Gentrification, School Closings, and Displacement

A former Chicago public school teacher sees school closings as part of a deliberate effort to push African Americans out of newly desirable areas so whites can move in.

Elizabeth Warren: 'Get Rid of the Electoral College'

The Massachusetts senator's call for bold voting rights reform is part of her broader policy agenda to transform the federal government to work for ordinary people, not just the wealthy.

Why Climate Action is the Antithesis of White Supremacy

Behind the urgency of climate action is the understanding that everything is connected; behind white supremacy is an ideology of separation

Students of Color Are Leading Climate Strikes

The youth-led movement builds on the momentum of the increasingly Black and Brown leadership behind the Green New Deal.

Media Bits and Bytes - March 19, 2019

Jane Mayer on Fox's Friends; Murdoch Oversteps in NZ; Huawei Stoops to Conquer; Google's DC Clout; Netflex Cancels "One Day"; Media vs Bernie

'Defy the Thought Police', Stand With Assange

demonstrators with Assange photos
The U.N. says he has the right of free passage to freedom, but this is denied. He has the right to medical treatment without fear of arrest, but this is denied. He has the right to compensation, but this is denied.

A Teenage War Resister in Israel

book cover
He is a rarity in his own land, one of only a handful of refuseniks living in Israel.

Tribunal: Trump and Duterte Guilty

Trump and Duterte toasting
The unholy alliance between the Philippine and U.S. governments is long-standing.

The Abortion Rights Movement Can’t Afford Amnesia

pro-abortion demonstrator
We need an energetic movement that will fight for abortion without reservation. And that means reclaiming its radical roots—and reclaiming it from big national organizations, including the Democratic Party.

Trump’s Wall Is a Symbol With a Long and Toxic History

Trump standing in front of sample wall
The notion of a white republic is neither new nor a figment of the imagination of the neofascists of our time.
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Culture

food

Folk Witness

John T. Edge Oxford American
What draws us to seek pleasure and solace in places often referred to as joints and shacks? Is this about time travel? Are they portals to a Southern past? Is it rooted in rooted in class difference, and a want to span that chasm?

poetry

Fish & Duck Skills

Metta Sáma Poem-a-Day
The poet Metta Sáma depicts the travails of high school taunts and bullying that ultimately reduce to a single trait: race.

Frida Kahlo: Communist, Feminist, Global Commodity

Lauren Kaori Gurley The Indypendent
A look at a new and extensive retrospective of the outstanding Mexican artist’s work at New York’s Brooklyn Museum through more than 350 objects shows Kahlo’s political and artistic life in all of its complexities and contradictions.

books

Dying of Whiteness

Tana Ganeva Raw Story
In this interview, author Jonathan M. Metzl, a physician and social scientist, talks about traveling through Trump country to find that the politics of "white racial resentment" is poisoning and sickening GOP voters as well as our politics.

Labor

labor

How to Use Grievances to Organize

Mike Parker and Martha Gruelle Labor Notes
This excerpt from "Democracy Is Power: Rebuilding Unions from the Bottom Up" explains how to think about grievance handling in another way.

labor

An Ecosocialist Green New Deal: Guiding Principles

DSA Ecosocialists Democratic Socialists of America
Our role is to help build a militant mass working-class movement that is powerful enough to secure human flourishing for all beyond the critical next decades, not just survival for some.

labor

Why Unions Must Bargain Over Climate Change

Nato Green Working In These Times
The policies of a Green New Deal require a robust and well-funded public sector with good union jobs. Because of the nature of public sector work, a Green New Deal disproportionately benefits women and people of color.

labor

Teamsters Union Faces Revolt From Members Over UPS Contracts

Dave Jamieson Huffington Post
When UPS workers in western Pennsylvania held a vote on their new collective bargaining agreement earlier this year, 96 percent of them voted against it. But it appears the national union leadership plans to implement the contract anyway.

labor

‘Colony of Hell’: 911 Calls From Inside Amazon Warehouses

Max Zahn, Sharif Paget The Daily Beast
Between October 2013 and October 2018, emergency workers were summoned to Amazon warehouses at least 189 times for suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts, and other mental-health episodes, according to 911 call police and ambulance logs.

Friday nite video

video

Hip Hop: Outta da Bronx, and Around the World

On the latest episode of Patriot Act, Hasan dissects how the rise of music streaming on platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud has influenced the sound, reach, and impact of modern day hip hop. While streaming technology has led to the commercial viability of SoundCloud rappers, it is simultaneously enabling rap as a viable form of protest against oppressive regimes around the world.

video

Historian Rutger Bregman: Moderates Are The Real Fringe

Rutger Bregman, who went viral for his criticism of the super-rich at Davos, joins Lawrence to react to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's push for "Democratic socialism" and right-wing attacks on Democratic proposals.

video

Juanita | Netflix Movie

Fed up with her life, Juanita leaves her grown kids behind and hits the road in search of a fresh start.

video

Now That's What I Call an Alibi

'You've Got Friends in High Places' and all your other favorite misquoted Garth Brooks songs that you can use to obstruct justice!

video

A Better Way to Tax the Rich

American wealth inequality is staggering. A wealth tax, which would home in on the money people actually have, rather than just the money we earn and spend, could be a solution.

video

VENEZUELA | Music Parody

A different message to the melody of 'I heard it through the grapevine.' And some other recognizable tunes.