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the Other Pandemic
“If our mental health professionals are now at the main source of the seams, then they should also be getting the funding and resources that can help train them in a way that can best humanize Black and Brown people in the streets,” said Wise. “We’ve always said it’s possible to fund other things.”
Families are hungry now, extending SNAP is critical to face food insecurity
While Congress staggers and debates what and when the next stimulus package will be for Americans, people are hungry. With unemployment rates hovering at 8.4% in August 2020 and the […]
Florida Parents Distressed About School Reopening
While Florida’s coronavirus infections continue to rise, the Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran issued an Emergency Order mandating all schools to reopen in the fall. To date, Florida has one […]
Americans Are Ready to Make Housing for All a Reality
Ever since the COVID-19 crisis, this country has been debating its many dysfunctions, like a family trying to face its deeply unresolved core problems. The temporary solutions that have been […]
Introducing The Flag of US
It was all a dream, until we made it a reality: Introducing, The Flag of US Three years after Colin Kaepernick first took a knee there was a vision to […]
Kentucky has a high-profile stake this November with McConnell, known for obstruction of safety net programs, protecting Trump’s racist policies
The deep red state of Kentucky has a high-profile stake this November with Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who nabbed the Democratic nomination, and the reelection campaign of […]
This past weekend, New Yorkers organized for more investment on child care, at least $50 billion
#NoChildcareNoWork is one of the latest hashtags born from the COVID-19 global pandemic and the impact on parents, children and the entire child care industry. I had the pleasure of […]
A Letter to My Daughter: Dear Baby Girl, It’s Okay to Feel Scared Right Now
My 9-year-old daughter is questioning a lot of what is going on in our world right now. I explain to her the importance of Black Lives Matter and answer […]
How the murder of George Floyd has given rebirth to our nation
“My daddy changed the world,” said little Gianna Floyd, the adorable six-year-old daughter of George Floyd, father, brother, son, friend and child of God, who was viciously and slowly murdered […]
The Lynching Era Still Isn’t Over
Black Americans have been fighting lynching for over a century. In 1917, ten thousand African Americans organized by the NAACP marched in the Negro Silent Protest Parade to protest lynchings […]
The Other Pandemic
I will expose the ways your city is currently spending money, who’s getting more, and who’s getting the short end of the stick. Who gets a fair share of the pie? Does anyone? I’ll also highlight cities that have already implemented divestment strategies within their local police departments, and provide an inside scoop on what this looks like, what it can look like on a broader scale, and how communities are thriving as a result.
Afro-Dominicans Dismantling Anti-Blackness
(Photo credit: Andreya Tho) Like so many of you, I’m doing my best to process the tragic loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many more Black […]
End the militarization of police and use of force against people, just like Barr wrongly did
There is an urgent threat to civil rights in our country, and the head of the United States Department of Justice, William Barr, is immorally at the center. In the […]
“They’re killing me. I can’t breathe.”
In Trump’s great America, white pandemic protestors flood state capitols to be awed by the media and left alone by the police. At the same time African Americans are fighting […]
In all my COVID-19 planning that one thing I couldn’t prepare for: not being able to see my son for whom I share joint custody
When I prepared for the coronavirus in the early weeks of March, stocking up on disinfectant items, cleaning supplies, disposable masks and gloves at my local club warehouse, a week […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Digital Organizing In The Time of COVID In the age of social-distancing, many of our everyday leaders have shifted how they operate. From educators offering instruction from a virtual classroom […]
The Protesters Willing to Risk Black Lives For a Haircut
Protests to reopen states are popping up across the country. Mobs of gun-slinging people stormed the Michigan state capitol building, claiming the state’s stay-at-home orders extending the closure of nonessential […]
The Disposable Industries: Calls to Reopen the Economy Ask Workers to Put their Health At Risk
Back in my early 20s, I proudly wore the job title of “coffee girl.” I had five years of experience by the time I was 22, working full-time at a […]
This Mother’s Day can be particularly lonelier
Mother’s Day can be a complicated day for many mothers because it often requires extra labor on the mother’s part. But for single mothers, the day can be particularly fraught. […]
Pandemic Overtime=Peak America
APRIL 10, 11 PM—Just as I was dozing off, my phone rings. It was 14 days into the quarantine and I’d been working remotely. The phone number was a Miami […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Our Future West Virginia: New Name, Same Passion for Supporting WV Residents West Virginia residents might not yet recognize the name of an organization dedicated to improving the lives of […]
Why We Should Celebrate National Poetry Month During a Pandemic
April is traditionally filled with patronizing one of the oldest forms of literary art — poetry. During National Poetry Month, audiences typically attend readings and discussions and use this time […]
Black Americans story with COVID-19 is no different
By Ponsella Hardaway, Executive Director for MOSES Action, and Dr. Seft Hunter, Director of Black Led Organizing for Community Change Action Black Americans have historically been disproportionately impacted by chronic […]
Child care educators continue caring for kids while Trump continues failing the U.S.
As President Donald Trump shows an absolute lack of expertise – and empathy – to direct the nation through this health crisis, states are doing what they can to figure […]
We need baby wipes and cleaning supplies, now.
Just a few weeks ago I stopped by a local membership warehouse store to stock up on items to keep my family safe from Covid-19. At the time, earlier in […]
Why the 2020 Census Should Matter to You
The 2020 census started last week and there is a lot of buzzing around it: what is it? Why is it important? I had those same questions, but after some […]
Child care is a critical support for working parents
Portia Powell, a single mom of three and an office manager at a mental health facility in North Carolina, was challenged with finding child care when the outbreak caused her […]
It is time for the minimum wage to Increase in Florida, across the country
For most of my childhood and adolescence, I was under the impression that financial success was merely a decision. That “if you want better, you’ll do better”, and “if you […]
As votes continue to get counted, Alameda County voters show strong support to fund resources for children
Residents of Alameda County have made a clear statement about the need to support both working parents and early childhood educators by allocating more resources to provide quality affordable child […]
Child Poverty Has Been Ignored at the Debates for Two Decades
This critical topic has only been addressed a single time in the past 20 years. Like many other Americans, I have been closely watching the Democratic presidential debates. I’m interested […]
A budget that hurts already hurting Americans
President Trump recently proposed a $4.8 trillion dollar budget for the 2021 fiscal year. The proposal is called “Budget for a Better America.” But this budget disguised as a way […]
Early childhood educators, families ask DC Mayor to make high-quality child care for kids under 3 a priority
A coalition of parents, early child care educators, community and business leaders has launched a groundbreaking early childhood campaign called Under 3 DC, calling on Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to […]
The bureaucracy of feeding your family
Where I live, in Missoula, Montana, the median area income is $54,311. Despite working three jobs, I make under $20,000 annually, or roughly 30% of the area median income, and […]
Convening of the Housing Narrative Project: Re-centering the Conversation About Housing Around Love, Belonging, and Human Dignity
The year-long Housing Narrative Project is rooted in a bottom-up approach that listens to the voices of the most impacted and those working on the front lines of the housing […]
Becoming Civically Engaged
Anyone can become civically engaged. It starts with a desire to contribute to your community.
My first time using a food pantry—One moms story
This past holiday season was the first after my mid-spring divorce, and also the first time my children and I ate from a food pantry said Cynthia—the woman who wishes […]
How the west was won–California leading the way on rent control
On the heels of learning that Southern California residents now need to earn over $100,000 a year to purchase a median two-bedroom home costing over half million dollars in Los […]
What to expect when you’re expecting… the worst
Being asked to be the guest to Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address (SOTU) by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a representative from my home state of Michigan, is like being […]
Voices of Everday Leaders
An Accounting Problem: Reimagining Racial Healing in the US Fifty-two years after Martin Luther King’s grueling assassination offered the U.S. its opportunity to pursue a route of cheap justice—a facade […]
Why we need the Dems to keep talking childcare
As the Democratic party prepares to host the next Democratic debate on Jan. 14, we hope that presidential candidates will pay attention to the families and childcare workers who are […]
Welcome Home: Navigating the holidays without a home
“What are you and your son doing for the holidays?” This question, innocently asked, is an emotional minefield for me and families like mine across the country coping with homelessness. […]
Welcome Home: A Narrative Journey for Safe and Fair Housing for All
Today we introduce a new column on Change Wire: The Welcome Home series. As Community Change, its partners Race Forward and Policy Link and other front line housing and racial […]
If Trump succeeds in destroying our health care, protections for millions of people with pre-existing conditions could disappear
President Donald Trump has defined his time in office in opposition to people who work for a living. Time and time again, the American people have watched him turn his […]
AOC’s poverty package meets reality in America
If you live in New York, as I do, it is hard to not notice and hear about house freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Although, I somehow doubt that she is […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Part 2: The Fight for Medicaid by Colorado’s Disability Community In 2017, when Medicaid was once again on the congressional chopping block, the largest national organization for civil rights for […]
On Movember, let’s address the need of creating safe spaces for men
I’m a man who painstakingly attends to my mental health every day. This isn’t because I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder when I was 31 years old. A condition […]
Marching 230 miles to the steps of the Supreme Court, reminding America #HomeIsHere
On Sunday, more than 160 Dreamers and allies arrived in Washington, D.C., after marching 230 miles starting in New York. Step by step, their journey reminds all of us that […]
We need policies that harness the vital roles of community colleges
Our world has an increasing reliance on new, ever-changing technology that requires workers to have near-constant flexibility to upgrade, retrain, and retool their skills. It’s estimated that millions of ‘middle-skill […]
In latest battle in ‘war on the poor’ Las Vegas council takes aim at homeless
On November 6, 2019, the Las Vegas City Council held a meeting to discuss and vote on Ordinance 2019-36, sponsored by Mayor Carolyn Goodman. This ordinance targets anyone camping or […]
Our values must shift if we are to truly provide quality care for every child in our nation
Long before I ever began working in the child care advocacy field, I watched family and friends scramble to find affordable care for their children. From being a middle-schooler operating […]
Voices Of Everyday Leaders
Meet Colorado Cross Disability Coalition Advocates Dawn and Shannon When Dawn Howard was two years old, her parents were told that she would not likely have “any intelligible speech.” But […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Look What Florida is Doing to Procure Job Security for Women and People of Color In older generations, it was common to keep the same job for 10, 20 or […]
We demand access to affordable health care
The Republican Party has made it its mission to attack the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and protections for people with pre-existing conditions. They have tried — and failed — to […]
Unámonos para honrar la memoria y seguir la lucha de nuestro gran Congresista Cummings
El fallecimiento del Congresista Elijah Cummings, legislador demócrata de la Cámara de Representantes por el Séptimo Distrito de Maryland, es una gran pérdida para el Congreso y para los defensores de […]
I Am Not Your Woman of Color
I work in progressive politics and I have dedicated my relatively short career to amplifying marginalized voices. Yet, sometimes when I am labeled with vague terms like “woman of color,” […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Power Concedes Nothing Without Demand This evening democratic candidates will gather at Otterbein University in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus, for the presidential primary debates. While they will be discussing […]
We Must Treat Climate Change as a Racial Justice Issue
The climate is warming—and Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian American communities continue to bear an outsized share of the burden caused by global warming. The regions with the most cancer-related […]
We cannot tolerate innocent children dying on our watch. No matter where they are born
I recently heard U.S. Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney on local News12 reference the inhuman treatment of undocumented immigrants being detained in our overcrowded border patrol facilities. Every time I hear […]
Kids See What We Value: We Must Invest In Communities to Uplift Children of Color
Anyone who’s ever had a hobby, a child, or been in a relationship knows, we value those things we devote time, energy, and money towards. Those things we don’t, we […]
But fandom aside, I am a black mother first, last and always and this is racial injustice at its best.
Before I get into this two minute jail sentence for actress Felicity Huffman’s role in the college admissions scandal, let me start by saying that I am a mom. I […]
The Cards We’re Dealt
UNO is, at its core, an individualist game. I mean, it’s in the name after all: one. One person alone can win. To do so, you have to actively worsen […]
We need Presidential candidates to detail their commitment to achieving quality, affordable and culturally relevant child care for all families
Trending with the hashtag #WhatMamasWant, hundreds of mothers in Michigan organized a forum on issues that impact their lives and then gathered to watch the two-day Democratic presidential debates in […]
Another unarmed Black man dies in custody of the Las Vegas police
Byron Williams death leaves another Las Vegas family seeking answers in an in-custody death case with literal dark spots in the story
Our Voices Unite in Washington, Reminding Congress #Not1Dollar for ICE
#NOT1DOLLAR means no more money to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). What we, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM and FIRM Action), […]
There are no degrees of blackness
“Brother brother, sister sister If you’re miss or if you’re mister Listen please to this fact Black is black is black is black” Lyrics from Black is Black by Jungle […]
Texas will turn blue this decade
Another Republican member of Congress announced their plans to vacate their seat, reinforcing what we know: Texas is a swing state. Thanks to a renewal of the long-held tradition of […]
“What’s not to love about Charleston? Or Santa Fe?”
What was I watching? A bright, chipper afternoon edition of The Today Show on NBC. For this segment, the TV hosts invited an editor from Travel and Leisure magazine to […]
A NIGHTMARE OF RACIAL ANIMOSITY OVERTAKING AMERICA
A bad dream is a bad experience. But a truly terrible experience occurs when a bad dream feels like a premonition. Judging by media stories, online commentary and conversations with […]
2020 – the 100th anniversary of the first vote for gender equality – will be the year of women.
The old saw, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times” may apply to the status of women in America — their gains, their travails, their […]
In memory of Toni Morrison
The first book that I read by Toni Morrison was her artfully bejeweled 1970 novel, The Bluest Eye. I was in the upper grades in high school, maybe 16 or […]
We’re Making Significant Steps Toward a New Federal Minimum Wage
In my years participating in progressive movements, fighting “the good fight” alongside other visionary activists and progressives with very different personalities, different strategies, and different campaigning styles, I have noticed […]
Voices Of Everyday Leaders
Grassroots Partners Come Together to Celebrate Big Wins There have been major wins amongst the partners over the past year, such as SPACEs in Action’s $15.8 million win for Birth […]
How The Gig Economy is Changing Work As We Know It
As the gig economy continues to grow, how has it changed the way we think of work, the economy, and laborers? In this episode of “A Living Wage,” Catherine Bugayong […]
How Community Organizing Helped Me Branch Out While Staying Grounded in My Roots
We all want to see our communities grow into places where all families can thrive. Correia’s reflections reveal how his experience with community engagement and organizing can result in environmental justice and overall powerful change.
Healthcare is a Human Right. Here’s Why it Should Be Accessible to Everyone.
For my family, the high costs of healthcare and its inaccessibility meant a stressful late night call from my son from a hospital bed and thousands of dollars in avoidable […]
How They See Us: The Impacts of Implicit Biases in Healthcare
It should’ve been the happiest time of my life. I was happily married, had a wonderful son, and had just started as a PhD student at a prestigious Ivy League […]
The case for D.C. statehood is really about voting rights
time for a change and reforms to our democracy so that we are truly by and for the people. The case for D.C. statehood is part of that charge and with more and more people leaning into the fight we might just get the change we need.
