Activism

YES! Media’s coverage of activism centers on the ways that grassroots mobilization and activism work to change the political zeitgeist around the most pressing social issues we are facing.

Arrests in Washington Signal Increasing Urgency on Keystone Pipeline

Forty-eight leaders of environmentalist groups such as the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and 350.org were arrested today while participating in civil disobedience. They were demanding that President Barack Obama stop construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Chris Francis | Feb 14, 2013

Idle No More Group photo by Marcel Petit

Native rights

Why Canada’s Indigenous Uprising Is About All of Us

When a new law paved the way for tar sands pipelines and other fossil fuel development on native lands, four women swore to be “idle no more.” The idea took off.

Sarah van Gelder | Feb 8, 2013

Only the People of the United States Can End Israel’s Occupation

Many progressives breathed a sigh of relief when last month’s Israeli elections set the stage for a centrist coalition and not a far-right one. Yet peace will remain out of reach until the American people pressure the Obama Administration to end Israeli impunity.

Stephen Zunes | Feb 7, 2013

Rosa Parks, Champion for Human Rights

The radical life story often left untold.

Alice B. Jennings, Grace Lee Boggs | Feb 5, 2013

Chicago Gun Violence photo by Ashlee Rezin

Mental health

Tomorrow, We March on Washington to End the Gun Violence

Twenty-two times more children have been killed by guns since 1979 than military personnel in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. Rev. Jacqui Lewis on why all of us—from clergy to factory workers—must not be too sad, too busy, or too afraid to say, enough.

Rev. Jacqui Lewis | Jan 26, 2013

Europe Authorizes “Robin Hood Tax” on Financial Transactions

Support for the tax on stocks, bonds, and derivatives was so strong among EU finance ministers that it wasn’t even necessary to take a formal vote.

Sarah Anderson | Jan 26, 2013

To Follow in MLK’s Footsteps, Join the Fight against Foreclosure

How can today’s Civil Rights leaders follow in the tradition of MLK? Lester Spence argues that foreclosures are the issue and the church may just be the solution.

Lester Spence | Jan 22, 2013

Vandana Shiva: Our Violent Economy is Hurting Women

There is a connection between the growth of unjust economic policies and the intensification of crimes against women. The Delhi gang rape has triggered a revolution—one that we must sustain.

Vandana Shiva | Jan 19, 2013

Native rights

Indigenous Women Take the Lead in Idle No More

Motivated by ancient traditions of female leadership as well as their need for improved legal rights, First Nations women are stepping to the forefront of the Idle No More movement.

Kristin Moe | Jan 19, 2013

Native rights

“Flash Mob Prayer Circle” Shows Idle No More’s Spiritual Side

Speakers at an Idle No More event in Seattle drew comparisons between spiritual and political struggles, making the movement seem closer to Civil Rights than Occupy.

James Trimarco | Jan 15, 2013

Jobs

Human Trafficking Awareness Day: Let’s Take a Stand for Domestic Workers

150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, it's time to recognize domestic labor as real work that should be protected.

Tiffany Williams | Jan 12, 2013

Native rights

Idle No More: Indigenous Uprising Sweeps North America

Idle No More has organized the largest mass mobilizations of indigenous people in recent history. What sparked it off and what’s coming next?

Kristin Moe | Jan 10, 2013

Natalie Jeremijenko photos by Balazs Gardi

Robot Dogs and Other Weird Creatures Bring Nature to the City

How to create a world where people fly, salamanders text, and trash is useful.

Natalie Pompilio | Jan 4, 2013

Pete Seeger: “You Stick Together ’Til It’s Won”

Gleaned from letters, essays, and articles, “Pete Seeger: In His Own Words” reveals how the celebrated folk singer has considered, at every turn, what it means to sing out in a world where the din of injustice is deafening.

Kim Ruehl | Dec 5, 2012