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Social Justice

Auschwitz, Hedy Epstein And Her Search For Justice

February 5, 2016 Pablo Vivanco, www.telesurtv.net ,
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.

January 19, 2016 Steven Shafarman, www.fusion.net , ,
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

January 10, 2016 Ralph Nader, www.blog.nader.org , , ,
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

December 29, 2015 Staff, www.rhrealitycheck.org ,
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

October 30, 2015 George Lakey, www.wagingnonviolence.org ,
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

September 12, 2015 Steven Norris and Sydney Grange, www.citizen-times.com , , ,
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

September 5, 2015 Interview of Jesse Hagopian with Jaisal Noor, www.therealnews.com , , , , ,
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

August 21, 2015 Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, www.blackagendareport.com , , , ,
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

May 22, 2015 Miranda Peterson, www.thinkprogress.org , , ,
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

May 20, 2015 Benedict Clements and Vitor Gaspar, www.blog-imfdirect.imf.org , ,
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

May 14, 2015 Joey Mogul, www.peopleslawoffice.com , , , ,
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

May 14, 2015 Darnell L. Moore, www.mic.com , , , ,
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

May 13, 2015 Maya Schenwar, www.truth-out.org , , ,
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.

Radical Culture: Art That Inspires Fighting Injustice

May 8, 2015 Lauren Steiner, www.alternet.org , ,
As a political activist, I have organized and attended many street protests. I often wonder how many people in the public we influence as we march by them brandishing our signs and shouting our chants. And when we post our articles, events and memes on Facebook, are we preaching to anyone besides the choir? Maybe there is a better way to change hearts and minds and inspire people to action. In a 2013 article, the radical intellectual Chris Hedges wrote: “The resistance needs a vibrant cultural component. It was the spirituals that nourished the souls of African-Americans during the nightmare of slavery. It was the blues that spoke to the reality of black people during the era of Jim Crow. It was the poems of Federico Garcia Lorca that sustained the republicans fighting the fascists in Spain. Music, dance, drama, art, song, painting were the fire and drive of resistance movements.”

Flowers Are Better Than Bullets

May 8, 2015 Laurel Krause, www.mendocoastcurrent.wordpress.com , , ,
Even today, 45 years later, a culture of impunity persists. We read the news and see law enforcement killing young African Americans across the country. Those of us who witnessed Kent State have to ask whether things might have been different if this era of brutal suppression of political protest had resulted in accountability. I see echoes of Kent State when I read that Mike Brown’s family has to file a civil lawsuit because there will be no criminal accountability for his killing. This is the legacy of past impunity and it saddens me greatly to see it continue. There is an important legal distinction to be made as we pursue accountability for the killings. Because the statute of limitations for civil rights expires quickly, survivors and stakeholders have a time limit in seeking justice when our loved ones are murdered by US law enforcement and the US government.
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