Americans are generous with their time—coaching youth sports, feeding the hungry, cleaning parks, and serving their communities in countless ways. Many also volunteer on state boards and commissions, helping shape policies that affect us all. But what if your chance to serve depended not on your skills or dedication, but on your race or sex? Until recently, that was the reality in at least 25 states. It’s an injustice that’s finally being addressed.

One of those states—South Carolina—required a majority of the nine-person Commission for Minority Affairs to be African American. Created in 1993, the Commission for Minority Affairs studies socio-economic issues affecting minorities in South Carolina and implements programs necessary to address those issues, among other things.

When Pine Hill Indian Tribe Chief Michelle Mitchum inquired about being appointed to the Commission, she was told not to bother trying because she was the wrong race. And given the statutory mandate for a majority of Commission members to be African American, South Carolina resident Sandy Chiong—a woman of Chinese, Cuban, and Spanish descent—was categorically disqualified from consideration. As a result of the blatantly discriminatory criteria for serving on the Commission, both women sued late last year.

Other states impose discriminatory criteria for service on practically all of their boards and commissions. In Montana, for example, state law required the governor to “attain gender balance and proportional representation of minorities resident” in the state when making appointments to all state boards. Likewise, in Tennessee, the governor was required to “ensure that at least one” person serving on every state board was “a member of a racial minority.”

Given that Montana’s and Tennessee’s laws covered even the state medical boards, Do No Harm—an organization dedicated to keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice—challenged both laws in court to ensure that those regulating physicians are chosen solely due to individual merit and qualifications.

Still, other states, like Arkansas, had a patchwork system of racial preferences and quotas for numerous state boards. For instance, the governor was required to appoint one “member of a minority race” to the occupational therapy committee and at least one “member of an ethnic minority” to the counseling board. In response, Do No Harm and the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism sued to ensure all qualified individuals interested in serving on both boards had the opportunity for equal consideration.

Racial preferences and quotas for public service are never a good idea: They serve only to divide and single people out for favor or disfavor based on personal characteristics they cannot control. Such preferences and quotas also treat members of minority groups as interchangeable, ignoring the individual qualifications, experience, and ideas that everyone uniquely possesses. Worse still, such quotas violate the American promise of equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Perhaps worried about violating the Constitution—or at least, worried about defending unconstitutional laws in court—the governors of South Carolina, Montana, Tennessee, and Arkansas signed bills this spring that removed discriminatory requirements for state boards and commissions. Their actions are to be commended. Now, everyone in those states is on equal footing to demonstrate their interest and credentials for why they should be selected for the important role of serving the citizens of their state.

The work is not done, however. Lawsuits challenging similar race-based preferences and quotas for service on public boards in Alabama, Louisiana, Minnesota, and West Virginia are ongoing. And still, many other states have discriminatory laws in place. But with every racial preference and quota that ends, we move closer to Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a society where people are not “judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

For kids, summer may be a time filled with camps and vacations. For those staying in the greater Grand Rapids area, a new initiative from Jump Ahead L3C aims to not only provide engagement to children, but foster an environment of creativity and community.

The Jump Ahead Play Fuel Summer Initiative is a free, E-Sports day camp opportunity to learn all things E-Sports, including gaming, content creation, and more from D1 E-Sports athletes.

With a rise in E-Sports athletics over the years, the program aims to not only provide educational opportunities, but empower youth through extracurricular activities and teamwork.

The Play Fuel Initiative will be every Friday and Saturday at Jump Ahead until August 1 from 5:30 P.M. to 9 P.M.

Visit thejumpedahead.com for more information, or give them a call at (616) 278-2922.

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Farmington, Utah, is a game-changer for youth sports.

The best multipurpose facility in the state is opening to the public, drawing a myriad of sporting events from across the country to its state-of-the-art facilities. Western Sports Park is a 55-acre campus featuring a new 120,000-square-foot arena and 17 acres of playing fields, with an updated 60,000-square-foot existing facility. And that’s just the beginning of what you can find at Utah’s Ultimate Sports Destination.

Every attendee will feel like a champion when they step into Western Sports Park, whether they’re on the court, in the field, or cheering from the stands. The innovative campus is a multipurpose mega-playground built to support the entirety of the youth sports industry. Western Sports Park (also known as WSP) is just as capable of hosting a festival, trade show, or corporate event as it is a statewide tournament.

Unbeatable Amenities

Beyond the WSP’s outstanding new facilities, competitors and spectators will experience amenities that redefine the standards of sports travel. The campus excels in providing elevated venues for traveling team sports with a 2,000-seat championship field, full concession capabilities, and over 2,000 parking spaces for attendees.

Training and team facilities, as well as private referee spaces and flexible office and meeting rooms, all accumulate into a destination that redefines the word “dynamic.”

Championship Attractions

Western Sports Park is an easy win for event planners, even beyond the court. It’s conveniently located just a short walk from plenty of lodging, dining, and entertainment options. Station Park mixed-use lifestyle center sits just across the street, elevating attendees’ free time with the opportunity to browse popular brands and grab essential goods from reliable shops.

