On this West Virginia Morning, being a parent is a 24-hour role, and a lifetime commitment that has historically fallen to women. As men have started to take on more domestic work, what it means to be a father has started to shift. Chris Schulz looks at these changes in our latest installment of “Now What? A Series on Parenting.”
A group of about 25 protestors gathered on the steps of the state Capitol Wednesday with handmade signs chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot,” just as thousands of other activists gathered in large cities across the country. The group, while small in numbers, was there to show their support of Michael Brown, the black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, this summer.
On Monday, a Missouri prosecutor announced a grand jury would not indict the officer, Darren Wilson, on charges in the death, but a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the operations of the city’s police force is on going.
Greg Suzanne McAllister organized the Charleston protest which included members from multiple organizations including her fledging group Mothers of Color America, the NAACP, business owners and others.
“We just wanted to stand in solidarity today,” McAllister said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
The Charleston protest was about more than just Brown and his death, McAllister said. It was also about standing for the unnamed African American men and women in West Virginia who have been gunned down by police.
“We know our people here are not immune to that type of discrimination,” she said. “It’s important that we stand together no matter what our race is against injustice.”
McAllister said the response in West Virginia to the Ferguson shooting was likely smaller because of the overall population, but also because of the lack of diversity. Only about 3 percent of the state’s population is African American.
Still, McAllister pointed to statistics that show West Virginia incarcerates African Americans at a much higher rate than whites in both the adult and juvenile justice system, meaning a change is necessary, she said.
A group of national and state organizations are asking the state Supreme Court to side with Cabell County and Huntington in their lawsuit against major opioid distribution companies.
On this West Virginia Morning, according to state code, the attorney general’s job is to enforce West Virginia’s laws as they relate to – listed in order – consumer protection, unfair trade practices, civil rights and other important areas. As Randy Yohe shows us, the four primary candidates running for attorney general, two Republicans and two Democrats, have diverse views on the overall mission of the office.