Lessons from Ferguson, 10 Years Later
The Ferguson uprising ignited a national reckoning about racist policing. Missouri State Sen. Brian Williams, who grew up in Ferguson, reflects on the progress made and challenges remaining.
Black Lives Matter
The Revolutionary Power of Grieving in Public
Collective grief is a powerful tool that has historically fueled social justice organizing—and healing.
How Black Mothers Organize Against Police Violence
Award-winning filmmaker Débora Souza Silva joins Rev. Wanda Johnson, the mother of Oscar Grant, for a conversation about her new documentary For Our Children.
Black Americans Back Defunding Police
A new survey by the Movement for Black Lives finds that a majority of Black Americans support reallocating police funding toward community care.
How Black Lives Matter Changed the U.S.
In the decade since it began, #BlackLivesMatter has shifted the nation's collective consciousness, whether we wanted it shifted or not.
Drawing While Black: A Reflection on Art, Activism, and Ancestry
For artist Ajuan Mance, creating the comic book “Living While Black” was her effort to challenge and undermine the criminalization of Black people’s everyday activities.
How Black History Paves the Way for a Just Black Future
Alicia Garza is searching for Black-led solutions to some of the biggest problems of our democracy—solutions that go far beyond a hashtag.
The Anti-Blackness at the Root of Police Violence
Scholar Rashad Shabazz explains how anti-Black bias is so central to American policing that even Black officers are influenced by it.
On the Other Side of Reparations, a New World Awaits
Inspiring stories about our past can open portals to the world that awaits us and help us dream what a world with reparations looks like.
An Activity Book for the Anti-Racist
Comedian W. Kamau Bell together with his co-author Kate Schatz have written a new activity book, chock full of coloring pages, crosswords, thought experiments and exercises.
The Supreme Court’s Crisis of Legitimacy
The Supreme Court has demonstrated that the highest law of the land is whatever they feel like saying it is. What do we do when the court and other institutions are widely seen as illegitimate?
30 Years After the L.A. Uprising, Multiracial Organizers Rebuild the City
The 1992 L.A. rebellion was a wake-up call for a deeply segregated city.
Inhabiting Worlds Where Black Lives Really Matter
If we’re not governed by subconscious beliefs and dread, what becomes possible?
An Afro-Indigenous Perspective on Policing
In his new book, Kyle T. Mays argues that the violence of policing has always been intimately tied to U.S. democracy.
How to Show Solidarity with Black Lives Matter this Holiday Season
Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter explains how the 3 core tenets of the Black Xmas campaign are building Black, buying Black, and banking Black.
Abolition Through the Ages: Reform Versus Transformation, Then and Now
Just as slavery couldn’t be reformed and had to be ended, policing can’t be reformed and has to be abolished, say leaders of modern-day abolitionist movements.
10 Years After Occupy Wall Street, Its Legacy Remains Strong
Occupy Wall Street gave the left ideas, skills, and a base in a way no one could have imagined a decade ago. The radicalization of a generation, the ability to easily explain class, the potential for mass nonviolent direct action, and crowbarring politics to let in socialist ideas and elected officials are all invaluable legacies.
How U.S. Wars Abroad Are Intimately Tied to Police Brutality at Home
The demands to defund the police are linked to the call for ending militarism. There is a strong case to be made for these movements to join forces against both forms of violence.
What Comes Next for Portland’s Protests?
After more than 100 days of continual demonstrations, protesters in Portland are looking to the future—and each other—for ways to sustain their movement for Black lives.
How Portland Protesters Keep Each Other Safe
“Protesting ultimately isn’t safe and we’re not trying to say that it is,” says one Portland street medic. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t take care of each other.”
Inside Portland’s Autonomous Protest Movement
Portland, Oregon’s five months of ongoing protests in support of Black lives are sustained by a vast, multifaceted, and ever-evolving network of activists, organizers, and mutual aid.
So You Want to Document a Protest? Here’s What to Consider First
Seasoned community journalists have some words of wisdom before you decide to livestream your next protest.
How Black Classical Musicians Are Creating Community
In Canada, as in the U.S., professional orchestras are overwhelmingly White. But Black classical musicians are finding ways to make sure they’re heard.
Vigilante Violence Is an American Tradition
Research suggests vigilantism doesn't arise from an absent or weak government, but rather when the very principles that make up a government and its people themselves seem to be changing.
Black Artists Want You to Bring These to Your Next Protest
The Blkpaper campaign wants you to print out these images, grab some wheatpaste, and make a statement.
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