“When They See Us” Through the Eyes of a 13-year-old Girl
“I don’t want to watch this, Mommy, it is making me mad and I already know how it will end,” said my recently turned 13 year-old daughter with folded arms. […]
My Family’s Curse
When thinking about the American dream, we often believes that merit in equals results out—if you work hard enough, you deserve what you get. But is that always the case? […]
Real Families Need Real Food Assistance
by Center for Community Change
The Trump administration is proposing a new cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, that would leave more than 3 million people without enough food to eat. These […]
We are reliving one of America’s darkest moments by detaining immigrant children in former Japanese American Internment Camps
When I first learned about how my grandparents were imprisoned in WWII’s Japanese American Internment Camps, I was embarrassed, hurt, and unwilling to accept history as truth. Now ,as President […]
We are Wired for Change
Community Change’s Communications Fellows Program is a visionary approach to building power and leaders among our communities – the power to be the ones to tell their truths and be […]
Out on the Town: Paying Our Restaurant Workers (A Living Wage: Episode 3)
Going out is such a special treat, and it’s a whole team of people that make this experience so enjoyable. In this episode of “A Living Wage,” I hit the […]
Advocacy Network Holds Presidential Candidates Accountable to Bold Immigration Solutions
Earlier this summer, FIRM Action, Community Change Action, and CHIRLA Action Fund hosted the Unity and Freedom Presidential Forum to elevate the voices of immigrants and engage presidential candidates in […]
Resist normalizing violence in any form
Riley Howell and Kendrick Castillo are heroes, yes. They are martyrs too. They are also victims. On April 30, a lone gunman entered a campus building at the University of […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
#safetyis reproductive freedom! When my friend told me she was having an abortion It wasn’t for me to give approval To grant permission To give my blessing or the opposite […]
Growing Up Poor in America Was My Political Education
I remember, as a ten-year-old, tearfully watching former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and presidential candidate Jesse Jackson give impassioned speeches at the 1984 Democratic National Convention on my family’s […]
Black Mothers Shouldn’t Have to Risk Death to Start A Family
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a study concluding that the rate of maternal mortality for mothers of color is rising — and that pregnant people […]
Hunger in America Deprives Everyone in America
There is a tradition in fairytales and various old fashioned yarns which I’ve seen over the years that a hungry person will dream of lavish meals, roast beef and mutton, […]
Between Starshine and Clay: Power 50 leads women of color to turn big dreams into real change
Women of color are bringing bold, visionary leadership in greater numbers and with greater visibility, just look at the 116th Congress! Sadly, whether in Congress or within organizations their leadership […]
Less stigma, more empathy for WIC families
In my struggles as a single mom on a limited income, the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) helped my family get by. The shame I felt […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
De Colores: Bright Colors of Love This is where I begin. I come from poverty and group homes throughout Los Angeles. There are stories along the 405 N that I will […]
Our Vote is Our Power: Why Every Voter Matters
Voter turnout is one of the most powerful tools to measure the health of democracy because it relays how much trust voters have in the system that elects the people […]
Silver Telly Award Shines Honor on Community Change’s “5 Organizers” Series
Today Community Change won a Silver Telly for 5 Organizers in 5 Decades, a video series that was part of our 50th Anniversary celebration. We won for the Campaign-Series: Non-scripted/Documentary […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Why Does America Celebrate Mother’s Day Given Its Treatment of Poor Mothers? Another Mother’s Day has come and gone! School-age children with sharp grins delivered to their mothers their hand-made […]
Mothers just set the table for our powerful movement towards justice
Growing up, I was often asked to set the table for dinner. In our busy household, dinner was just about the only time we could have both parents and all […]
On Motherhood and Movement Work: Women leaders approach both with ferocity and love
As I sat on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico for a retreat with fellow immigrant rights leaders from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), I couldn’t help but be […]
It’s time to talk about reparations
The idea of reparations are back in the news with the 2020 Democratic candidates, raising the issue of offering some form of payment to black Americans for the horrors inflicted […]
The 60 most dangerous days for Floridians: When their legislators gather
I once heard the Florida legislative session referred to as the sixty most dangerous days of the year for people in the state. At the end of the 2019 session, […]
White rage: What is it leading to and where will it end?
Ever since the 2016 presidential election, there have been countless articles, theories, and commentators dissecting it. A level of white dissatisfaction, and, yes, even white rage, played a role in […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
The lives of children should not be stymied by social indifference and condemned to the carnivorous margins of society because their parents simply cannot afford quality childcare. For too many […]
Deportation force harasses Florida’s hard-working immigrant families
Almost two years ago, I wrote a story published in the HuffPost about the silent raids that are disappearing people from our community in South Florida. I am sad to […]
Our Vote is Our Power: A Brief History of Voting Rights in America
The United States’ history of voting rights is full of contradictions and marks some of our highest aspirations and greatest injustices. It is a winding story of a democratic nation […]
Transforming Pain into Power a Year After a Mass Raid
Around 150 people were gathered and said “Presente” after the names of each of person deported a year ago was read out loud. This was a gathering in early April […]
Want to win in 2020? Focus on child care!
by Carmella Salinas and Tameka Ramsey
The evidence is clear: the lack of affordable and accessible child care is drowning America’s working families. A 2018 poll by the Center for American Progress and Community Change found […]
Uninsured and afraid
Other than the time when I was a young bride expecting my first child, I’ve had health insurance. Back then, my job as a receptionist didn’t offer coverage nor did […]
Immigrants make their voices heard in Florida’s capitol
Last week, over three hundred immigrants and other community members mobilized to Florida’s capitol in Tallahassee to defend and protect our communities from Republican lawmakers who are once again attempting to pass […]
The Attack on a Muslim Mosque Mirrors Other Hate Crimes
I’ve been pretty wrecked most of March as I read about the mass shooting in New Zealand. The man arrested for carrying out the mosque attacks in what has […]
The Assassination of Martin Luther King, and America’s Addiction to Gun Violence
April 4. The date of MLK’s assassination returns – as it always does to haunt us. April 4th, 1968 remains a guilty shadow lingering over American history. King is honored […]
When will Nevada address police violence?
In the last decade, we have seen the issue of police violence resurface on the national platform. Every year since the police shooting of Oscar Grant on January 1, 2009, […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Today, the James Beard Foundation announced its 2019 slate of finalists. This “short list” of nominees honors the year’s outstanding restaurants, chefs, and food-centric journalism, books, and broadcast media. Community […]
Bold ideas rooted in the lives, experiences of real people
by Center for Community Change
Now you can check out some of the discussions from the event and hear for yourself how power and agency are at the root of economic justice for our communities.
The Power of the Green New Deal
When Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first released her plan to combat climate change and build the economy, I was sitting at the edge of my bed, exhausted. I had been waiting […]
No papers. No fear. New House bill could create a road map for citizenship.
More than two dozen immigrants chanted “Sin Papeles, Sin miedo, No Papers, No Fear” as they stood on the podium at the Capitol in DC before starting the press conference […]
Children belong with family, not caged in for-profit detention centers
As the Trump administration continues to make it as difficult as possible for people fleeing extreme conditions to seek asylum within the United States, thousands of migrant children are sent […]
Everyday Leaders: Reflections after the 2019 Selma March
“My name is Isaias and I am Undocumented and Unafraid.” This is the usual greeting for many undocumented immigrants in meetings to assert our presence. The whole room applauded in […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
New Attacks on Healthcare from the Right are Wrong No one should have to choose between paying medical costs and exhibiting grandparental love when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has […]
My Sister: A Domestic Worker. And My Hero!
The movie Roma has received all kinds of recognition and acclaim, including three Academy awards. Its star, Yalitza Aparcio, a first-time actor who portrayed the lead role of a housekeeper […]
Mixed Race: Racism and Anti-Blackness
In the United States, race is still a social construct that shapes how other people treat you. No matter how you may personally identify, how someone else sees you can […]
Proposed Work Requirements Rule for SNAP Could Harm Those Already Facing Hunger
Implementing strict work requirements for safety net programs—particularly the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—has been a recurring goal for many GOP leaders and the Trump administration. Concerned observers breathed a […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
What Kansas City Is Doing About The Readiness Gap “Approximately 65 percent of our children are not receiving the proper education that would close the readiness gap and eliminate any […]
Here’s why America is talking about Universal Child Care
This week, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled her plan for Universal Child Care, signaling its place atop the national political agenda. In it, she details the difficulties of finding affordable and […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Where to go When There’s Nowhere to Go: How Covenant House is Fighting to Solve the Youth Homeless Crisis, One Kid at a time Dash was a first year college […]
Mixed Feelings: White Enough
“I don’t look black, I’m not treated black, but I feel black. I know I’m white-passing and frankly, it’s frustrating,” said James, 32. “I feel like I’m whitewashing my own […]
Reminder to Congress: #Not1dollar for Trump’s racist wall
The government shutdown that just ended was the longest in American history. Speaker Pelosi and Trump engaged in a war centered around Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in funding for […]
How to stop another nightmare government shutdown
We – “we” meaning all Americans who still believe we are united as a nation that cares for our own – face an apocalyptic nightmare scenario. In Hollywood, the apocalypse […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
My Story I grew up in the southeast area of Washington, DC and I attended Eastern Senior High School. The year was 1971, I was 15 years old and in […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
My longtime boyfriend, always the carnivore, asked me the other day why I hardly ever make meatloaf. I shrugged and said “You know I don’t really eat meat.” “But your […]
Mixed Feelings: Exploring Multiracial Identity in America
Race has always been a defining issue of this country: an undercurrent, bubbling up to tension points, changing and pushing the country in different directions. In 2019, race is at […]
Kindness can be America’s New Year’s Resolution
I look forward to every New Year because the annual trek symbolizes renewed hopes and dreams. But I have conflicted feelings over the winter months. I appreciate white Christmases, seeing […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
And the Young Shall Save Us So many economic protections are at stake with this new Congress. The most consequential midterm elections of our lifetime awaited our robust participation last […]
Trump address to the nation is more anti-immigrant xenophobia
Donald Trump presented no solutions during his first oval office address to the nation to end a more than two-week long government shutdown that has left 800,000 government workers working […]
Florida makes history as Amendment 4 goes into effect
Today is a historic day for Florida. The most significant voting rights act in the state’s history and the most significant expansion of the franchise since the civil rights act […]
A 23rd Birthday Commemorated Without Celebration, as Nevada Ranks Sixth in Police Killings Nationally
Las Vegas, Nev. – Monday, September 25th, 2018, would have been the 23rd birthday of Junior David Lopez. He was a young man with wedding plans set for mid-May and […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Roquesha Oneal is an everyday leader, a woman of fortitude and generosity. She resides in Detroit with her 15-year-old child with a disability and enjoys visits with her two adult […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
Cutting “Food Stamps” is Child Abuse Every Sunday Jose “Frankie” Benjamin-Nay, an 18-year old Puerto Rican-American, darkens the doors of Mount Zion Baptist Church to provide technical support for the […]
In the midterm elections voters sent a message: Affordable health care is a right
Among the many takeaways from the 2018 midterm elections is the irrefutable fact that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. Americans from red states and blue states used […]
Striking hotel workers: ‘One job should be enough’
In October, hotel workers from across the country began a strike demanding higher wages, better healthcare, job stability and a host of other concerns. Several of them came to visit […]
Counting Every Vote Amid Voter Suppression in Florida
While the blue wave swept across the country last week, you might have missed it if you live in Florida. Despite Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives, flipping […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
SNAP Benefits Guarantees Family’s Food Thirty-seven-year-old LeAnn is married with five children and five stepchildren (who live with their grandmother). She has a Master’s degree in business administration but can […]
A political revolution is happening that will bring more Latino, black, women and young people out to vote
We are deep into the political horse race season. Everyone is asking: Who’s pulling ahead? Who’s trailing? What’s the margin of error? Seems like every day there are new and […]
We as voters will determine the future of our country
In 2016, decades of neglect on behalf of those in political authority caused a surge of bitterness and democratic participation on behalf of industrial workers in forgotten regions of both […]
Our vote is our power
Representative John Lewis once said, “The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” Every day, communities […]
Will Latino’s Turnout to Vote This Year?
With only days left until the midterm election is finally over, one question lingers in the minds of Democratic operatives working in battleground states across the country. Will Latino turnout […]
Underserved communities find no relief as water rates increase
Tia Simpson stood in front of nearly 40 journalists pleading her case for clean and affordable water. The 34-year-old Flint resident endured the aftermath of being exposed to the city’s […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
PA Group Strives to Bust Myths About SNAP—and People Who Use It Lisa Raditz cringes when she overhears some of the comments people make about SNAP recipients based on common […]
En la Florida los votantes estan activos por Gillum
En la Florida los votantes estan bien activos. Este 6 de noviembre muchos dicen que van a unir el voto por Andrew Gillum para gobernador. Dicen que van a votar […]
Supporting Food Entrepreneurs for Equity and Stronger Communities
We can strengthen our communities by creating food systems that create new jobs and businesses through the people living here. DREAM (Dreaming Out Loud’s Ready for Entrepreneurship Accelerator Modules) is […]
Puerto Ricans Fleeing Island May Change Florida’s Political Landscape
Florida is home to over 1.13 million Boricuas, 70% of whom tend to vote Democrat. This is why coming November, Boricuas who previously lived on the island but were unable […]
They didn’t vote in the primaries, but with Gillum, they are now inspired to vote
There has been much excitement in the state of Florida involving the 2018 primaries and its candidates. For example, in Broward County, it was estimated more than 23.5 percent of […]
It’s time lawmakers listened: Access to clean water is a human right
A few weeks ago, a contestant in the Miss America contest made headlines when she introduced herself by saying, “From the state with 84 percent of the United States’ fresh […]
Column: Voices of Everyday Leaders
I, like so many Americans of my era, believed… After 12 and a half years in an often stress-filled role as an associate director in public relations at a local […]
The hourly reality of life on a ‘living wage’
I am one of the 7.6 million Americans who has to work multiple jobs. I work three jobs so that I can meet my living expenses, pay bills, have health […]
Climate Voters Ready to Vote in November
As a young child living in Colombia I lived through an earthquake. I am thankful to have been far from the epicenter of the shake in a well constructed structure, […]
We Are Called to Deeply Listen to Those Impacted by Police Violence
Hearing families who have been impacted by police violence speak is always a transformative and powerful experience for me. While I have been working with impacted families since 2009, the […]
Gillum will protect Floridians’ access to health care
Gillum will protect Floridians’ access to health care Health care is a top priority for Florida voters this November. We all know someone who has health concerns—and every day we […]
Trump’s “public charge” rule puts immigrant families at risk
In early October, the Trump administration proposed changes to the “public charge” rule which would prevent immigrants on the path to citizenship who use some government benefits from gaining permanent […]
Colin Kaepernick, Christine Blasey Ford, and the America’s Bad Conscience
In recent weeks, two Americans galvanized media attention for their bravery, taking stances that inspired gratitude and support for their causes. Neither is a politician or has run for public […]
Column: Voices of Everyday Leaders
Why we vote I’ve been asked a lot lately “why I knock on doors” to encourage people to vote. Mainly because of my background in social justice work. I’ve used […]
There’s Too Much On the Line to Skip This Election
With so much at stake in this election, in Florida and across the nation, voting this November is critical. That’s why former First Lady Michelle Obama visited the University of […]
Congress continues to put our health care at risk
Last year, cancer patient and Nevada resident Laura Packard asked her U.S. Senator why he was willing to sacrifice her life for corporate tax breaks. In a public event in […]
Voices of Everyday Leaders
The work of community organizers is daunting. Late nights. Endless knocking on doors. Rallies and protests to protect our healthcare, ensure we all have enough food to eat and keep […]
Hay que Votar por Nuestra Salud
Vivir diez años sin poder tener un seguro de salud fue realmente difícil. Durante ese tiempo, y como madre soltera con un salario modesto, debí escoger entre darle techo y […]
Infographic on House v. Senate Farm Bill
June 2018, after the House passed its farm bill (H.R.2) with harmful SNAP amendments, the Senate passed its bill (S.3042) with bipartisan support that would mostly maintain SNAP status quo. […]
Women Arrested for Kavanaugh-Related Protest at Manchin’s Office
Despite being led into the street in the middle of the night in handcuffs, a West Virginia woman says speaking up on behalf of sexual assault survivors like herself […]
Voting to Make Florida’s Environment a Priority
Water is life. And in many ways, it is what defines Florida. As a first generation American whose family came from Iraq, a nation with critical environment-related threats to human […]
By Supporting Kavanaugh, Rubio and Scott Are Betraying the Women They Represent
How much more are women expected to endure from the Trump administration? It’s not enough to have a president in power who was caught on tape bragging about committing sexual […]
There’s Too Much On the Line to Skip This Election
With so much at stake in this election, in Florida and across the nation, registering to vote before the Oct. 9th deadline is so important. That’s why former First Lady […]
The Most Important Election Of Your Life
This piece originally published in FloridaPolitics.com. Every election it seems like we are told that it’s the most important election of our lifetime. We as voters hear this line so […]
How do we work to redeem America’s soul?
This piece originally published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. From the recent, unabashed public expressions of white supremacy to immoral policies of ripping immigrant children away from their parents to […]
Kavanaugh Is Yet Another Way Trump Is Attacking Women
Trump told us how he felt about women years before he was ever elected. We are just things to “grab.” According to him, “you can do anything” to us. In […]
Why Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is an American Hero
If I ever have a daughter, I am going to tell her about the patriotism and heroism of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. And if I ever have a daughter, I […]
This housing experiment brought struggling seniors and young families together. Did it work?
