Public organizations rarely succeed based solely on structure or culture; the most resilient organizations intentionally develop both. The Spartanburg Children’s Cabinet exemplifies this approach, and through my direct involvement in its development, I observed both dynamics firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cabinet was established in May 2026, when Spartanburg City Council passed an ordinance for the city to join the work as the advisory body\u2019s first municipal partner. The ordinance defines the Cabinet as an action-oriented advisory group that unites public, nonprofit, and community partners to share data, coordinate policies, and address systems-level challenges for children, youth, and families. It authorizes the Cabinet to coordinate agencies, review policies for their impact, recommend priorities, and pursue public-private partnerships. Membership is balanced across sectors and includes individuals with direct experience as parents, service providers, or youth. Classical organization theory would describe this as a rational structure designed for accountability and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ordinance outlines Spartanburg Academic Movement as the Cabinet’s administrative and operational backbone. This role is significant, as backbone organizations facilitate collaboration across sectors that typically operate independently. They maintain a stable collaborative environment despite differing institutional mandates. The Cabinet advances this model by moving from convening to shared decision-making with meaningful advisory authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This transition began before the ordinance. For about two years prior to the Cabinet\u2019s launch, a small working group focused on building relationships, establishing shared priorities, and reaching consensus on the Cabinet’s structure. As a member of this group, I observed the development of norms around consensus and shared ownership, reflecting what organizational theorists define as culture: the assumptions a group forms while addressing shared challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those closest to the work had to balance structure and culture, even when they created tension. Deadlines and procedural requirements sometimes conflicted with the slower process of building cross-sector consensus. That tension did not signal failure; it showed that both forces were at work. The ordinance gives the Cabinet advisory authority, but it does not determine which data to track or which populations to prioritize. Partners make those decisions together, guided by a shared commitment to fairness that shapes nearly every Cabinet decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither piece works alone. Without the ordinance, the Cabinet would have no formal standing relative to local government and no way to guarantee the city\u2019s participation in a change in leadership or politics. Without the relationships partners built before the vote, it would just be another body checking procedural boxes, present but not actually collaborative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public administration often treats structure and culture as separate issues. The Spartanburg Children’s Cabinet demonstrates they are inherently connected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Public organizations rarely succeed based solely on structure or culture; the most resilient organizations intentionally develop both. The Spartanburg Children’s Cabinet exemplifies this approach, and through my direct involvement in its development, I observed both dynamics firsthand. The Cabinet was established in May 2026, when Spartanburg City Council passed an ordinance for the city to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[72868],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":201,"date":"2026-08-10T11:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=201"},"modified":"2026-08-10T11:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:06:25","slug":"when-simpler-is-better-a-leadership-lesson-in-public-administration-by-michael-trotter-chandler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2026\/08\/10\/when-simpler-is-better-a-leadership-lesson-in-public-administration-by-michael-trotter-chandler\/","title":{"rendered":"WHEN SIMPLER IS BETTER: A Leadership Lesson in Public Administration by Michael Trotter Chandler"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
One of the enduring principles of effective design is that solutions should be as simple as possible\u2014but not simpler. Public administration is no exception. Complex problems often lead organizations to create equally complex solutions. New databases, new processes, and additional layers of oversight may\u00a0look\u00a0<\/em>like progress, but they can also introduce complexity without improving outcomes. One of the most valuable leadership lessons I have learned is that innovation is often less about building something new and more about making better use of what already exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While leading the design of a long-delayed pilot program, I encountered this challenge firsthand. The existing concept centered on creating a new system of record to share information between partner agencies. On paper, the proposal seemed comprehensive. In practice, it would have required years of development, extensive legal review, and significant resources before a single case could be referred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As our team evaluated