largest shareholder.
The government is also requiring a share of revenue from large computer chip manufacturers. Nvidia and AMD will have to remit 15% of revenue from certain chip sales to China as a condition for export licenses.
Why the US change is important
The CHIPS and Science Act has already funneled billions into U.S. semiconductor manufacturing via grants, tax credits and R&D support. MP Materials and Intel could serve as pilot models for further strategic intervention. However, the U.S. government spends trillions each year, and the amounts invested in American industries and companies represent only a small percentage of total spending.
While the CHIPS and Science Act was passed in 2022 under the Biden administration,
the implementation relied on traditional tools of industrial policy such as grants, tax credits and milestone-based funding. In contrast, the Trump administration has converted these grants into equity arrangements, with officials stating the government should get a return on its investment.
This shift from an incentive-based approach to a direct ownership model represents one of the most fascinating experiments in modern American capitalism. The real question is what happens if – or when – this strategy expands. The government could become more involved in energy, biotech and AI, or any place where markets show signs of lagging or supply chains are geopolitically fragile.
The U.S. isn’t rejecting capitalism but recalibrating its boundaries. The next few years will show exactly how Washington’s interventions will reshape U.S. capitalism. Disclosure statement
H. Sami Karaca receives funding from the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute.
By Ana Carolina Garriga Professor. Department of Government, University of Essex
Cristina
Bodea Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University
The fate of Lisa Cook, who is fighting attempts by President Donald Trump to remove her from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, has huge implications for a keystone of good economic policy: central bank independence.
At the heart of her firing attempt – and other moves to undermine the Fed by the Trump administration – is a power struggle. Central banks, which are public institutions that manage a country’s currency and its monetary policy, have an extraordinary amount of power. By controlling the flow of money and credit in a country, they can affect economic growth, inflation, employment and financial stability.
These are powers that many politicians would like to control or at least manipulate. That’s because monetary policy can provide governments with economic boosts at key times, such as around elections or during periods of falling popularity.
The problem is that short-lived, politically motivated moves may be detrimental to the long-term economic well-being of a nation. They may, in other words, saddle the economy with problems further down the line.
That is why central banks across the globe tend to receive significant leeway to set interest rates independently and free from the electoral wishes of politicians.
In fact, monetary policymaking that is data-driven and technocratic, rather than politically motivated, has since the early 1990s been seen as the gold standard of governance of national finances and has largely achieved its main purpose of keeping inflation relatively low and stable.
But despite independence being seen to work, cen-
tral banks over the past decade have come under increased pressure from politicians.
Trump is one recent example. In his first term as president, he criticized his own choice to head the U.S. Federal Reserve and demanded lower interest rates.
Attacks on the Fed have accelerated in Trump’s second administration. In April 2025, Trump lashed out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell in an online post accusing him of being “TOO LATE AND WRONG” on interest rate cuts, while suggesting that the central banker’s “termination cannot come fast enough!” Unable to force Powell out, Trump has now brought the power struggle to a head with his firing of Cook, nominally over allegations that the Fed governor falsified records in a mortgage application. Cook has said that the president does not have the grounds or authority to fire her.
As political economists, we are not surprised to see politicians try to exert influence on central banks. For one thing, central banks remain part of the government bureaucracy, and independence granted to them can always be reversed – either by changing laws or backtracking on established practices.
Moreover, the reason politicians may want to interfere in monetary policy is that low interest rates remain a potent, quick method to boost an economy. And while politicians know that there are costs to besieging an independent central bank – financial markets may react negatively or inflation may flare up – short-term control of a powerful policy tool can prove irresistible.
Legislating independence
If monetary policy is such a coveted policy tool, how have central banks held off politicians and stayed independent? And is this independence being eroded?
Broadly, central banks are protected by laws that offer long tenures to their leadership, allow them to focus policy primarily on inflation, and severely limit lending to the rest of the government.
Of course, such leg-
islation cannot anticipate all future contingencies, which may open the door for political interference or for practices that break the law. And sometimes central bankers are unceremoniously fired.
