I Vote Because I Want To Be a Cause Beyond Myself I wasn’t eligible to vote until the 2012 Presidential election. During that time, I was a freshman in college […]
Still. I vote because of his work. I have made a conscious decision that his work and that of countless others cannot be in vain. I must remember that sacrifice of those before us, their persistence and refusal to back down, runs through my veins.
I vote because my life depends on it, literally and figuratively. As a Black, queer, low-income mother, another four years of what we’ve had feels like I’m signing over my own death certificate.
We all deserve to live in a country where we are safe in our homes, at our places of work, and all the places in between. But for a long […]
It’s imperative the candidates address how they are thinking about how they will ensure voters’ basic needs are met as we continue to live through this pandemic, and beyond.
“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.”
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 […]
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.
(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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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. […]
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 […]
#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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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,” […]
“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 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: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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.
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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.” […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
TUNDRA: Cold Journey to Justice is a docu-series that captures the cold climate found in marginalized communities across the U.S.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 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 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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]