Racial Justice

A growing list of arts, history and culture institutions, including the Boise Philharmonic, Idaho Botanical Garden, Opera Idaho and Treefort Music Fest, are committing to action steps within their own organizations as part of a greater community-wide effort to effect change to systemic racism.

A growing list of arts, history and culture institutions, including the Boise Philharmonic, Idaho Botanical Garden, Opera Idaho and Treefort Music Fest, are committing to action steps within their own organizations as part of a greater community-wide effort to effect change to systemic racism.

We’re excited to share the most recent episode of Boise State Public Radio's Wanna Know Idaho podcast. The podcast explores the curious elements of life in Idaho… with you, our listeners!

This month, we answer listener Debra Smith's question: “Did Idaho have any housing discrimination laws during the Jim Crow era?”

Up until her retirement a few months ago, Debra Smith taught high school English in Meridian. Every year, she had her 11th graders read "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry.

Even though the Black Lives Matter movement has dialed up the conversation across America about racial justice, more needs to be done to address systemic racism in local school districts across our nation. Idaho is no exception.

Idaho Matters is continuing our deep dive into Idaho's racist history with Boise State University history professor Jill Gill. From Jim Crow-style practices in Boise from the 1940s and 1950s to the rise of the Aryan Nations in North Idaho in the 1980s and 1990s, we interrogate how our history of white supremacy manifested throughout the years — and what it means for today's push for a new reckoning of racial justice.  

In 1964, an assurance of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” was extended to Black America. 56 years have passed awaiting this to become a reality. Having allotted enough time for discussion,  it is time for palpable action. To be sure, housing, economics, jobs, education, and more play a significant role in the racism we see today. Today, millions of people are marching not because of those issues, but rather the issue of continued racist policing practices across the country.

As the country continues to grapple with racial injustice and questions about white supremacy in 2020, we’re taking a critical look at Idaho’s racist past. We think it’s important to examine our roots so we can better understand how we got here today and what steps we can take to be a more inclusive and equitable place for everyone. 

Have you heard of Erma Hayman? The Boisean lived a long and influential life, much of it spent in the historic River Street Neighborhood. Hayman, who was Black, was a leader in the community until her death at the age of 102 in 2009. The neighborhood was one of the only places in the capital city where Black people were able to live in the 1940s due to racist redlining policies and housing discrimination. 

As calls to defund the police continue in Boise and other cities across the country, a new chief of police is leading the department in Idaho's capital city. Chief Ryan Lee began his role July 1 after years working for the Portland Police Deparment. 

Since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in May, organizations, businesses and higher education institutions have released statements in support of Black lives. But at universities which are predominantly white, a growing number of people say they’re disappointed by the lack of tangible change to policy and programs. 

Since we last had Dele Ogunrinola on Idaho Matters, his op-ed about being Black in Boise and America has been published by the Idaho Statesman. But that’s not all he’s been up to. 

This interview originally aired live on June 15, 2020.

The recent police killings of Black people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others have sparked a movement unlike any in recent memory, as calls to defund the police and dismantle white supremacy have moved into the mainstream. 

(This interview is the first of a two-part show about policing in Idaho. You can find the second half — on defunding the police — here.)

After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May, people around the country been asking tough questions about policing in America — including in Idaho. 

(This interview is the second of a two-part show about policing in Idaho. You can find the first half — on the history of policing and the laws that protect officers — here.)

Amid the protests against the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people by police in the the past months and years, activists quickly formulated one central demand: Defund the police. 

This story was powered by America Amplified, a public radio initiative.

With protesters taking to the streets nationwide to demand justice for George Floyd and confront police brutality and systemic racism, Mountain West News Bureau reporters are gathering perspectives of people of color from around the region.

A rally this week in Boise included Nazi imagery and other racist symbols, conjuring the darkest corners of Idaho history.  

Journalism, broadcasting and podcasting in Idaho has a big problem. The overwhelming majority of reporters, hosts and producers speak from one perspective: whiteness. 

As the movement for racial justice presses on in Idaho and across the country, we’re hearing from people of color in the Mountain West who feel like this moment is long overdue.