However, laws do keep politicians in line. For example, even in authoritarian countries, laws protecting central banks from political interference have helped reduce inflation and restricted central bank lending to the government.
In our own research, we have detailed the ways that laws have insulated central banks from the rest of the government, but also the recent trend of eroding this legal independence.
Politicizing appointees
Around the world, appointments to central bank leadership are political – elected politicians select candidates based on career credentials, political affiliation and, importantly, their dislike or tolerance of inflation.
But lawmakers in different countries exercise different degrees of political control.
A 2025 study shows that the large majority of central bank leaders – about 70% – are appointed by the head of government alone or with the intervention of other members of the executive branch. This ensures that the preferences of the central bank are closer to the government’s, which can boost the central bank’s legitimacy in democratic countries, but at the risk of permeability to political influence.
Alternatively, appointments can involve the legislative power or even the central bank’s own board. In the U.S., while the president nominates members of the Federal Reserve Board, the Senate can and has rejected unconventional or incompetent candidates.
Moreover, even if appointments are political, many central bankers stay in office long after the people who appointed them have been voted out. By the end of 2023, the most common length of the governors’ appointment is five years, and in 41 countries the legal mandate was six years or longer. Powell is set to stay on as Fed chair until his term expires in 2026. The Fed chair position has traditionally been protected by law, as Powell himself acknowledged in November 2024: “We’re not removable except for cause. We serve very long terms, seemingly endless terms. So we’re protected into law. Congress could change that law, but I don’t think there’s any danger of that.”
In the 2000s, several countries shortened the tenure of their central banks’ governors to four or five years. Sometimes, this was part of broader restrictions in central bank independence, as was the case in Iceland in 2001, Ghana in 2002 and Romania in 2004.
The low inflation objective As of 2023, all but six central banks globally had low inflation as their main goal. Yet many central banks are required by law to try to achieve additional and sometimes con-
flicting goals, such as financial stability, full employment or support for the government’s policies.
This is the case for 38 central banks that either have the explicit dual mandate of price stability and employment or more complex goals. In Argentina, for example, the central bank’s mandate is to provide “employment and economic development with social equity.”
Conflicting objectives can open central banks to politicization. In the U.S. the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of stable prices and maximum sustainable employment. These goals are often complementary, and economists have argued that low inflation is a prerequisite for sustainable high levels of employment.
But in times of overlapping high inflation and high unemployment, such as in the late 1970s or when the COVID-19 crisis was winding down in 2022, the Fed’s dual mandate has become active territory for political wrangling.
Since 2000, at least 23 countries have expanded the focus of their central banks beyond just inflation.
Limits on government lending
The first central banks were created to help secure finance for governments fighting wars. But today, limiting lending to governments is at the core of protecting price stability from unsustainable fiscal spending.
History is dotted with the consequences of not doing so. In the 1960s and 1970s,
for example, central banks in Latin America printed money to support their governments’ spending goals. But it resulted in massive inflation while not securing growth or political stability. Today, limits on lending are strongly associated with lower inflation in the developing world. And central banks with high levels of independence can reject a government’s financing requests or dictate the terms of loans.
Yet over the past two decades, almost 40 countries have made their central banks less able to limit central government funding. In the more extreme examples – such as in Belarus, Ecuador or even New Zealand – they have turned the central bank into a potential financier for the government.
Scapegoating central bankers
In recent years, governments have tried to influence central banks by pushing for lower interest rates, making statements criticizing bank policy or calling for meetings with central bank leadership.
At the same time, politicians have blamed the same central bankers for a number of perceived failings: not anticipating economic shocks such as the 2007-09 financial crisis; exceeding their authority with quantitative easing; or creating massive inequality or instability while trying to save the financial sector.
And since mid-2021, major central banks have struggled to keep inflation low, raising questions from populist and antidemocratic politicians about the merits of an arm’s-length relationship.
But chipping away at central bank independence, as Trump appears to be doing with his open criticism of the Fed chair and his removal of a member of the bank’s Board of Governors, is a historically sure way to high inflation.
Disclosure statement
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell talks with Board of Governors member Lisa Cook on June 25, 2025.
