Portside

There has long existed a passionate and driven community of Southern progressives who have pushed not only the region but the entire country toward the realization of racial justice and true economic opportunity. When the nation lent its ear and sword to these individuals and organizations, they fundamentally altered history.

In the days immediately preceding and following the conclusion of the nuclear agreement, both the United States and, to some degree, Iran emphasized its narrow nature and the intractable character of the many differences between the two countries. Soon, however, both sides began to speak of possibilities for more cooperative relationships in the region.

One of the group’s most high profile alumni is Scott Walker. It’s possible that no American politician who holds office today has worked harder to successfully advance ALEC’s agenda than Walker. And no previous candidate for the White House has ever owed so much to ALEC at the outset of his campaign.Walker’s longstanding association with the group dates back to his first days as a state legislator in the early 1990s.

Though just down the road from each other, the country's tech capital and one of the country's largest farming regions are only now starting to work together—with only a little culture clash. If farmers and tech entrepreneurs can find common ground, our food supply will benefit.

Amazon’s success lies in worker exploitation and intrusions into consumers’ private lives.

At the recent meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), delegates barely glanced at exhibitors of right-wing groups. One booth promoted what may be the most extreme ALEC initiative yet — an attempt to trigger Article V of the U.S. Constitution in a historically unprecedented call for a national convention of states to amend the supreme law of the USA. Labor economist and veteran ALEC-watcher Jane Carter calls it “terrifying."

This month, the nation acknowledges two political milestones. On Aug. 9, we mark the one-year anniversary of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. Two days later, we mark the 50th anniversary of the uprising in Watts. A third civil disturbance offers lessons learned from failures of 1965. It provides a blueprint for how we might begin to rebuild Ferguson and the many American communities that look like Ferguson. The third milestone is the 1992 unrest in South Los Angeles.

What might a global Black Lives Matter movement look like? We may soon find out. Flanders had a chance to sit down with Opal Tometi, who cofounded Black Lives Matter with Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors. Never simply a reaction to police violence against African Americans in the U.S., Black Lives Matter was always conceived of as a strategic response to white supremacy. It's not just an organizing network, but also a strategic concept broad enough to go beyond borders.

Artist Unknown, Offset, Circa 2003, Venezuela

California Domestic Workers Coalition launches statewide organizing drive.