Explainer: Agriculture and Human Rights
A journey into agriculture, from early irrigation to industrial farms.
Social Justice
Explainer: Garment Manufacturing and Human Rights
A journey into the garment industry, from Elizabethan England to Rana Plaza.
This Fifth-Grader Raised $200,000 to Clean Up the Gulf Oil Spill by Selling Watercolors
These three young activists found creative ways to tackle issues from climate change to voting rights.
When This Teacher鈥檚 Ethnic Studies Classes Were Banned, His Students Took the District to Court鈥攁nd Won
Curtis Acosta's classes in Mexican American Studies gave kids pride in their heritage鈥攗ntil the Arizona Legislature canceled them. That's when his students became activists, and some real-life lessons began.
Meet the Real-Life Inmates Fighting for Mothers’ Rights at “Orange Is the New Black” Prison
On issue after issue, women prisoners have learned to be their own strongest advocates.
Brought Together by Keystone Pipeline Fight, “Cowboys and Indians” Heal Old Wounds
As natives and ranchers work together to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, they're also learning to understand one another's history, culture, and relationship with the land.
Photo Essay: “Cowboys and Indians” Against Keystone XL Bring Newfound Unity to DC
On the frontlines of resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline, ranchers and tribal members join forces in a striking display of solidarity.
They Started by Blockading a Bus Full of Detainees鈥擜nd Went on to Shake Up the Immigration Debate
A look at the growing influence of undocumented voices in the movement for immigrant rights.
Why Saul Alinsky, Author of “Rules” for Social Change, Would Probably Break Them Today
Most organizers today believe that Alinsky taught to focus on building organizations and not social movements. But the author's own political work shows a more flexible approach.
Get Intersectional! (Or, Why Your Movement Can’t Go It Alone)
"Intersectionality" has evolved from a theory of how oppression works to a notion of how people can fight it.
Video: Festival Brings Spirit of Kenya’s Independence Movement to the US
The Swahili word "madaraka" means "self-realization." The festival bearing that name seeks to empower youth to create positive change in their own lives, their communities, and the world.
After Death of Radical Mayor, Mississippi’s Capital Wrestles With His Economic Vision
Mayor Chokwe Lumumba implemented only the first steps of his plan to address Jackson's extreme income inequality, which most seriously affected black residents. Now the city faces a choice between vastly different approaches to economic development.
Legalization is a Human Rights Issue: Latin America Steps Up Resolve to End the Drug Wars
On the heels of pot legalization in Washington and Colorado, the movement for less punitive drug policy is coalescing at every level. Its new leaders could come from the very countries that have suffered the most.
Edward Snowden’s TED Talk Offers Guided Tour of NSA Leaks
The former NSA contractor, who is living in asylum in Russia, spoke from the screen of a wheeled robot.
The 鈥淭wilight鈥� Manifesto: What Pop Culture Gets Wrong鈥攁nd Right鈥擜bout Masculinity
Blockbuster series like Twilight have left their mark on a generation of girls, but what message are they sending boys? Here are a few to look out for.
An End to “The Hole”?: 6 Signs that Solitary Confinement Reform Is Coming
Much of the momentum in the movement to reform the use of solitary confinement in the United States comes from the work of prisoners themselves.
Russian Aggression Deserves a Response, But U.S. Lacks Credibility to Lead It
The United States cannot legitimately lead an international response to the illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine until it abides by international law itself.
Immigrant Detainees’ Hunger Strike Targets Legal “Grey Area”
A hunger strike in a Washington state detention facility draws attention to a facility where most U.S. laws don't apply.
These Seattle Teachers Boycotted Standardized Testing鈥攁nd Sparked a Nationwide Movement
Parents, students, and teachers all over the country have joined the revolt to liberate our kids from a test-obsessed education system.
W. Virginia’s Grassroots Response to Water Crisis: A Movement in the Making?
Community responses to the Elk River chemical spill draw on West Virginia's long, proud history of grassroots work for environmental and economic justice.
People Over Profit: Why These Two Small Countries Stood Up to Big Mining
If the governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador can resist the mining industry, maybe we all can.
John Lewis鈥� Moving Graphic Novel Brings the Civil Rights Struggle to a New Generation
In the tradition of 鈥淢aus鈥� and 鈥淧ersepolis,鈥� 鈥淢arch鈥� tells the story of young African Americans who, like its author, rose up from the Jim Crow South to assert their human rights.
This Is What Happened When Scholastic Tried to Bring Pro-Coal Propaganda to School
鈥淭he United States of Energy鈥� was a colorful series of lessons on the advantages of coal, aimed at 4th-graders鈥攁nd sponsored by Big Coal. Here鈥檚 how educators and activists worked together to get it out of classrooms.
Teenage Defender of First Nations Rights Becomes Literal Superhero
Shannen Koostachin, a teenage activist who died before ever seeing the results of her work, has inspired a new hero in the DC Universe.
Meet the Ambassadors from Canada’s Indigenous Fossil Fuel Resistance
In 1885, a revolutionary leader wrote, "My people will sleep for one hundred years" and then wake up. In the "genocidal" wilderness of Canada's tar sands, that renaissance has begun.
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