the proposal, we realized the necessary relationships and authorities were already in place \u2013 they just needed to be utilized. The participating agencies already had access to the information they needed through established agreements governing authorized use. Rather than creating unnecessary infrastructure, we proposed centralizing coordination through an existing task force, strengthening internal review procedures, providing targeted training, and establishing clear oversight and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The greatest challenge, however, was not technical \u2013 it was organizational. Moving away from a previously agreed-upon proposal required patience, relationship building, and the support of trusted stakeholders across multiple offices. Rather than criticizing the original plan, we focused on demonstrating how a simpler approach could accomplish the mission more efficiently while still maintaining necessary safeguards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The experience reinforced an important leadership lesson: simplifying a process does not mean lowering standards. Effective public administration requires identifying what is essential, removing what is unnecessary, and creating solutions that allow existing people, partnerships, and processes to work more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pilot program ultimately launched successfully and received positive feedback from both internal stakeholders and external partners. Looking back, I believe much of its success came from our willingness to challenge assumptions and resist the instinct to build new structures when existing ones could accomplish the mission.Effective leadership is not measured by how elaborate a solution is, but by whether it achieves meaningful results. Sometimes the most innovative idea is simply finding a better way to use the tools, relationships, and capabilities that are already available<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the enduring principles of effective design is that solutions should be as simple as possible\u2014but not simpler. Public administration is no exception. Complex problems often lead organizations to create equally complex solutions. New databases, new processes, and additional layers of oversight may\u00a0look\u00a0like progress, but they can also introduce complexity without improving outcomes. One […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[72868],"class_list":["post-201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201\/revisions\/202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":196,"date":"2026-07-29T17:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=196"},"modified":"2026-07-29T17:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:48:16","slug":"accountability-boots-v-suits-by-phil-carr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2026\/07\/29\/accountability-boots-v-suits-by-phil-carr\/","title":{"rendered":"ACCOUNTABILITY: BOOTS V. SUITS by Phil Carr"},"content":{"rendered":"\n For those walking the beat, accountability looks entirely different than it does in a headquarters<\/p>\n\n\n\n memo. Agencies formally define it as total compliance with written directives\u2014ranging from local<\/p>\n\n\n\n program statements to federal mandates. Yet, this definition fails to translate to the dynamic,<\/p>\n\n\n\n often chaotic environment of the front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the ground, accountability is a heavy, defensive weight. Under conditions of chronic<\/p>\n\n\n\n understaffing and mandatory double shifts, operating perfectly “by the book” is often impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consequently, accountability has morphed into a tool for self-preservation. Officers prioritize a<\/p>\n\n\n\n “CYA” mentality, filing paperwork not to improve the agency, but to shield themselves from<\/p>\n\n\n\n blame when things inevitably go wrong. This creates a culture of fear, where reporting issues<\/p>\n\n\n\n risks career safety, and disciplinary processes are perceived as broken: they heavily penalize<\/p>\n\n\n\n line staff for minor infractions while systemic management failures remain unaddressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reality is that the true spirit of accountability is rarely maintained internally. Leadership\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n rhetoric regarding “zero tolerance” often feels like an empty gesture to the front lines. Instead,<\/p>\n\n\n\n genuine change is almost always forced upon the agency from the outside. Because agencies<\/p>\n\n\n\n have historically operated behind closed doors, it typically requires a public scandal,<\/p>\n\n\n\n congressional hearings, or pressure from an Inspector General to force action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That era of convenient, internal bureaucratic workarounds is ending. With the introduction of<\/p>\n\n\n\n federal oversight acts, independent ombudsmen, and unannounced inspections, the agency is<\/p>\n\n\n\n now under an external microscope. High-profile in-custody deaths have made it impossible for<\/p>\n\n\n\n leadership to hide behind national-level bureaucracy. With Congress now pushing for agency<\/p>\n\n\n\n directors to be Senate-confirmed positions, every failure on the pavement is increasingly<\/p>\n\n\n\n scrutinized on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, line officers are trapped between rigid political demands from Washington and the<\/p>\n\n\n\n harsh, understaffed reality of their patrols. Accountability