- [Female Narrator] Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, a proud supporter of WQPT, has been serving Quad City families since 1889.

They now have livestream capabilities for viewing your loved one's funeral or memorial service.

- [Male Narrator] At IHMVCU, we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial and physical health, and we are here.

IHMVCU is a proud supporter of WQPT.

- The way you wear your hair, new Illinois protections in the new year and what's up with the state of recycling in the cities?

(soft music) Rock Island County's waste authority says it will scale back some of its recycling operations at the end of September.

Was it too much of a good thing that we're doing and will some of those services still be available once again?

More on recycling in a moment, but first, it's a matter of hair.

Schools and workplaces have rules about clothing, hair and your appearance, but when do those rules cross the line and affect a person's culture and deeply rooted heritage?

This month, Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, signed the Jett Hawkins Act, named after a four-year-old Chicago boy, who was told to go home from preschool because of his hairstyle.

Effective January 1st, his hair and hundreds of thousands of other people's hairstyles will be protected in the classroom and the workplace.

We talked with Jett's mother, Ida Nelson, about her fight for justice for her son.

What is the significance of what the governor did, what State Senator Simmons did, what the crown act and the Hawkins act now does?

- Well, what it does is it sends a message that Illinois does care about the mental health outcomes for children of color and support them in embracing their own culture and individuality.

So that's a very important message that Illinois just sends to its constituents, I guess you could say, and also to the country.

- Well, take me back.

I mean, Jett's just four years old.

He was going to preschool, a private preschool, and the teacher and administration just said, okay, we don't like the way your hair is, then what?

- And that you must take it down.

And I was taken aback by that because I am well-versed in the Crown Act.

And at the time I actually did not know that the Crown Act had not been enforced in all states.

I just had some awareness of it, but I was more shocked that a school that has 100% African American population, in terms of their students, would not be racially sensitive and tolerant.

- And this is at preschool.

So, I mean, you have other children, and you were talking to me a little bit earlier that you had a daughter that had an issue with a teacher in regards to her hair in kindergarten as well.

I mean, it seems to be systemic in a way that you're saying.

- It is because there's some sort of messaging or ideology that black hair is unprofessional and is unacceptable.

This is all according to the guidelines in the handbook, in a way, and don't fit in with the-- Oh, what was the wording?

- Well, I guess whatever's considered normal or conservative.

- Right.

- With the standards.

- Okay.

- It doesn't fit in with the standards of the school.

- Well, there's an argument that for African-Americans, is that you're almost being forced into a European hairstyle, which is the ancestors of most white people.

I mean, is that the way that you see it?

- Absolutely.

Absolutely.

There's not one policy that states that you cannot wear straight hair, not one policy, but there are policies out there that are against braids, locks or other natural styles.

It's what stands out, the way that your hair grows out of your body in a curly state, there are rules against that.

- Well, we're talking about little Jett, I mean, he's only four years old.

Does he understand what's going on?

- Jett understands way more than what we think.

Jett is an old soul and he does understand that he-- In my household, creativity and free thinking is encouraged.

And so, even though he's four years old, he understands how to make positive choices.

And he also understands in this household that we embrace everything about ourselves, from our hair to our skin to the way that God made our eyes and ears and nose.

And so, what he does understand is that he loves his hair in braids.

And that he was told that he had to take them down and it made him very sad when he did, he cried.

And he understands that he can now wear his hair exactly how he wants to wear that.

- Well, as you know, I mean, many schools say that, okay, it's gonna be a problem, it impacts the learning environment, it becomes a distraction.

Hair, the T-shirts that some kids wear, the clothing that some kids wear.

You don't argue with that, do you?

- I think that if you're so easily distracted than perhaps the problem is within you.

It comes from a place of ignorance and intolerance is where I feel it comes from.

How someone wears their hair is their human right and people being outraged or appalled by or taken aback to the way someone wears their hair, it comes from a place of them not having culture or understanding of what it all means.

- It's interesting because the Crown Act, which was started in California, actually was really intended for the workplace.