Genesis, means the beginning and the first. The community of Genesis was the brainchild of the nonprofit organization, MiCasa. It was planned as a purpose driven, intergenerational, affordable housing program, […]
In Florida, we steer which way we go at historic crossroads
Florida is on the cusp of a historic moment. Democratic voters nominated Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum as the first black candidate for Governor in the history of the state. As […]
Building Resistance through Climate Awareness
Last week, the New Florida Majority, a statewide organizing group, sponsored a climate event that called attention to the impact of climate gentrification on our communities and called on vulnerable […]
Haga la elección correcta Florida
El 28 de agosto de 1963, el Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. se paró al pie del monumento a Abraham Lincoln en Washington D.C. para pronunciar su histórico discurso “Tengo […]
Out of Time: Work Requirements and College Life
Almost one in eight Americans live under the discriminating tyranny of food insecurity. Bureaucratic hurdles to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—formerly known as food stamps—stunt the strides of hardworking […]
Puerto Rican Women Clap Back, Ready to Vote in November
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took the Democratic party by surprise early July when she won the primary race against long-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley. Since her victory, Ocasio-Cortez has been on the […]
Health care is our right
In mid-August, a woman named Elena Hung testified on Capitol Hill to share how Republican attacks on our health care are putting her four-year-old daughter’s life at risk. “How can […]
What the War on Citizenship Means to Your Vote
After 35 years in the United States, my father Joaquin Fernandez finally decided to become a citizen for one reason: He wanted to vote for the first woman president. From […]
The Blue Wave Won’t Happen Without Black and Brown Voters
The Trump administration and its constant barrage of embarrassing antics seem to be turning off a significant portion of the American electorate. Since Trump’s inauguration last year, Republican candidates have […]
The Tyranny And The Comfort Of Government Cheese
Co-published with Taste Government cheese shows up in the punch lines of jokes and song lyrics, but to those who have actually lived on it, it’s both a cornerstone of […]
In full force ahead of Florida primaries
“I’m supposed to be in my bed today because I’ve been working hard the whole week, but instead I’m here because I need to let my neighbors, coworkers, families know […]
Hate Has No Home Here
Last week was the anniversary of the deadly Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and the neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. were tense. I was tense. The group of white supremacists […]
Coming to Terms with Privilege in the Face of White Supremacy
In the wake of Unite the Right II, I have been surprised by the reactions of some media pundits who feign surprised reactions by white nationalists taking to the streets […]
Use your right to vote to put people in office that have our best interest in mind
Young people are organized and highly motivated to make a difference this year towards an inclusive Florida. Students like Brandon Dasent are changing the political landscape. Although Dasent won’t be […]
Freedom is what moves him
In this upcoming elections, we have the chance to make history by voting YES to Amendment 4, which will restore the voting rights of over 1.5 million Floridians who have […]
Five decades since people of color were given the right to vote
It’s almost scary to think, but it’s only been 5 decades since people of color in America were effectively given the right to vote. This was accomplished because of how […]
Eager to vote for the first time
Voting is a rewarding experience and we are uniting first time voters this November to uplift our communities. You have the duty of electing people who will be representing you […]
As a social worker, my heart breaks for the children in our detention camps
For 18 years, I worked in the Child Welfare System. I witnessed firsthand the trauma and harm children who were separated from their parents suffered from. Today, when I see […]
Have they lost their minds?
Republican frontrunner for Florida Governor and member of Congress Ron Desantis has released what is arguably the most embarrassing political ad of the midterm elections. In the 30 second spot, […]
Young voters in Florida state why they are voting this November
I’m speaking to voters at a candidate forum for young voters in Miami on why the November 2018 elections matter to them. Check them out. Be inspired. Let’s unite the […]
What Apple’s $1 trillion value means for working people
Last Thursday, it was reported that the wealth of tech-giant Apple had surpassed every other publically traded American firm, setting the record at $1 trillion in value. Many applauded the […]
Florida voters gather at Netroots Nation to unite the vote
I’m at Netroots Nation along with hundreds of political activists who are passionate about creating stronger communities for all. I took this opportunity to ask my fellow activists from Florida […]
Unite the Vote for the Vote!
“The basic elements so vital to Negro advancement can only be achieved by seeking redress from government at local, state and federal levels. To do this the vote is essential,” […]
Floridians must come together in voting
The 2018 elections are crucial and we are uniting communities of color to cast their ballot for equality for all. I decided to walk around my neighborhood asking people if […]
Citizenship Question on the U.S. Census Hurts Immigrant Families
A Muslim ban. Family separation at the border. Ending Temporary Protected Status. And now, a question on the 2020 census asking each household a question about citizenship that is designed […]
Returning citizens served time and paid for their mistakes; let’s give them back their right to vote
Last week, I experienced first-hand how the state of Florida is systematically disenfranchising black and brown people from voting. I took part in a civil disobedience action in the city […]
The forced trajectory of Trinita Farmer, mother of police homicide victim, Tashii Brown
“He was very creative,” said Trinita Farmer about her son, Tashii Brown, during an interview in her home on March 4, 2018. Farmer was eager to exhibit his work, which […]
This Land is Our Land: Redefining “Outdoorsy”
This Land Is Our Land is a series about diversity in the outdoors. You can read part one here and part two here. Airfare to mountains: $800. Trekking gear: $900. Local lodging: […]
From zero tolerance to zero harm: steps for mending shattered migrant families
By Catherine LaBrenz, John Sullivan and Esther Calzada We’ve all seen the excitement in a child’s eyes when they play with their parents in the park, or the calm that […]
Returning to Life Outside Prison—Without Food on the Table
This piece was co-published with Civil Eats Calvin* anticipates walking out of a New Jersey prison next month, hopefully for the last time, eager to live out his responsibilities as […]
This Land is Our Land: Outgrowing Our Roots
This Land is Our Land is a series about diversity in the American outdoors. You can read part one here. Today, approximately eighty percent of park visitors are white, and […]
In Florida, we are voting to change the status-quo
With life changing decisions on the ballot, young people in Florida are gearing up for the 2018 elections to hold everyone accountable and make profound changes in our state’s Constitution. […]
In Alaska, Changes To Snap Could Spell Disaster
This piece was Co-published with Civil Eats Sarah was born in the Alaskan village of Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow) and she spent a good portion of her youth there. […]
Immigrants, not France, are the real World Cup winners
After weeks of suspense, France emerged the winner of the World Cup with a resounding 4-2 victory over Croatia. What is clear to anybody who watched the tournament from the […]
Florida voters share concerns on the future of the Supreme Court
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy recently announced that he will be retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, the highest tribunal in the nation that rules on equal justice under law and […]
Travel bans enduring hostility toward Muslims
This piece was originally published in the Orlando Sentinel. When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban, imposing travel restrictions on several predominantly Muslim-majority countries, it affected many people in our […]
Supreme Court nominee will impact my life
I really thought we’d have more time to plan our wedding. When my fiancée and I picked January 2019, it seemed far enough away to get everything done. Now, we’re […]
This Land Is Our Land: Diversity and Access in the Great Outdoors
The United States’ National Park Service and wilderness recreation industry have never been more popular—and yet the American outdoor space is still largely and systematically out of reach for people […]
This is what #AbolishICE really means
Growing up, most of my friends and neighbors did not know what the acronym ICE stood for. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency which oversaw the detention and deportation of […]
Justice for marginalized communities not a factor in filling SCOTUS seat; it’s up to us to vote, voice our concerns now
Whether you care about voting rights, affirmative action, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights and especially a woman’s right to control her own body, filling retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s […]
Why progressives need to mobilize against Trump’s Supreme Court pick
Donald Trump selected a clear partisan as his pick to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy who announced his resignation at the end of the Supreme Court’s term. Federal appeals court judge […]
Private prisons make more money the more people they keep incarcerated. In Florida, activists are working to stop the practice.
As Americans we believe deeply in freedom and fairness. We believe that we should be free to pursue the American dream, no matter your station in life or where you […]
Separating children from parents continues America’s painful history of criminalizing immigrants
Toddlers crying after they are torn from their parents’ arms. Mothers, sitting in chainmail cages, using foil blankets for warmth. A father who committed suicide after being separated from his […]
How to Measure What We’re Losing: As this country moves further away from its humanity, who will be left to fight for what’s right?
Wednesday was World Refugee Day. It’s supposed to be a day to bring awareness to the struggles faced by displaced people across the world. A day to reaffirm our commitment […]
What is your vision for the future? Families Call for Unity
Calling for an end to family detention, FIRM Action and CASA in Action united the voices of people from across the country in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. What is your […]
We must fight to keep Nevada families from going hungry
Like many Americans, I have always envisioned America as a country of plenty, a country of opportunity. In such a country, there is no reason for anyone to go hungry. […]
Make the right choice this November, Florida
Florida has long been a bastion of conservative politics, but it has not always been this way. Since gaining statehood in 1845, Florida had voted for the most part Democratic. […]
Residuum: What Really Happened at the Fatal Police Stop That Took Her Fiance
Pulled over for speeding, her fiance did not survive the traffic stop. Amber Bustillos is challenging the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s official narrative of Junior Lopez’s homicide.
We need to sweep white supremacists out of office before we can really confront racism
Last month, a viral video depicting New York lawyer Aaron Schlossberg’s racist rant against two Spanish speaking employees in a Manhattan deli seems to have left many shocked. Not me […]
In November, everything is on the line
This piece originally published in the Las Vegas Sun. Every election year, the posters and signs go up announcing new candidates vying for political office. Every year, volunteers set out […]
Separating children from parents is cruel, no matter your stand on immigration
Last year, I spent an evening with immigrant youth from Homestead, a city and major agricultural area of south Florida. While there, I attended a workshop facilitated by Miami-based interdisciplinary […]
Voting let me reclaim my voice when I needed it most
In some ways, it was harder for me to believe that Barack Obama would get reelected than it was to believe that he was elected the first time. Surely, four […]
Floridians tell us what matters to them and why the candidates for governor should care
Florida voters will have a critical choice to make in November. For two decades, Florida has had a Republican governor with disastrous results for Floridians. Today, 3.3 million households – […]
Don’t know what the county assessor does? Here’s a primer for the little known elected positions in Nevada.
As voters in a democratic country, it is crucial that we make educated decisions about who we put in office and the ballot measures we pass. Researching names is straightforward […]
Anthony Bourdain showed us how to connect and understand our fellow humans.
by Center for Community Change
Last week was a sorrowful week. We lost two giants of American culture with the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. We learned that suicide has been on the […]
Memphis Sanitation Workers, on MLK Legacy and the Road to Dignity
50 years later, sanitation workers say ‘If MLK was living today, he would be ashamed of the way Memphis treats its sanitation workers.’
Power is when more women and people of color run for office. And win.
With so much depressing news filling my news feed, I’ve found a glimmer of hope talking to Democratic candidates in the primary elections here in Nevada. As in the rest […]
Continuing Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy, 50 years later
What does a man born into extreme wealth and privilege and a golden political pedigree have in common with a single mom from Montana who is struggling to get by? […]
Bringing the Community Together, One Business at a Time
Bounce Milwaukee closed on May Day in observance of Voces de la Frontera’s “Day Without Immigrants” strike and rally.
Bobby and the Center for Community Change
I still recall the moment that I truly entered the world. It was not the instant when the bullets were fired. It was a few minutes later when I was […]
Education, environment, and everything in between: Democratic Gubernatorial candidates talk politics in 2018
Nevada’s primary elections are four short weeks away, and this year sees two Democratic candidates stepping up to the plate. Steve Sisolak, a local businessman and Clark County Commission chairman, […]
In the baddest of bad weeks, there is hope – but you gotta work for it
I want to believe in the basic goodness of humans. That we love our family. That we choose kindness. That we lead with open minds and brave hearts and stand up to bullies who pick on those smaller or less powerful than them.
1863: A conversation with Jen Meccozzi, “I went through it, balls hard.”
Jen Meccozzi tells her story of going from angry parent to organizer to school board member.
Unarmed & Black: Keith Childress, Jr. remembered, and the growing list of loved ones left behind after police violence
Family, friends and supporters of police violence victim Keith Childress, Jr. demand justice for his murder. His mother, Jacqueline Lawrence, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, which makes advocating for her son difficult, but she has started to meet other families impacted by police violence.
Standing Strong with Immigrants and Survivors
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SNAP works and so should Congress
WASHINGTON D.C.— The Center for Community Change hosted a partners and leaders convening to discuss strategies and to develop collective actions opposing the harmful cuts proposed in the Farm Bill, […]
With payday loan , Trump again shows he’s not out to help the working class. He’s out to get them.
During his campaign, and again and again since becoming president, the Tweeter-in-Chief has brashly portrayed himself as “a populist,” a protector of the working class. His style, his rhetoric, and […]
Hollywood empowerment: From Coco to Black Panther to Crazy Rich Asians
This piece was originally published in AndACTION. These past few months, Latinx family pride and Black excellence dominated Hollywood with the blockbuster releases of “Coco” and “Black Panther.” And now, […]
Elections are tight; margins are slim. That’s why the Asian American vote matters.
Las Vegas – The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population in the United States is often forgotten about, underrepresented in politics, and often thought of as a minority group that […]
No more #EmptyPlatesEmptyPromises
More than 60 mom, dads, seniors and people with disabilities delivered empty plates to the Washington, D.C. office of Texas House Rep. Mike Conaway, author of the Farm Bill, to […]
We need people of color to vote: Here’s how.
Voting is the most basic and important right an individual has in a democracy. As voters, we elect people to represent our communities and if a majority of voters do […]
Reno: Do we want to be the new Silicon Valley?
Last month, I went to San Francisco with a group of friends to see a musical. While the play was fantastic, and we had a great time, I left feeling […]
Saving Nevada’s water from climate change impact: Eldemerdash
The piece was published originally in the Reno Gazette Journal. Living in the desert, water is always on our minds – how to stay hydrated, how to manage it and […]
What’s Next for the March for Our Lives Movement?
Exactly one month ago, the world watched as Americans took to the streets to march for their lives and demand that legislators enact common sense gun reform. Sparked by youth […]
The Starbucks incident highlights the daily indignities that Black people face
A good friend of mine commented on his Facebook page about the now viral video of the “Starbucks arrest incident,” which showed two black men being arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks […]
The families left behind after police killings share their stories in multimedia series, Residuum
Despite the mainstream media attention excessive-use-of-force cases has received over the last several years, family and community voices are not uplifted and often overlooked, while the police department’s story is always the official narrative in a fatality involving themselves. Residuum is a vignette series highlighting the aftermath of police killings through the experiences of the victims’ families.
Immigrant justice and criminal justice reform go hand-in-hand
In the Trump era, efforts to curtail the aggressive criminalization of immigrant communities have largely focused on the fight over sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities are localities that welcome immigrants and […]
Continuing the unfinished work of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy
by Center for Community Change
As we are memorializing the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this week during the 50th anniversary of his assassination, we are reminded that the Center for Community Change’s […]
How to live with racism in times like these
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. And it is making me even more reflective of what it means to be black at […]
The Austin Bomber case shows we are quick to label POCs, but not whites, when they do wrong
Photo credit: Ted Eytan, Flickr Creative Commons The citizens of Austin were terrorized by a series of bombings that left two people dead, and injuring others. The suspect ultimately blew […]
Ideas of MLK, RFK still needed today
This piece originally published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. When President Lyndon B. Johnson launched the War on Poverty in 1964, his audacious goal was to end poverty in the […]
Representation, diversity, and the district
Yvanna Cancela talks about her run for State Senate By Nadia Eldemerdash In some ways, it was serendipity that brought 30-year-old Yvanna Cancela to the Nevada State Senate in 2016. […]
The Resistance is older than the White House
The Resistance is older than the United States. It is older than hashtags, livestreams, and Facebook invitations. The Resistance began the moment colonizers stepped off their boats and claimed North […]
After Trump’s fake deadline on Dreamers passes, immigrant youth still in limbo
In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, the focus of lawmakers has largely shifted from finding a solution for the thousands of Dreamers who have been left under threat of […]
Militarizing our schools leaves immigrant youth vulnerable
After 17 children were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is the answer to preventing gun violence in America arming teachers? Across the country, we have seen rhetoric […]
Caring for our loved ones is a key issue in this year’s elections in Michigan
This November, Michigan has a critical choice to make for the future of families struggling to get by. Attacks on immigrants, a lack of good paying jobs and the exploding […]
Trump’s efforts to keep immigrant families apart hearkens to our racist immigration past
Our country’s modern history of immigration is built on white men’s attempts to create a whiter nation. Donald Trump’s efforts to tear at family reunification in the name of ‘ending […]
Jim Crow lives in Nevada’s elections
Several weeks ago, a gentleman came to a Progressive Leadership Alliance Nevada (PLAN) meeting and asked for help restoring his right to vote. After 12 years, he was now eligible, […]
What Happened In Parkland Hits Home in Las Vegas
trigger warning: death, gun violence This year, February 14th fell on both Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. The scene here in Las Vegas showed people in the streets with ashes […]
Students have had enough of shootings
This letter to the editor originally published in the Las Vegas Sun. This year, Feb. 14 was both Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday. There were people in Las Vegas with […]
7 Lessons I learned from the Rust Belt and Appalachia
I am a community organizer in West Virginia. At the end of 2017, I traveled for a week with friends and colleagues through Appalachia and the Rust Belt, seeking lessons […]
Their voices matter: Meet the #HumansOfDACA
Six months ago, President Trump broke a commitment when he ended DACA, a program supported by a majority of Americans and which gives 800,000 young people a chance to achieve […]
When the last measures of security are under attack, it’s time to organize and amplify.