Insight 2 Health
FDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines with new restrictions, potentially limiting access for healthy children
By David Higgins Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Guidance around COVID-19 vaccines has once again shifted after the Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 27, 2025, approved updated shots for the fall season, but for a more limited group than in prior seasons.
These changes, announced on X by Secretary of Health and Human Services
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., raise new questions about eligibility and availability of COVID-19 vaccines for children.
As a pediatrician and researcher who studies vaccine delivery and health policy, I foresee these changes adding to the confusion facing parents and providers, just as this summer’s COVID-19 wave continues to rise.
How does the new guidance differ from before?
The FDA revoked the emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines, a status used during public health emergencies that made it possible to provisionally approve vaccines swiftly during the pandemic. The agency also limited their approval to only people at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 infection, such as those over 65 or with underlying health conditions. But for children it is even more complicated.
The FDA approved two updated mRNA-based vaccines – Moderna’s vaccine for children 6 months and older and Pfizer’s vaccine – both targeting a new variant called LP.8.1, for children 5 years and older. The agency also approved an
Pregnant
updated version of the the protein-based Novavax vaccine targeting a strain of the virus called JN.1 for children 12 years and older. But all three approvals are limited to children at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 infection.
Previously, all children 6 months and older were able to receive either the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with the Novavax vaccine available for anyone 12 years and older. These changes mean it may be significantly more difficult for infants and young children to get vaccinated, even though they remain at higher risk for complications from COVID-19 compared with the general population.
The decision comes as, for the first time in decades, guidance from federal health authorities and pediatric experts diverge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer routinely recommends COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children ages 6 months to 17 years. The decision to take this approach bypassed the CDC’s normal independent review panel, creating concerns about credibility.
In contrast, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued its own guidance based on its review of the evidence. The AAP recommends that all children 6 months to 23 months old and children 2 to 18 years old at higher risk receive vaccines. They also emphasize that COVID-19 vaccines should be available for all children whose parents want them.
The AAP’s review of the evidence showed COVID-19 remains a serious risk for young children and kids with certain high-risk conditions. It also
found that children are still being hospitalized and dying at rates similar to those with other illnesses for which vaccines are routinely recommended, such as influenza. And an independent expert group called the Vaccine Integrity Project confirmed that no new safety concerns have emerged relating to COVID-19 vaccines and that the vaccines remain effective.
How might access to COVID-19 vaccines for kids change?
Despite young children remaining particularly vulnerable, changes to FDA approval and conflicting recommendations will mean access to vaccines could be challenging.
Children under 5 years of age can now only receive Moderna’s vaccine. Providers who had planned to use Pfizer’s vaccine need to quickly pivot, and Moderna will need to fill supply gaps. Also, providers may not be able to use any Pfizer vaccine stock they still hold
now that the emergency use authorizations is no longer in effect. Families who already face barriers to vaccination, such as those who live in rural areas or who lack health insurance, may be especially affected by these new limitations.
If providers give healthy children a COVID-19 vaccine, they would be doing this “off-label,” meaning different than what the FDA label says. This practice is legal and common, with an estimated 1 in 5 medications prescribed off-label. However, while physicians can give vaccines off-label, in many states, pharmacists and other non-physicians may not be able to do so for any age.
Even if it is legal, some providers may be hesitant to give COVID-19 vaccines off-label. After the AAP released its own recommendations, Kennedy warned that vaccine recommendations that diverge from the CDC’s official list are not protected from liabil-
ity, though legal experts argue that this is misleading.
The AAP published a list of high-risk health conditions or characteristics to guide parents and providers in deciding whether a child should receive the vaccine.
At the federal level, the only current list is on the CDC website and is not specifically related to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. For example, it includes pregnancy, even though federal health leaders have previously stated the vaccines would no longer be recommended in pregnancy. In contrast, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly recommends updated COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, when planning pregnancy, in the postpartum period and while lactating, noting benefits for both patients and their newborns.
What might happen next?
