10 Stories Readers Loved in 2019
As 2019 comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on everything that’s happened this year. From the horrific treatment of families at the border, to global climate strikes led
YES! Article archive
Beyond Compensation for Reparations
Every innovation our world has experienced began with imagination. In today’s society, we suffer from imagination deficiency when it comes to considering the humanity of all people, regardless of their
How to Start a Union When You Don’t Have the Right
The growers have the money but . . . the farmworkers have the time. —Cesar Chavez From 1962 to 1993, more than 2,200 people—all ages, all walks of life, and
The Christian Right and Left Share the Same Faith But Couldn’t Be More Different
I didn’t know Christians could be Democrats until I got to college. Though affiliated with the relatively conservative Christian Reformed Church, my school had a small but vocal minority of
Oh, Christmas Tree… Fake Christmas Tree?
It’s the holiday season again, and in the midst of making to-do lists and prepping for festive dinners, some people will once again ponder whether it is better for the
Tribal Elder Hears Grandfather’s Voice in Archived Songs
Alvin Schuster could scarcely believe his ears. He was hearing the voice of an ancestor whom he’d never met but whose legacy was a constant guiding presence in his life.
Reinventing Rituals in a Multiethnic World
This holiday season, Kristin Eriko Posner has her San Francisco home prepared for a cocktail-style Hanukkah celebration: a seasonal winter crudité platter and spiced nuts sit on the table, local
10 Years Post-Deportation, ‘Home’ Remains Uncertain
Azul Uribe and Nancy Landa have spent the past decade in Mexico, barred by the U.S. government from stepping foot into the United States. And still, reaching across the border,
A Wish List From Climate Protesters in Seattle
The protesters were relatively chipper, if subdued, on this Monday morning—a fitting time of day for a meeting of the Sunrise Movement. This national youth-led effort is pushing the Green
Black Farmers Embrace Practices of Climate Resiliency
They are using heritage farming practices to undo some of the damage brought on by decades of intense tillage by early European settlers.
How Youth Have Changed the Climate Movement
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children,” affirms the Oglala-Sioux version of a belief common to several indigenous cultures. To David Brower,
How a Stock Photography Project Is Confronting Fat Bias
The co-working office Rebecca Alexander has chosen for her latest collection has all the hallmarks of good stock photography—minimalist space, clean lines, lack of bold colors. On this Saturday, she
Code-Switching Is Not Trying to Fit in to White Culture, It’s Surviving It
The voice that sprung from my throat was unfamiliar as I introduced myself to a classroom of White students. Its tone was high-pitched and enthusiastic—a far cry from my naturally
How Liberals Left the White Working Class Behind
Bill Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, admits that he never visited Rust Belt cities devastated by NAFTA. Displaced White workers “weren’t heavily on our radar screen,” he said, noting that
Big Ag and the Small-Scale African Farmer
The headquarters of the world’s largest charitable foundation stretch along an entire block near downtown Seattle. There’s a plaza at the entrance, and to one side, a wall embossed in
A Return to Nature-Based Education
At the beginning of the 20th century, untempered industrialization and rampant deforestation prompted the conservation and preservation movements. The creation of Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks at the end of
We Redesigned the YES! Website. Here’s What’s New
You might notice things look a little different around here. For the past year, in addition to producing the inspiring solutions journalism you’ve come to love and expect from YES!,
5 Tips for Surviving the Holidays With an Eating Disorder
For years, when I would go home for Christmas, I would have the exact same conversation with my grandmother. “Have you lost weight?” she would ask, jubilantly. I almost never
How to Beat Burnout Before It Begins
The New Year’s holiday is upon us, a time when many begin to consider goals and resolutions. And while such aspirations are good, far too many of us become obsessed
How Drug Users Are Fighting Back Against America’s War on Drugs
Like so many activists, Jess Tilley discovered grassroots organizing through personal hardship. In 1997, she was living in Northampton, Massachusetts, regularly injecting heroin. A limited access to clean needles led
Why Impeachment Matters, Regardless of the Outcome
As I’m writing this, the House Judiciary Committee has unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Trump which, according to my awesome powers of precognition, are going to get approved
For Veterans in Jail, This Anti-Violence Workshop Provides Support
Some inmates are doing the chicken dance in the Pierce County Jail in Washington. They’re standing in a circle, so as they lift their arms to flap their wings, they
Who Owns Your Grocery Store?
“Who owns your grocery store?” It’s the question emblazoned on the back of a van that has ferried me across 34 states to visit 128 consumer-owned grocery stores (food co-ops)
Alaska’s Melting Glaciers Tell the Story of Climate Change
The story of Alaska’s glacial retreat is plainly written across the landscape. Melting has left these slow-moving rivers of ice, while still spectacular, much diminished. And it is forcing us
What a 19th-Century Prison Can Teach Us About Criminal Justice
A 190-year-old prison complex in Philadelphia, once the largest and most modern prison in the world, is finding new life in the 21st century’s criminal justice reform movement. The last
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