Social Justice

Meet the New Rebels Taking Back Our Public Schools

For decades the myth of failing public schools justified industrial-scale testing and a privatization agenda. Now radical educators are bursting the bubble test, getting culturally relevant, and restoring justice to the classroom.

Sarah van Gelder | Feb 22, 2014

The Myth Behind Public School Failure

In the rush to privatize the country’s schools, corporations and politicians have decimated school budgets, replaced teaching with standardized testing, and placed the blame on teachers and students.

Dean Paton | Feb 22, 2014

Architect's rendering of Quixote Village. Image courtesy of Panza.

Activism

Tiny Houses for the Homeless: An Affordable Solution Catches On

A growing number of towns and cities have found a practical solution to homelessness through the construction of tiny-house villages—and housing officials are taking notice.

Erika Lundahl | Feb 21, 2014

Fania Davis with students from Ralph Bunche High School

Criminal justice reform

Discipline With Dignity: Oakland Classrooms Try Healing Instead of Punishment

As executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, Fania Davis sees programs like hers as part of the way to end the school-to-prison pipeline.

Fania Davis | Feb 20, 2014

Supporters of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice in Washington

Activism

How the Fight Against Alabama’s Anti-Immigrant Law Transformed a Community

Gwendolyn Ferreti Manjarrez is an organizer with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice. Here, she speaks about the role of grassroots groups in the fight to roll back HB 56.

Levana Saxon | Feb 18, 2014

Pete Seeger's wall of photos. Photo by Michael Bowman.

Activism

In Pete Seeger’s Letters, A Voice for Justice Sings On

In the midst of Seeger's countless documents was one that stood out. The editor who found it reflects on coming back to that letter today.

Sam Rosenthal | Feb 8, 2014

Renewable energy | Activism

Darth Vader’s Death Star Created Jobs, Too! New Video Pokes Fun at Keystone Pipeline Claims

The public comment period for the Keystone XL pipeline opened on Wednesday. This video is the comment from California-based climate group Movement Generation.

| Feb 8, 2014

Activism

“So My Daughter Won’t Have To”: Why Kelly Sue DeConnick Fights to Make Women Welcome in Comics

Kelly Sue DeConnick is a woman author working in the comic book industry, who's had successful titles in both mainstream and independent forms. In this Q&A, she talks about her feminism, creativity, and her love for old-school "exploitation" movies.

Leigh Finke | Jan 30, 2014

Activism

Growing Concern Over Japan’s Dolphin Hunt Leads to Widespread Outcry

The dolphin massacre depicted in the Oscar-winning film The Cove took place again this year. But the reaction to it shows a changing public mindset toward the rights of sea mammals.

Andy Butter | Jan 30, 2014

Activism

Photo Essay: Pete Seeger’s Life on the Hudson

In December 2007, YES! editor-in-chief Sarah van Gelder interviewed Pete Seeger in his home in Beacon, New York. Seeger showed Sarah his family photo albums, his DIY solar-powered car, and, of course, a whole wall filled with banjos.

Sarah van Gelder | Jan 29, 2014

Activism

“We Shall Overcome”: Democracy Now! Remembers Folk Icon Pete Seeger

Folksinger and lifelong activist Pete Seeger passed away on Jan. 27. He was a constant presence in the labor and antiwar movements, and an innovator in the use of music to create solidarity and social change. In this video, Democracy Now! commemorates Seeger's life and work.

| Jan 29, 2014

Global Power Shift conference. Photo by Shadia Fayne Wood / Project Survival Media.

Activism

Why the Smartphone Became the Lightsaber of the Environmental Justice Movement

From West Virginia to the Gulf Coast, residents of communities facing environmental problems are discovering that visual storytelling brings results. Their number-one tool is the humble smartphone.

Kristin Moe | Jan 25, 2014

Keone Kealoha at Malama Kaua'i. Photo by James Trimarco.