has shifted from a process meant to<\/p>\n\n\n\n ensure safety to a high-stakes environment where oversight is no longer internal, but a<\/p>\n\n\n\n constant, external pressure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For those walking the beat, accountability looks entirely different than it does in a headquarters memo. Agencies formally define it as total compliance with written directives\u2014ranging from local program statements to federal mandates. Yet, this definition fails to translate to the dynamic, often chaotic environment of the front lines. On the ground, accountability is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[72868],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions\/198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":193,"date":"2022-08-10T20:10:17","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T20:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=193"},"modified":"2022-08-10T20:10:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T20:10:17","slug":"disaster-diversity-by-victoria-hewett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2022\/08\/10\/disaster-diversity-by-victoria-hewett\/","title":{"rendered":"DISASTER DIVERSITY by Victoria Hewett"},"content":{"rendered":" I have only recently begun my career in emergency management. However, my experience over the last two years has shown how important it is to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion when planning for disasters. There are many communities that are simply overlooked or not properly planned for. Many of these underserved communities are in areas that are prone to flooding or other incidents. There are many things to consider when planning for the whole community and paying attention to these underserved areas needs to be a top priority.<\/p>\n In preparation for a potential disaster, such as a hurricane, it is important to realize which communities need help and address how to help them. For example, if a county establishes a sandbag location, they need to make sure it is accessible to everyone. Make sure a location is put either directly in the community or a reasonable distance. It is important to consider those who may not have transportation. Also, it is unrealistic to expect people to carry multiple, heavy sandbags on a bus.<\/p>\n After the disaster has occurred, assistance will most likely be a must in these areas. When people have been struck by a disaster and have potentially lost everything, where can they turn? Who do they trust? An important factor to consider is having people they can relate to. Do they look similar? Speak the same language? These factors make people comfortable and feel as though they can relate to those providing assistance.<\/p>\n Individual assistance isn\u2019t enough to make people whole again after a disaster. When their homes are severely damaged or destroyed, they may not have enough money to put towards getting their homes repaired or to buy a new one. Assistance programs are just that, assistance. These programs are not designed to fully cover loss. Other options such as potential local financial assistance or donations from volunteer groups could bridge the gap a little more.<\/p>\n While this doesn\u2019t address everything, I wanted to highlight some of the different things I\u2019ve come across over the past two years. Planning for disasters must include the entire community. Have people from different backgrounds and ways of life at the planning table. We cannot think of everything by ourselves. Diversity is important in all aspects of life, but it is life saving when it comes to planning for a disaster. This is important to me because I grew up in these underserved communities. While I did not have it nearly as bad as others, I know the basics of what to plan for after a disaster has occurred as I experienced it firsthand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have only recently begun my career in emergency management. However, my experience over the last two years has shown how important it is to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion when planning for disasters. There are many communities that are simply overlooked or not properly planned for. Many of these underserved communities are in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":187,"date":"2022-04-27T15:22:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T15:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=187"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:16:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:16:20","slug":"in-truth-there-is-hope-here-by-erin-valentine-bussey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2022\/04\/27\/in-truth-there-is-hope-here-by-erin-valentine-bussey\/","title":{"rendered":"IN TRUTH, THERE IS HOPE HERE by Erin Valentine Bussey"},"content":{"rendered":" When I tell people I\u2019m from Baltimore, the immediate follow-up question is almost always, \u201cIs it really like The Wire<\/em>?\u201d Well, yes. Some of it is. We\u2019re a majority African-American city where 20% of citizens live in poverty. One in 10 Baltimoreans suffers from addiction. There are few job opportunities, and the booming drug trade is a fast and reliable source of cash. Violence is the leading cause of death for young adults.<\/p>\n We reached a historic milestone this week in Baltimore. We\u2019ve had 100 homicides in the first 107 days of 2022. There have been 201 non-fatal shootings. We\u2019re now on track to record more than 300 homicides for the eighth straight year. We\u2019ve got the second-highest murder rate in the country at 58 per 100,000.