The aftermath of the 2016 Election was an opportunity for lawmakers to take aim at the safety net programs in the United States, putting profits over people.
Nevada cannot relive its racist past
I fear Nevada – and our entire country – is treading on its racist history.
Our president’s mantra is to “make America great again.” Many of us interpret this campaign slogan as a desire to return to the past, a time when White men ruled and White supremacists terrorized people of color.
Keepers of memory: Remembering Trayvon Martin
This year marks the sixth year since the death of Trayvon Martin, and I do not want us to forget. Six years and we find ourselves living in an America with a president who has been endorsed by white nationalists and a country more divided than ever.
We are killing our children and militarizing their schools won’t make them safe
It is easy to pick on craven politicians who evade questions, speak in platitudes, and offer no actual policy commitments. Yet our society needs to deeply reflect on whether the answer to these mass shootings is really the further militarization of our society.
Black Panther shows us heroism is not perfect
It was less than a year ago that I moved to Oakland, California – home of the Black Panther Party. I remember being so excited after years of emulating the […]
Happy 50th Birthday, to the Center for Community Change!
The Center for Community Change turns 50 this year! Staff and extended family of CCC have special birthday messages for the organization that faces a major milestone in transformational change. […]
Voting to protect our families is not a privilege; it’s a necessity.
There is a line in the opening scene of Goethe’s play Faust that reads, “A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.” It is a sentiment […]
Trump’s budget will take food away from the struggling families, children and the elderly who need it most
Since the release of the 2019 Trump budget, a great deal of attention has focused on its proposal to eliminate half of families’ food assistance benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition […]
We need gun control that disarms the public and the police
“I love this shit.” That’s what White County, Tenn. Sheriff Oddie Shoupe said after ordering one of his deputies to open fire on Michael Dial, a man who was attempting […]
When Marvel’s Black Panther meets black America
I was standing in line at a Georgetown movie theater this weekend when a woman asked if there was an African celebration taking place. She glanced at my orange tiger-striped […]
Living with racism in these times
It is my belief that for black Americans, and other people of color in America, dealing with racism is unavoidable. It is built into the economic structure. It is sewn […]
Florida gets a second chance to make amends for its racist past
Back in late 2016, a grassroots coalition of volunteers accomplished a remarkable feat. More than 68,314 petition signatures were collected in Florida, triggering a Supreme Court review on a ballot […]
Xenophobia is not foreign to America
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, advertisements for “Jap Hunting Licenses” hung in store windows. Life Magazine ran the article, “How to tell your friends from the Japs.” […]
A Year of Fighting for our Families and Friends
The Center for Community Change, in its work with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), has been standing steadfast against attacks against our family and friends. Even in the face of Trump’s non-stop barrage of hateful immigration policies, FIRM and its members did not hide in the shadows. FIRM members showed up countless times this year at rallies, at Congressional offices, held hunger strikes and never let their voices be silenced. And we are determined to continue to push forward in the year ahead.
Taking the bus now dangerous if you are an immigrant
The Greyhound bus company is currently in the midst of a public relations disaster due to a series of videos which were released on the internet by the organization I […]
Change Wire: We tell the stories of real people making real change
Early this year, Oprah Winfrey became the first black woman to receive the Golden Globes’ annual Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement. In a rousing speech accepting the honor, […]
Trump’s War on Families Intensifies
After a 17-year journey, my parents will no longer be undocumented. This was no easy feat to accomplish, I lived 11 of those years without papers along with them, and […]
Trump – A Racist-In-Chief, Unleashed
Earlier this week it seemed as though negotiations over the future of the 800,000 young immigrants formerly protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (“DACA”) had finally turned […]
We Are Unafraid. We are #HereToStay.
Call 1-866-575-9410 to tell Speaker Paul Ryan to stand with immigrants and pass DREAM Act legislation that provides a permanent solution for dreamers without adding money to Trump’s deportation force.
Florida Lawmakers Are Taking Anti-immigrant Bias To New Heights And Preparing To Hurt More Families In The Process
Early in 2017, Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening to rescind federal funds from local municipalities that refuse to criminalize immigrant communities. The executive order has suffered numerous legal […]
Who are the DREAMers?
Dreamers are the nearly 800,000 people whose immigration and work statuses are protected by DACA.
For The Homeless, Getting Through The Holidays Is The Toughest Season
You can’t enter the Interfaith Community Shelter of Santa Fe, New Mexico with plans to spend the night unless you undergo a pat down. Empty your pockets. Stretch your arms […]
Alabama Is The Perfect Test Case For Empowering Black And Brown Voters
Democrat Doug Jones managed to accomplish last week what conventional wisdom thought impossible when he defeated the GOP candidate Roy Moore, an alleged pedophile and bigot, to become the next […]
The GOP #TaxScamBill Is Another Way To Make The Rich Richer On The Backs Of The Poor
Back in September, Senator John McCain announced in a statement that he could not “in good conscience” vote for the GOP’s healthcare bill, effectively ending Republican efforts to repeal and […]
Raising their voices at the Latin Grammy Awards with Alejandro Sanz for #DreamActNow
30 young leaders came together at The Latin Grammys to spotlight the urgent need for the Dream Act.
CCC celebrates 50 years: Change is coming for the next 50 years
At the center of our stories is change. Some change, we decide for ourselves …
Dems Don’t Get A Pass When It Comes To Black And Brown People. We Deserve More From All Of Our Elected Leaders.
In 2017, the campaign for Virginia governor elect Ralph Northam estimates that canvassers knocked on almost 4 million doors, almost twice the number of doors knocked for the Clinton campaign […]
Thistle and Bee offers dignity, livable wage to women leaving local sex economy
Vulnerable women get a second chance to build a life on their terms creating healthy, healing products
CBU freshman ‘had a breakdown’ when she learned of DOJ plan to end DACA
Chantel Barcenas had an identity crisis when learning she was not a U.S. citizen. An Obama-era policy helped her find a sense of purpose — all now in flux
How One Late Paycheck Messed Up My Life
I know at a deep level that my family lived paycheck to paycheck. A check comes in. We pay our bills. We have no savings to speak of. But it […]
Universal pre-K won’t solve poverty. Better jobs will.
Memphis council members promote politically safe investment in children while ignoring underpaid parents
Cyntoia Brown case reveals entrenched problems with Tennessee juvenile justice
State law makes it easier to throw Brown away than consider traumas youth face and offer them hope of rehabilitation
Save SNAP
In two underserved DC communities, there are only three groceries stores to serve 148,000 people.
Investor deposits lessons in financial literacy, freedom for a new generation
Despite persistent barriers to black wealth building, Memphis-based fund manager Floyd Tyler says it can be done—and it is
Four ideas on how to take down Memphis’ Confederate monuments now
If there’s the will, Memphis leaders can find a way to remove these symbols of white supremacy.
For Code Crew founders, paying a living wage is the right thing to do
The nonprofit trains youth of color to be the next generation of techies and practices the economic justice MLK preached
How You Can Help Stop Voter Suppression in Florida
Last year, I became a United States citizen and a registered voter after living as an undocumented immigrant in this country for more than a decade. I was born in […]
Make Your Voice Heard. Go Vote In Tuesday’s Local Elections.
During the 2016 election cycle, I frequently heard people complaining about the impossibility of escaping the daily barrage of news and coverage regarding the Presidential race. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump spent more than $6.8 billion to ensure that their messages reached voters. The massive price tag ensured an over-saturation of advertising in various forms of media.
Puerto Ricans Fleeing Devastated Island May Permanently Alter Florida’s Electoral Landscape
Hurricane Maria has left Puerto Rico devastated.
“SMILF,” Showtime’s New Series, Doesn’t Sugarcoat Single Motherhood
Stephanie Land reviews SMILF from the perspective of a single mom who’s been there
Florida Petition Seeks to Restore Voting Rights of 1.5 Million People
The state must do all it can to enfranchise its citizens and expand democracy for all.
A Hurricane Is Never An Excuse To Mock The Poor
I remember. I remember because I will always love New Orleans. All the residents of the Gulf Coast, or anyone who loved New Orleans – and who was old enough to remember August 29th, 2005 – has mourned the day ever since.
Kids shouldn’t be sent home for lice, but schools can’t ignore the issue either
This article previously appeared on The Washington Post Last night, my 3-year-old daughter made soft, singing noises while she dipped a plastic boat in and out of the bubbles of […]
Putting Families First: The Movement for Child Care and Early Learning
Let’s put families first – with the voices of parents, child care givers, and organizers, we will strengthen the power of our communities, and give the most vulnerable members of our society a chance to thrive.
Florida Hotline Offers Immigrants A Lifeline
Since the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, the daily lives of undocumented immigrants in this country have become nerve wracking. The hateful rhetoric espoused by Trump during his […]
Our Fellow American Citizens Need Food, Water, Electricity And Fuel, Not Paper Towels Thrown At Them.
Puerto Rico needs help: Food, electricity, clean water, clean up and the restoration of its infrastructure. Yet Donald Trump has once again proven he is unfit for office after his […]
How Tennessee laws keep ex-offenders from getting good jobs
Employees with criminal records don’t make workplaces less safe, yet licensing restrictions bar them from dozens of careers
CHOICES chooses a $15/hour living wage
Raising base pay of all employees is ‘just a matter of priorities’ at Memphis reproductive health care organization
I’m Not A Dreamer Or Immigrant, But We Share Common Values
My encounter with Dreamers last month happened by chance. I was sitting in my local library when an employee tapped me on the shoulder, and asked in hush-hush please speak […]
Florida Special Election Shows Voters Reject Trump’s Politics Of Hate
In April, state Senator Frank Artiles resigned from his seat in Florida’s recently redistricted Senate District 40, after directing racist remarks against fellow lawmakers in a drunken tirade. This was […]
Want To Know Why Athletes Chose To #TakeAKnee? Look At Our Broken Justice System
In an alternate universe, the White House is populated with adroit thinkers who consider that the fastest way to revive a conversation about race and class would be to have […]
#TakeAKnee Is A Patriotic Protest Against Police Brutality And Injustice
It seems clear that Donald Trump will manufacture or grasp at anything he can to divide Americans from each other. Even use one of America’s favorite past times: football. Trump […]
South Florida Immigrants And Communities Of Color Still Struggling To Recover Post-Irma
In the last couple of weeks, Floridians have struggled with Hurricane Irma and its aftermath. Foreseeing the impact that this storm would have on low-income communities, a coalition of various […]
EDGE Board signs off on Overton Square Hotel incentives
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County EDGE board signed off on tax incentives for a boutique hotel in Overton Square. The Economic Development Growth Engine signed off on $6.1 million […]
Criminalizing Immigrants Puts Them At Risk During Hurricanes And Other Disasters
In the midst of the tragedy that befell the people of Texas during Hurricane Harvey, I wrote an article detailing the hardships endured by the undocumented immigrant community of Houston […]
Food Stamps And Child Care Go Hand In Hand For Families
On July 31, President Trump boasted about the state of the economy, specifically the stock market, and how it is at its highest point in a number of years. What […]
Let ‘dreamers’ live in the US — their home
I woke the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 29 to the sound of my mother crying on the other side of the wall. I was paralyzed as I listened to her […]
Almost 1 Million Immigrant Youths Are Realizing The American Dream. Don’t Steal It From Them, Trump.
DACA has allowed DREAMers, who were brought to this country as children, to be spared from deportation while also allowing them to work and attend college.
American Racism: Charlottesville Provides Another Example Of The Never-ending ‘Here We Go Again’
For as long as millions of whites choose to let their voices remain muted, silence remains complicity.
The time that guerilla art made Nathan Bedford Forrest’s statue disappear
In 2009, performance art blocked the view of the statue of the Klan’s first grand wizard and slave trader
Double Standard, Double Spacing
This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post. Late in April, approximately 1,000 students in the Upward Bound Program at The University of Maine Presque Isle (UMPI) received notice that […]
Going Against the Healthcare Insanity of the GOP Was the Only Option Out There
This article originally appeared on Latino Rebels. Is there a more fitting metaphor for the plight of our current political climate than Republicans pushing a vote to take away healthcare from millions […]
Black and Brown Families United in the Era of Political Dysfunction
This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post. By Paige DeLoach When I visited home for the first time after the 2016 election, my mother spoke to me in a […]
We Could Have Avoided The Deaths Of The Undocumented Immigrants In Texas
This article initially appeared on the Huffington Post. When my parents came to the United States almost two decades ago, they did not think that they would spend all those […]
Medicaid Is Not An Entitlement For The Poor But A Gateway For Health And Sustainability
This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post. Although for now, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has escaped the wrath of Republicans, they are still intent on making good on […]
Senate health care bill would pull the lifeline of the chronically ill
This article originally appeared in the Missoulian. Jamison Hill hasn’t been able to get out of bed in two and a half years. For 18 months, Jamison was too sick […]
Miami Airport Workers Demand Fair Wages And Health Insurance
This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post. Summer is a busy time for airports all across this country, but in a major tourist destination like Miami, this is especially […]
Policing the Protesters
This article originally appeared on MLK50. When the interim director of the Memphis Police Department linked arms with organizers of a protest that shut down traffic on the city’s Interstate […]
Sunday rally planned to mark one-year anniversary of Memphis bridge protest
This article originally appeared on MLK50. On Sunday, organizers will gather at Tom Lee Park to mark the anniversary of the July 10, 2016 protest that shut down the Hernando-Desoto […]
“Take it to the bridge”
This article originally appeared on MLK50. MEMPHIS — July 10 marks the anniversary of the largest spontaneous act of civil disobedience in the city’s modern history. The spark: The police killings of […]
Reparations well-intentioned, but insufficient for the debt owed
This article originally appeared on MLK50. On Thursday, the city of Memphis announced it would pay what can only be described as reparations for decades of shorting the retirement funds […]
Despite Promises, Florida Police Are Acting Like Immigration Agents And Separating Families
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post. Driving without a license can be a daily nerve wrecking experience for a lot of undocumented immigrants living and working in the […]
Americans Pay The Price When Our Political Institutions Erode
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post. It is said that compromise is the cornerstone of democracy. If that is indeed the case, American democracy is seriously faltering. The […]
St. Louis Case: Another Black Man Shot, Another Excuse
This article first appeared on The Progressive. The June 21 shooting of a black police officer in St. Louis County by another officer has been described as “friendly fire.” That’s a laughably […]
The Republican Health Care Plan is an Attack on People Like Me
This article first appeared on The Progressive. How many Americans will be impacted by the GOP’s Obamacare repeal legislation, drafted under veils of secrecy? How many will suffer the consequences? […]
As Medicaid Cuts Loom, Disability Advocates Fear the Worst
This article originally appeared on MLK50. For low-income people with disabilities, a straightforward mission like finding the right wheelchair can be a long-fought battle. More complex needs, such as acquiring […]
Art Gives Voice To Young People Hurt By Trump’s Deportation Machine
This article first appeared in the Huffington Post. Growing up undocumented, one of my biggest fears was being separated from my family. I remember the anxiety and worry I felt […]
Let’s Stop Donald Trump From Wielding His Budget As A Weapon Against Hardworking Immigrant Families
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post. For a big chunk of my childhood, teenage years and early adulthood, my parents and I were undocumented immigrants in this country, […]
Come Back to Art: How Creativity and Activism Intersect
This article first appeared on Equal Voice. I wasn’t trained in this. I didn’t go for school for this. Nobody pays me for this, and nobody expects me to be […]
We Will Continue To Fight The Hate Deep In The Heart of Texas
This article first appeared on the Huffington Post. In 2011, the Florida legislature attempted to pass an Arizona-style “show me your papers” law at the behest of Republican Governor Rick […]
Attorney General Sessions brings tough-on-crime message to Memphis
Appearance coincides with mayor’s, police director’s demands for more city police
Poverty Is Rampant In The U.S., But We Pretend It’s Not
When my older brother and I were in elementary school, the teacher assigned the class to bring a bug into class that was familiar in our neighborhood. My brother, who […]
How to Make Your Voice Heard Without Uttering a Single Word
Saturday Night Live has always taken politicians to task with their own way of friendly banter and jesting. And sometimes they take aim at the average citizen, as they did […]
GOP Lawmakers Could Not Be Bothered To Read Their Own Health Care Bill
Seriously? They voted on a bill that would hurt 24 million Americans, but that they never actually read?
