Has History “Sanitized” King’s Words? Inside the Push to #ReclaimMLK Day
Organizers hope to connect today’s civil rights movements to those of the past with a week of demonstrations across the country leading up to Inauguration Day.
Democracy
What It Looks Like When Communities Make Racial Justice a Priority
From conversations that heal to land trusts that fight gentrification.
Nader Calls for a Different 1 Percent
Author and activist Ralph Nader wants to create a new 1 percent—one that will expose “conditions of deprivation and abuse” and champion “basic fair play.”
Post-Fascist Europe Tells Us Exactly How to Defend Our Democracy
Have your passports ready, watch your language, and other advice from a Yale history professor.
3 Ways Progressives Can Reconnect With Rural America
First, understand the environment is not only about climate change—it’s about livelihood for miners, drillers, loggers, and farmers like me.
What It Takes to Get Women Out of Prison—and Stay Out
The rate of women in U.S. prisons is growing faster than men. But in New Orleans, one group is successfully tackling sentencing for drug use and sex work.
Something Better to Offer Trump Voters Tired of Waiting for Their Turn
A world free of extremes of wealth and poverty in which no one needs to stand in line for a chance at a secure and fulfilling life.
The Trump Era Will Test Us. What Are You Willing to Risk?
Many of us have never had our courage or convictions challenged in frightening ways. That may change.
What’s Up, Pussy Hat? Knitting Activists Cause Shortages of Pink Yarn
In the weeks leading up to Inauguration Day and the Women’s March on Washington, a furious knitting revolution is sweeping craft baskets across the country.
Worried About Rent Hikes, 301 Families Came Together to Buy Their Mobile Home Park
And five other creative ways Americans are stepping up to build strong local economies.
Standing Rock and the Return of the Nonviolent Campaign
There’s something even better than electoral politics and one-off protests when mobilizing citizen power.
Creating an LGBTQIA Safe Space in Rural America
Alternative art spaces are critical to establishing connections for queer people, but especially for those living in rural areas, where community is smaller and less supported than in cities.
Nashville Teens Mapped Their Daily Routes—And Got a New Bike Lane as a Result
In Nashville, Tennessee, and Chicago, city planners are responding to demands for better neighborhood mobility and bicycling infrastructure.
This Small Town Refused to Settle for Wal-Mart When Its Last Local Grocery Store Closed
After 10 years without an independent grocery store, the residents of Iola, Kansas, found a way to bring one back.
10 Indigenous and Environmental Struggles—And How You Can Help in 2017
Whom to call, what to donate, and where to show up.
Call for Submissions: “Sanctuary Communities”
Send us your ideas by Jan. 25.
As a Trump Administration Fast Approaches, Cities and Towns Gear Up for Political Resistance
In the years to come, community bills of rights are one strategy to shelter vulnerable populations.
20 Photos: My Seven Months of Living at Standing Rock
The community we have built here has taught many how to live a large-scale sustainable, decolonized, anticapitalist lifestyle.
New Year, New President, and Our Promise
We represent nonpartisan, independent journalism. Even in the darkest times, you can depend on us to report on solutions that can heal the planet and improve the lives of the many.
It Wasn’t All Bad: 5 Signs of Positive Change in 2016
The election divided the year into “before” and “after.” But there remain signs of hope for 2017.
Standing Rock Prepared Us for Trump’s Billionaires and Oil Giants
Continuing to shrink our oil consumption is one way to challenge the oil uber alles mentality of the Trump administration.
How Community Land Trusts Can Fix Detroit’s Foreclosure Mess
Nearly one in six properties across the city faced tax foreclosure in 2015. Land trusts are one way to keep buildings affordable.
The Team Helping Human-Trafficking Survivors Find Justice—And Jobs
The Thai Community Development Center has played a part in some of the most notorious human-trafficking cases in the United States. But unlike other groups, it also helps workers post-liberation.
7 Things the Defund DAPL Campaign Has Achieved So Far (Including $28 Million in Personal Accounts Moved)
Public and consumer pressure on banks to quit financing the Dakota Access pipeline companies is producing results.
How to Face a Trump Presidency: Resist, Reconnect, Renew
We can’t count on Republicans or Democrats to save us. Instead, we are the ones to build the world we want, starting in our communities.
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