Summer 2019

Table of Contents

The Travel Issue

From the Editors

Why “Radical” Travel?

We knew right away this was not going to be a typical summer travel issue. A survey of our readers showed that while many of us daydream about sunny vacations in distant places, we also understand that our travels — big trips and small — reveal complex social justice issues: Who gets to travel? How much of the Earth’s resources should we use so that privileged people can experience distant lands? Why are some destinations capitalism’s current darlings? And who exactly gets to decide whether we are a welcome guest in someone else’s homeland?

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Are We Doing Vacations Wrong?

Radicalize your travel by being a better guest in someone else’s homeland.
Bani Amor
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12 Tips for More Equitable Travel

How to match your vacation to your social justice values.
Yasmeen Wafai & Zeb Larson & Carol Pucci
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The Reverse Selfie: A Tiny Act of Decolonization?

I will likely never see how I am used in those images. But I was glad to relinquish power in those moments.
Suzanna Finley

That All-Inclusive Vacation Is Actually a Terrible Deal

Especially for the people who live and work in the places you’re traveling.
Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz
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A Route 66 Road Trip Through Indigenous Homelands

I’m seeking out the histories and communities that existed before Route 66 and that survive still today.
Shoshi Parks
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Why Young Jews Are Detouring From Israel to Palestine

Some are using Birthright trips to draw attention to the Israeli occupation, its policy of oppression, and the call for a two-state solution.
Lornet Turnbull
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Beyond Airbnb: Your Vacation Rental Options Just Got More Equitable

Co-op alternatives to Airbnb strive to offer short-term rentals that respect local communities.
Deonna Anderson
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Traveling While Brown: Journeys in Privilege, Guilt, and Connection

Visiting other countries connects me to experiences outside my own and shows me how Brownness is both window and mirror.
Anu Taranath
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How to Travel at Home: Finding New Routes Through Our Daily Lives

Many of us don’t look up from our smartphones long enough to notice what’s around us.
Richard Schiffman

Solutions We Love

Explore Section
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A Climate Action for Every Type of Activist

No matter your age, gender, race, or political ideology, there are ways to fight climate change that fit your life and values.
Cathy Brown
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How New Yorkers Stood Up to Amazon and Won

Queens activists, unions, and political leaders worried about gentrification and opposed the $1.2 billion in tax breaks offered to the retail giant.
Yasmeen Wafai

Culture Shift

Explore Section
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How Do We Teach “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Honestly Confront Racism?

Harper Lee’s novel is the closest thing America’s had to required reading. But the book’s failings in confronting racism are more apparent than ever to White educators—and Black ones wonder what took so long.
DJ Cashmere
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Why Economic Equality Won’t Fix Mental Health Care

Mental illness doesn’t discriminate based on your bank account, but treatment is much more difficult to access when you’re living in poverty.
Eleanor Goldberg
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How Capitalism Exploits Our Fear of Old Age

Getting older isn’t all loss and no gain—we may actually become happier and more emotionally resilient.
Valerie Schloredt

The Woman Who Desegregated a School

Yvonne Odom was one of thousands of students who quietly did the civil rights work at schools across the country.
Sarah Lazarovic