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.
Last week, educators, students and lawmakers, from Community Change president Dorian Warren to democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, gathered in Northeast Washington, D.C.’s Union Market to share “bold” ideas for […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
As spring graduation draws near, college seniors are faced with several time-sensitive responsibilities. From securing their grades, to paying graduation fees and all remaining tuition balances, to the grueling process […]
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 […]
Last week, Community Change partners from across the country united in Washington, D.C. on the campus of Gallaudet University, to share, learn, and discuss what organizing will look like as […]
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 […]
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 […]
Beyond the Ballots – Keeping the Momentum The U.S. midterms was a big deal for many communities and candidates alike. Whether people agreed with the overall decisions made within their […]
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 […]
I’ve only had the chance to vote in two presidential elections: 2012 and 2016. My first election was monumental. I was a part of making history. I remember the overwhelming […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Vulnerable women get a second chance to build a life on their terms creating healthy, healing products
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 […]
In two underserved DC communities, there are only three groceries stores to serve 148,000 people.
Despite persistent barriers to black wealth building, Memphis-based fund manager Floyd Tyler says it can be done—and it is
The nonprofit trains youth of color to be the next generation of techies and practices the economic justice MLK preached
Stephanie Land reviews SMILF from the perspective of a single mom who’s been there
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.
Employees with criminal records don’t make workplaces less safe, yet licensing restrictions bar them from dozens of careers
Raising base pay of all employees is ‘just a matter of priorities’ at Memphis reproductive health care organization
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Here’s how Trump’s plan pads the pockets of the rich at the expense of everyday families and seniors.
Struggle to survive on poverty wages builds solidarity among workers
Bad policies that harm working Americans continue to chip away at our aspirations to strive.
By Chirag Mehta, Senior Policy Advisor, Center for Community Change Coca-Cola and the soda industry at large are pulling out all the stops to fight Santa Fe, New Mexico residents […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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. […]
Like the rest of the country, Gary, Indiana, is wrestling with what was, what is, and what may come
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
During the last weekend in July, I found renewed hope and optimism for the future of our country. I joined 70 students from across the country who are interning this […]
Wendi C. Thomas is a writing fellow for the Center for Community Change. [View the story “And #StillIRise: #PeoplesConvention takes over Pittsburgh” on Storify]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Connie Heller Pictured to the left: A portion of a quilt created by Connie Heller in honor of Trayvon Martin. A better world is possible. A world in which […]
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 […]
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 […]