The “Twilight” Manifesto: What Pop Culture Gets Wrong—and Right—About Masculinity
Blockbuster series like Twilight have left their mark on a generation of girls, but what message are they sending boys? Here are a few to look out for.
Social Justice
An End to “The Hole”?: 6 Signs that Solitary Confinement Reform Is Coming
Much of the momentum in the movement to reform the use of solitary confinement in the United States comes from the work of prisoners themselves.
Russian Aggression Deserves a Response, But U.S. Lacks Credibility to Lead It
The United States cannot legitimately lead an international response to the illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine until it abides by international law itself.
Immigrant Detainees’ Hunger Strike Targets Legal “Grey Area”
A hunger strike in a Washington state detention facility draws attention to a facility where most U.S. laws don't apply.
These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing—and Sparked a Nationwide Movement
Parents, students, and teachers all over the country have joined the revolt to liberate our kids from a test-obsessed education system.
W. Virginia’s Grassroots Response to Water Crisis: A Movement in the Making?
Community responses to the Elk River chemical spill draw on West Virginia's long, proud history of grassroots work for environmental and economic justice.
People Over Profit: Why These Two Small Countries Stood Up to Big Mining
If the governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador can resist the mining industry, maybe we all can.
John Lewis’ Moving Graphic Novel Brings the Civil Rights Struggle to a New Generation
In the tradition of “Maus” and “Persepolis,” “March” tells the story of young African Americans who, like its author, rose up from the Jim Crow South to assert their human rights.
This Is What Happened When Scholastic Tried to Bring Pro-Coal Propaganda to School
“The United States of Energy” was a colorful series of lessons on the advantages of coal, aimed at 4th-graders—and sponsored by Big Coal. Here’s how educators and activists worked together to get it out of classrooms.
Teenage Defender of First Nations Rights Becomes Literal Superhero
Shannen Koostachin, a teenage activist who died before ever seeing the results of her work, has inspired a new hero in the DC Universe.
Meet the Ambassadors from Canada’s Indigenous Fossil Fuel Resistance
In 1885, a revolutionary leader wrote, "My people will sleep for one hundred years" and then wake up. In the "genocidal" wilderness of Canada's tar sands, that renaissance has begun.
A Social Justice Tour of Oscar Winners Through the Decades
The upcoming Academy Awards will recognize some of 2013’s best social justice-themed films. Here are some of our favorite past winners.
From Trayvon Martin to Jordan Davis: Can Art Provide Justice When Courts Fail?
"Having not been a judge or a witness who could've helped communicate what Michael Dunn did, my art is the only way I can give Jordan Davis justice."
Meet the New Rebels Taking Back Our Public Schools
For decades the myth of failing public schools justified industrial-scale testing and a privatization agenda. Now radical educators are bursting the bubble test, getting culturally relevant, and restoring justice to the classroom.
The Myth Behind Public School Failure
In the rush to privatize the country’s schools,
corporations and politicians have decimated school budgets, replaced teaching with standardized testing, and placed
the blame on teachers and students.
Why Corporations Want Our Public Schools
There are huge profits to be made in privatization, and much of it will come from teacher pay.
Tiny Houses for the Homeless: An Affordable Solution Catches On
A growing number of towns and cities have found a practical solution to homelessness through the construction of tiny-house villages—and housing officials are taking notice.
Discipline With Dignity: Oakland Classrooms Try Healing Instead of Punishment
As executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, Fania Davis sees programs like hers as part of the way to end the school-to-prison pipeline.
How the Fight Against Alabama’s Anti-Immigrant Law Transformed a Community
Gwendolyn Ferreti Manjarrez is an organizer with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice. Here, she speaks about the role of grassroots groups in the fight to roll back HB 56.
In Pete Seeger’s Letters, A Voice for Justice Sings On
In the midst of Seeger's countless documents was one that stood out. The editor who found it reflects on coming back to that letter today.
Darth Vader’s Death Star Created Jobs, Too! New Video Pokes Fun at Keystone Pipeline Claims
The public comment period for the Keystone XL pipeline opened on Wednesday. This video is the comment from California-based climate group Movement Generation.
“So My Daughter Won’t Have To”: Why Kelly Sue DeConnick Fights to Make Women Welcome in Comics
Kelly Sue DeConnick is a woman author working in the comic book industry, who's had successful titles in both mainstream and independent forms. In this Q&A, she talks about her feminism, creativity, and her love for old-school "exploitation" movies.
Growing Concern Over Japan’s Dolphin Hunt Leads to Widespread Outcry
The dolphin massacre depicted in the Oscar-winning film The Cove took place again this year. But the reaction to it shows a changing public mindset toward the rights of sea mammals.
Photo Essay: Pete Seeger’s Life on the Hudson
In December 2007, YES! editor-in-chief Sarah van Gelder interviewed Pete Seeger in his home in Beacon, New York. Seeger showed Sarah his family photo albums, his DIY solar-powered car, and, of course, a whole wall filled with banjos.
“We Shall Overcome”: Democracy Now! Remembers Folk Icon Pete Seeger
Folksinger and lifelong activist Pete Seeger passed away on Jan. 27. He was a constant presence in the labor and antiwar movements, and an innovator in the use of music to create solidarity and social change. In this video, Democracy Now! commemorates Seeger's life and work.
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