Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 2710 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • An ancient people with a modern climate plan

    The Swinomish tribe in Washington state is combining traditional knowledge and science to combat the effects of climate change and improve the health of its land, water, and people. In recent years, their salmon harvest has diminished due to warming waters, but they’ve instituted salmon recovery efforts by restoring tidelands and channels and planting trees along stream beds to cool the waters. Their focus on ecosystem and community health could be a model for other Indigenous tribes looking to create their own climate plans.

    Read More

  • An urban farm nourishes the poorest part of Philly as its growers fight to keep the land

    The Life Do Grow Farm in Philadelphia, run by the nonprofit Urban Creators, is a two-acre plot that yields food needed to feed the community who might not be able to make ends meet. Since June, the farm has distributed 65,000 pounds of produce, along with free children’s meals. But the farm is also a community gathering space for artists and entrepreneurs. While the land’s lease runs out in 2022, the nonprofit hopes to own it and highlight it as a “reimagination of city land, a radical collaboration in the service of empowering Black and brown communities in North Central Philly,” said the farm manager.

    Read More

  • New Orleans actively releases videos of police shootings. Is it paying off with trust?

    Once viewed as one of the nation's most brutal and corrupt police departments, New Orleans Police Department has earned steadily improving public support with a host of reforms. One reform that it took voluntarily, and in contrast with common practice in Louisiana, is to quickly release body-camera videos of police shootings and other uses of force. Though its effect is hard to untangle from other initiatives, video releases have become routine. In one case, a video prompted an official apology after proving rubber bullets were used against protesters. This helped lead to new restrictions on crowd control.

    Read More

  • Online directory aims to help Black businesses thrive in nation's whitest state

    An online directory is helping consumers find small, black-owned businesses in Maine. Black Owned Maine has highlighted businesses, providing examples of success for Black youth and has also provided grants for businesses seeking financial assistance.

    Read More

  • Richmond art studio helps people with disabilities stay connected

    Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development provides classes and studio space for artists with disabilities. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organization now offers six hours of daily virtual services to the 67 artists it serves, including sculpting, drawing, ceramics, and fashion making classes. Social activities, like bingo, cooking, meditation, and movement classes, are also offered online. The programming keeps the artists connected during the isolation of the pandemic and staff regularly text and call the artists who opt out of the virtual programming to maintain that connection.

    Read More

  • Revolutionizing Representation in Documentary: The Making of 'Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen'

    The production model of the documentary Disclosure prioritized diversity, inclusion, and empowering transgender people both on screen and behind the scenes. Over 120 trans people contributed to the film. Nine trans Fellows, many of whom have since made their own films, received stipends, mentoring, hands-on training, and networking opportunities. Trans representation behind the camera increased interviewee openness and all interviewees were compensated for their time. While a controversial practice in documentary film making, it was implemented to avoid exploitative and extractive storytelling practices.

    Read More

  • Stopped: Profiling the Police Town Hall

    Missouri requires police to record the race of drivers from every traffic stop, a response meant to expose and ultimately reduce racial profiling in law enforcement. But, 20 years after that law took effect, Black drivers are 95% more likely to be stopped by police than white drivers, the biggest gap since the state started collecting the data. The policy was rendered meaningless because the data are collected inconsistently, high rates of noncompliance with the policy go unpunished, and individual officers' records go uncounted. As a result, there's no accountability for racist traffic enforcement.

    Read More

  • Worker-led programs like Milk with Dignity are key to protecting dairy farm workers

    A first-of-its-kind worker-led program in Vermont is helping dairy migrant workers to "hold farmers, corporations, and suppliers in the dairy industry accountable for the rights of workers in their supply-chains through a legally-binding agreement." Although not all dairy farm operations have joined in the program as participants, it has been enacted on 64 farms and helped bolster wages and housing situations for migrant farmers.

    Read More

  • In Denver, Unarmed Mental Health Workers Respond To Hundreds Of 911 Calls Instead Of Police

    Since Denver launched its Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program in June, it has handled more than 600 calls for help with a mental health clinician and a paramedic instead of sending police officers. Modeled on Eugene, Oregon's CAHOOTS program, STAR is based on the notion that low-level emergencies involving mental health, homelessness, and substance abuse do not require police responses, and in fact can more often end peacefully by removing police from the equation. STAR started small, with one van on duty during weekday hours. Police support the move, and often call in STAR for assistance.

    Read More

  • An African American quilter confronts racism amid COVID-19

    The killing of George Floyd inspired a series of exhibits in Minneapolis featuring quilts made by over 100 artists depicting stories of racial injustices and also empowerment in the United States. These protest quilts join a long tradition of sharing stories of fear and perseverance experienced by Black people, especially Black women, in society. Today, these same quilters responded to Covid-19 by making masks. The over 500 members of The Women of Color Quilters Network have made close to 20,000 masks, many of which they have given for free to health care and other front line workers.

    Read More