And as you well know, a few years ago in 2019, Dove soap, which has really done a lot to focus on images of African-American women and all women, did a survey that said that African-American women felt really under pressure to change their hair in the workplace.

So this is a huge deal, not only in schools, but through society.

- Oh, absolutely.

This is something that I have personally struggled with.

For years, I wore my hair straight because I believed that that was the only way to fit in with corporate America.

I wanted to present myself in what was taught to me by the same school that I had my son in, and I just did not even realize that I had been conditioned to believe that I needed to change my hair and wear it straight.

Damage my hair, really, was what I was doing because I was perming my hair and flat ironing my hair to the point that my hair was damaged, in order to be able to fit in with corporate America.

Whenever I attempted to wear a hairstyle that was ethnic, like whenever I would just try to toe that line, there was just so much.

It was a distraction in the way of people would just come over to me and want to touch my hair.

Very curious about my hair, like it was some sort of a side show.

And in some places, it was frowned upon to wear your hair in some sort of ethnic style.

And so, I haven't had an incident where people directly said-- Well, actually I did have an incident where someone directly told me that I shouldn't wear my hair the way that I had on.

But even with that, I associated certain styles with being ghetto.

They would have a negative connotation because that's what society taught me to think and believe instead of embracing and celebrating things that make us uniquely us, you know?

So I think that there absolutely should-- I think that the ideology that any institution has the right to govern the way that someone wears their hair, what someone does with their body, I think that anything like that should be abolished.

- What has been the reaction so far?

I mean, you must have heard from parents, as well as other women, other men, in fact, in regards to this fight that you did for the Hawkins Act.

- Well, the response is mostly positive.

I've had nothing but positive responses directly, but it's interesting when I look at comments and things on the internet, from people from different cultures, mostly there's a lot of rhetoric about this being a waste of time.

Why is this an issue?

It's a waste of tax dollar funding.

When I see these things, that is very hurtful and I attempt not to respond to any of those things, but what I would like for people who make those types of comments to understand is that it's not a waste of tax dollar funding when it's something that is impacting the mental health outcomes for children.

And the people who it is affecting, we're taxpayers too.

And so our issues and the things that affect our hearts are equally as important as whatever the issues that you feel are important are.

People are coming on the page talking about masks.

We're talking about a human rights issue and you're talking about, well why don't they talk about masks?

Can we not just celebrate the fact that we're closer to creating equality for people and giving children the ability to live and operate free of discrimination.

Can we celebrate that?

So that's a little bit disheartening,, but the majority of people that I physically and verbally, physically encounter and verbally speak to, are pretty excited about the bill.

- Tell me also, I mean, this was a major accomplishment for you in Illinois, but you're not done yet, are you?

I mean, there's now a dozen, more than a dozen states that have approved a form of the Crown Act.

You wanna see it nationwide.

- Absolutely, as it should be.

It's a shame that we have to work so hard in order to get something that, again, is just a privilege to other people.

The right to exist, free of hair discrimination, in the country that you're native to.

But yes, I'm working to reform any policies like this that exist in any state in the United States.

- I'm sure other states and other activists have reached out to you so far?

- A few activists have reached out to me.

Other states, not so much.

I would hope that they do reach out to me and I certainly plan on reaching out to them, as an initiative of the Kids Like Jett organization.

- Jett's going to school now.

I mean, he's heading to, what?

Would it be first grade?

Oh no, kindergarten.

- He's heading to kindergarten.

- Yeah, kindergarten.

So, I mean, is he gonna be like a rock star now?

- Jett was born rockstar.

(Jim chuckles) He really was, but he's humble.

He's humble.

I tell you what, he's going to another private school.

And I interviewed them and asked about what their feelings are about teaching children to embrace their whole self and teaching to the whole child.

And this school is on par with exactly what we all should be teaching our children.

I feel like this is a safe place for my children to reside for school.

- Ida Nelson, Jett Hawkins mother, and one of the driving forces of the Jett Hawkins Act that protects African-American and other hairstyles rooted in a person's heritage in Illinois.

Still ahead, is Rock Island County less committed to recycling?

