racism

The past year has shown evidence of an increase in Anti-Asian violence in major cities. All of that escalated when six Asian women were murdered in the March Atlanta spa shooting. But has that anti-Asian sentiment permeated into smaller, rural areas in the U.S.? And what does it look like?

The short answer is: Yes, it has permeated into smaller, rural towns. However, it's been present even before COVID-19 hit. The pandemic just exacerbated it.

Felix Mercado was born in Worland in 1940. His parents, originally from Mexico, had traveled around the United States, eventually settling in Worland as sugar beet farmers where he and his older brothers grew up.

2020 will be known as a devastating year. More than 300,000 people in America died due to complications from the novel coronavirus. But it was the single death of a black man in Minneapolis that sparked nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality.

It also sparked us to dig into the numbers of people killed in our region during interactions with law enforcement. In this bonus episode, we found something startling. The Mountain West News Bureau's Maggie Mullen hosts.

Nicole Wagon knew something was wrong days before she would get the news.

Lunar New Year begins on February 12, 2021. And usually, the holiday involves huge festivities with fireworks, dancing, and family reunions. But as the pandemic continues into this year, the celebration will look and feel different this new year. Wyoming Public Radio's Naina Rao reports this story.

When you think of pioneers, you might imagine Little House on the Prairie. Or the Oregon Trail game we all played in the nineties. One thing these popular depictions of pioneers have in common is they're White. But pioneers weren't all White, and historians argue it's important to set the record straight.

The wind roars at an archaeological dig outside the 200 person town of Fort Bridger in the southwestern corner of the state. The historic site is remembered as a supply shop and a military outpost. It was also the first place where Chinese immigrants were recorded in Wyoming back in 1857.

Wyoming is majority White, but the state is more diverse than people think. The Wyoming Community Foundation says that misconception allows for racism and racial disparities to go unchecked. It's a problem the foundation explored in a report titled: "Does Race Matter In Wyoming?"

Wyoming Public Radio's Tennessee Watson sat down with the foundation's chief operating officer Samin Dadelahi to learn more.

Since 1980, more than three million refugees from around the world have resettled in the United States. Wyoming is the only state in the country to not participate in a refugee resettlement program, meaning those seeking a new home cannot be directly settled in the state's borders.

Wyoming Public Radio's Catherine Wheeler spoke with University of Wyoming Assistant Law Professor Jerry Fowler, who is also the supervisor of the UW Law School's International Human Rights Clinic, about the impact this can have on our state.

Part of the University of Wyoming's mission is to value and nurture diversity. But that's hard to do when the university struggles to attract and retain faculty and administrators of color. To help, Dr. Emily Monago was hired as UW's chief diversity officer three years ago.

The Defender Aid Clinic at the University of Wyoming's College of Law is behind a new podcast that dives into the racial disparities in the United States criminal justice system.

Wyoming Public Radio's Maggie Mullen spoke with Law professor Lauren McLane and student Nathan Yanchek who says the podcast grew out of the outrage he and students in the clinic felt over police killings of African American men.