Activism | Sustainable food and farming

Paradise Farmed: Inside Kaua’i’s Local Food Movement

The issue of local food is more urgent when you're more than 2,400 miles away from the nearest continent.

James Trimarco | Jan 24, 2014

Anti corruption rally in India. Photo by Ishan Khosla.

Activism

India’s Own “Occupy”: How a New Political Party is Battling Corruption—and Winning

A few months ago, India's Aam Aadmi Party was a curiosity; now, it’s a call for pro-democracy movements elsewhere to step up their game.

Nathan Schneider | Jan 23, 2014

Zapatista mural in San Pedro Polhó. Photo by Dario Ribelo.

Native rights

Zapatista Communities Celebrate 20 Years of Self-Government

The Zapatistas are still running their own schools and hospitals, raising new generations, and carrying on a dialogue with the outside world that has enriched both sides.

Laura Carlsen | Jan 18, 2014

Abernathy and MLK march. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

How a Great Man Put Down His Guns: Martin Luther King’s Path to Nonviolence

It took years of political evolution for King to understand nonviolence not merely as a moral force, but as an effective strategy for leveraging political change.

Mark Engler, Paul Engler | Jan 17, 2014

Officer Greg Ruprecht. Still from video taken by rjcolorado1.

Criminal justice reform

How Restorative Justice Changed This Colorado Cop’s Views on Prison

In restorative justice, those who commit crimes have to face the consequences of their actions. After this Colorado policeman tried it out, he came to believe it's part of the answer to America's prison problem.

Molly Rowan Leach | Jan 15, 2014

Activism

Beyond Classic Disney: 5 Great Animated Kids’ Films Without the Racial Stereotypes

Many of the Disney classics contain outdated images of racial and gender groups. Luckily, recent animated masterpieces provide alternatives without sacrificing anything in the way of imagination.

Leigh Finke | Jan 11, 2014

Activism

How a Chicago Mom Liberated a Foreclosure and Got a Home for Her Four Kids

Displaced by foreclosure, this family took direct action—and got a place to live.

Laura Gottesdiener | Jan 10, 2014

The Sampson family. Photo by Rachael Stoeve.

Native rights

Movement to Resist Tar Sands “Megaloads” Brings Together Northwest Tribal Members, Environmentalists

The struggle pits the tribes and their allies in the environmental movement against the General Electric subsidiary that manufactured the evaporators and the hauling company that is providing transportation for them.

Ray Stoeve | Jan 9, 2014

Activism | Local economies

After 20-Year Fight, Bronx Community Wins Big on Development Project Committed to Living Wages and Local Economy

The people of New York’s poorest borough fought to ensure that redevelopment of its castle-like landmark will benefit those who live there. Will it be a gamechanger?

Laura Flanders | Jan 4, 2014

Get Hopeful For 2014: YES! Founder Sarah van Gelder Talks to Democracy Now!

From new leadership in the fight against climate change to an uprising in the education system, there's a lot to be excited about in 2014.

| Jan 1, 2014

10 Hopeful Things That Happened in 2013 to Get You Inspired for What’s to Come

Beyond the headlines of conflict and catastrophe, this year’s top stories offered us some powerful proof that the world can still change—for the better.

Sarah van Gelder | Dec 28, 2013

IPCC Climate Haiku. By Gregory C. Johnson.

Activism

This Guy Turned a 2,000-Page Report on Climate Change into 19 Stunning Haikus

By stripping a technical report of its jargon and unfathomably large numbers, Gregory C. Johnson's haikus offer an arresting and informative entry point into climate science.

Anna Fahey | Dec 21, 2013

Nettle Tea photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Native rights | Health care

How a Cup of Nettle Tea Taught Me How To Live Well and Remember the Past

I am a Muckleshoot Indian, but little of what I used to eat bore much connection with the landscape I lived in, which had fed my ancestors for many generations. When I discovered nettle tea, it was as if I were remembering what it was like to feel well.

Valerie Segrest | Dec 19, 2013

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