Pell grants put me through college. Now Trump wants to cut them.
I started college when my daughter was only 14 months old. We had been homeless six months earlier. My life up until I discovered I was pregnant had been blissfully […]
Why Trump’s Supporters Haven’t Abandoned Him
Just 100 days into his presidency, Americans no longer expect President Donald Trump to keep the promises that got him elected. He walked back his promises on China, delivered nothing […]
Trump’s Tax Plan Is A Reverse Robin Hood Ploy
Here’s how Trump’s plan pads the pockets of the rich at the expense of everyday families and seniors.
May Day, May Day! Immigrant workers and low-wage workers unite
Struggle to survive on poverty wages builds solidarity among workers
Immigrant Rights Are Workers Rights
Bad policies that harm working Americans continue to chip away at our aspirations to strive.
Military Families Serve Our Country. Now It’s Time For Our Country To Serve Military Families.
As a military spouse, I see firsthand how civilians might think our families are a protected class because our job description is basically to protect America. But we face the […]
Immigrant Children Are Trump’s Collateral Damage
All these actions by the administration put our children and their families under threat more than ever before.
Trump’s Hypocrisy On Full Display: Bomb Syria, But Don’t Let Syrians In
Over 400,000 Syrians have been killed since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, yet the Trump administration has done nothing about it.
Frances Bean Cobain and the Graffiti of Privilege
A friend saw it, driving in Los Angeles. A billboard for tony fashion line Marc Jacobs, featuring Frances Bean Cobain as the model, had been defaced with graffiti. And then […]
How Long Must We Sing This Song?
As we walked through St. Louis’ Missouri Historical Museum’s current civil rights exhibit, I was reminded of how change comes from the bottom up. School history is, too often, from […]
Trickle Down Devastation: A Single Mom Responds to Trump’s Tax Plan
ATHENS, Ohio – You’re not a single mother. You have a spouse or a partner. You don’t have kids, or if you do, you’re raising them in a two-parent, two-income […]
The case for justice through journalism
Reporting has a role to play in economic justice. We’re here to play that role. Economic justice. That’s what brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis in April 1968. […]
The GOP’s Anti-immigrant Agenda Is Forcing Children To Live in Fear
Our President’s actions will unfortunately shape the formative years of some of our most vulnerable youth.
Why Aren’t Florida Officers Being Punished For ‘Boiling’ Darren Rainey To Death In Scalding Shower?
Imagine being a prison inmate, jailed for drug possession charges, and being thrown into a scalding hot shower for hours that leads to a tortuous death. That’s what happened to […]
The Dismantling of the EPA Should Really Worry People of Color
It matters because so many of us often live near toxic facilities
Affordable Health Care Repeal: Or How To Steal From The Poor And Give To The Rich
I know what lack of health care can do to a family in need. About two years ago, my undocumented father was suffering from a form of degenerative arthritis which […]
The Florida Legislators Who’d Rather Hide Than Talk With You
I’ve recently seen footage from town halls showing Americans across this country questioning their lawmakers about the concerns that keep them up at night: Paying for health care; watching government […]
Expecting Civility, Hoping for Love
“Civility is one thing you can expect at an Episcopal church,” my uncle said to me two Sunday’s ago as we motored along Interstate-170, a short, sometimes bumpy highway that […]
A Primer on the Protest Sign
I have glitter in the floorboards of my house, paint on every item of clothing I own, no matter how “new,” and am secretly happy every time my son has […]
I Went from Being Homeless to a Full-Time Writer. Trump Wants to End the Programs That Got Me Here.
Six years ago, I lived with my then 3-year-old daughter, Mia, in a studio apartment. During the day I worked full-time as a maid, cleaning the houses of wealthy people. […]
Learning Black History Is Learning American History
Pride in Black history must be a national pride, not exclusive to African Americans
Inside The Statue of Liberty’s Radical Feminist, Pro-Refugee Roots
America may have rejected a woman to lead the nation, but Lady Liberty’s steadfast arm still leads the way
In this battle over Muslim immigration, we are all family
Because of our history and heritage, black Americans should recognize the humanity in their struggle
Tundra Episode 1: Cold Journey to Justice
TUNDRA: Cold Journey to Justice is a docu-series that captures the cold climate found in marginalized communities across the U.S.
Potential Deferred
Like the rest of the country, Gary, Indiana, is wrestling with what was, what is, and what may come
Trump Voters and I Have One Thing in Common: We’re Scared of Losing Medicaid
I recently read about a county in Kentucky that is typical of the kinds of depressed white communities that have dominated the news since Trump’s election. Owsley County is 83 […]
As Trump Inauguration Looms, Immigrants Stand Up To Private Prison Industry
All across the country in dozens of cities, communities are gearing up for January 14th, a national day of action where people will link arms and stand up against the […]
Welcome to A Prairie Homeboy Companion
Welcome to A Prairie Homeboy Companion, a weekly blog exploring progressive activism in the Midwest, as well as an occasional platform for my own thoughts on pop culture, politics, and […]
Report: Increasing Minimum Wage Saves Lives
Tuesday’s “Day of Disruption” walkout by thousands of low-income workers underscores that the Fight for $15 movement is undeterred by the change of administration. Earlier this month, voters approved minimum-wage […]
Looking for “Whitelash”
Originally published by Neiman Reports. The signs that someone like Donald Trump was coming were right there, in online comments lousy with creatively spelled racial slurs that slipped past even […]
To the Women Who Are Afraid
Photo credits to Nshepard via Flickr Creative Commons. Originally published on MomsRising. There’s a nagging suspicion inside you that something is wrong. He calls you names. He denies your feelings. He […]
Little Girls Are Busting Gender Norms in a Year That Hasn’t Been Super Kind to Women
Photo credit: Aberdeen Proving Ground via Flickr Creative Commons Originally published on The Huffington Post. In our Fort Wayne neighborhood, Halloween is a serious candy free-for-all. We bought 12 […]
‘Saturday Night Live’ Skit Has People Talking About Who and What Really is Dividing Us
Originally published by The Undefeated. Did a Saturday Night Live sketch last week hint at a future hard to envision in today’s bitter political climate — a future in which […]
Black Lives Matter Less Even in Drug Addiction
Originally published on the Huffington Post. A heroin needle. Photo credits to Wheeler Cowperthwaite via Flickr Creative Commons. Even when it comes to drug addiction, black lives matter less. Consider […]
What Living in a High-Poverty Neighborhood Taught Me About Protests
Photo credits to Dorret. Originally published in TalkPoverty. About 13 years ago, I lived in Charleston, South Carolina, where I was trying to make ends meet as a freelance writer. […]
Home Alone: A Single Mother Tries to Navigate Missoula’s Child Care Crisis
Photo Credits to Brian Hart. Originally published by the Missoula Independent. My life as a single mother has often meant looking up, helpless, waving goodbye like Wile E. Coyote, after […]
My Multiracial Son Embraces His Black Identity
Originally published by the Indianapolis Star. The wispy-haired 4-month-old Mark is held timeless in a frame in front of me. The 12-year-old, shaggy-haired Mark is fast asleep in the room […]
White Supremacy Kills, No Matter Who Pulls the Trigger
Photo credits to Fuseboxradio. Originally published on The Undefeated. I want to watch the video of Terence Crutcher being killed by Tulsa, Oklahoma, police, because I want to see something […]
Announcing, my forthcoming memoir: MAID: A Single Mother’s Journey from Cleaning House to Finding Home
On June 16th, I celebrated my youngest daughter Coraline’s second birthday. While she opened presents, I relished the memory of her entering my life. She was born a month after […]
Lack of Black Children’s Books Are Still a Problem
Photo credits to Pettifoggist. Originally published on The Undefeated. My mother and my father remember chatting with friends at a nondescript table at the 1989 American Library Association (ALA) annual […]
There Is Reason for Black Women to Fear Traffic Stops
Photo credits to Luca Venturi. Originally published on The Undefeated. Not long after I arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, last August for a yearlong fellowship, a friend back in Memphis, Tennessee, asked […]
Let’s Guarantee Every High School Student a Summer Job
Photo credits to Flazingo Photos. Originally posted on the Huffington Post. In New York City, where the summer job program for high school students is run on a neighborhood lotto […]
Free-Range Parenting Is A Privilege For The White And Affluent
Photo credits to Ryan Dickey. Originally published in The Establishment. At first glance, my 9-year-old daughter doesn’t look “poor.” She meticulously chooses her outfits for school, often sleeping in them—even […]
Yes, Food Can Be Entertainment for Low-Income People
Photo source: FreeImages.com Originally published on Talk Poverty. I woke up yesterday hungry. Since my last shopping trip four days before, I’d not eaten much, saving most of the food […]
The Class Politics of Decluttering
In a piece published by the New York Times, writing fellow Stephanie Land explores the role that class plays in the minimalist movement. She writes that, for many Americans, a minimalist life is an economic […]
Police Already Have Broad Powers to Detain Us; And the Supreme Court Gave Them Even More
Photo credits: Tony Webster. Source: Flickr Creative Commons. Originally published on Common Dreams. I don’t want to end up like Alton Sterling. Or Philando Castile. Or Eric Garner. Or Freddie […]
We Need to Rethink the Role of Police in Our Lives
Photo credits to B. C. Lorio. Originally posted on The Huffington Post. It was only a matter of time before actor activist Jesse Williams‘ all-the-way woke speech on BET the last […]
And #StillIRise: #PeoplesConvention takes over Pittsburgh
Wendi C. Thomas is a writing fellow for the Center for Community Change. [View the story “And #StillIRise: #PeoplesConvention takes over Pittsburgh” on Storify]
Comic W. Kamau Bell: We Are Living In The ‘Most Racial America’
Originally published on the Huffington Post. PITTSBURGH – Police have one standard for black people and another for white people – and as proof, comic W. Kamau Bell played at […]
Doing The Right Thing Can Still Get You Killed … If You Are Black
Photo Credits to Fibonacci Blue. Originally published on The Undefeated. I don’t know how other people buy cellphones. Me, I make sure I’m getting all the gigabytes I can. Just in […]
Why Good Jobs Are Needed in the Food Stamp Debate
Originally published on Equal Voice. It’s already begun happening. In 2016, 500,000 to 1 million recipients will be officially cut from the “food stamp” rolls. Some reports say it could […]
‘Unlocking Opportunities’ Policy Brief
By: Dorian T. Warren, Chirag Mehta, Steve Savner Imagine a 21st-century jobs program that puts families first, makes extensive investments in America’s most impoverished places and creates millions of good […]
What Happens When You Can’t Afford Self-care
Originally published on Talk Poverty. For the last year, I have been keenly aware of my dire need for two things: therapy and exercise. But for those who struggle to […]
The Answer is Muhammad Ali: Who else?
Originally published in the Huffington Post. For most of my life, I haven’t idolized sports heroes. I may be the exception to the great American male rule-of-thumb. There have been […]
With $55,000 Debt, You Learn to Appreciate the Little Things
Originally posted on The Guardian as a kick-off to their series on debt. I expected college to feel like a major accomplishment. I walked across the stage, eight months pregnant with […]
Sheryl Sandberg Thinks She Finally Gets Single Moms, But She Doesn’t Get Me
Originally posted in SheKnows. I read Sheryl Sandberg’s recent Facebook post from the trenches of a horrible Mother’s Day weekend. The youngest had thrown up on Friday night, and we […]
Saying Your House is Messy Because You Play With Your Kids is a Privilege
Originally published in the Washington Post. I grew up in what some would call an immaculately clean home. I hated my mom a little for it. I wasn’t allowed to […]
Domestic Violence is Trapping Women in More Than Just Bad Relationships
Originally published on SheKnows. There are moments in my life that I can return to easily. I don’t have to close my eyes or envision the surroundings or what it […]
Out of Homelessness, A Mom Turns Advocate
Originally published on Rooflines, a Shelterforce blog. Jenean F. and her husband worked hard to achieve the increasingly elusive American Dream. She was a stay at home mom and he […]
Here’s How Many People it Takes to Replace a Single Mom
Originally published on SheKnows. In the weeks building up to a business trip, I created a schedule for the five people who’d replace me, a single mom with two kids, […]
Prince Was The Only Person Who Defined Himself
Originally published on the Huffington Post. Last night, my 12-year-old son was in his room reading and listening to music. His musical tastes run from modern pop and hip-hop to […]
Just Because I’m Poor Doesn’t Mean My Kid Shouldn’t Have Nice Things
Originally published on She Knows. My daughter and I were living in a conservative area when I started to notice an outcry to test people receiving public assistance for drug […]
Black Lives Matter Movement and Opportunities Deprived Go Hand In Hand
Originally published on Equal Voice. What does it say about the value of Black lives when too many of those lives are in crumbling schools, drinking poisoned water, finding themselves […]
Who Are the ‘Legitimate’ Poor?
Originally published on Talk Poverty. Recently, I disobeyed a cardinal rule of the Internet and decided to read comments on an article I once published in the Missoula Independent. I […]
Back to School With TRIO Programs
Originally published on ESME. Reentering college as a nontraditional student takes a lot of courage, especially as an older woman with kids. I received my bachelor’s degree at 35 and […]
Personal Narratives Can Change the World
This trip wasn’t just another day of traveling for work. I hadn’t been able to travel much at all in the last few years, and hadn’t flown on a plane […]
The food stamp problem parents don’t talk about
Originally published on SheKnows. I only recently stopped buying foods for my 8-year-old daughter that list ingredients I don’t recognize. For half of her life, when I went shopping, I […]
America Needs More ‘Porch Talk’ – And Not Just Every Four Years
Every four years, America has a “porch talk” in South Carolina as attention shifts to the first in the south presidential primary. This year, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton […]
Jobs With Justice March: Recap
Of all the excellent moments at last weekend’s Jobs with Justice conference, the one the continues to stick out for me was when Melonie Griffiths yelled, “I am the movement!” […]
Native Voices Once Silenced, Now Heard
Autumn Harry enjoys her beloved Pyramid Lake. Photo courtesy of Autumn Harry. Autumn Harry has spent her twenty three years living on the Paiute reservation in northern Nevada. She will […]
Worker Justice on Display in D.C. This Weekend
The state of worker justice will be on display this coming weekend in Washington, D.C. at the Jobs with Justice national conference. The two-day conference that begins Friday in the […]
I went to the hospital to stay sane. I left with bills I could never pay.
