The Past Isn’t Always in the Past: Covington Catholic and the Politics of Race and Gender at Southern Private Schools

Nathan Phillips (center) leads a dance at the Indigenous Peoples March. Image (detail): Joe Flood

It was hard to miss the video that went viral on the weekend of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

On January 20, footage of a white high school student, flanked by his classmates as he stood in front of a Native American elder, took the news and social media by storm. The student stood at a close distance, wearing an apparent smirk below his “Make America Great Again” hat. The Native elder stood calmly but firmly, beating a small hand drum and singing over the noise from the student’s classmates, many of whom also sported the iconic red baseball caps of Trump supporters. One classmate appeared to taunt the Native elder with a gesture mocking a “tomahawk chop.”


The March for Life incident is a troubling reminder of a history that links segregated private schools to the anti-abortion movement.


The scene was from Washington, D.C., where students from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, were attending the anti-abortion March for Life. It was an event that coincided with an Indigenous Peoples March, a grassroots gathering of community leaders, celebrities, and activists to address the environmental and human rights issues facing Native American, First Nations, and other indigenous people.

The incident drew conflicting narratives as more footage was pieced together to show how Nick Sandmann, the Covington student, came face-to-face with Nathan Phillips, an Omaha elder, veteran, and activist. What gained general agreement was that tensions had first been elevated by verbal exchanges with another, smaller group identifying themselves as the Black Hebrew Israelites. A few members of that group could be seen subjecting the Covington students to inflammatory language and insults. Thereafter, people have been divided, often along partisan lines, on whether Sandmann or Phillips was the instigator of the face-off. Continue reading

Jon Tells Us Why He Interned With Planned Parenthood

The following post comes to us via Jon Brown, a journalism student, aspiring voice actor, and current Planned Parenthood Arizona intern.

JonMy name is Jon Brown. I’m a student at Arizona State University. I chose to intern at Planned Parenthood because, quite simply, I believe in what they do (yes, guys support Planned Parenthood too). From campaigning for women’s rights during the era of suffrage to pushing uncomfortable yet necessary conversations (such as STD testing) into public focus, I have stood by their beliefs and I admire them for having the courage to stand up on controversial issues when no one else will.


I expected more of a passive role when I first started working here. I couldn’t have been more wrong.


Planned Parenthood doesn’t only focus on women’s issues, they tackle any social issue that they feel needs addressing. At a recent luncheon called I Stand with Planned Parenthood, they brought on guest speaker Ashley Spillane, who is the president of Rock the Vote, an organization dedicated to increasing the youth involvement in politics.

So, you know I like the organization, but I absolutely love the part of it that I interned with directly. The department head for whom I interned and everyone at the organization I encountered have been wonderful. They made me feel welcome, and instead of handing me a list of responsibilities they asked me what I wanted to get out of this internship. I’m a journalism major and I was looking for public relations experience, so I worked on the social media aspects of this organization. Continue reading

An Internship With a Purpose

Editor’s Note: Today’s post is by one of PPAZ’s interns, Cassidy Olson. Cassidy is an Arizona native who was born and raised in Prescott. She is currently studying public relations at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and will be graduating in December. Cassidy has been interned in the communications and marketing department at Planned Parenthood Arizona, December 2010 through May 2011.

My internship in the communication and marketing department at Planned Parenthood Arizona (PPAZ) came about really by happenstance; however, it turned into something greater than I could have expected. As a member of Arizona State University’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), I participated in an event called “Shadow Day.” During Shadow Day, each PRSSA member was matched with a business in Phoenix to visit for a day to learn how the public relations department at each organization functioned. I had always been interested in the nonprofit side of public relations, so when I found out that I had been matched with PPAZ for the day, I was eager to learn more about nonprofit PR for a couple of hours. Never had I expected my short visit would turn into an internship lasting five months.

When I met Cynde Cerf, communication and marketing manager at PPAZ, I was in awe of the fact that she was able to manage the entire PPAZ communication department by herself. Because of this, when Cynde mentioned she was on the look-out for interns, I thought it might be a fun opportunity to learn a few things and help out. In all reality, the internship did much more than that for me. Continue reading