Unfortunately, the
confusion may deepen as the CDC’s recommendations, including who is at high risk, may be revised after an upcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of independent experts that advises the agency. In June 2025, in an unprecedented move, Kennedy disbanded the entire committee and hand-picked new members. The new committee has yet to weigh in on COVID-19 vaccines for children. The chair of the COVID-19 vaccine work group, which will make recommendations to all committee members, is led by an outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccines who does not have a biomedical degree or medical experience. Also, on Aug. 27, 2025, federal officials attempted to oust the CDC’s director just a few weeks after she was confirmed, and multiple top officials resigned. The bottom line is that with these FDA changes, fewer vulnerable children may end up vaccinated against COVID-19 because of supply constraints, parental confusion or provider uncertainty. The best thing a family can do is talk with their pediatrician about what options remain and what is best for their child.
Disclosure statement
David Higgins volunteers as Vice President of the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and as a board member of Immunize Colorado. He was not involved in the development or publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ immunization guidelines. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely his own and do not represent those of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
women face tough choices about medication use due to lack of safety data − here’s why medical research cuts will make it worse
By Almut Winterstein
Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, University of Florida
Sonja
Rasmussen Professor of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
A panel convened in July 2025 by the Food and Drug Administration sparked controversy by casting doubt about the safety of commonly used antidepressants during pregnancy. But it also raised the broader issue of how little is known about the safety of many medications used in pregnancy, considering the implications for both mother and child – and how understudied this topic is. In the U.S., the average pregnant patient takes four prescription medications, and more than 9 in 10 patients take at least one. But most drugs lack conclusive evidence about their safety during pregnancy. About 1 in 5 women uses a medication during pregnancy that has some preliminary evidence that it could cause harm but for which conclusive studies are missing.
We are researchers in maternal and child health who evaluate the safety of medications during pregnancy. In our work, we identify medications that might raise the risk for birth defects or pregnancy loss and compare the safety of different treatments. While progress has been slow, researchers and federal agencies have built monitoring systems, databases and tools to accelerate our understanding of medication safety. However, these efforts are now at risk due to ongoing cuts to
medical research funding – and with them, so is the knowledge base for determining whether sticking with a therapy or discontinuing it offers the safest choice for both mother and child.
How pregnant women got sidelined
One big reason why so little is known about the effects of medications during pregnancy stretches back more than half a century. In the 1960s, a drug called thalidomide that was widely prescribed to treat morning sickness in pregnant women caused severe birth defects in over 10,000 children around the world. In response, in 1977 the FDA recommended excluding women of childbearing age from participating in early stage clinical trials testing new medications.
Ethically, there is long-standing tension between concerns about fetal harm and maternal needs. Legal liability and added complexities when conducting studies in pregnant women serve as additional barriers for drug manufacturers. When drugs are approved, studies about whether they might cause birth defects are typically done only in animals, and they often don’t translate well to humans. So when a new medication comes on the market, nothing is known about how it affects people during pregnancy. Even if animal studies or the medication’s mode of action raised concerns, the drug can still be approved, though companies may be required to conduct studies observing its effects when taken during pregnancy.
Cause and effect
Of 290 drugs approved by the FDA between 2010 and 2019, 90% contain no
human data on the risks or benefits for pregnant patients. About 80% of some 1,800 medications in a national database called TERIS, which summarizes evidence on medications’ risks during pregnancy, lack or have limited evidence about the risks for birth defects. Researchers have estimated that it takes 27 years to pin down whether a medication is safe to use in pregnancy.
As a result, many pregnant women stop treating their chronic diseases. In a U.S. study published in 2023, over one-third of women stopped taking a medication during pregnancy, and 36.5% of those did so without advice from a health care provider. More than half cited concerns about birth or developmental defects as the reason.
Yet uncontrolled chronic disease comes with its own toll on both the mother’s and the baby’s health. For example, some medications used to treat seizures are known to cause birth defects, but stopping them may increase seizures, which themselves raise the risk of fetal death.
