Before #BlackLivesMatter: The Roots of Black Digital Activism
From the beginnings of computing, technology has been used to oppress or to liberate Black Americans.
Social Justice
Are Asian Americans White? Or People of Color?
Scholar-activists discuss the racialized complexities of being Asian American.
I Turned My Child Marriage Trauma into Activism
Between 2000 and 2010, nearly 250,000 minors were married in the U.S.
Asylum Seekers Receive Grassroots Aid Along the Border in Mexico
Gaby Zavala was in her obstetrician’s waiting room in Brownsville, Texas, when she first saw the video. Across the river in Matamoros, Mexico, a 15-year-old Honduran girl had been swept
How Do We Cover Iran Better in the News? Include More Iranians
This article is published in partnership with PA Post, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news outlet covering Pennsylvania policy and how it affects citizens. Sign up for their newsletter, The Context, here. When
Minneapolis Activists Ask Local Leaders to Invest in Communities, Not Cops
In dramatic effect, a Minneapolis resident dumps a bag of money onto a podium during public comments at the final City Council meeting on the 2020 budget last month. The
How Educators Are Rethinking The Way They Teach Immigration History
In the summer of 2017, before her senior year of high school, Isabelle Doerre-Torres met Carlos,* a Salvadoran immigrant on the verge of deportation. Doerre-Torres was an intern at a
Combat Veterans Tell Us What We Need to Know About War
Charles Battle’s voice, gentle and soft, is little more than a whisper when he recalls his time at war. No visible scars give testimony to his tour in Vietnam, but
Gabby Giffords: There is Only One Side When It Comes to Gun Violence
Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, retired from Congress after she was shot in the head at point-blank range during a congressional event in her district in
Nurturing the Future of the Northern Triangle
Gabriela Yanes, 19, is from one of El Salvador’s most dangerous municipalities, Las Palmas. Her parents run a food store out of their home, selling rice and other basic commodities
White Supremacy Is the Root of Violence Against Jews
Two recent attacks against the Jewish community in the New York City area have come at the hands of people of color, specifically Black Americans. Trained as we are to
Alicia Garza: How to Prepare for 2020
Who’s ready for 2020?! As we head into the next decade, many of us are already worn down, discouraged, and exhausted from the rapid-fire struggles of the past three years
Beyond Compensation for Reparations
Every innovation our world has experienced began with imagination. In today’s society, we suffer from imagination deficiency when it comes to considering the humanity of all people, regardless of their
The Christian Right and Left Share the Same Faith But Couldn’t Be More Different
I didn’t know Christians could be Democrats until I got to college. Though affiliated with the relatively conservative Christian Reformed Church, my school had a small but vocal minority of
Tribal Elder Hears Grandfather’s Voice in Archived Songs
Alvin Schuster could scarcely believe his ears. He was hearing the voice of an ancestor whom he’d never met but whose legacy was a constant guiding presence in his life.
Reinventing Rituals in a Multiethnic World
This holiday season, Kristin Eriko Posner has her San Francisco home prepared for a cocktail-style Hanukkah celebration: a seasonal winter crudité platter and spiced nuts sit on the table, local
How Youth Have Changed the Climate Movement
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children,” affirms the Oglala-Sioux version of a belief common to several indigenous cultures. To David Brower,
How a Stock Photography Project Is Confronting Fat Bias
The co-working office Rebecca Alexander has chosen for her latest collection has all the hallmarks of good stock photography—minimalist space, clean lines, lack of bold colors. On this Saturday, she
Code-Switching Is Not Trying to Fit in to White Culture, It’s Surviving It
The voice that sprung from my throat was unfamiliar as I introduced myself to a classroom of White students. Its tone was high-pitched and enthusiastic—a far cry from my naturally
How Drug Users Are Fighting Back Against America’s War on Drugs
Like so many activists, Jess Tilley discovered grassroots organizing through personal hardship. In 1997, she was living in Northampton, Massachusetts, regularly injecting heroin. A limited access to clean needles led
For Veterans in Jail, This Anti-Violence Workshop Provides Support
Some inmates are doing the chicken dance in the Pierce County Jail in Washington. They’re standing in a circle, so as they lift their arms to flap their wings, they
What a 19th-Century Prison Can Teach Us About Criminal Justice
A 190-year-old prison complex in Philadelphia, once the largest and most modern prison in the world, is finding new life in the 21st century’s criminal justice reform movement. The last
How Schools Can Sustain Students’ Cultures
High school students enter a classroom at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle on an October morning. They sit at their desks, but they’re soon asked to rearrange their chairs
American Jews Say “Never Again” to Detainment of Immigrants
Earlier this year, a newly formed coalition of Jewish people opposed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement organized their first action in New Jersey alongside movement partners Movimiento Cosecha. The New
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