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.
Social Justice
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.
Advocates for Haitian Asylum Seekers Call for Humane Treatment
The Biden administration was supposed be different from its predecessor. So why are Haitians are being denied their due process in seeking asylum to the U.S.?
Don’t Let Youth Climate Activists Like Me Burn Out
The COP26 meeting is an opportunity for world leaders to prove me wrong, to show us that they can act boldly on climate change and do more than make empty promises.
What I Learned When I Came Out to My Asian Mother
“We all have a story to share, and I believe knowing someone’s story creates connection.”
Do Indigenous Land Acknowledgments Do More Harm Than Good?
If done right, they should be prompting uncomfortable conversations, not self-congratulations.
Children’s Author Tells the True Story of Columbus’ Exploits
Oriel María Siu’s new children’s book explodes the myth of Christopher Columbus as a celebrated explorer and re-centers Indigenous narratives of how the Americas were colonized.
Cultivating Food Sovereignty Through Regenerative Ocean Farming
The first Native-owned and Native-led land trust is working to empower and equip young Natives to successfully farm kelp.
How Conservatorships Were Used to Exploit Native Americans
Native Americans were put into a status of guardianship due to a system of federal and local policies developed in the early 1900s. A lawyer explains this sordid history in light of the recent case of pop star Brittney Spears' conservatorship.
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.
Call for Submissions: The Personal Journeys Issue
Send us your leads and pitches by Oct. 22.
The YES! Crossword: Indigenous Peoples Day
October’s puzzle marks the reckoning we’re now facing after more than 500 years of colonization.
Grief as Pandemic in an Afrofuturist Novel
In adrienne maree brown’s new work of speculative fiction, grief is a pandemic that devastates Detroit.
Why Libraries Are Essential to Climate Justice
For vulnerable communities, libraries are increasingly becoming a refuge in times of disaster.
4 Ways Reparations Can Address Racial Inequality in Education
Unequal schools are one of many manifestations of systemic racism. Changing the way schools are financed and homeowners are taxed can be a vehicle for reparations.
On America’s Residential Caste System—and How to Abolish It
In her new book “White Space, Black Hood,” author Sheryll Cashin makes a compelling case for how segregated U.S. cities are organized as a residential caste system.
Frances Moore Lappé: Why I Wrote “Diet for a Small Planet”
In 1969, experts said the cause of hunger was world overpopulation. Frances Moore Lappé showed they were wrong.
Black, Hispanic, and Asian Donors Give More to Social Justice Causes, Survey Finds
Giving to racial and social justice causes is on the rise—especially among donors of color. African Americans are the most likely to give to strangers of all racial and ethnic groups.
4 Years After Hurricane María, Will We Finally Listen to the Voices of Survivors?
Survivors of one of the worst storms in Puerto Rico's history share their stories and how they resorted to mutual aid in the face of government neglect and incompetence.
How Working Fathers Help Paid Parental Leave Gain Steam
A growing number of U.S. companies are offering gender-neutral paid parental leave, prompting more fathers to take advantage of a benefit often assumed to primarily serve women.
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.
How to Really Support People Who Have Abortions
I had no one to support me after my abortion senior year of high school, mostly because seeking support would mean telling someone my secret. At the time, I lived
Beyond Cancel Culture: How to Hold Each Other Accountable—With Love
Loretta Ross shares her ideas on how to engage in “calling in,” instead of “calling out,” within social justice movements.
How I Embraced My Muslim Identity After 9/11
As a Muslim American woman coming of age in post-9/11 America, I was terrified of being stereotyped. Over two decades, I’ve learned how to embrace my religious identity.
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