The Challenge for Communities to Rise and Take Care of Their Own
As the federal government abandons its responsibilities, it will be up to the states, the cities, the communities, and the people to rebuild a unified state.
Local power
“The Price on Everything Is Love”: How a Detroit Community Overcomes a Lack of City Services
A range of neighbor-to-neighbor efforts address basic needs, from health care to food access, that are going unmet by local government agencies.
Resisting the Power Structures That Keep Colonialism Alive
We must look at the roots of capitalism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and anti-Blackness to leave settler colonialism in the past.
To Combat Gentrification, One City Is Changing How Homes Are Bought and Sold
The city of Buffalo is supporting its first community land trust, designed to give neighbors control over land use and to keep housing affordable.
The Woman Who Pioneered “Housing First”
Three decades ago, one nurse came up with a radical idea: Give homeless folks suffering from addiction and mental illness a safe place to be themselves.
Immigrant Farmers Revive Dormant Greenhouse to Grow Food From Home
At a small farmers market south of Seattle, you’ll find varieties of ethnic vegetables unlikely sold in your typical supermarket.
Cooking Stirs the Pot for Social Change
Preparing food—and letting others in our communities cook for us—is how we become good citizens who engage with the communities around us.
Why Women From Asia Are Confronting U.S. Fracking: Oil Extraction Equals Plastic Production
Plastic manufacturers are not responsible for the disposal of their products, so the burden is placed on people in the Philippines.
Where Birth Control Is Scarce, Young Women Create Sex Education Outside the Classroom
A Kentucky program trains women to advocate for their reproductive health.
The Hope of a “Blue Wave” Is Dangerous to Democracy
The best way to discourage voting—and thwart democracy—is to predict a big win for any party. Here’s what the primaries are indicating about the political landscape ahead of the midterms.
High Schoolers Bring Their Love of Culinary Arts to Feed Local Homeless
It wasn’t enough for a group of students to provide free meals. They’re looking to tackle systemic problems.
Despite Prosecutor’s Attempts to Stop Her, Georgia Woman Keeps Registering Voters
Jim Crow endures in Georgia as voter suppression efforts persist across the state. But get-out-the-vote activists are undaunted.
It’s Young Black Women’s Turn in Michigan
At 23, Myya Jones is running for state representative. She’s at the forefront of a wave of Black women running for office.
Partisan Gerrymandering Could Soon Be Unconstitutional
Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on two cases, anti-gerrymandering action at the state level is well underway.
Blacksmiths Turn Unwanted Guns Into Garden Tools
Shotguns often become hand spades, and a weapon like the AR-15 that was used in recent mass shootings has a thicker barrel that suits an afterlife as a mattock.
When 16-Year-Olds Vote, We All Benefit
A lower voting age rejuvenates democracy across generations.
Black Entrepreneurs Lead the Charge in Baltimore’s Economic Renewal
Rehabilitating derelict properties into sites for workforce training, manufacturing, and sustainable employment aligns with the priorities of the city.
An Unusual Way to Rescue a City From Blight—Bees
As the city removes thousands of blighted properties, this couple saw an opportunity to support a cooperative economy.
Rejection of Gerrymandering in Ohio Suggests the U.S. Wants Fairer Elections
In both red states and blue states, steps are underway to limit how much districts can be drawn for partisan advantage.
Tiny Houses Alone Can’t Solve the Housing Crisis. But Here’s What Can
People are looking beyond traditional boundaries to find housing that works for them.
How Artists and Neighbors Turned a Bomb Site Into a Medicine Garden
Amid a housing crisis, a London neighborhood found a way to protect a parcel of rewilded land—then transform it into something better.
A Year Later, Fewer Deportations in Cities That Adopted “Welcoming” Policies
Where local governments collaborate with ICE, deportations have increased more than 75 percent. New Mexico shows a different way.
Students Look Beyond Gun Control Laws to Prevent Violence—and It’s Working
As lawmakers argue over how best to address school shootings, student clubs are focused on reducing youth violence at schools and in their communities.
Why Redneck Revolt Says Deal With Racism First, Then Economics
Addressing our systems of White supremacy cannot be dismissed as “identity politics.”
Trumpism Didn’t Just Lose—Progressives Won
It wasn’t just Democrats who won this election, but progressives who didn’t shirk the label.
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