Women with severe or recurrent depression who abruptly stop their antidepressants risk their depression returning, which is in turn associated with increased risk of substance use, inadequate prenatal care and other negative effects on fetal development. Stopping the use of medications for treating high blood pressure also causes adverse effects – specifically, a greater risk of pregnancy-related high blood pressure that can cause organ damage, called preeclampsia; a condition called placental abruption, when the placenta detaches from the wall of the uterus too
early; preterm birth; and fetal growth restriction. An online resource called Mother to Baby, created by a network of experts on birth defects, provides an excellent summary of the available data on medication safety during pregnancy.
The FDA in some cases requires drug companies to establish registries to track the outcomes of pregnancies exposed to certain medications. These registries can be useful, but they have shortcomings. For example, recruiting pregnant patients into them takes time and considerable effort, resulting in small sample sizes that may not capture rare birth defects. Also, registries typically follow a single medication and rarely include comparisons to alternative treatment approaches – or to no treatment.
What’s more, following the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion, women might be reluctant to add their names to a pregnancy registry or to provide data on prenatal detection of birth defects due to concerns about privacy and legal risks. Decades of underfunding In 2019, a task force established by the 21st Century Cures Act identified a major gap in knowledge about drug safety and effectiveness in pregnant and lactating women and recommended a boost in funding to fill it.
However, little has changed. A 2025 review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine pointed out that research funding for women’s health topics has remained flat over the past decade, while the overall budget of the National Institutes of
Health has steadily increased.
The review recommended doubling the NIH funding allocated for such research, but this seems unlikely in light of the recent proposals to cut the overall NIH budget by 40%. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funds the bulk of research on the safety of medications during pregnancy across federal agencies, although the institute has an appreciably smaller budget than most of its sister institutes such as the National Cancer Institute. Grants awarded are typically broad and take four to five years to complete, but they allow the more comprehensive assessments that are needed to support informed decisions considering outcomes for mother and child. For example, NIH-funded researchers have established a clear link between autism and prenatal use of valproate, a potent teratogen used to treat epilepsy and several mental health disorders.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the FDA have also funded specific pregnancy-related research. For example, following the COVID-19 epidemic, the CDC renewed its funding for studies that help expedite pregnancy safety studies for treatments that might be used for newly emerging infections. In response to emerging concerns about a substance called gadolinium, which is often used during MRI procedures, the FDA funded our own work on a study of almost 6,000 pregnant women, which found no elevated risk. For healthy pregnancies, more research is critical
These efforts have laid a crucial foundation for evaluating medication safety
and effectiveness during pregnancy. But keeping pace with the release of new medications and new ways they are used, as well as addressing the backlog of missing evidence for medications that were approved in the past millennium, remain a challenge.
Recent terminations of NIH-funded studies have focused on topics presumably relating to diversity, equity and inclusion. But research on safe and healthy pregnancies and on maternal health – for example, on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines during breastfeeding – has been affected as well. The NIH has scaled back new grant awards by nearly US$5 billion since the beginning of 2025, and the odds for receiving NIH funding have plummeted. Proposed sweeping budget cuts for the CDC and FDA leave their role in supporting research on healthy pregnancies similarly uncertain. In our view, removing or reducing ongoing investments in healthy pregnancies poses a danger to much-needed efforts to reduce excessive rates of stillbirths as well as infant and maternal deaths.
Disclosure statement Almut Winterstein consults on medication safety issues to Merck, Syneos, Lykos and Novo Nordisk. She receives funding for pregnancy-related research from NIH, CDC, FDA, and the Gates Foundation. Sonja Rasmussen receives funding from Harmony Biosciences, Axsome Therapeutics, Biohaven (acquired by Pfizer), Lundbeck, Novo Nordisk, and Myovant Sciences to serve on pregnancy registry scientific advisory committees. She also receives or has received funding from NIH, CDC, and FDA.
The FDA’s move comes as, for the first time in decades, guidance from federal health authorities and pediatric experts diverge.
Are high school sports living up to their ideals?
By Jedediah Blanton Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies, University of Tennessee
Scott Pierce Professor of Kinesiology and Recreation, Illinois State University
Coach Smith was an easy hire as the head coach of a new high school lacrosse team in Tennesseee: She had two decades of coaching experience and a doctorate in sport and exercise science.
