YES! Article archive

Social Justice

For Americans Without Water Access, Coronavirus Adds Another Layer of Struggle

As Californians shelter at home amid the COVID-19 outbreak, an estimated 1 million of them lack access to clean drinking water, one of the most fundamental resources for maintaining health and hygiene.

Claudia Boyd-Barrett | Apr 14, 2020

Immigration

How the U.S. Southern Border Became a Militarized Zone

A new database by American Friends Service Committee tracks companies involved in border militarization, including the building and monitoring of walls and immigrant detention and surveillance.

Noam Perry, Tori Bateman | Apr 13, 2020

Coronavirus

Barbara Ehrenreich’s Powerful Lessons for a Stronger Post-Coronavirus America

The political activist and author imagines a country where all people, not just the wealthy, can live with dignity.

Florina Rodov | Apr 10, 2020

Immigration | Activism

How Controversy Over “American Dirt” Inspired a Movement for Change

Latinx writers are demanding accountability from the publishing industry—and encouraging the public to read responsibly.

Myriam Gurba | Apr 9, 2020

Coronavirus | Activism

Coronavirus Is a Historic Trigger Event. Now Is the Time for a Social Movement to Rise

We can build a powerful people’s response to provide care in our communities and reshape the limits of what is politically possible.

Paul Engler | Apr 6, 2020

Immigration | Gender justice | Women

The Women Who Welcomed Immigrants

A century ago, impoverished European immigrants got health care and practical help from the settlement house movement.

Kate Schatz | Mar 27, 2020

Coronavirus

We Need to Talk About Privilege and the Coronavirus Pandemic

This is a call to look back at history so that we can determine a better way forward.

Lise Ragbir | Mar 25, 2020

Coronavirus | Immigration | Criminal justice reform

Social Distancing Is Not an Option for People in Prison and ICE Detention

Families recount painful conversations with loved ones inside detention centers and join advocates demanding action that detainees be protected against spread of the coronavirus.

Lornet Turnbull | Mar 23, 2020

Native rights | Coronavirus

Colonization and Coronavirus: Indigenous Communities in the Amazon Increasingly Vulnerable

A missionary group has purchased a helicopter with plans to contact and convert isolated indigenous groups in the remote Western Amazon.

Sue Branford | Mar 20, 2020

Jobs | Local power | Coronavirus

Why Coronavirus Relief Needs to be Permanent

Sustainable examples of a new system are emerging.

Megan Wildhood | Mar 20, 2020

Coronavirus

3 Books to Give You Courage During Pandemic Anxiety

Leave the conspiracy theories for later and take heart from these plague novels about action and resilience.

Valerie Schloredt | Mar 19, 2020

Activism | Gender justice

Poets of Color Pave the Way for the Next Generation

Today in the U.S., a number of contemporary poets carry the torch of their work pushing for social change in their communities.

Ananya Garg | Mar 13, 2020

Gender justice

Meeting the Most Famous Black Woman in the World

Mary McLeod Bethune founded a college, defied the Klan, advised presidents, and like my grandmother, was a fierce warrior for justice.

Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Katie McCabe | Mar 6, 2020

Education

Are Community Schools the Future of Education Reform?

“If we help them tap it, our kids have endless potential.”

Florina Rodov | Mar 5, 2020

Education | Criminal justice reform

Harvard Students Connect the Dots Between Slavery and Prison

Students suing the Ivy League say rather than helping to dismantle the system of “human caging,” the school is profiting from it.

Jonita Davis | Mar 4, 2020

Native rights | Sustainable food and farming

Dismantling Food Colonialism in the Hopi Nation

Hopi leaders are restoring food sovereignty for the tribe’s 2,500-square-mile reservation—which has only two grocery stores.

Linghua (Lily) Qi | Mar 3, 2020

Poetry at a North Carolina Biscuit Chain Brings People Together

For five years Biscuitville has observed Black History Month with poetry gatherings.

Tina Vasquez | Feb 28, 2020

How Black Culinary Historians Are Rewriting the History of American Food

African American food culture is one of many aspects of African American identity that represents an unbroken line from Africa to present-day America.

Ruth Terry | Feb 26, 2020

On the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues, a Look Back at What Was Lost

The integration of Major League Baseball was a giant step forward in racial equity, but it also spelled an end to the era of the Negro Leagues.

Rob Ruck | Feb 25, 2020

Native rights | Pipeline resistance

Activism | Gender justice

Meet the Women Challenging India’s Anti-Muslim Law

The leaderless sit-in demonstrations by Muslim women have continued around the clock for the last three months and are now being replicated in cities across the country.

Karishma Upadhyay | Feb 12, 2020