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s bad. We know it\u2019s bad. And it\u2019s very easy to normalize that level of violence as just a number and give in to hopelessness, especially when we\u2019re being told over and over that we are hopeless. Donald Trump has called Baltimore a \u201cdisgusting, rat, and rodent-infested mess\u201d where \u201cno human being would want to live.”<\/p>\n In February, in a segment on the failure of democracy in the US, Fox News\u2019s Tucker Carlson called the city \u201cone of the worst places in the western hemisphere\u201d and \u201ca little bit of Haiti in the mid-Atlantic\u201d that had gone from a \u201conce beautiful city into a slum.\u201d \u00a0He blamed Baltimore\u2019s murder rate on Democrats\u2019 progressive policing policies, saying, \u201cIn Baltimore, pretty much everyone in charge is black, yet it\u2019s a matter of religious faith that the main thing holding the city back is white racism.\u201d At the bottom of the screen, a chyron read, \u201cHellscape 40 Miles from the Nation\u2019s Capital.”<\/p>\n He directed his comments at White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. \u201cYou claim to care so deeply about African Americans\u2026and yet here is one of the biggest black-majority cities in the United States. Tens of thousands of black people who live in Baltimore are in misery because their kids keep getting murdered.”<\/p>\n Reinforcing a narrative of fear about a majority-black city in peril from poverty and violence to push a political agenda is almost as harmful to Baltimore as the poverty and violence itself. The more we hear Baltimore referred to as a \u201cslum,\u201d the less hope we Baltimoreans have that things may ever change. Giving in to that mentality means that we have much less energy to create a dialog on more productive solutions, including Tucker Carlson\u2019s suggestion to resume prosecuting low-level drug crimes.<\/p>\n In truth, there is hope here. Baltimore\u2019s community-based movements are making an impact. The Safe Streets program puts volunteers on the streets to diffuse potentially violent disputes. Safe Streets says that in 2021 it mediated 935 conflicts that had the potential to become violent. Others still hope. City hospitals have united in the \u201cViolence Intervention Program.\u201d When a victim of violent crime is admitted to the hospital, they are paired with a caseworker who develops an action plan to create a strong support system designed to reduce the risk of violent re-offenses. At the University of Maryland Medical Center, at-risk youth spend a day in the Shock Trauma Center, where almost a quarter of all patients treated are victims of violence.<\/p>\n We know it\u2019s bad. We know how it looks. People are fleeing the city in droves; our population has shrunk from nearly 1 million in the 1970s to only 580,000 in 2020. T. Rowe Price, Target, Barnes & Noble, and Holiday Inn have recently packed up and left downtown due to the city\u2019s rising crime. You watched us destroy our own communities during the Freddie Gray riots in 2015.<\/p>\n We undoubtedly have some serious issues to address in Baltimore, including violence, blight, a failing education system, and corrupt police and politicians. We can\u2019t hide it. But the last thing we need is for political outsiders to hold us up as a race-baiting pawn against the opposite party. We know you want us to fail, but we\u2019re not going to be your punching bag. The truth is that we are still here, and we still have hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I tell people I\u2019m from Baltimore, the immediate follow-up question is almost always, \u201cIs it really like The Wire?\u201d Well, yes. Some of it is. We\u2019re a majority African-American city where 20% of citizens live in poverty. One in 10 Baltimoreans suffers from addiction. There are few job opportunities, and the booming drug trade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72863,72860],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-destinations","category-issue-18"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":186,"date":"2022-04-27T15:13:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T15:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=186"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:24:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:24:03","slug":"polluting-science-with-politics-and-czars-by-william-scoggins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2022\/04\/27\/polluting-science-with-politics-and-czars-by-william-scoggins\/","title":{"rendered":"POLLUTING SCIENCE WITH POLITICS AND CZARS by William Scoggins Jr."},"content":{"rendered":" There are numerous global tragedies and fallouts from the Covid-19 pandemic. The most tragic pertaining to science and technology is the perception that science is not to be trusted. Public confidence in science has trended downward and that can be plainly attributed to its direct linkage to politicians and the media, as well as science figures who have taken this time to pursue their own agendas.<\/p>\n Another real-world example of the dangers of polluting science with partisan politics is the original Build Back Better plan. Build Back Better was a part of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and subsequently endorsed by the United Nations, long before being tied to a political agenda and presidential election. In a nonpartisan world, this version of Build Back Better should yield 100% support from our political leaders. The basic concept surrounds rebuilding communities and properties with the most recent and robust specifications after a disaster. This practice is essential to building resilient communities, especially with an ever-changing climate and natural disasters causing so much damage in terms of lives lost and economic burden.