After signing the paperwork, which guaranteed a stipend of US$1,200, Smith – we’re using a pseudonym to protect her identity – had four days to complete a background check, CPR and concussion training and a Fundamentals of Coaching online course. After spending $300 to check all these boxes, the job was hers.
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s mission statement highlights how high school athletes should be molded into good citizens and have their educational experiences enhanced by playing sports.
Yet Coach Smith hadn’t received any guidance on how to accomplish these goals. She didn’t know how a high school coach would be evaluated – surely it went beyond wins, losses and knowing CPR – or how to make her players better students and citizens.
Over the past 15 years, our work has focused on maximizing the benefits of high school sports and recognizing what limits those benefits from being reached. We want to know what high school sports aspire
to be and what actually happens on the ground.
We have learned that Coach Smith is not alone; this is a common story playing out on high school fields and courts across the country. Good coaching candidates are getting hired and doing their best to keep high school sports fixtures in their communities. But coaches often feel like they’re missing something, and they wonder whether they’re living up to those aspirations.
Dating back to the inception of school-sponsored sport leagues in 1903, parents and educators have long believed that interscholastic sports are a place where students develop character and leadership skills.
Research generally backs up the advantages of playing sports. In 2019, high school sports scholar Stéphanie Turgeon published a review paper highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of playing school sports. She found that student-athletes were less likely to drop out, more likely to be better at emotional regulation and more likely to contribute to their communities. While athletes reported more stress and were more likely to drink alcohol, Turgeon concluded that the positives outweighed the negatives.
The governing body of high school sports in the U.S., the National Federation of State High School Associations, oversees 8 million students. According to its mission statement, the organization seeks to establish “playing rules that emphasize health and safety,” create “educational programs that develop leaders” and provide “administrative support to increase opportunities and promote sportsmanship.”
Digging deeper into
the goals of sports governing bodies, we recently conducted a study that reviewed and analyzed the mission statements of all 51 of the member state associations that officially sponsor high school sports and activities.
In their missions, most associations described the services they provided – supervising competition, creating uniform rules of play and offering professional development opportunities for coaches and administrators. A majority aimed to instill athletes with life skills such as leadership, sportsmanship and wellness.
Most also emphasized the relationship between sports and education, either suggesting that athletics should support or operate alongside schools’ academic goals or directly create educational opportunities for athletes on the playing field. And a handful explicitly aspired to protect student-athletes from abuse and exploitation. Interestingly, seven state associations mentioned that sports participation is a privilege, with three adding the line “and not a right.” This seems to conflict with the Na-
tional Federation of State High School Associations, which has said that it wants to reach as many students as possible. The organization sees high school sports as a place where kids can further their education, which is a right in the U.S. This is important, particularly as youth sports have developed into a multibillion-dollar industry fueled by expensive travel leagues and club teams.
We also noticed what was largely missing from these mission statements. Only two state athletic associations included a goal for students to “have fun” playing sports. Research dating back to the 1970s has consistently shown that wanting to have fun is usually the No. 1 reason kids sign up for sports in the first place.
Giving coaches the tools to succeed Missions statements are supposed to guide organizations and outline their goals. For high school sports, the opportunity exists to more clearly align educational initiatives and evaluation efforts to fulfill their missions.
If high school sports are really meant to build lead-
ership and life skills, you would think that the adults running these programs would be eager to acquire the skill set to do this.
Sure enough, when we surveyed high school coaches across the country in 2019, we found that 90% reported that formal leadership training programs were a good idea. Yet less than 12% had actually participated in those programs.
A recent study led by physical education scholar Obidiah Atkinson highlighted this disconnect. While most states require training for coaches, the depth and amount of instruction varied significantly, with little emphasis on social–emotional health and youth development. In another study we conducted, we spoke with administrators. They admitted that coaches rarely receive training to effectively teach the leadership and life skills that high school sports promise to deliver. This type of training is available; we helped the National Federation of State High School Associations create three free courses explicitly focused on developing student leadership. Thousands of students and coaches have completed these
courses, with students reporting that the courses have helped them develop leadership as a life skill. And it’s exciting to see that the organization offers over 60 courses reaching millions of learners on topics ranging from Heat Illness Prevention and Sudden Cardiac Arrest, to Coaching Mental Wellness and Engaging Effectively with Parents.
