Lending on Character, Not Credit Scores
Conventional banking hasn't worked for businesses owned by people of color. But a new network is designed to get money flowing fairly to BIPOC economies.
Economy
Put Philanthropy on the Front Lines
How to decolonize wealth through reparations.
Are Co-op Restaurants a Practical Response to the Pandemic?
The pandemic has changed what we mean by “restaurant” to include market hybrids, more takeout, less brick-and-mortar—and more restaurants that want to upend the hierarchy that defines dining out.
Filling In a News Gap for Black West Virginians
The Mountain State is mostly White, but one Black journalist looks to create the first publication for her community since 2006.
The Hidden Side of Fossil Fuel Investments: Private Equity
These investment firms face fewer disclosure and transparency rules. So their investors—public pension funds—need to hold them accountable.
Restaurant Workers Organize for Fair Wages
Today’s subminimum wages are a legacy of racist policies that date from the Civil War.
Planting a Life—and a Future—After Prison
The residential and employment program on a North Carolina organic farm helps formerly incarcerated women find a new path.
Can Detroit Return its Brownfields to the Indigenous Sacred Sites They Once Were?
The destruction of burial mounds in Detroit paralleled the displacement and genocide of Indigenous peoples throughout the United States.
Baltimore’s Community Land Trusts Offer a Pathway to Housing Justice
After years of grassroots activism, the city has found success in addressing historical housing discrimination through community land trusts.
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.
What the Pandora Papers Tell Us About Ourselves
We can’t talk about corruption and tax dodging around the world when we’re encouraging it at home.
Growing Food and Latino Culture in Tucson’s Barrio Centro
T-shirt entrepreneurs-turned-farmers are turning an abandoned elementary school into a community hub.
What the Pandora Papers Reveal About the Wealth of World Leaders
And how tax havens—including in the U.S.—are used to hide money from tax authorities.
How 9/11 Set Progressive Causes Back—and How We Rebounded
The Bush administration used the attacks to label dissent and protests against international trade agreements as terrorism. Now movements have recovered their lost momentum.
What About Work-Life Balance for Low-Wage Women of Color?
Talks of work-life balance often exclude low-wage women workers of color. Including them means investing in basic policies like equal pay and paid time off.
Cities Tap Into Citizen Feedback to Guide Federal Relief Spending
The American Rescue Plan provided an opportunity for smaller communities to democratize their budgeting.
States Are Buying Hotels to House Displaced Wildfire Survivors
The climate crisis and the pandemic are spurring local governments to take action—and finally begin to address chronic homelessness.
Tribal Solar Projects Provide More Than Climate Solutions
Renewable energy isn’t just a green business venture; it’s a way to support tribal self-determination and economic development.
Care Workers Demand Federal Support as First Responders in Climate Crises
Domestic care workers have been overlooked in the economy and as political actors for too long.
How to Revolutionize Social Services
A team of researchers and administrators are revamping New Mexico’s social service networks to meet the needs of everyone. They hope to expand to the rest of the country next.
If We Can Pass Big Infrastructure Bills, Why Can’t We Keep People in Their Homes?
We keep saying we can’t go back to the way we were before the pandemic. But we just might be doing that.
Being Disabled Shouldn’t Mean Living in Poverty
Supplemental Security Income, a lifeline for the elderly and disabled, hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. Now is the time to close the gap.
How Indigenous Communities Are Building Energy Sovereignty
“If it’s extractive in nature, you are absolutely unwelcome.”
How “Whitey on the Moon” Perfectly Captures Bezos’ Space Joy Ride
The themes of Gill Scott-Heron’s seminal poem written decades ago resonate more strongly than ever as billionaires like Jeff Bezos spend their money on lavish vanity projects.
When Less Is More
If we’re going to survive as a species and heal the Earth, we’ll need to drastically cut back on our consumption.
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