Originally published on Vox. My boyfriend Scott and I had just broken up. This boy who’d once brought me flowers had turned possessive and controlling. Sleep-deprived from constant drama and […]
Supreme Court Immigration Ruling Could Stop the Intimidation of American Citizens
Written by Kica Matos, Center for Community Change Director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice, and Frank Sharry, Founder and Executive Director for America’s Voice, an immigration reform group. Teenaged […]
Learning to Walk in a Homeless Shelter
Written by Center for Community Change Writing Fellow Stephanie Land. Originally published in the NY Times. My daughter learned to walk in a homeless shelter. We had one week left […]
The Flint Lesson: When the Poor Talk, We Must Listen
Photo courtesy of Steve Neavling/Motor City Muckraker Imagine the harm that could have been avoided in Flint if only government officials believed the residents. As far back as May 2014, […]
There’s a Reason Black Youth Call Chicago ‘Chiraq’ and It’s Not Just Criminals Doing the Shooting
Written by Center for Communtiy Change Writing Fellow Fred McKissack. There’s a reason why young black people call Chicago “Chiraq.” It’s like a war zone in some neighborhoods. And it’s […]
Reinvesting In Poor Communities Must Be A Priority
Written by Anthony Newby, executive director for Neighborhoods Organizing for Change in Minneapolis and Dorian Warren, Center for Community Change board chairman. Originally posted on the Al Jazeera America. The […]
What do you do when you can’t afford childcare? You get creative.
Written by Center for Community Change Writing Fellow Stephanie Land. Originally posted on the Washington Post. At the start of my 10-minute break during a two-hour writing workshop, I looked […]
How New York’s “Fight for $15” Launched a Nationwide Movement
Co-authored by Center for Community Change Writing Fellow Wendi C. Thomas. Originally published in the American Prospect. Brooklyn car-wash worker Angel Rebolledo and Bronx fast-food employee Flavia Cabral work in […]
All I want for Christmas is for My Vote to Have Teeth
This year as struggling families in San Antonio, Texas open their holiday gifts, they should also remember they have a gift far more valuable than any trinket they receive. It […]
What I Learned After My Mother’s Near-Arrest in St. Louis
Twenty years ago, I packed my gold Chevy Nova and drove across the Mississippi River toward Madison, Wisconsin. Like so many others who uproot from their hometowns, I did so […]
Missouri Athletes Bust Through Intolerance
Originally published by The Progressive. With the walk-out that led to the resignation of a university president and chancellor, the University of Missouri’s black football players showed their power to […]
It Is Easier to Have a ‘Spirited’ Child When You Are a White Parent
Originally published on The Guardian. I have what’s known as a “spirited” child. Mia has run me ragged since she knew how to walk. She’d run across soccer fields as […]
Mr. President: We don’t Need Gestures; We Need Action to Ban the Box
Earlier this week the President announced that his office was issuing a memorandum to Ban the Box for federal employment. What followed was an explosion of jubilant articles that once […]
Why Poverty Isn’t a Halloween Costume
Originally published on Talk Poverty and The Nation. When a website documenting the attire of Walmart customers surfaced several years ago, its popularity grew quickly. As Walmart is known for […]
Our Pilgrimage for Immigrant Rights Remains Strong in the Face of Adversity
Photo via We Belong Together. There was a lot going on last month with the pope’s visit to DC. The pope addressed a joint session of Congress and spoke on […]
The Art of Balancing the Ledger While in Poverty
Originally published on Talk Poverty and CommonDreams. When you live at or under the federal poverty level, you’d better be good at crunching numbers. Every cent coming in or going […]
I Lived On $6 A Day With A 6-year-old And A Baby On The Way. It Was Extreme Poverty.
Originally published on The Guardian. It didn’t take me long to go from financial stability to fearing homelessness. In January 2014 I was 35-years-old, raising a six-year-old nearly full-time and […]
Formerly Incarcerated Leaders React to the Introduction of Ban the Box Legislation
Formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones welcomed today’s introduction of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2015 by Sens. Cory Booker and Ron Johnson, and Reps. […]
UFCW Leading the Fight for Immigration Reform
In 2014, there were 8.1 million undocumented immigrants employed in the United States. These hard-working men and women live in constant fear of arrest and deportation which would rip their […]
Shouting Beyond the Feminist Choir
When America celebrates Women’s Equality Day today, perhaps she will post pictures of her inspirational inhabitants on Instagram, or write a long heartfelt post about female empowerment on Facebook, sprinkling […]
What working families in Memphis want to GOP candidates to address on Thursday
Pictured to the right: Ella Collins at a Home Care Fight for $15 rally Ten Republican presidential candidates will take the stage in Cleveland Thursday for the GOP’s first televised primary […]
“Ban the Box,” Say Those In It: People Who Survive Prison Fight for Fair-Chance Hiring
Millions of Americans who have been imprisoned will survive one box only to be confined by another, smaller yet even more damaging one. On July 14th, the President spoke at […]
“That box was the bane of my existence”
Photo to the left: Dorsey Nunn is executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and founder of All of Us or None, which advocates for prison reform and […]
Netroots, #BlackLivesMatter and the Putting Families First campaign
This week we have seen a phenomenal shift in the conversation around race and poverty. We are beginning to see a movement’s narrative take hold in the public debate and […]
My heart aches to see the struggle on Skid Row
This post was originally published on MomsRising.org. The Housing Trust Fund Project team spent much of the last week of June in Los Angeles and stayed at a hotel directly […]
Building Coalitions at the 2015 White House AAPI Youth Forum
Last Thursday, July 9th, over 150 Asian American and Pacific Islander college students from across the nation convened at the White House for the 2015 White House Initiative on Asian […]
Grassroots Leaders, Politicians, the American People All Agree: It’s Time to Expand Social Security
Although the White House Conference on Aging is held only once every ten years, Monday’s event was a crucial time to address issues for older Americans, especially as they retire […]
Three-Strikes and You’re In: The Unconstitutionality of the Three-Strikes Law
The Supreme Court has been cranking out hit after hit of rulings that show signs of our progress as a nation that views Americans as human beings: as ones who […]
Arnie Graf: 2015 Change Champion in Community Organizing
Kate Casa contributed to this article. It was the mid-1960s and Arnie Graf, a 19-year-old student at the mostly segregated University of Buffalo, found himself witnessing discrimination in a very […]
A Worker’s Take On The New Overtime Proposal
Originally posted on Talk Poverty and The Nation. As a manager for a national auto supply chain, Lora McCrary puts in between 50 and 70 hours a week remodeling stores […]
Terror for Profit
America made Dylann Storm Roof. His act of terrorism didn’t happen in isolation. He is the physical and present-day manifestation of a deeply-ingrained mindset that says white Americans are superior […]
Rewriting the Rules to Benefit Everyone, Not Just the Wealthy
Angela Zhao is the Communications Intern at the Center for Community Change. Although the Roosevelt Institute’s” Rewriting the Rules” is a 115-page report advocating almost all imaginable social and economic […]
Fast Food CEO Blames Low-Wage Workers for Poverty
This piece was originally published on TalkPoverty.org. To be “poor” in America isn’t an identifying characteristic or a defining trait, like being forgetful or creative or tall. Being a low-income […]
Not same-sex marriage, not the Affordable Care Act, that OTHER Supreme Court ruling!
This has been a big week for the United States Supreme Court. Major decisions given over the past two days: to keep in place the Affordable Care Act’s current tax […]
Committed to Lies
This post was originally published in The Memphis Flyer. Emancipation by veracity is a beautiful, if elusive, concept. People in search of comfort may turn to scripture after last week’s […]
The Politics of Hate
This piece was originally published on The Hill. Last week was one of those moments in history when the politics of hatred seized hold and as a nation we fell […]
PUSH!
This blog was originally published on MomsRising.org. When my sister-in-law was pregnant with her first child, she drove me crazy, calling me at all hours to tell me about every little […]
The New Female Face of the $10 Bill
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has announced that a to-be-determined woman will be pushing Alexander Hamilton from the focal point of the $10 in 2020. This will be the first bill […]
Monster in the Mission
This piece was originally posted on The Huffington Post San Francisco. “The only public housing this city provides is county jails,” Bilal Ali of the Coalition Against Homelessness said at […]
Thinking of My Mother and Our Broken Economy
by Chris Dasan Ahanu Massenburg
When I was growing up, I was a “latch key” kid, a popular term for a child who has to come home and lock himself in after school because no […]
Living Hour-to-Hour: The New Reality of Retail Work
Andrew Foles*, a 25-year-old retail associate at Macy’s in San Francisco, says he would prefer to work full-time in order to budget his monthly expenses. Unfortunately, in today’s retail industry, […]
Tale of Two Cities
This piece was originally published in The Memphis Flyer. Could Memphis be Baltimore? It’s impossible to watch coverage of Baltimore protests sparked by police brutality and not wonder: Could that […]
Officer Friendly Encounters That Old Black Magic
This post originally appeared on Colorlines.com. Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort and members of Atlanta activist groups gathered in front of Atlanta police headquarters last Monday, May 4, to call […]
Baltimore doesn’t need more mothers like Toya Graham
When Baltimore mom Toya Graham saw TV footage of her masked son joining rioters following the funeral of Freddie Gray, she found him on the streets and beat him. Video […]
Putting Families First: Good Jobs for All
This piece was originally published on TalkPoverty.org. On a December morning nearly 60 years ago, Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat to a white man on a public bus […]
Putting good jobs at top of US policy agenda
This post originally appeared here. Even though she’s worked at the Checkers in Lincoln Park for four years, Mya Hill is still paid only $8.15 an hour – Michigan’s minimum […]
Addressing San Francisco’s Housing Crisis Starts With Investing in Jobs
This piece originally appeared in The Huffington Post. The first thing that struck me when I moved to the Bay Area three years ago was the extraordinary cost of rent. During […]
Afraid to Love
This piece was originally posted in The Memphis Flyer. I am afraid to love my 18-month-old nephew because he is a black boy, and in my country, police hunt and […]
Slavery by Any Other Name
When attempting to make structural change in America it is always important to begin by understanding the structures in question, how they got that way, and only then advocating solutions. […]
The Fight for Quality, Accessible Child Care is a Fight for Women’s Equality
This piece was originally posted in the Montgomery Advertiser. Women’s History Month is about more than celebrating phenomenal women in history; it’s also about honoring the women who have dedicated […]
Reflections from Selma
Savannah Williams remembers where she was on March 7, 1965. “When Bloody Sunday happened, “ she explained, “I was at my first job working for the United States Department of Agriculture […]
Three Years after Trayvon: Power Built from Tragedy
by Chris Dasan Ahanu Massenburg
Three years ago today, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida. The circumstances surrounding the case led to a nationwide outcry for justice. Many were […]
Good Jobs Lost
This story was originally published in the Memphis Flyer. For 17 years, Zorina Bowen was a research biochemist. She was good at what she did and loved her job. But […]
Detroit’s Walking Man: Beyond Click-Through Generosity
It’s fitting that James Robertson’s good luck falls during Black History Month. Robertson, 56, started riding four buses and walking 21 miles round-trip to get from his Detroit home to […]
“I believe that we will win!”
At 7:30 am, about 100 airport people marched into the atrium of the world’s busiest airport chanting, “We can’t survive on $7.25.” The crowd got bigger as they rallied, with […]
Retail work and the instability of the New Year
The New Year tends to be a time for new beginnings, but for Americans who work in seasonal jobs in the retail industry, the New Year can be a very […]
MLK and the “Beloved Community”
On Friday, January 16th, Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice at the Center for Community Change, delivered the keynote address at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum’s 30th […]
President Obama, Think Big in 2015
It’s a new year, which means new resolutions, new inaugurations and the beginning of holding politicians accountable for their campaign promises. Last week I attended the Washington Interfaith Network’s (WIN) […]
The Politics of Holidays
by Chris Dasan Ahanu Massenburg
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go; take a look at the five and ten, glistening once again with candy canes and silver lanes aglow…” -Robert […]
Kwanzaa is the perfect holiday for activism
When I think of the holidays, I think of mistletoe and tinsel, Nativity scenes and presents under the tree. But this year, visions of sugarplums have been replaced by the […]
Dreaming of a Black Christmas
Today, Mike Brown should be finishing his first college finals, preparing to spend winter break with his family. Eric Garner should be getting his Santa suit ready, so that he […]
Using Our Dollars as Voting Ballots
While the country ramps up for another festive holiday season, people who work in retail jobs across the nation tend to cringe at the approaching days. The holidays can be […]
Working Families’ Lives Matter
For the past several weeks, cities across the country have seen a multitude of protests and acts of civil disobedience following announcements that police officers would not be indicted in […]
A Mother’s Love, An Activist’s Mind
Below is a post from Tammy Thomas Miles, Field Organizer with CCC — Each year at Thanksgiving I often take the time to reflect on all the things which I […]
Salve for Salt-filled Wounds: Healing after Mike Brown
Pictured here: Tamika Middleton, left, holds her daughter Asha at a rally for Mike Brown. Photo credit: Tamieka Atkins I didn’t cry Monday night. I turned off Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s press conference […]
The livelihood of our families at the heart of our #OneStruggle
Can we talk about these last few days? They have been emotional. We ended last week taking part in rallies and events across the country celebrating the long anticipated administrative […]
Ban the Box
This post was originally published on Creative Loafing Atlanta. Asking former prisons about past conviction history on job applications is a barrier to re-entry Every week, men and women who […]
Things we should freak out over instead of Ebola
Dear everybody — Please stop freaking out about Ebola. I’m not making light of illness, I’m just trying to bring some sanity back to what the real threats in our […]
The Census Report: Good News and More Bad News
New data from the Census shows that poverty rates are down, particularly among children. 14.5 percent of Americans are now living in poverty, down from 15 percent in 2012. Many […]
Progress in the Fight for the Right to Call Home
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission took a major step towards honoring human empathy by issuing a statement to reduce the cost of phone calls made from prisons, jails and other […]
The War on Drugs is a War on Poor Black and Brown People
Charlo Greene is the subject of a viral video, cursing on live TV as she quits her job as a news reporter to fight full time to decriminalize marijuana. We […]
Why Every Day Should Be National Voter Registration Day
Today is National Voter Registration Day; a day when organizations across the country reach out to their respective communities encouraging them to register and turn out to vote. In light […]
Financial Literacy Provides a Way Out for Abuse Survivors
Trigger Warning: This piece includes references to domestic violence and other forms of abuse. One in four women will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime. Abuse comes in many forms, but […]
We Can’t Survive on $7.25
This piece originally appeared on TalkPoverty.org. At 6 a.m. last Thursday, a small group of people gathered at the Burger King on the corner of North Avenue and Hunt Street in […]
Reflection on Ferguson, Missouri
Field Organizer Tammy Thomas-Miles went to Ferguson, Missouri over the Labor Day weekend as part of a strategy session with other organizers. Here is Tammy’s first person account of the […]
When Enough Gets to Be Enough
This blog was originally posted on the Voices for Human Needs blog. On Monday night, thousands of people marched through downtown Atlanta in the pouring rain. Most of them I […]
Poverty in Color: Race, Class and Television
Last week, NPR ran a story about who is poor on TV –and how some television shows depict poor people. Two of those shows were Good Times and The Wire, […]
Engaging Direct Service Providers in Organizing: A Reflection
As a member of the New Organizing Practices’ direct service and organizing committee, I have been reflecting on whether service providers have a stronger relationship with the folks who use […]
Getting our priorities straight on mass incarceration and perpetuated poverty
Connection between mass incarceration and perpetuated poverty, why it’s bad not only for individuals but also for communities Did you know that the U.S. imprisons more of its citizens than […]
Remembering Mike Brown
On Saturday, an unarmed 18-year-old African-American teenager named Mike Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri. He had planned to start college yesterday—and because of an unjustified […]
‘My Family Does Not Struggle Because We Lack Work Ethic’
This piece was originally published on TalkPoverty.org. Living in a single-parent household is tough. I grew up with my mother and two sisters, and although my mother always worked, we […]
Housing Development Closes Doors On Poor Residents
New York City developers are building a new luxury apartment that will apparently have a separate entrance for its affordable housing residents. Extell Development Company, who is behind the luxury […]
Can We Really Do Something about Poverty in America?
