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Sexual Assault's Ripple Effect | Vice President Charles Curtis | COVID-19 Remembrances

Courtesy of Netflix
Daisy Coleman, featured in the documentary 'Audrie and Daisy' co-founded SafeBAE, an organization which aims to end sexual assault among middle and high school students.

Melinda Coleman died just four months after her daughter Daisy did, both from suicide, the first vice president of color was a Kansan, and remembering the lives of area residents who have died from COVID-19.

Segment 1, beginning at 5:07: Daisy Coleman was raped in 2012 and died by suicide on August 4, 2020. Her mother Melinda died by suicide four months later.

Their deaths exemplify the 'ripple effect' of sexual assault, felt by those close to the victim and on a broader scale in the social context of the crime. "This is the collateral damage. This is actually what it looks like," explained executive director of SafeBAE, Shael Norris.

Segment 2, beginning at 30:02: Kamala Harris will become the second vice president of color in January following in the footsteps of a Native American nearly 100 years ago.

Charles Curtis became vice president to Herbert Hoover in 1929. A member of the Kaw nation, Curtis held elected office for twenty years prior to his vice presidency, including as a U.S. Senator from Kansas.

Segment 3, beginning at 43:50: Jackson County is currently reporting over 22,000 coronavirus cases and more than 200 deaths due to COVID-19.

Behind the statistics are real people; parents, grandparents, siblings and children. As part of our ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, we take a moment to remember four people of the Kansas City community who have died.

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.
As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.
Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.