For entertainment, Lagoon Amusement Park more than delivers the thrill, while Antelope Island State Park surrounds visitors with stunning mountain views and majestic wildlife unlike anywhere else. Over 500 miles of hiking trails ensure that another adventure always awaits. And, if visiting during the winter months, skiers and snowboarders are never more than an hour from nine of Utah’s acclaimed slopes.

Start Planning

Traveling to Davis County is simple. Salt Lake City International Airport is just 20 minutes from Farmington, meaning attendees are only a short UTA FrontRunner ride away from Utah’s Ultimate Athletic Destination.

The Discover Davis County team is ready to assist you in planning your next event. Don’t leave it up to chance—you’re guaranteed a win when you host your event at Western Sports Park.

Book your next event in Utah’s Amusement Capital. Visit discoverdavis.com/sports to learn more.

Earnest “Bear” Spencer completed his 10-month sentence at the Kalamazoo County Jail in October 2024. Now, he has hopes of going back – but for a different reason. 

He recalls visitors to the jail, themselves formerly incarcerated and involved in street violence but now building a mentorship program to help people identify self-worth and change their choices. 

It’s a local implementation of a national program first created in a Michigan jail and now operated by the National Sheriff’s Association. National data shows it is effective in reducing violence in prison and recidivism when inmates are released. In Kalamazoo County an unlikely partnership is led by the sheriff’s office, the nonprofit Urban Alliance, and a burgeoning street outreach team.

Spencer was among the first cohort to graduate from the program, which connected them with community resources for things like housing and employment services, offered therapy sessions, and helped participants identify their post-release goals. 

He looks forward to being able to report to his mentees what he can accomplish, in a future when he can reflect on the steps of his progress. “Maybe, I could say, ‘I don’t have a place to stay yet, but I did find a job,’ and then maybe I could come back in that third month and say, ‘well I got a job and a place to stay,’ then six months later… ‘hey, I just got a car.’ If they can see that, then it gives them something to aspire to.”

Click here to go inside the jailhouse program with reporters Kristie May and Raine Kuch.

It’s that time of year again

Midway through mosquito and tick season, the Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department is warning that a third of the ticks submitted for testing last year came back positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease or other serious illness. From April until the first frost, ticks and mosquitos are in a prime environment.

The department issued an advisory to the public to protect themselves from tick- and mosquito-related illnesses by eliminating standing water, making sure window screens don’t have holes, wearing clothes that cover skin and use insect repellent with DEET, and checking yourself for ticks after being outdoors.

Lyme Disease symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a distinctive skin rash, that starts as a small spot and grows to look like a bullseye. If untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system, sometimes causing permanent disabilities. Earlier this month, county officials warned a mosquito that was tested was positive for Jamestown Canyon encephalitis, which is rarely deadly but has flu-like symptoms. – James Sanford, NowKalamazoo

Authority Board members appointed for youth sports complex

Kalamazoo County Commissioners have appointed the members of the new Authority Board that will govern the $40 million youth sports complex to be built between U.S. 131 and Drake Road. The project is to open in 2027. It is funded by a new 4% room occupancy fee being assessed on area hotels, which have the option of tacking it onto customers’ bills.

The 11 members will be responsible for making the plan a reality over the next few years, guiding construction and infrastructure to support it, hiring staff and turning it into an operating facility. The building is envisioned to host basketball and volleyball tournaments on the weekend and provide a space for local youth during the week. 

The members are:

• County Commissioner Monteze Morales
• City of Kalamazoo Vice Mayor Jeanne Hess
• Oshtemo Township Supervisor Cheri Bell
• Discover Kalamazoo Director of Business Development Brian Persky
• Discover Kalamazoo President & CEO Jane Ghosh
• Fairfield Inn & Suites Area Director of Sales & Operations Fred Rahme
• Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown Kalamazoo Regional Manager Devshya Patel
• The Hinman Company Chief Operating Officer Rich MacDonald
• Southwest Michigan First Executive Vice President Jill Bland
• United Pursuit and Pursuit of Excellence Director Corey Person
• Next Level Sports Center General Manager and Integrator Annemarie Boarham.

– John McNeill, NowKalamazoo

Lake Placid’s Cascade Builders youth minor baseball team won its league championship on Friday, July 11, against the other Lake Placid-based team, Holzer Spray Foam. The game was played at the Lake Placid Youth Athletic Association fields. Pictured from the Cascade Builders from left, in the front are Brody Langford, Jace Marra, Cole Cassidy, Tyler Bruce, Grayson Castonguay, Jacob Ano and Craig Jopling. In the middle are Shannon Corliss, Calvin Piorkowski, Wyatt Thomson and Hollis Hobday. In the back are coach Todd Corliss, coach Lee Jopling and coach Andrew Thompson. (Provided photo — Alicia Brandes)