<\/p>\n Build Back Better should have been introduced in a bipartisan fashion and focused on its intended core philosophy and passed through our government. Instead, a profusion of unrelated programs was lumped into the bill. The bill also focused on unjustified and costly demolition and rebuild processes, in lieu of the original build back better if a disaster damages or destroys the property. It is this type of political malpractice that turns great science and technology policy that would benefit our nation as whole into failed bills that would be detrimental to our health, wellbeing, and solvency as a country. Once the trust is lost, it is almost impossible to get it back\u2026\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To rebuild the trust between the national science and technology community and our citizen\u2019s, there is an immediate need to break the perceived collusion between science and technology representatives and politicians and the media. Science and technology should be a stand-alone federal department\/division and completely bipartisan politically. To further function as a separate entity, the science and technology department should have a public relations spokesperson who communicates its activities directly from the scientific leaders and their perspectives without bias.<\/p>\n The leader of the science and technology federal department should be reputable within the scientific community and not a position that is subject to the volatility of administration changes and political agendas. The head of this division should be someone who confirms or rejects the scientific validity of an administration\u2019s agenda through real science and research and not someone who is hand-picked, and goes through the political appointment process, only to be a partisan science czar.<\/p>\n We live in a time where our confidence in politicians and the media are at continuously historic lows. The national and global population has started to associate and view the science and technology field and its spokespeople in a comparable way. It is time to separate science and technology from political and mainstream media agendas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are numerous global tragedies and fallouts from the Covid-19 pandemic. The most tragic pertaining to science and technology is the perception that science is not to be trusted. Public confidence in science has trended downward and that can be plainly attributed to its direct linkage to politicians and the media, as well as science […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72860],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-18"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":185,"date":"2022-04-27T14:55:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T14:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=185"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:07:55","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:07:55","slug":"top-ten-for-south-carolina-by-monica-culbreath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2022\/04\/27\/top-ten-for-south-carolina-by-monica-culbreath\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP TEN FOR SOUTH CAROLINA by Monica Culbreath"},"content":{"rendered":" Even though Domestic Violence has been a topic getting traction in South Carolina since Governor Nikki Haley declared October as Domestic Violence Awareness month, the incidence is not getting much lower. Looking over the most recent numbers in South Carolina, it is disheartening to learn we are still ranked among the top worst states for Domestic Violence in which women are killed by men. Even though the numbers are at their lowest since the ranking system was formed, South Carolina is still one of the top ten. This is such a terribly expensive badge for us to wear. It is not readily known how costly Domestic Violence is to the state as most still see it as a family problem. Domestic Violence is very costly to the state: costly mentally, physically, and economically to experience, support the victims, and punish the perpetrators of Domestic Violence.\u00a0 <\/span>Here are some impediments that keep South Carolina among the top states with this deadly issue. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Most citizens of South Carolina are not conscious of the extremely high rates of Domestic Violence which take place in this state. This indifference has serious implications as problems cannot be addressed if one is oblivious to them. There is just such a lack of resources available for the victims and survivors of Domestic Violence.\u00a0 <\/span>For the entire state that has about 5 million people, there is only one organization (SCCDVSA) which acts as an umbrella for 13 organizations available to combat Domestic Violence. The low number of existing supports translates to lack of services for the many victims living in the state. Without adequate funding many survivors are unaware of the limited resources which are available. One of the easiest solutions to address our Domestic Violence problem is to bring attention to the problem. Knowing the high financial toll absorbed by the state would encourage solutions developing plans to prevent domestic violence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Domestic Violence in South Carolina is a complex problem calling for many solutions as each situation is different. For one adult providing housing removes them from experiencing Domestic Violence while for another extensive therapy and education is needed to successfully escape.