SOCIAL JUSTICE – Page 17

15Oct

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Five Ways to Empower Voters Now

From reinstating voting rights of those with felony convictions to helping people obtain IDs, grassroots and state-level efforts are making it easier to vote. Not voting can have dire consequences; the collateral damage is all around us. About 60% of eligible U.S. voters cast ballots in 2016, a crucial presidential election year in which fewer than 80,000 votes across three states helped tilt the country on its current, dramatic path. Now, with the civil liberties of so many people and entire communities at stake, having your voice heard and your vote counted is more important than ever. And while concerns over voter suppression and gerrymandering loom large for upcoming elections, particularly in states headed by conservatives, a number of grassroots and state-level gr...

Leveraging White Privilege for Racial Justice

4Apr

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Leveraging White Privilege for Racial Justice

These White people aren’t just checking their privilege. They’re using it to bring about positive racial change. Social justice demands more now than we’re used to giving, and it isn’t only the responsibility of people of color to demand change. These White people are not just checking their privilege, they’re also leveraging it to bring about justice. Jane Elliott The morning after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968, Jane Elliott tried something new in her Iowa classroom. “I exposed 26 third-grade students to an exercise in discrimination based on the color of their eyes,” she says. This became known as the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes exercise, and has been demonstrated as an effective tool to teach children about racism. Racism could be learned, she realized, and ther...

Gun Violence Research Matters. Here’s Why

30Sep

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Gun Violence Research Matters. Here’s Why

Private and individual donors—and recently a few states—have been stepping into a federal funding void to finance gun violence research. The California Department of Justice took a call about a 21-year-old man threatening to shoot his co-workers after being fired from his job. A search of his home uncovered 400 rounds of ammunition. And a 24-year-old California man with a history of alcohol and drug abuse told his mother he was going to kill employees and relatives in the family business, and then himself by shooting or bombing. His uncle closed the business the next day and three days later called police, who confiscated 26 firearms, including 18 semiautomatic pistols. In both instances, which occurred between 2016 and 2018, court-issued extreme risk protection orders a...

Why does the racist legacy of blackface endure?

2Apr

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SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

Why does the racist legacy of blackface endure?

Practice of darkening skin to portray people of other races is rooted in racism. Video of Why does the racist legacy of blackface endure? | The Stream The latest controversy over the racist practice of blackface involves Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who last week apologised for instances in his past where he darkened his skin to portray people of another race. Photos republished by Time magazine show Trudeau dressed as Aladdin at an Arabian Nights-themed party in 2001 and as a black person singing "Day O" at a high school talent show. The controversy has reignited conversations about racism and white privilege. Blackface, though, isn't just an embarrassing episode of the past. It continues to appear in popular culture, media and advertising around the wo...

16Sep

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Can you ever forgive? A few strategies

Nineteenth century Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, humorously penned, “Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much” Love as a topic tops lists, but forgiveness runs a close second. Some of the most famous quotes by the most famous people draw attention to the abstract noun. Nineteenth century Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, humorously penned, “Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much,” while contemporary actor Tyler Perry shared more serious wisdom on the subject: “It’s not an easy journey, to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place, because it frees you.” And in the bible there is Jesus’ well-known mandate: people should forgive each other “seventy times seven times” (Matthew 18:22); the numerical reference in...

How We Shut Down the Nation’s Largest Child Detention Center

5Sep

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

How We Shut Down the Nation’s Largest Child Detention Center

Now the Trump Administration wants to reopen it. On the morning of Aug. 3, the last of more than 3,000 children were taken out of the Homestead detention center in Florida. The controversial detention center had served as an indefinite holding place for migrant youth, many of whom fled violence and poverty in Central America and were seeking asylum in the United States. Homestead was an “emergency influx facility”—a designation used to skirt the Flores settlement agreement, which requires oversight and certain standards of care for children in detention. It was run by Caliburn—a for-profit prison operator that includes former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on its board of directors, and cost taxpayers $1 million dollars a day to operate. Children were not allowed ...

Alzheimer’s in the US: Women more likely to develop disease

2Apr

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SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

Alzheimer’s in the US: Women more likely to develop disease

Two-thirds of the people living with Alzheimer's in the US are women. New research is telling us why women in the United States are more likely to develop Alzheimer's. Almost two-thirds of those with the disease are female and understanding why this is the case is key to improving treatment. by Kristen Saloomey Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey reports from New York, in the US.

What Abortion Bans and Easy Gun Access Have in Common

27Aug

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

What Abortion Bans and Easy Gun Access Have in Common

Where gun access gets easier and abortion access gets harder, women pay the price. Abortions and guns. Few issues are as polarizing or have so completely dominated the national discourse in recent years. Across the country, states have passed hundreds of measures to either curb or expand access to both. In certain states, conservative lawmakers—mostly men—are busy restricting access to abortion for women, with an eye toward eventually overturning Roe v. Wade. Missouri is a textbook example of a Republican-controlled state on both: hostile toward abortion access and lax toward guns. It is one of nine states where lawmakers voted to ban abortion this year. Missouri’s ban, which prohibits the procedure after eight weeks, with no rape or incest exception, was set to take eff...

US marks 400 years since first Africans arrived as slaves

2Apr

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SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

US marks 400 years since first Africans arrived as slaves

Slave trade leaves bitter legacy for African Americans and still mars race relations in US. The United States is marking the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the English colony of Virginia 400 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of Africans from what's now known as Angola would soon follow. The commemoration comes at a time when the US president is accused of creating a culture where white nationalism and racism can flourish. by Alan Fisher Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from Hampton, Virginia.

How Steep Is That Sidewalk? A Digital Map for People With Disabilities

21Aug

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

How Steep Is That Sidewalk? A Digital Map for People With Disabilities

For disabled people, getting around Seattle is a constant challenge. This app wants to make it easier and safer. Most people know about Seattle’s rain, but they’re surprised to learn that the city, especially the downtown area, is steeper than Denver, the “Mile High City.” Seattle’s hills can render many buildings and businesses, including places like City Hall, inaccessible to people with mobility needs. For those people, apps such as Google Maps are not especially helpful because they show only the fastest way to get from point A to point B; nonmotorized routes are usually calculated based on the assumption that people will be on foot and can get into any entrance. They don’t take into account the angle of the hill needed to negotiate, whether there’s a curb cut, or whet...