But first, Laura Adams has a look at what you can do when you go out and about.

- [Laura] This is out and about for August 27th through September second.

The date is different, but the fun is the same at the St. Patrick's Bi-State Parade, August 28th, at 11:30, starting in downtown Rock Island.

Afterwards, stop by the German-American Heritage Center for their fourth annual Best of the Wurst Competition at two.

The Bishop hill Chautauqua runs the 28th and 29th to celebrate Swedish heritage, while LeClaire is the location for Vettes on the River, featuring over 500 Corvettes, the 28th, starting at 6:00 AM.

Join veterans for the Irreverent Warriors Quad City Silkies Hike, starting at the Dillon Memorial Fountain in Davenport, the 28th at 07:30.

Nerd Fest, a new festival at the RiverCenter, celebrates all the different nerd geek and fandom cultures, August 27th through 29th.

And there's family fun at Farm Days in the Village of East Davenport, the 28th and 29th.

Or join the World of Outlaw Stock Car Race's three-day bash, August 26th through the 28th.

Mercado on Fifth features DJ Alex on Friday, Dinah ride takes the stage at Bass Street Landing, September second and class of '82 performs on the 27th at RME's Live@Five concert.

Catch Irish Tenor, Paddy Homan, at locations throughout the Quad Cities as part of the Quad City Arts Visiting Artists Series.

And there's only three performances left to see Murderer in Green Meadows at The Black Box Theater.

For more information, visit wqpt.org.

- Thank you, Laura.

We love the chance to introduce to you all types of music created by local artists around the cities.

The drummer, who goes by the name Dead Ginger, has been creating music he says identifies with his inner soul.

He joined us at the stage of The Black Box Theater in Moline.

So here's Dead Ginger, with Clarity To Chaos.

(soft rock music) That's Dead Ginger, with Clarity To Chaos, performing at The Black Box Theater in downtown Moline.

For years, we've been told that recycling is the responsible thing to do, it's good for the planet.

So it came as a surprise when Rock Island County's waste management authority announced it would scale back its recycling effort by closing its drop-off sites often used by rural residents and others who don't have curbside collection.

So what's going on?

We talked with Brandon Melton, with the Rock Island County Waste Management Agency, to get an answer to that question.

Well, I would assume that the decision to stop the drop-off collection points in Rock Island County really was kind of a difficult one to make.

- Yeah, I think absolutely, it's always difficult to take services away from residents of the county.

I first want to start by saying and clarifying that Rock Island County Waste Management Agency isn't a part of Rock Island County.

I think that's a common misconception that we've heard from a lot of the community.

We are a separate entity, it's called a municipal joint action agency and Rock Island County is one of those members, along with a number of cities, including Rock Island, Boline, East Moline and other smaller communities.

So our budget is one that is separate from all of those municipalities, but we also run a variety of programs throughout the area.

So the board had to make a decision and weigh the drop-off facilities against eliminating some of those programs, such as the household hazardous materials collection and e-waste collection, where any Rock Island County resident can go to the Scott County Facility and dispose of those materials responsibly and free of cost to them.

- Well, the waste management commission, which is exactly what you were talking about.

I mean, you've been pushing for people to recycle.

You don't want bad practices in the landfill.

So, I mean, it's not like you're gonna stop recycling throughout Rock Island County.

- Absolutely not.

I think that was some other confusion that we've heard.

The curbside recycling that is available in all of the-- All of our member governments, at least, offer some form of curbside recycling.

That will continue to occur.

Most of that material goes to the Scott County Waste Commissions Facility to be recycled, and they will still be accepting recycled materials at the drop-off sites throughout Davenport and Scott County.

So the recycling at the curbside should remain the same as it always has.

People that utilize that probably won't feel this as much, but I know some of those folks still use the drop-off sites as overflow, so that's something that we want to make sure we put out to folks that are utilizing the sites, that there's still the option to take it over.

Not as convenient, we understand that and know that folks would be disappointed in the decision.

- It is interesting that this is yet another impact from COVID.