\u00a0 <\/span>It is essential for us to address the obstacles keeping South Carolinians at the top of such a deadly list as it is costing the state more than $350 million dollars annually based on a study from Dr. Joey Von Hessen. This is not acceptable; this cost is too high. Lives are being lost and children are becoming orphans. Modifying proven solutions in other states is another step to aid South Carolina in effectively finding answers. Hopefully, in the next twenty years, South Carolina will be ranked in the bottom states in incidents of domestic violence instead of the top.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even though Domestic Violence has been a topic getting traction in South Carolina since Governor Nikki Haley declared October as Domestic Violence Awareness month, the incidence is not getting much lower. Looking over the most recent numbers in South Carolina, it is disheartening to learn we are still ranked among the top worst states for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72860,258],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-18","category-south-carolina"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":183,"date":"2022-04-27T14:02:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T14:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=183"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:12:53","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:12:53","slug":"india-a-unique-study-subject-by-sharan-ravishankar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2022\/04\/27\/india-a-unique-study-subject-by-sharan-ravishankar\/","title":{"rendered":"INDIA – A UNIQUE STUDY SUBJECT by Sharan Ravishankar"},"content":{"rendered":" I want to talk about a research study that was conducted in 2019 by Placek and Ravishankar on political attitudes potentially influencing a person\u2019s satisfaction with the government in India. This topic is fascinating because India has gone through something unique since the 1990s, specifically, economic liberalization of foreign markets that brought into the country multiple social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.<\/p>\n Using the 2018 Pew Research Center data set, the authors of the study regarded social media as an independent variable and satisfaction with the country, economic situation, and democracy, as well as confidence in the current prime minister Narendra Modi, as dependent variables. A linear regression analysis revealed that social media had significant relationships with country satisfaction and confidence in Modi. Conversely, satisfaction with democracy and economic situation did not relate to the independent variable.\u00a0Interestingly, the general consensus is that social media creates more division within a given country; however, the opposite can be confirmed here: country satisfaction and confidence in leadership correlate well on social media.<\/p>\n One of the reasons the other variables were not statistically significant is that India, like many Asian countries, still uses \u201cold\u201d media, meaning newspapers, television, and other traditional ways of gathering news. This \u201cold\u201d media continues to sway people\u2019s political attitudes in these Asian countries. India is still a developing country in many ways; yet, it is becoming a global leader and is open to having different mediums influence local political attitudes. It is not the same country that gained independence in 1947. With the current trends saying India will take over China when it comes to population and seeing rapid growth of social media, it will be interesting to see how all of that will affect political attitudes in the future studies. Political scientists may want to research India more than it has already been studied!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I want to talk about a research study that was conducted in 2019 by Placek and Ravishankar on political attitudes potentially influencing a person\u2019s satisfaction with the government in India. This topic is fascinating because India has gone through something unique since the 1990s, specifically, economic liberalization of foreign markets that brought into the country […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[473,72860],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","category-issue-18"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":180,"date":"2021-04-24T10:49:42","date_gmt":"2021-04-24T10:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=180"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:25:38","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:25:38","slug":"is-something-coming-down-the-conservation-pike-by-jenifer-bunty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2021\/04\/24\/is-something-coming-down-the-conservation-pike-by-jenifer-bunty\/","title":{"rendered":"IS SOMETHING COMING DOWN THE CONSERVATION PIKE? by Jenifer Bunty"},"content":{"rendered":" President Biden and his team are rounding out their first 100 days in office. From the first-day priority of revoking a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, the President has been building his team and laying the groundwork for a science-centered, climate-focused environmental agenda. Within a week of his inauguration, President Biden signed Executive Order No. 