Yet,
Most coaches want to be able to do more than teach their athletes to win faceoffs and dodge defenders
Books, Art & Culture
Learning through music
Sharing Our Stories
By W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor
In this day and time, knowing our history and celebrating our culture as people of African descent is crucial. It is important to know not only our national history, but the accomplishments of our local history and those in our community that are walking history.
Central parts of our culture are food and music. Last week, I covered amazing foods from the African continent. This week, it is my pleasure to bring to you Tristan Hitchens-Brookins’ children’s book Grant West: Learning Through Music.
Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Grant’s love for music began at the age of eight.
If
With his parents (Thomas and Corine) and his brothers (Barry and Thom), musical talent came naturally to the West family, whether it was singing or instrumental. Grant possessed an additional gift, that of perfect pitch combined with the ability to play by ear. His school didn’t teach Black history growing up, but knowing his family history inspired him to want to know more and make a difference in Black communities. His mentor, Ms. Daisy Bates, taught him to play the piano, encouraging him
to keep practicing to become a great musician. He moved to St. Paul,
you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Minnesota in 1966, where he witnessed the great needs of the Black community and the unfair treatment by the government. With the lessons of the importance of service, he started work at the St. Paul Urban League, addressing the disparities of housing, education, and access to music education. Over the years, Grant West became a community leader, and with fellow music teacher Carl Walker, they opened the Walker West
Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet names
Governor Tim Walz and Lieu-
tenant Governor Peggy Flanagan last week announced the following appointments to the Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota Cabinet effective September 3, 2025 for terms that expire July 31, 2026
The Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota Cabinet is a partnership between the Governor’s Office, the Women’s Foundation, and the YWCA Saint Paul. The Cabinet includes young women and gender-expansive youth aged 16-24 to promote equitable systems that benefit all, grounded in the belief that when young Black, Indigenous, women of color, and people with disabilities in Minnesota thrive, families and communities thrive.
Music Academy in 1988. As an Afrocentric music school, Walker West teaches children about music history and culture, making the connection to the community it serves through music. Today, the school has attracted children from across the state, and Carl and Grant train their students to become leaders. Through music, they have taught the values and skill sets that sustain children into their adult years. In his words, “Music is a paradigm we use at Walker West Music Academy for teaching success. Everyone wants to be successful. When a student is inspired, you can’t keep them from learning.”
For the increase in vocabulary and to support the history outlined in the book, there is a glossary at the end plus ways to make a difference. I am grateful that we have schools such as Walker West and leaders such as Grant right here in our own back yard!
Grant West: Learning Through Music is available through Amazon and the Planting People Growing Justice
Appointees Cities
Samia Abdulle New Brighton
Nawal Abdurahman Lakeville
Heritage Aluko Minneapolis
Marwah Asif Saint Cloud
Keira Azefor Shakopee
Ja’Sirah Barber Brooklyn City
Yolanda Cisneros Granite Falls
Celeste Conteh Brooklyn Park
Aisling Cox Fergus Falls
Ariah Crosby Saint Paul
Najma Darwish White Bear Lake
Miranda Del Toro Richfield
Press website, www.ppgjli.org.
Thank you, Tristan, for sharing this story. To repeat the African proverb in your book:
Appointees Cities
Alaisha Garcia Lopez Faribault
Lucianna Gutierrez Minneapolis Pang Nhia Khang Ramsey Esther Lee Edina
Genesis Maravilla Fernandez Bloomington Aria Naik Minneapolis Azah Nde Saint Michael
Sheridyn Runs After Marshall
Hana Sowelam Plymouth
Sreeja Thirukkovalur Plymouth
Gao Sheng Yang Isanti
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Grant West Learning Through Music book cover art