In a way, to the best of my knowledge, was that the recycling stream and actually the entire waste management stream was interrupted by the business community not being at a hundred percent.

Is that a correct assessment?

And if that's the case, it would seem like this is gonna be a problem that's gonna last a bit longer for the waste management agency.

- Sure.

So there's a lot of nuance in how it-- And I think everyone's still trying to get their head around all the impacts of COVID.

I wanted to stress too, and I'm glad you gave me the opportunity to talk about this point, that this was sort of coming to a head already.

Our income that we collect from the landfills was on the decline over the past four years, and the expenses of our programs have been increasing over the last four years.

So even before COVID, we were on a path where the board was gonna have to make a decision to reduce some programs to some degree.

And really, the impacts of COVID accelerated that decision.

And maybe the severity of the decrease that had to occur.

The bottom line was that we had to find somewhere $170,000 to get rid of in our budget, which is typically around $500,000 a year.

That money goes towards the programs that I had mentioned before, and so the board did have to make that difficult decision maybe a little bit sooner because of COVID.

I think your assumption about commercial activity being greatly reduced because of COVID restrictions is correct.

That there's a lot fewer material coming into the landfill, which is really our sole source of income as an agency.

We receive a tipping fee, so when someone brings their material to be disposed of at the landfill, a portion of what they pay goes to pay for our agency's operations.

- When it comes so recycling, I mean, we've heard this time and again, is that some places don't accept paper anymore because there's just been too much paper and the price just plummeted, same with some metals.

I mean, is it a case, when it comes to recycling, that, in a way, we've been too successful and thereby, with supply and demand, there's just too much supply and then the cost just falls?

- Right, I'm not a subject expert on that aspect of it.

We don't directly deal with the recycling, but we do work with Scott County pretty closely on how they're managing their materials and did get an opportunity to discuss with them what that looks like for them, as far as the market value of the materials that they're collecting.

And cardboard is actually very high right now because, and I would assume, largely because there's more activity for online shopping.

And so boxes are in high demand.

And single stream recycling is actually on the rise.

There was a time, really, between 2018 and 2020, where the recycling market was disrupted pretty significantly because China's embargo on our recycled materials.

So that market did take a pretty steep dive there, but I know that Scott County was still able to market their materials.

And as I mentioned, the single stream materials, the commodity prices for those are steadily increasing now and are actually looking good.

- Well, we've talked about refuse and we've talked about recycling, but let's talk about the household hazardous waste because the waste management agency is going to be having a hazardous household waste collection coming up, September 11th, it's Saturday, at the Rock Island County Fairgrounds.

This is really a good opportunity that if you have, I don't know, oil-based paints in your garage or if you have anything that is corrosive or chemicals or fertilizers that's just sitting around in your house, you don't want people dumping them in the toilet.

You don't want them throwing it in the garbage can.

This is your chance to dispose of it wisely.

- Yeah, absolutely.

So we're co-hosting this event with Illinois EPA.

We're sort of a pilot for an annual event that we may be able to host.

If the event is successful, we could see this happening every year.

Typically, we would have to apply for a grant to make this happen, so the opportunity for us to have an annual event is something that's really great.

We're geographically situated in such a way that is gonna benefit all of the Illinois-ians in our area, and Northeastern Illinois or Northwestern Illinois, excuse me.

So we're looking forward to having as many people out as we can.

We do want folks to come sign up and they can go to our website, it's I-R-C-W-M-A dot org.

And the link for the signup is on that page, as well as a full list of materials that we will be accepting and those that we won't be.

Probably the most common that we see people bringing is latex paint.

That is not going to be accepted.

That can be dried out and disposed of with your regular trash.

- Brandon Melton with the Rock Island County Waste Management Agency.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us as we talk about the issues of the cities.

(soft music) - [Female Narrator] Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, a proud supporter of WQPT, has been serving Quad City families since 1889.

They now have live stream capabilities for viewing your loved one's funeral or memorial service.

- [Male Narrator] At IHMVCU, we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial and physical health, and we are here.

IHMVCU is a proud supporter of WQPT.