Category: National
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Massachusetts has highest increase in homeless population in the country
The homeless population of Massachusetts has increased by 14 percent in the last year, according to a recent report from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the report, there are 20,068 homeless persons in the Commonwealth this year, up from 17,565 in 2017. This was the highest increase in the country…
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Climate activists and congress members push for a Green New Deal
Sunrise Movement held a protest on Capitol Hill. Photo: Ken Schles. “We’re gonna fix our climate, we’re gonna clean our air, and we’re gonna put people to work,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said to a crowd of protesters in front of the John F. Kennedy School of Government on Wednesday, December 5. She was joined by incoming…
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Brett Kavanaugh and Why Consequences Matter
The idea that we are held accountable for our actions is not a new concept. It’s been grafted into children and teenagers by their parents, teachers, mentors and leaders. While it is not a new or radical idea, it certainly does not stop young people, or even older people for that matter, from making mistakes.…
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Protests against Kavanaugh bookend the week in Boston
The week leading up to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States started and ended with rallies protesting his appointment. On Monday, Oct. 1, hundreds of people gathered on City Hall Plaza next to a Forbes 30 Under 30 event where Senator Jeff Flake was scheduled to speak. Flake had called…
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Respect: Saying Goodbye to the Queen of Soul
Aretha Franklin (Courtesy of Atlantic Records) “All I’m askin’ for, is a little respect,” sings Aretha Franklin in what would become her signature tune. But by dint of her swaggering, sweltering, church-wrought performance, she’s not just asking for respect: she’s demanding it. And she got it, on an unparalleled level, winning 18 Grammys, a lifetime…
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Boston Area Prisoners Join National Hunger Strike
Prisoners throughout New England joined a national rolling hunger strike last week, protesting the United States government’s failure to reunite separated migrant families despite a court ordered July 26 deadline to do so. The hunger strike — formulated by members of Hungry4Justice — started on July 30 in Oakland, California, and has since spread to…
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Parents Who Had Kids Torn From Them File Class Action Lawsuit
A group of parents who had their children taken from them by the United States government announced on Thursday, Sept. 6, that they are filing a class action lawsuit against numerous individuals and agencies that have helped facilitate this crisis. At the law firm Todd & Weld LLP in downtown Boston, three parents got…
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Immigration Court Ordered to Review Denied Asylum Petition
A federal appeals court in Boston has ordered a review of a Bureau of Immigration Appeals ruling that denied a rehearing to a man seeking asylum. Indra Sihotang is one of hundreds who have fled anti-Christian oppression in Indonesia. He has been allowed to stay in the U.S. for well over a decade, but last…
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Boston Activists Rally to Show Solidarity With Nationwide Prison Strike
About 150 people rallied outside of Suffolk County Jail Thursday, Aug. 23 to stand in solidarity with a nationwide prison strike which kicked off earlier in the week. As police stood on the jailhouse steps, batons at the ready, protesters chanted, sang, and donned signs. The prison reformists and abolitionists called for the Massachusetts Department…
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Career Politician vs. Activist: Congressional hopeful Ayanna Pressley debates incumbent Michael Capuano
Bay State Rep. Michael Capuano and Boston City Councilor-At-Large Ayanna Pressley sparred over who would best represent the Seventh Congressional District in Congress – notably the most diverse district in the state – during a debate at UMass Boston hosted by WBUR on Aug. 7. Capuano touted his many notable endorsements as evidence of his…