Executive Director Deepak Bhargava delivered the following speech on July 1, 2014 at the Aspen Ideas Fest. For the full video of Deepak delivering this speech, click here. In the richest […]
Redefining the Way We Talk About Poverty
The Center for Community Change (CCC) has launched a major initiative to dismantle the barriers that create and sustain poverty. CCC aims to galvanize a social movement to generate the […]
#WeEndPIC – We End the Prison Industrial Complex
Last week, the Center for Community Change, in partnership with Nation Inside, gathered more than 100 activists in Detroit for a national strategy meeting to end mass incarceration. Below is […]
Majority of Americans Make Sacrifices to Cover High Cost of Housing
Whether taking on an additional job, cutting back on healthy food or health care, deferring retirement savings, amassing credit card debt, or moving to a neighborhood that is either unsafe […]
Anatomy of a Veto
Gary Sandusky is a Senior Field Organizer at the Center for Community Change. In 2009, Center for Community Change assigned me to work closely with the Alliance for a Just […]
Raising America’s Pay
On June 4, the Economic Policy Institute launched “Raising America’s Pay,” a research and public education initiative that seeks to make wage growth an urgent priority. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez […]
Minimum Wage Momentum!
Pictured here: People cheer the moment the minimum wage bill passes in the Seattle City Council. There have been a lot of minimum wage victories in the news lately. Yesterday, the […]
‘Ain’t Got No Wiggle Room’
Originally published on the new blog TalkPoverty.org. Poverty is everywhere. More than one in three Americans—106 million people—live below or perilously close to the federal poverty line. If you pick […]
Jobs Not Jails
Last week, through the cold and the rain, the Jobs Not Jails coalition sent a strong message to their state of Massachusetts—redirect $2 billion for new prison beds to a […]
Only the Beginning: Seattle Wins the Fight for 15
Today, Seattle lawmakers reached a compromise deal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The city’s minimum wage hike reflects a growing grassroots movement across the country to […]
Crossing Over: An Eye-Opening Read
After finishing the book Crossing Over by Ruben Martínez, there was one story that I couldn’t get out of my head. The nonfiction book follows the journeys of many immigrant […]
Darkest Before the Dawn
Originally posted on Fox News Latino. Rudy Lopez, Senior Organizer at the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, participated as a core faster in the Fast for Families: A Call for Immigration […]
Politicians must stop dancing to the mantra of ‘It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World’
Originally posted on The Hill’s Congress Blog. In 1966, the “King of Soul,” James Brown, proclaimed, “It’s a man’s, man’s, man’s world!” And ever since, there hasn’t been a Brown […]
Of Love And Politics, And Jeb Bush’s Surprising Statement
This post originally appeared as an op-ed in Fox News Latino. It was the immigrant and Latino vote that helped President Obama win the White House in 2008 and 2012 because […]
Frances Perkins: Equal pay trailblazer
Frances Perkins, former Secretary of Labor and first woman to hold a Presidential cabinet appointment, began her career fighting poverty in some of the most impoverished communities in New York […]
Why I Give to CCC
After reading a New York Times op-ed by Arthur C. Brooks in which he discusses why he enjoys fund-raising, I began to think about why I give money to the […]
The Life-Long Stigma of Being an Ex-Prisoner
We like to think that in the United States, all people have rights and equality; all people have a voice. However, there are 65 million Americans and 60,000 D.C. natives […]
Why I Fasted
Last Wednesday, March 19th, I participated in the Women’s Fast for Families, a national fast organized by We Belong Together, in which women choose 24 hours to fast for immigration reform. At […]
“Si, se puede”
A self-proclaimed “Born-Again Feminist,” Dolores Huerta, now 83, has been a prominent community organizer and civil rights activist for most of her life. Though, she is best known for co-founding […]
Women Fight Poverty NOW
I walked up the 30th identical driveway to the 30th nearly identical house with my canvassing packet and clipboard tucked neatly under my arm. I smiled at a man working […]
What to Do When the Rising Cost of Housing Outpaces Stagnant Wages
Simultaneous to the growing momentum to raise state and federal minimum wages, The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies released a sobering new report in December of 2013 documenting that […]
Roots of the War on Poverty
I just finished reading The Passage of Power, the fourth book of Robert Caro’s multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. The book recreates in vivid detail the years 1958 through 1964, […]
Caregivers: Unrecognized Heroes
Though we don’t often think of it, we have all had caregivers, and we will all likely be a caregiver at one point or another in our lives. Caregivers are […]
Take a Walk in Their Shoes
I have a friend- let’s call her Elizabeth. She is eight years old and attends a D.C. public school, and I spend time with her twice a week. A few […]
President Obama Signs Executive Order to Raise Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
On February 12, President Obama signed an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal workers to $10.10 per hour. In his remarks before the signing, President Obama discussed […]
America the Beautiful
Coca-Cola’s infamous 2014 Superbowl ad, titled “It’s Beautiful,” proves a couple of things in its role as the most controversial commercial of the night. First of all, its rendition of […]
The Other War on Women
When we hear the term “war on women,” it generally refers to attempts by state and local governments to limit women’s access to reproductive services. While this is a real […]
College Degrees Lead to Jobs… Right?
The other day, someone asked me why I made my college decision. As I prepared one of my typical “I love the city/the political atmosphere is great/I wanted a challenge” […]
What We Hope to Hear During the State of the Union
This year’s State of the Union follows the President’s promise that he will make economic inequality a top priority for the rest of his presidency. But what will President Obama […]
We’re Building a Boisterous, Energized Movement
Building strength from the grass roots. It’s what the Center for Community Change (CCC) has done for 45 years. It’s what we will continue to do in 2014 as we […]
Health and Wealth – Women and Self-Care
Stress affects women from all walks of life, from Beyonce to the lady at the checkout stand. In The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, a new […]
Fast Food Workers Demand Higher Pay
Last month, fast food workers went on strike in 100 cities across the country. The workers are fighting for a $15 an hour wage and the right to organize into […]
Meeting Brenda Ortigoza
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to shadow kids who were taking part in the “Keeping Families Together: Youth in Action” events on Capitol Hill as they made their way […]
Housing Trust Funds: Protecting Affordable Living
One of the most difficult hardships facing low-income people in the United States is the lack of affordable housing due to the gross mismatch between income and housing costs. This recent […]
The Luxury of Being Grateful
I spent the better part of one morning last week telling dozens of low-income people of color that they had to CHOOSE ONE: cranberry sauce, stuffing in a box, or […]
“We Can’t Cut Ourselves into Prosperity”
Last week, I attended a panel hosted by the Economic Policy Institute and Oxfam America, featuring US Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Jim Walsh (R-NY), economists and researchers, and two […]
College Food Banks: A Growing Necessity
Many have heard of the typical college diet of ramen noodles and pizza, and the struggle for students away at school to eat well. But beyond simply a problem of […]
How Much Must Someone Suffer before You Start to Care?
Recently I came across this op-ed in Forbes written by opinion columnist and perpetually miffed white man Tim Worstall. In what was supposed to be a half-quippy, half-snippy critique of a […]
Improving Social Security to Enhance Economic Security for Vulnerable Populations
With 82 percent of Americans in agreement that we must increase Social Security benefits even if it means raising taxes, why should we wait any longer to improve our Social […]
Behind the Scenes Heroes
Before we met Joyce Dickinson, a retired home care worker in Florida, she didn’t know that she could pick up the phone and call her member of Congress. Ms. Dickinson […]
The Thing “Joe the Plumber” Doesn’t Seem To Understand about Racism
At the risk of giving too much attention to back-burner ideologue “Joe the Plumber,” I want to bring up something in his recent blog post: “Wanting a white Republican president […]
Overcoming the Frustration of Injustice
While reading a recent Salon article, “The real story of the shutdown: 50 years of GOP race-baiting,” I cannot honestly say that I was too shocked. The institution of racism is […]
Low-Income Families Bear the Greatest Burden
Americans across the country felt the consequences of the government shutdown. Federal employees were jobless until further notice. National parks, landmarks, and museums were closed. Wedding plans were disrupted. School […]
House Republicans- Where Are Your Priorities?
Late last week, the House passed a bill to restore regular federal funding to border security during the shutdown. This bill, called the Border Security and Safety Act, would ensure […]
Time to Do Something About Our Broken Immigration System
For anyone who does not think our immigration system is broken, here is the story of Sigifredo Saldana Iracheta, an immigrant and father whose attempts to be a U.S. citizen […]
“My Family Is Not Illegal.”
It vividly occurred to me at the October 8th rally outside the U.S. Capitol Building that it’s time to discuss immigration legislation now and to grant undocumented immigrants a chance […]
What’s the Matter with Food Stamp Recipients?
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably already aware that the House of Representatives voted to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $39 billion. The bill didn’t decrease […]
October 5th, 2013: Join the Fight!
On Saturday, October 5th, more than 80 mobilization efforts are planned to take place across the country to celebrate the National Day of Dignity and Respect. These efforts will […]
Preparing for Mass Mobilizations Across the Country on October 5th
Thousands of families across the country will mobilize on streets across the country on October 5th, and here’s why: Although we’ve sent out a very clear message at the polls, […]
GOP: Stop Pandering and Start Acting
This week, House Republicans released a video in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Prominent House Republicans, including Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lauded Hispanics for […]
Children in Poverty
Following the release of the 2012 Census data, perhaps the most disturbing statistics are those that relate to children. The results show that about one in five children in the […]
The Cruel Act: House Republicans Want to Reduce Food Stamps Program
“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” -Representative Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) This quote from Republican Rep. Stephen Fincher wowed me for many reasons; it’s catchy, snarky, cunning […]
The New Suburban Poverty
When it comes to American poverty, the landscape is changing. According to a new study by the Brookings Institution, poverty is increasing at its fastest rate in “major metropolitan suburbs,” […]
What I’ve Learned
To be honest, I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I accepted my internship at the Center for Community Change. I wanted to work on immigration reform […]
A Story Worth Covering
A so-called “rally” with Republicans’ leading anti-immigrant spokesman, Rep. Steve King (R-IA), flopped big time this week. While the event was widely publicized as a national kickoff to stir up […]
The Working Poor
15% of the U.S. population lives below the national poverty line. That’s 46.2 million people. And though many are quick to name a lack of motivation, laziness and irresponsibility as […]
Why I Was Arrested
I was arrested for Oscar Alfaro. Oscar came to the U.S. to escape poverty and make enough money to support his family. Now, he fears being deported and separated from […]
Face Our Families!
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) groups and allies will rally across the country on Saturday calling for the House GOP leadership to step up and support comprehensive immigration reform that […]
Another House Political Smoke and Mirrors Trick—The KIDS Act
As the House Judiciary Committee begins its review of the KIDS act, proposed by Representative Eric Cantor, its inadequacy is already becoming clear. The act is part of the House […]
Licensing Fairness
I don’t know what I would do without my driver’s license. Being from Los Angeles, I find driving to be an essential to getting my way around. But my license […]
Sen. Reed to Recirculate a Bill That is ACTUALLY Good for Students
Months ago, Sen. Jack Reed, a longstanding champion for students, introduced the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act, a bill that would have prevented interest rates on all new federal Stafford […]
Putting Faces on the Immigration Debate
Inside Out photo project has come to DC to take on immigration reform. The group, who uses large portraits taken in their mobile photo booth as art installations around the […]
The People Behind the Issues
In the five years that I have volunteered at schools in Tegucigalpa and Talanga Honduras I’ve been exposed to the reality of many things. The beauty of simple human interaction. […]
Midwest Grassroots Ambassadors Training Wraps Up with Raucus Macy’s Action
A group of 60 Grassroots Ambassadors and staff from three states came together from July 7-9 in Chicago, Illinois for a dynamic training and collective action. The Jane Addams Senior […]
House Republicans: Our Deadline is August 2nd
As House Republicans debate whether or not they will act on immigration reform, they should remember the deadline of Aug. 2nd that the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) has set […]
Voice of a (New) American
One of America’s treasures is the freedom we enjoy, the absence of restraints on our ability to think and to act. We the people, who live in this country, live […]
Mapping the Impact
Today I stumbled across this interactive map, which charts the impact of immigrant students, workers and entrepreneurs in every American state. The project, known as Map the Impact, is informative […]
The Fight Continues
Last Thursday, the Senate voted to pass the bill 68-32, and focus shifted to the House of Representatives as they work on their version of the bill. It has been […]
America’s Invisible Farmworkers
With summertime comes fresh produce lining farmer’s markets tables and grocery store shelves, and as families sit down to enjoy the feast of fresh, colorful food I’m going to guess […]
Progress, But Not Victory
On Monday and Tuesday of last week, I was discouraged. The Supreme Court had ruled on cases dealing with affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – both […]
Economic Injustice Needs More Attention
The Brookings Institution pointed out that high-income kids who don’t graduate from college are 2.5 times more likely to end up rich than low-income kids who do get a degree. […]
The LGBT Provision: Too Much to Lose
UPDATE: As of today, the “risk” that including the LGBT community in comprehensive immigration reform posed to the Senate bill’s passage is no longer an issue. The Supreme Court’s decision […]
Rubio’s Amendment: Just Another Roadblock
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has proposed an amendment that would require immigrants to pass a level-3 English proficiency test in order to receive a green card for permanent residency in […]
A Special Day for Me
This week, Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) leaders went to the House Judiciary Committee to voice their disapproval for the SAFE Act, a bill that takes the extreme measure of […]
Obstruction of Justice: The SAFE Act
This week, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act, with Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) leading the charge. With the bill’s extreme policies, […]
DACA’s One Year Anniversary
A year ago, President Obama announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for young people who were brought to the U.S. when they were children by their immigrant […]
Immigrant Families Tell the GOP to Remember November
FIRM, CASA de Maryland, SEIU and Bend the Arc Jewish Action, as well as the families they work with, today sent a message to House and Senate Republicans who do […]
Remember November
It’s been seven long months since Election Day. It’s been seven long months and there is still no immigration bill in the House of Representatives. We need more than just […]
Immigrant Rights Leader Gives Riveting Testimony at Senate Hearing
For Immediate Release: Monday, April 22, 2013 Contact: For English language Media: Donna De La Cruz, [email protected], 202-339-9331, 202-441-3798 (cell) For Spanish language Media: Ricardo Ramírez, [email protected], 202-339-9371, (202) 905-1738 […]
Congress must move quickly on immigration
What does it take to get Congress to listen? On April 10, more than 100,000 people from 31 states descended on the nation’s Capitol to send a strong message that […]
Tell your Representatives that you want immigration reform, now!
Tomorrow is the final day of National Call-in week for immigration reform. We need everyone to call their representatives and urge them to support immigration reform that keeps families together […]
Honoring Deepak Bhargava’s Commitment to Social Justice
On Sunday, April 21, 2013, The Committee for Effective Leadership will honor four individuals for their exemplary leadership and service. Among the honorees is Deepak Bhargava the Executive Director of […]
Building the Economic Strength of Women
March 8th is International Women’s Day, and although it’s 2013, American women still lag behind men in paycheck fairness. Women still make a mere 64 cents for every dollar their […]
A Bus Tour, Full of Stories and Strength
Last week, the National Keeping Families Together Bus Tour launched from Chicago, IL carrying families and individuals directly impacted by the current immigration system. The bus riders are calling on […]
The Immigrant Community Comes Together
Leaders of the Asian Pacific American community are supporting the Keeping Families Together mission. Comprehensive immigration reform is essential because families should never be separated. When mentioning the “undocumented immigrants”, […]
Immigrants to Yale, “We aren’t Guinea pigs!”
Yale recently suspended plans to create a center in conjunction with the Department of Defense that would train U.S. soldiers in the art of interrogation by using immigrants as their […]
Alone on Valentine’s Day Because Of Deportation
In December the Fair Immigration Reform Movement launched the Keeping Families Together campaign, the campaign collects the countless stories of families split because of our broken immigration system. Yesterday was […]
Making Minimum Wage a Living Wage
Overall, 77% of those who watched The State of the Union Address were pleased with what the President had to say. It was a passionate plea and directive to the […]
Immigration and LGBT Advocates
When two Portland women renewed their vows in Oregon, living as a mixed-status couple, the moment was impactful for more than one reason. The couple renewed their vows to illustrate […]
Dishonesty is Not the Best Policy
When police ask for your help, most people are inclined to help them. Amber’s husband falls into that category. But Amber and her family were shocked at what happened after […]
The OFA Takes a Page from Keeping Families Together
With President Obama’s second term in full swing his former campaign organization has decided to take on immigration reform. Taking a page from the Keeping Families Together Campaign, The Obama […]
The Poverty Predicament
The word ‘poor’ is treated like a four-letter word by politicians. But with the downturn of our economy and slow job market, the issue of poverty has become more serious […]
Sharing the Stories of Immigrant Families
The Fair Immigration Reform Movement recently launched the Keeping Families Together Campaign. The campaign was created to advocate for immigration reform that keeps families together and to collect the stories […]
Immigration Is Still On the List
President Obama’s second term has no shortage of key issues. While some feared that the important issue of gun control and the debt ceiling would overshadow the need for comprehensive […]
A Holiday Without Your Parents
Many US children will spend this holiday season without a parent. Why? Because they have a parent who isn’t a US citizen and has been deported. From 2010-2012 about 23% […]
The Youth Unemployment Problem
The Center for Community Change recently released a report highlighting the issue of youth unemployment and under-employment entitled, “Establishing a Foothold in the Labor Market for Young Workers Through Subsidized […]
Keeping Families Together in our Fight for Immigration Reform
This year has been a huge one for DREAMers who earlier this year were granted deferred action status. But the fight for DREAMers is not over. Although they now have […]
The High Cost of Low Wages
As Congress debates the fiscal cliff, hopefully avoiding balancing the budget on the backs of workers, they should look at retail industry workers. The retail industry has bounced back from […]
A Message to the President and Congress: Listen to America!
