The Skanner News - Helen Silvis

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Helen Silvis

Contributing Editor

Contact Information and Bio

: http://www.theskanner.com/

: Helen grew up in Scotland and graduated from Keele University in England with joint honors in History and Psychology. After working with youth in care and homeless women, she moved to Portland and spent six years as a crisis mental health counselor. In 1996 Helen moved to Chicago with her baby boy to attend Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She reported from Washington DC for Medill News Service and interned with Dow Jones in Paris and at the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon. Helen worked as deputy education editor at The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh, then as a freelancer before joining The Skanner News in 2005. Helen has won awards and fellowships for her reporting on economic and social issues and juvenile justice.

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Ed Dwight Was to Be the First Black Astronaut. At 90, He's Finally Getting His Due
An accomplished Air Force pilot, Dwight was groomed by John F. Kennedy's White House to be the first Black astronaut. But in training, he faced discrimination that detoured his path.
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Rep. Blumenauer Talks Retirement from Congress and His Plans to Help Put Portland Back Together
U.S. Representative for Oregon has held his seat for nearly 30 years.
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Historic White House Gathering Celebrates Descendants of Civil Rights Icons
Descendants of such prominent figures as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, Thomas Jefferson, and Sally Hemings were scheduled to attend.
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100 Years of Radio in Africa: From Propaganda to People’s Power
Radio is thriving across Africa. Exact figures are difficult to come by because audience research differs across countries. But studies estimate radio listenership to be between 60% and 80% of the continent’s 1.4 billion population.
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A Black Author Looks at Failed Attempt by Founder of Georgia to Ban Slavery
Black author Michael Thurmond says Georgia's white founding father deserves credit for inspiring the abolitionist movement that ultimately ended slavery. His new book - “James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia” --focuses on Oglethorpe's failed attempt to ban slavery after starting Britain's 13th American colony in 1733. Georgia's early prohibition on slavery ended and Oglethorpe returned to England where he inspired activists who would become Britain's first abolitionists
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KGW Apologizes After Airing Racist Image
Television station KGW says it deeply regrets inadvertently showing a racist image during a segment called “The Good Stuff,” which invited viewers to share “cheesy, silly, or memorable” photos from the past. The 1950s image showed children throwing balls towards a sign prominently displaying a racial slur. KGW apologised for “the profound hurt this image inflicted upon our viewers and staff, particularly members of our Black community.” Leaders of the Portland NAACP chapter said they were appalled
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States Aim to Protect Health Data Used in Abortion Battle
State governments across the U.S. are adopting or considering laws that would block the sale of personal health data or information about who visits sensitive sites such as sexual health facilities. Medical records are protected by a federal privacy law, but information collected by a lot of apps is not and state legislation is trying to close that gap. Data privacy ihas been a growing concern since the.Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and state abortion bans started kicking in. The Federal Trade Commission has also been using a ban on deceptive practices to sue data brokers
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Separate Water Fountains for Black People Still Stand in the South – Thinly Veiled Monuments to the Long, Strange, Dehumanizing History of Segregation
In Ellisville, Mississippi, two water fountains remain standing in front of the Jones County Courthouse. When they were first built in the late 1930s, the words “white” and “colored” designated which fountain was to be used by which race. Those words are now covered up by ceremonial plaques, but for some Black residents, the fountains still stir up painful memories
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