The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "African-Americans" ...
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Empty-desk epidemic
For years, Chicago officials published upbeat statistics that masked a crisis in the city's schools: Nearly 32,000 of the city's K-8 grade students — or roughly 1 in 8 —miss a month or more of class per year, while others simply vanish from school without a trace. This devastating pattern of absenteeism, which disproportionately affects African-Americans and children with disabilities, came to light only after Chicago Tribune reporters dug it out during a years-long FOIA battle to obtain internal district data.
Tags: K-12 education; schools; absenteesim; Chicago; statistics manipulation
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Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness
The journalist tackles what it means to be black in America today, and examines the concept of "Post-Blackness."
Tags: Black; Blackness; African American; Obama; race; racisim
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Fire Academy Diversity
WBAL-TV exposed the fact that the Baltimore City Fire Department had abandoned its policy regarding recruitment designed to make the agency more diverse. The department has a history of overlooking minorities in recruiting and promotions. 63.2% of Bailtimore is African-American, but out of a 45 class of cadets, only 5 were African-American and 3 were women.
Tags: Fire Academy; Diversity
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Jobopoly
Despite investments of $1.2 billion over five years, corresponding to 55 percent of the total Tax Increment Funding program in Chicago, the downtown area has lost over 12,000 jobs during the past five years, predominantly hitting African-American communitites.
Tags: chicago; public spending; the loop; tax dollars;
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Toxic Towns, USA
The story follows a woman and her fight for environmental justice in Mossville, a once-rural African-American community now surrounded by chemical plants.
Tags: Mossville; environmental justice; Dorothy Felix; cancer-causing chemical
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Katrina's Hidden Race War / Body of Evidence
The stories describe racial conflict that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "Katrina's Hidden Race War" chronicles the formation of an armed militia in a predominately white neighborhood that shot at African American males suspected of looting. "Body of Evidence" outlines the death of Henry Glover and the New Orleans Police Department's refusal to seek medical attention for him. Glover's incinerated body was later discovered behind the Fourth District police station.
Tags: Katrina; hurricane; New Orleans; police; body; militia; Algiers Point; looters; shot; charred remains; incinerated corpse; Donnell Herrington; Wayne Janak; Henry Glover; Thompson;
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Positive
"The state of Illinois has increased its HIV spending by tens of millions of dollars-creating two new grant programs designed to combat the epidemic among African Americans. One of the grant programs was mismanaged and much of the funding does not target the highest risk population." Furthermore, the health department and non-profits were either understaffed or waiting for the funds to be received before they could treat anyone.
Tags: Illinois; AIDS; African Americans; Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV); Grant programs
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Critical Condition
This investigation shows that the quality of care received by black seniors' is lower than that of white seniors. Illinois has the highest number of poorly rated black nursing homes in the U.S. Chicago's nursing homes that serve predominantly white seniors were all rated excellent by the federal government whereas none of those serving mostly blacks received that rating. Poverty was not linked to these low rankings. In the new analysis, they found significant racial disparities throughout the country between majority-black and majority-white homes.
Tags: nursing homes; black seniors; African-Americans; quality of care; racial composition; standard of care
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The Strong Arm of the Law
Flaws in the Seattle Police Department's approach to officer violence were revealed in this series. African-Americans were arrested eight times more than whites for the crime of obstructing an officer.
Tags: wrongful arrest; abuse victim; Romelle Bradford; interference; contempt; minority
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New Orleans Now: Immigrants, Labor Rights and the Human Cost of Rebuilding and American City- Part 1
"An in-depth report on the variety of human rights, labor rights, health care and advocacy issues surrounding the treatment of immigrant and migrant workers in Post-Katrina New Orleans."
Tags: Hurricane Katrina; Mexican; spanish; African-American; General Robert E. Lee Circle; New Worker Center for Racial Justice; Common Ground Health Clinic; health care