The 2012 elections show that Americans want President Obama and Congress to strengthen the middle class, put people back to work, embrace prosperity economics over austerity, and protect essential retirement […]
The Heart and Soul of Getting Out the Vote
During a site visit to Chicago to work with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) as part of my electoral work with the Campaign for Community Change, […]
Voting For The First Time At 71
The Campaign for Community Change is working with several groups in the field to register a record number of new voters for this year’s election. In the days leading up […]
Why is Poverty Taboo in the Presidential Campaigns?
A lot of important issues were discussed during the first presidential debate. President Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney were eager to discuss the middle and upper class, but […]
What’s the Matter with the Middle Class?
Last week, “class” was in the news. But – as usual for most all of our political discourse – the focus was on the struggles of the amorphous “middle” class, […]
Let’s Hear it For These Social Justice Champions!
The champions of change in our communities rarely receive the credit they deserve. The road to change is long, and it’s important to take a few stops along the way […]
The 2012 Change Champion Awards
Join us in honoring leaders from diverse fields who dedicate themselves to changing the conditions that create poverty and inequity, and who work to build power in low-income communities and […]
Hungry American Children
There have been a lot of speeches at both the Democratic and Republican Conventions, but only Jeff Bridges has spoken at both. Unfortunately, Bridges speech will not garner the much […]
Working Women of Color and Wages
Women are more likely than their male counterparts to pursue higher education (see graph on right); and yet they still don’t make more money. Latino women make 60 cents for […]
FIRM Statement: DREAMers Can Finally Achieve Their Dreams!
Deferred Action Application Process Begins Today! Today, tens of thousands of young DREAM students began applying for the “Deferred Action” policy so they can work and live in the […]
Give A Care! Campaign Celebrating Caregivers Launched Today
Website, Video Shows Importance of Caregivers, Why They Deserve Support For Immediate Release: August 8, 2012 Contact: Donna De La Cruz, 202-339-9331, [email protected] (WASHINGTON)—Single parents, adults caring for sick children […]
Everywhere I Look, There Are Caregivers
This week a new campaign was launched called “Give A Care”. The idea is simple: thank the people in your life who are caregivers by sending them a personalized video. […]
Women of Color Finding Their Voice
In 2012, women still find it hard to make their voices heard. Remember the all-white, all-male congressional panel debating women’s contraception earlier this year? For women of color, it is […]
Durbin’s DREAMers Dream Just Like Us
As the DREAMers stood up one by one, beaming with pride as their stories were revealed to the audience, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) looked on like a proud father. He […]
Sacrificing the Poor for Better Poll Numbers
Once again, we have Republicans in this country putting their own political interests over the needs of their constituents. This time, it’s in the implementation of the Medicaid expansion in […]
The Power of Organizing
Today’s Washington Post documents crucial organizing work undertaken by the Center for Community Change. One of the Post’s top reporters demonstrates the immense power of bringing together the voices of […]
Peter Edelman talks, “So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard to End Poverty in America”
Peter Edelman sat down with Democracy Now! to discuss his new book, “So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard to End Poverty in America.” Currently, one in every two […]
Caregiving: One Family’s Story
I come from a large extended family that steps up when one of us needs help. When my grandmother had a stroke and my great aunt began losing her sight, […]
Law-enforcement Leaders Agree: State Anti-immigrant Laws Encourage Discrimination
In our struggle to make a more perfect nation, the liberty of all Americans is at risk. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States is slated to hear […]
Fighting for the Future of America’s 99%
Today, with the 2012 elections looming before us, we must ensure that the national movement we’ve helped to build has the clout to make our politicians listen. We will all […]
Report from the Supreme Court Hearing on Health Care
Voices were loud and emotions were high on the usually austere marble steps of the Supreme Court this morning. About 250 people rallied in front of the Court building to […]
How Far We’ve Come
You can hear the awe and disbelief in the now infamous and chilling 911 calls from residents of Sanford, FL. In essence, they capture the moments in which a 17 […]
Blazing a New Path in Alabama
Check out the highlights from the historic re-enactment of 2012’s Selma to Montgomery march. This year was especially monumental as thousands came out in solidarity to express their opposition to […]
The Real Homeless Hotspots
The annual music festival, South by Southwest (SXSW) typically generates tons of publicity each year. Held in Austin, Texas, the 10-day festival includes news conferences on the latest technological trends, […]
Making History in Alabama
This past week, I had the privilege of joining with thousands of people from Alabama and around the country who walked from Selma to Montgomery to commemorate the historic march […]
1,000 Strong March for Immigrant Rights
Pictured in the middle is Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change. Yesterday’s focus of the Selma-to-Montgomery march was immigration rights and it was breathtaking to see […]
Language of Change
Last night, after the longest leg of the Selma to Alabama march, hundreds of marchers, supporters, and community members gathered at a Catholic school in Montgomery. On each face, under […]
With Each Step, More Determination to Fight for Justice
The 47th reenactment of the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama gets stronger every day. Over the past four days, I’ve had the privilege of marching with […]
Why I’m Marching
I’m in Alabama this week, marching along the Selma to Montgomery highway that 47 years ago marked one of the most important moments in our nation’s history. 400 strong, we […]
The March Marches On
I’m in Alabama to take part in the 47th reenactment of the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The 50 mile march is taking place over 5 […]
Tired Feet but Refreshed Soul
I was among the 200 people honored to retrace the first 12 miles of the Selma to Montgomery march Sunday and yesterday. My feet are tired but boy is my […]
Fighting to Keep History from Repeating
This year marks the 47th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights march. The 50-mile trek along what is now known as the Voting Rights Trail marked an important […]
Which America do We Live In?
Is this still the land of the free and the home of the brave, or do we now live in a country that tears families apart and drives children from […]
I Am the 4 Percent
My upbringing wasn’t the most stable of environments. I bounced around a lot, often to less than glamorous neighborhoods. My family wasn’t a traditional, nuclear or even agreeable one at […]
Our Homeless Vets
A new report (.pdf) out this week from the Government Accountability office examines the number of homeless female veterans, and the numbers are astounding: “Limited VA data show the number […]
Why the Child Tax Credit is Important to My Family
Growing up, my family did not have a lot of money, so my mom was always grateful for the benefit of the Child Tax Credit. That refund was a safety […]
East Haven’s Dirty Little Secret Exposed
People were stunned when they heard that East Haven, Connecticut Mayor Joseph Maturo said he “might have tacos” in response to a question about what he was going to do […]
In Search of Solidarity
Something seems to be missing these days in America, and it’s the spirit of solidarity. It seems like we’ve been a country of “what’s in it for me” for a […]
$40, Why It Is Important
Because it's the holiday season, my son Alex came to work today. And he got to come on a very special trip– to see the President argue for a payroll […]
One of the 2.5 Million
Before I started writing for the blog here, I was another out-of-work, recent college graduate, like so many of my friends. My brother had graduated three years before me and, […]
Real Social Change When People Rise Up and Demand It
I’m angry and I’m frustrated. And perhaps like me, you don’t recognize the country you live in anymore. It’s not just the rabid partisan politics or the dour national mood […]
A New Way to Empower
In recent weeks, the Center for Community Change has been testing our new vision for “scale with soul,” attempting to reach thousands of Americans who have not been reached before; […]
One Family’s Struggle to Find Jobs
Among the hundreds of people at a rally last week in Charlotte, N.C., calling on Congress to create more jobs to get our economy going again were two sisters and […]
How Does Great Change Happen?
Great changes in our history have always come through mass pressure from outside combined with receptive leadership in positions of power. President Obama, himself once a community organizer, is fond […]
Come Join ‘Job’s for #Young America Day’ on the Hill
Are you one of the many youth who is unemployed and frustrated with our nation’s high unemployment levels? If so, then this is the event for you! The Young Invincibles, […]
Sweet Home Alabama?
While the news of Occupy Wall Street is grabbing media attention, it is important not to lose sight of what is happening in Alabama. Effective last month, Alabama law requires […]
Let’s Target Infrastructure Jobs to Communities Most in Need
Today the Transportation Equity Network released a national report ranking the states based on how well they prepare and create job opportunities for low-income and minority residents and women on transportation infrastructure […]
Turning Anger Into Hope
Americans are angry these days. You can see it at the Occupy Wall Street protests. You see it in states where governors have pushed through severe anti-union measures that are […]
DREAMer Unshackled but Threat of Deportation Remains
As unexpectedly as it was put on, Matias Ramos’ electronic monitoring ankle bracelet came off last night. Matias, an undocumented DREAM Act leader, was home in his DC apartment when […]
An Awards Ceremony Worth Watching
The Emmy Awards were recently handed out and as usual, the biggest news was who was wearing what. And as usual, the TV ratings were dismal. Well, last night I […]
Small Steps, Big Change
Day three of the Social Good Summit, sponsored by Mashable, 92Y and the UN Foundation, really focused in on the small steps that, when taken and aggregated, can lead to […]
Change Champion: Frances Fox Piven
Tonight, we will honor six individuals and organizations for their work in social justice at the 2011 Community Change Champion Awards. An honoree this evening, Professor Frances Fox Piven is […]
Hands that Help, not Hold
If Monday’s theme at the Social Good Summit was storytelling, then Tuesday’s theme was empowerment. There were some fantastic speakers talking about the tools we now have, online and offline, […]
Discussion of Poverty Shouldn’t End Just Because the Headlines Are Gone
Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty, income and insurance coverage in this country. For the last decade the media has responded to the release […]
What’s Your Story?
We all have a story. And we all want our story to be heard. This seemed to be a recurring theme weaved into many of yesterday’s presentations at the Social […]
Social Media, Social Good…Social Justice?
How effective can social media be in creating “social good?” And moreover, is there a way to connect enough dots so that social media can advance social justice here in […]
Not In Our Town National Week of Action: Communities Stand Together Against Hate
Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness airs on PBS September 21. Join communities across the country who are using a new PBS documentary to find ways to prevent hate […]
Change Champion: Congressman Raúl Grijalva
Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva is serving his 5th term in Congress, and is our 2011 Community Change Champion honoree in public service. A native of Tucson, Arizona and son of […]
Change Champion: Voces de la Frontera
Christine Neumann-Ortiz is the founding executive director of Voces de la Frontera in Wisconsin, and a state and national leader in the immigrant rights movement. Through her leadership, Voces has […]
A College Senior’s Outlook on the Economy
Kelissa Hieber is a student on a mission. The senior at Miami University in Ohio has an internship she loves at We Are Ohio. The Integrative Studies major is focusing […]
Why We’re Fighting to End Poverty in America
Yesterday the 2010 poverty numbers were released by the US Census Bureau. They confirm what so many of us already know to be true – that the Great Recession is […]
Change Champion: Quinn Delaney
As we get closer to our 2011 Change Champion Awards on September 22, we’d like you to meet another of our distinduished Champions. Quinn Delaney is the the founder and […]
A View of Obama’s Jobs Plan from Ohio
Heather Wingo is a native of Chillicothe, Ohio and wanted to build a better future for her two young children. Working as a server and jack of all trades at […]
Change Champion: George Gresham
For today’s featured 2011 Community Change Champion, I’d like you to meet Geroge Gresham, the President of 1199 SEIU United Health Care Workers East. George Gresham was elected 1199SEIU President in […]
Change Champion: Pramila Jayapal & OneAmerica
Today, we kick off our series featuring the 2011 Community Change Champions by introducing you to Pramila Jayapal, the founder and executive director of OneAmerica. Started in the wake of 9/11, […]
Champions for Change
We all know change is hard. And it takes the hard work of people united across the nation, dedicated to changing the conditions that create poverty and inequity, and working […]
A Sad Holiday this Labor Day
As Labor Day approaches, let’s remember this is a day to celebrate working men and women. If only the unemployment rate wasn’t so high, it would truly be a great […]
48 Years Ago Today…
Most people remember Aug. 28, 1963 as the day Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington. What most people don’t […]
Jobs, Justice and the American Dream
The following remarks were delivered by Arlene Holt Baker, Executive Vice President of the AFL-CIO and a Center for Community Change board member, at today’s symposium, “Jobs, Justice and the […]
Remembering Eric Quezada
Below is a note from our managing director, Mary Lassen. Eric Quezada passed away early this morning in San Francisco. Eric’s wife, Lorena Melgarejo, is a key member of CCC’s Immigration […]
Pessimistic Prospects of a 20-Something: Scenes From a Job Fair
No one is untouched by the economic problems our country currently faces. At the very least we all know someone who has been foreclosed on, have a family member who […]
Modern Freedom Riders for Immigrant Rights
This is an exceprt from a commentary by our friend, Henry Fernandez, in “New America Media.” Fifty years ago this summer, hundreds of young people organized, rode buses into the […]
America’s Real Poverty Rate
Salvatore Babones is an American sociologist at the University of Sydney. His research takes a long-term perspective to understanding problems of inequality and development. His next book, Benchmarking America (http://benchmarkingamerica.com) […]
Bradford and Anthony: Married Seven Years, Facing Deportation
Bradford Wells and Anthony Makk have been together for 19 years and seven years ago they were legally married in Massachusetts. Despite the fact that they have been together for […]
Two Sides of the Safety Net – Exclusion and Inclusion
Sylvia Lundberg, a Social Security recipient, reflects on her experiences with the program. Today is the 76th anniversary of Social Security. When I was a young teenager, my family was […]
Magic
This week my daughters all lined up to see the last Harry Potter movie. I won’t lie, I wanted to see it too, but I was working. They love the […]
The Real Debt Danger
The debt debate has become one of those ear-numbing topics of conversation where you can’t tell anymore what’s worth listening to. There have been so many proposed plans and […]
I Hosted a Meeting… What’s Next?
So now that you have hosted a successful American Dream House Meeting, what should you do next? With all of the great information and ideas you gathered, there are a […]
McCaskill Says “Don’t Be Penny-wise and Pound-foolish; Don’t Gut Medicaid.”
At a rally in Washington DC this week, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri came out strongly for protecting Medicaid. During her speech at the Medicaid Matters Across Generations event, McCaskill […]
11 Things Rich People Can do for You
If you’re in the mood to get annoyed about income inequality, check out this infographic from United for a Fair Economy below. Just imagine– free gas for three and a […]
Get to Know a Host #3: Julia Deak
Julia Deak of Seattle, Washington plans to host a house meeting to rebuild the American Dream on the weekend of July 17. Julia took a few minutes to talk with […]
From CAG: A New National Movement Forms to Protect and Expand Care
Here is a press release from our partners at Caring Across Generations WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Tuesday, July 12, over 700 people from across the country joined Senior White House Advisor […]
Kasich, The Puppet
While some of us may still have hope that Democrats will hold their ground against GOP determination to cut Social Security and other entitlements, Ohio residents are struggling against their […]
Unemployment Numbers and the Money Trail
It takes money to make money. Everybody knows that. If you want to start a business, you need money to set the business up. You have to advertise, there are […]
What the President Should Learn from Joe
Late last night, Obama administration officials announced that they’re willing to cut Social Security—along with more cuts to Medicare—to reach a deal on the budget. Let’s be honest. Retirement security […]
Where’s the Support?
It’s no surprise that our country is still struggling with economic conditions, even with the “end of the recession” in June 2009. We’re great at listing the problems associated with […]