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How Immigrants Built the American Left—And Can Build It Again

Nelson Lichtenstein Dissent
If and when a twenty-first-century left comes into being, immigrants—whether freshly arrived or one or two generations in—will be at the heart of it. A path to citizenship for all those now rendered vulnerable by their resident status is essential to building a more pluralistic, multicultural society. Yet a new left must go further, not merely defending the civil liberties of these new Americans but seeking to give them a new power and a new voice.

Fighting voter ID laws in the courts isn't enough. We need boots on the ground

Molly J. McGrath Los Angeles Times
Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have focused on challenging voter ID mandates in court. That’s essential, but it’s not enough. As court battles proceed, we must acknowledge our collective obligation to voters by investing in on-the-ground, in-person support.

How Norway Avoided Becoming a Fascist State

George Lakey Yes! Magazine
Instead of falling to the Nazi party, Norway broke through to a social democracy. Their history shows us polarization is nothing to despair over.

Congress Goes Home, and Constituents Fired Up Over Health Care Are Waiting

Kate Zernike and Alexander Burns The New York Times
“It doesn’t work for organizations to bigfoot strategy; it’s not the way organizing happens now,” said Kelley Robinson, the deputy national organizing director for Planned Parenthood, which is fighting the defunding of its health clinics. “There are bigger ideas coming out of the grass roots than the traditional organizations.”

A Radical Expansion of Sanctuary: Steps in Defiance of Trump's Executive Order

Marisa Franco Truthout
A moment of stinging clarity is now upon us. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to set in motion the process of building a wall along the US-Mexico border, stripping federal funding from sanctuary cities, increasing the size of US Border Patrol forces and increasing deportations. In response, we must plunge even more urgently into the hard local work of building sanctuary.

How to Oppose the Coming Tide of Right-Wing Planned Parenthood Protests

Katie Klabusich Truthout
Instead of demonstrating outside of Planned Parenthood, Joyce Arthur, executive director of Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), suggests demonstrating outside a "crisis pregnancy center" -- one of the fake clinics run by ideologically extreme religious groups -- or at the office of a local anti-choice group. Also on her list are public areas like city hall.