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. This order places an economic imperative on developing climate solutions and places climate change at the \u201ccenter of United States foreign policy and national security.” The Executive Order was an ideological win for environmentalists and indicates that over the next 4 years, Federal land management decisions will revolve around climate conscious goals for conservation, forest restoration, and carbon sequestration.<\/p>\n President Biden has assembled an outstanding leadership team for the land management agencies and scientific offices to begin work on some big environmental goals. They seem to have solidified support from the larger scientific community. Still, over the past few weeks, I\u2019ve noticed an uneasiness among the researchers and land managers that I work with. There is a sense that something is coming down the pike, but we don\u2019t know what. Maybe it\u2019s a bit of paranoia remaining from the previous administration that abruptly pulled support from climate scientists, conservation projects, and natural resource operations. My gut feeling is that these concerns are not without base though. Placing priorities on conservation could do a lot over the next four years, but conservation goals gain complexity as they are handed from leadership to practitioners on the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Biden and his team are rounding out their first 100 days in office. From the first-day priority of revoking a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, the President has been building his team and laying the groundwork for a science-centered, climate-focused environmental agenda. Within a week of his inauguration, President Biden signed Executive Order […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14918,72859],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment","category-issue-17"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":179,"date":"2021-04-21T15:15:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T15:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/?p=179"},"modified":"2022-04-27T19:25:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T19:25:54","slug":"have-hair-will-discriminate-by-bianca-crawley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/2021\/04\/21\/have-hair-will-discriminate-by-bianca-crawley\/","title":{"rendered":"HAVE HAIR, WILL DISCRIMINATE by Bianca Crawley"},"content":{"rendered":" The natural hair discrimination laws for people of color have been spreading throughout the world since the beginning of the 16th<\/sup> century Trans-Atlantic slave route.\u00a0 In the United States, natural hair has been deemed as unprofessional, untamed, dreadful, or in need of being \u201crelaxed.\u201d\u00a0The Tignon Act of the late 18th<\/sup> century was enacted by the Spanish Governor of Louisiana Esteban Rodr\u00edguez Mir\u00f3, requiring women of color, and especially creole women, to wear a tignon headscarf to cover their hair. Many considered the elaborate hairstyles to be a threat to the status quo, bringing excessive attention to the women, and hence the law was meant to police their hair and ensure that it was covered up.<\/p>\n Looking back at social movements, such as the Black Power Movement during the 1960s and 1970s, where men and women of color were often seen wearing their hair in its natural state, hair was viewed as a symbol of power.\u00a0 Within the last decade, the rise of the natural hair movement has attained so much attention that laws have begun to be passed around the country to stop discrimination based on natural hair.<\/p>\n The C.R.O.W.N. (C<\/strong>reate a R<\/strong>espectful and O<\/strong>pen W<\/strong>orkplace for N<\/strong>atural Hair) Act, was created in 2019 through a collaboration between Dove personal care brand and the CROWN Coalition to protect people from discrimination based on race-specific hairstyles.\u00a0 This includes all hair textures and protective styles which include styles such as braids, locs, afros, and twists within workplace and in public school settings. According to Dove, \u201cCalifornia was the first state to sign the C.R.O.W.N. Act into law on July 3, 2019. With support from the CROWN Coalition, the bill is now law in 6 other states (CO, MD, NY, NJ, VA, WA).\u201d<\/p>\n The C.R.O.W.N. Act Coalition carries on the constant pursuit to support legislative efforts that aim to end hair discrimination throughout the United States.\u00a0 Today, the C.R.O.W.N. Act has surpassed over 189,000 petition signatures. To continue to see growth within the diffusion of natural hair laws, it is essential for us to understand the history of natural hair within the Black community, in order to continue to see growth and diversity within both school and workplace settings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The natural hair discrimination laws for people of color have been spreading throughout the world since the beginning of the 16th century Trans-Atlantic slave route.\u00a0 In the United States, natural hair has been deemed as unprofessional, untamed, dreadful, or in need of being \u201crelaxed.\u201d\u00a0The Tignon Act of the late 18th century was enacted by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72866,72859],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-equity-and-access","category-issue-17"],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.clemson.edu\/tigergps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]