Photo by Caitlin Russell Counter-protesters came out in force and far outnumbered the “alt-right” faithful who descended upon Boston for what they called a “Free Speech Rally,” which others saw as a transparent cover for a hate speech rally. The rally ended early as the bandstand from which the white nationalist speakers were supposed to…
News
Protesters assemble for Speaker Ryan’s Lawrence New Balance factory tour
Protesters in front of the Lawrence Train Station, on the opposite corner of the New Balance Factory. All photos: Alejandro Ramirez. Around 100 protesters gathered in front of the Lawrence, MA train station to protest U S. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s tour of the nearby New Balance factory. Many held signs supporting Obamacare and calling…
Labor Pains and Growth in Recovery
Spare Change News is proud to present the second installment of its new monthly feature, “In Their Own Words,” which highlights the work of writers who meet at Rosie’s Place. In late 2014, Rosie’s Place, a community center for Boston’s poor and homeless women, started a memoir workshop. The intention was to have the guests,…
How unaccompanied youths become exploited workers in the U.S.
Border between San Diego and Tijuana. – Wikimedia Commons The Trump administration has released a series of executive orders targeting immigration at the U.S. southern border. Central American families and children traveling alone represent nearly half of all unauthorized migrants apprehended by Customs and Border Protection. The criminalization of immigrants at the U.S. southern border…
Ex-priest convicted of child sexual abuse to be released Friday, alleged victims express concerns and outrage
Rodney Ford speaks at the podium as Mitchell Garabedian, right, looks on. Photo: Nathanael King. “Paul Shanley is evil. He destroyed my son’s life, my family’s life, and many other victim’s lives,” Rodney Ford said, holding back tears. Shanley, the ex-priest who allegedly sexually abused Ford’s son from ages six to 12 in the 80s,…
Boston sees continued success housing the homeless, but still more work to do
Mayor Marty Walsh at the 2014 opening of Southampton Street Shelter. Photo: Zengzheng Wang. On Thursday, Boston officials announced that their push to end chronic individual homelessness has resulted in housing 301 individuals since the start of 2016. This is in addition to the 846 veterans they have housed since 2015. The new numbers reflect…
Protesters assemble for Speaker Ryan’s Lawrence New Balance factory tour
Protesters in front of the Lawrence Train Station, on the opposite corner of the New Balance Factory. All photos: Alejandro Ramirez. Around 100 protesters gathered in front of the Lawrence, MA train station to protest U S. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s tour of the nearby New Balance factory. Many held signs supporting Obamacare and calling…
Insane Clown President: Matt Taibbi on Social Justice in the Age of Donald Trump
Spare Change News was able to track down busy journalist and author Matt Taibbi to talk about President Trump’s potential impact on social justice, healthcare and homelessness. Taibbi also spoke about his new book, released in January, titled “Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Circus”, which gathers his reporting for Rolling Stone during the…
Arts & Culture
Naomi Klein on Bracing for Trump’s Shock Politics While Daring to Dream Big
Naomi Klein’s latest book offers a strong dose of clarity to counteract the chaos plaguing the country since Donald Trump won the election. Klein draws from her unique areas of expertise—almost clairvoyantly—to decipher what the hell is going on at this moment in history. Written in a matter of months, “No Is Not Enough: Resisting…
Naomi Klein on Bracing for Trump’s Shock Politics While Daring to Dream Big
Naomi Klein’s latest book offers a strong dose of clarity to counteract the chaos plaguing the country since Donald Trump won the election. Klein draws from her unique areas of expertise—almost clairvoyantly—to decipher what the hell is going on at this moment in history. Written in a matter of months, “No Is Not Enough: Resisting…
Making HipStory: Local Hip-Hop Collective Launches First Tour, Bringing Their Brand of Personal and Political Music State to State
HipStory, a collective of local hip-hop artists, has been a beacon of creativity in the Boston hip-hop scene, and now the cup of creativity has runneth over, resulting in the HipStoric Summer tour, set to launch in Boston and visit other parts of the country such as New York City and New Orleans throughout July.…
With Armor of Solid Humor: Louie Anderson talks Comedy career, HERO, Supporting the homeless
Louie Anderson wears many hats. Actor, authorize andersonor, philanthropist, Zach Galifianakis’ mom on the FX hit series Baskets, and of course, one of the most well-known and well-respected names in stand-up comedy for the last 32 years. As with many in his line of work, getting to where he is now in his career was…
The Middle Man: Jim O’Heir Talks Emmy Win, Homelessness in Chicago and LA, Upcoming Film
Photo by Cullin Tobin It’s been over a month since his Emmy win, and Jim O’Heir still can’t believe it. The Chicago native scored his new hardware thanks to his heralded guest performance as Matt Cannistra on daytime soap opera legend “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Many praised his performance, but it wasn’t even a…
Columns
National Circus Distracts From ‘Trump-like’ cuts in Mass.
In recent weeks, many activists have focused on Donald Trump’s shenanigans. He really can’t help himself, can he? Other activists have been glued to their TV sets, computers and phones closely following the health care debate, as they should. However, while we’re distracted by the antics going on in D.C., things are going on in…
Bizarre Boston: Raising Hell at Harvard
When I think about college students raising hell, I picture kegs of beer, red plastic Solo cups and loud music. Oh, and maybe a beer funnel or two. In my mind, the phrase “raising hell” is just a metaphor for having a wild time. However, maybe it’s not always just a metaphor. For some Harvard…
Labor Pains and Growth in Recovery
Spare Change News is proud to present the second installment of its new monthly feature, “In Their Own Words,” which highlights the work of writers who meet at Rosie’s Place. In late 2014, Rosie’s Place, a community center for Boston’s poor and homeless women, started a memoir workshop. The intention was to have the guests,…
LAST WORD: Christina Sukghian Houle
About a month ago, an artist called Christina Sukhgian Houle dropped into the Spare Change News’ headquarters to meet with some of the vendors. Christina has joined forces with the newspaper’s co-founder, James Shearer, with the goal of making a documentary on homelessness in the Boston area. Christina is a relatively recent transplant to Greater…
National Circus Distracts From ‘Trump-like’ cuts in Mass.
In recent weeks, many activists have focused on Donald Trump’s shenanigans. He really can’t help himself, can he? Other activists have been glued to their TV sets, computers and phones closely following the health care debate, as they should. However, while we’re distracted by the antics going on in D.C., things are going on in…
Labor Pains and Growth in Recovery
Spare Change News is proud to present the second installment of its new monthly feature, “In Their Own Words,” which highlights the work of writers who meet at Rosie’s Place. In late 2014, Rosie’s Place, a community center for Boston’s poor and homeless women, started a memoir workshop. The intention was to have the guests,…
The Avoidable Crisis
Stanley Forman: 40 Years After the Soiling of Old Glory
The photo was chilling. Before a crowd of onlookers, a white man appears to be attempting to stab a black man with the tip of a flagpole. “It really showed racism,” said photographer Stanley Forman 40 years after he took the Pulitzer Prize-winning snapshot of an anti-busing protest that had turned violent. “It was whites…