Over the last year, right alongside the challenges of the pandemic, this country and its institutions have come face to face with racial inequities and disparities, in new ways.

This can be seen through the lens of the sports world, where teams are dropping racist mascots, to the corporate world, where board rooms look to be more diverse and inclusive, to the arts sector, where diversity of voice and experience has always seemed welcome, but hasn't always been accesible.

Last fall, Ideastream launched a series called Equity in Art, which features artists of color in Northeast Ohio through interactive storytelling. It's available on our website at Arts.Ideastream.org.

There were several profiles in September. Now the series continues with four new profiles, dropping online each Wednesday in April, beginning today.

First up: We'll learn about a Vietnamese American photographer today and dive into how the pandemic has shaped his work.

Later in the program, we discuss the barriers in law enforcement that continue to be broken by women.

Today, an interview with Police Chief Susan Scofield, who's the newest Police Chief for the Village of Timberlake, a small municipality in Lake County.

Finally on the program, a subject we've touched on before on the Sound of Ideas--the declaration of racism as a public health crisis.

Cities like Cleveland and Akron made the declaration back in June of 2020, and Cuyahoga County took the same step a month later, but what comes next? Are the declarations just empty rhetoric without further steps?

We'll talk with several panelists who will be part of public forums organized by the League of Women Voters.

Guests:
Carrie Wise, managing producer of arts and culture, Ideastream
Sharon Scofield, police chief, Village of Timberlake
Emilia Sykes, Ohio House Minority Leader and state representative
Shontel Brown, Cuyahoga County Council Member, District 9
Iris Harvey, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio