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Social Justice

Regenerative Economy Can Help Save Environment

By Iliana Salazar-Dodge for AlterNet - I am a Mexican immigrant and a senior at Columbia University who’s been organizing around fossil fuel divestment since freshman year. Two years ago, I had a bit of a crisis. I suddenly felt disillusioned with the movement—not with the tactic of divestment, but rather with the fact that national campaigns were solely focused on taking down the fossil fuel behemoth. Don’t get me wrong; it’s extremely satisfying to hear of another divestment win, to see the fossil fuel industry take a hit.

World Day For Social Justice 2016 – Time To Share The Wealth

By Staff of STWR - Every year since 2009, the United Nations has highlighted February 20th as the World Day for Social Justice in a bid to underscore the glaring inequalities that increasingly characterise the world today – from growing levels of poverty and rising unemployment rates, to various forms of discrimination on the basis of class, race and gender. The pursuit of social justice has long been fundamental to the UN’s mandate to promote equitable development and human dignity for all, and the theme for this year’s social justice day is ‘A Just Transition...

Auschwitz, Hedy Epstein And Her Search For Justice

By Pablo Vivanco for Tele Sur - After World War II, a teenage Hedy Epstein returned to Germany to search for her parents. At 90, she is still on the move, working for social justice in various parts of the globe. In the dying days of 1944, the Third Reich was crumbling under the weight of Allied attacks on all fronts. The Soviet Red Army was fast advancing against Japanese forces on its East, as well as on Nazi positions to its West. Sensing the impending defeats, Nazi Commander Heinrich Himmler first ordered the end to gassing, then in January of 1945, ordered the evacuation of all concentration camps into German territory.

Martin Luther King Jr. Had A Dream. We Can Make It Come True.

By Steven Shafarman for Fusion - Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and a plan. We hear about the dream every year on the holiday that honors his legacy, with replays of his 1963 speech: “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” America “transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.” A nation where people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The plan, though, is mostly ignored. King sought to promote justice, freedom, equality, and civil rights by abolishing poverty.

12 People Who Made A Difference

By Ralph Nader. Can one person truly make a difference in the world? Far too many people think not, and thus they sell themselves far too short. A wave of pessimism leads capable people to underestimate the power of their voice and the strength of their ideals. The truth is this: it is the initiatives of deeply caring people that provide the firmament for our democracy. Take a sweeping look at history and you will discover that almost all movements that mattered started with just one or two people—from the fight to abolish slavery, to the creations of the environmental, trade union, consumer protection and civil rights movements. One voice becomes two, and then ten, and then thousands.

The Biggest Justice Movements Of 2015

By Staff of RHRC - If we learned anything in 2015, it was that activists of all ages and backgrounds are up for the challenges that lie ahead. We at RH Reality Check are certain not a day went by this year without aRepublican presidential candidate oranti-choice public figure saying something awful about already marginalized groups, a person of color being killed or assaulted by the police, an anti-abortion bill being introduced that was more terrible than the last one (not an easy feat), or a woman being prosecuted for her pregnancy. You could say we’re seeing a half-empty glass. But what gives us hope are the dozens of justice movements happening nationwide to fight back against the anti-choice policies, state-sanctioned violence, wage violations, and so much more.

Activists Need To Realize Most Americans Actually Agree With Them

By George Lakey for Waging Nonviolence - I admit to following the shenanigans of mainstream politicians, so much so that I sometimes slip into their assumptions even though I know I shouldn’t. One of their more seductive assumptions is that U.S. public attitudes over the years have moved to the right, an assumption I often hear echoed even among concerned people on the left. As a hobby I’ve been collecting public opinion poll numbers to try to stay centered. My sociological training taught me to be skeptical about opinion polls, but the consistent results of polls are actually better than who wins elections for learning what the public thinks about issues.

A Conversation Between An Elder And Youth On Activism

By Steven Norris and Sydney Grange in Citizen Times - Steve: When we met a couple of years ago, you were obviously passionate aboutsocial justice and climate change. What in your upbringing brought you to this place? Sydney: The best memories from my childhood took place in nature. From exploring the redwoods, to collecting and observing roly-polys, to swimming in the Pacific Ocean — I have always been fascinated by nature. This connection I feel toward the natural world, combined with the loving nature of my parents, is where my passion for environmental and social justice became grounded. All life deserves respect and freedom from suffering. When something is working against this, it needs to be addressed.

Not Just For Better Pay: Seattle Teachers Strike For Social Justice

Interview of Jesse Hagopian with Jaisal Noor - This means students will not be attending class on Wednesday, the first scheduled day of school, if a deal is not reached before then. Negotiations with the school district are ongoing. The key issues of contention between Seattle Public Schools and the union include teacher pay, recess time for students, extending the school day, and what the union is calling too much standardized testing. The district services over 45,000 students in 97 schools. Well, now joining us to discuss this from Seattle is Jesse Hagopian. Jesse is a Seattle public school teacher. He's an editor of Rethinking Schools magazine, a founding member of Social Equality Educators. He's the editor of the book More Than a Score, and he blogs at IAmanEducator.com. Thanks so much for joining us, Jesse.

Luci Murphy: Cultural Warrior For The Movement

By Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo and Luci Murphy in Black Agenda Report - Luci Murphy is a preeminent advocate of utilizing culture to advance social and political justice. She is often the featured vocalist at progressive events. Her boundless energy has made Luci indispensable in organizing Latin American solidarity, the peace movement, sustainable development and other progressive causes. She is a native of D.C. where she is a vocalist who often leads group singing, but “sun-lights” as a medical interpreter of Spanish and English. She has a long history of community activism, especially working with children at risk. Luci visited Lebanon to observe Palestinian Refugee Camps, China just before the normalization of relations with the U.S., Brazil for a grass-roots organizing conference, and Cuba to oppose U.S. travel restrictions. A past president of the D.C. League of Women Voters, she has also served on the Steering Committees of the People’s Music Network, "Health Care Now!,” and Washington Inner-City Self Help.

Cities Urged Not To Ignore Marginalized In Climate Change Plans

When Tropical Storm Irene hit in 2011, New York City took protective measures by ordering mandatory evacuations. What it didn’t consider, though, was how disabled residents would manage to leave their homes. As a result, the city was sued for allegedly violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Before the case was resolved, the city was struck by Hurricane Sandy, the most damaging storm in the region’s modern history. Residents with disabilities were stranded for days without power in high-rise apartment buildings unable to reach emergency service centers. While New York was eventually found guilty of “benign neglect” of city residents, the issue of inequity in preparation for climate change impacts — also known as climate adaptation — is not unique. That was at least according to multiple attendees at the National Adaptation Forum in St. Louis last week, who emphasized a greater need for inclusive climate adaptation work in cities across the country.

Governments Give Fossil Fuel $10 Million Subsidy Per Minute

US$5.3 trillion; 6½ percent of global GDP—that is our latest reckoning of the cost ofenergy subsidies in 2015. These estimates are shocking. The figure likely exceeds government health spending across the world, estimated by the World Health Organization at 6 percent of global GDP, but for the different year of 2013. They correspond to one of the largest negative externality ever estimated. They have global relevance. And that’s not all: earlier work by the IMF also shows that these subsidies have adverse effects on economic efficiency, growth, and inequality. We define energy subsidies as the difference between what consumers pay for energy and its “true costs,” plus a country’s normal value added or sales tax rate. These “true costs” of energy consumption include its supply costs and the damage that energy consumption inflicts on people and the environment.

Reparations: A Blueprint To Address Systemic Police Violence

The City of Chicago made history on Wednesday May 6 when it passed legislation providing reparations to survivors of racially motivated police torture committed between 1972 and 1991. Once implemented, it will offer a measure of hope to survivors, their family members and African American communities devastated by the legacy of torture committed by infamous former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and detectives under his command. It represents a bold break with the status quo, representing the first time that a municipality in the United States – - a nation with a long tradition of unanswered calls for redress for systemic race based violence, including slavery and lynchings – - will provide reparations to those harmed by law enforcement violence.

Focusing On Shootings, Ignore Victims Of Police Sexual Assault

On Feb. 10, 2013, 31-year-old sheriff's deputy Cory Cooper pulled over a 19-year-old woman and her boyfriend in Omaha, Nebraska. After finding marijuana in the vehicle, Cooper ordered the boyfriend to toss the drug in the nearby Zorinsky Lake, according to the Omaha World-Herald. While the man was away, Cooper allegedly told the young woman to follow him back to his cruiser, where he asked her to remove her shirt. The request was reportedly an ultimatum presented to the young woman to keep her boyfriend out of trouble. Cooper then exposed himself. "All I could think was, 'What am I going to do to get out of this?' Nobody's going to believe me over the police," the victim told the World-Herald.

Stop Punishing People For Poverty, Abolish Bail

How can we reduce the enormous populations of our country's local jails? Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York unveiled a plan to decrease the population of the Rikers Island jail complex by reducing the backlog of cases in state courts. About 85 percent of those at Rikers haven't been convicted of any offense; they're just awaiting trial, sometimes for as long as hundreds of days. Mayor de Blasio's plan is a positive step. Yet it ignores a deeper question: Why are so many people - particularly poor people of color - in jail awaiting trial in the first place? Usually, it is because they cannot afford bail. According to a 2011 report by the city's Independent Budget Office, 79 percent of pretrial detainees were sent to Rikers because they couldn't post bail right away.
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