New Hampshire Public Radio’s newsroom will present a series of reports on how education leaders, community members and families are addressing problems and finding solutions around issues of racism and bias in the Granite State.
Beginning last year in late August, incidents involving race in both Claremont and Durham brought attention to the climate around diversity in New Hampshire. In Claremont, the mother of a young biracial boy said her son was seriously injured after being taunted and hanged by a rope by a group of white teenagers. The incident made national news.
In Durham, incidents involving racist bullying took place in the Oyster River Cooperative School District – prompting the school district to review its policies and plan a series of events focused on cultural differences, diversity and respect.
“Our newsroom covered all of these incidents and the community response at the time, and as the months passed, we began to see they’d sparked profound changes, both in individuals and in state policy,” said Cori Princell, Managing Editor at NHPR. “With the series, we wanted to explore the ways people are talking about, understanding, and educating others about diversity now, a year later. We look in particular at the role of schools and mentors in shaping the next generation.”
Reports will air starting Tuesday, August 28, during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Stories will include:
Tuesday, August 28: From her post as NHPR’s Upper Valley and Monadnock reporter, Britta Greene covered last year’s Claremont incident extensively. This story takes her back to Claremont, where she will share how Wayne Miller, manager of a local drug recovery center, is starting a new mentoring program for black students, to help them counter social isolation and find powerful role models.
Wednesday, August 29: Britta Greene speaks with the former Claremont Superintendent of Schools, Middleton McGoodwin. He shares how the Claremont incident transformed his perspective, and talks about the changes he began implementing in the city’s schools before he was forced to leave his position in May.
Thursday, August 30: NHPR Couch Fellow for Innovation Daniela Allee speaks with a young man whose family decided to leave Conway because of the racial bullying he experienced at school, and learns from school officials how they are addressing racial incidents.
Subsequent reporting will look at how the state is training teachers through cultural competency programs.
As always, listeners can get in touch with the newsroom to share their experiences, perspectives and ideas at news@nhpr.org.
TUNE IN:
Starting Tuesday, August 28, during Morning Edition (5-9 a.m. weekdays on NHPR), during All Things Considered (4-6 p.m. on NHPR), or streaming through NHPR.org. Web stories will also be available on NHPR.org.
###
About NHPR
Since 1981, NHPR has shaped the media landscape in the Granite State and beyond. Our mission is “Expanding minds, sparking connections, building stronger communities.” NHPR is broadcast from 14 different sites, making it by far New Hampshire’s largest (and only) statewide radio news service. Every week, NHPR is the choice of more than 170,000 listeners as a primary source of in-depth and intelligent news coverage, with thousands more viewing NHPR.org and NHPR social media sites. Each day, New Hampshire Public Radio delivers several hours of local news reported by its award-winning news team. Locally-produced programs include The Exchange, Word of Mouth, The Folk Show, Outside/In, Civics 101, and numerous podcasts. NHPR is the exclusive outlet for NPR News in the Granite State and broadcasts national weekly programs such as The Moth Radio Hour, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, and This American Life.
