Category: Social Justice
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From Selma to Congress: Street Sense Vendors Meet Civil Rights Hero (and Trump bête noir) John Lewis
Photo: Ken Martin By Josh Maxey and Angie Whitehurst From Selma, Alabama, to the halls of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans alike agree that U.S. Rep. John Lewis has been a monumental figure in American politics. Since his youth, Lewis has made fighting for equality for all Americans his mission. While a student at Fisk…
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Boston Shows Up For Equality
On January 21, 2017, women across the world made history. Over 125,000 Bostonians and New Englanders gathered in the Boston Common to march in solidarity with communities affected most by intolerance, hate and injustice. Symbolically, the event took place the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. “United…
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Volunteer: Horizons for Homeless Children
Quarterly reports published by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development found that as recently as September 2016, 3,751 families with children and pregnant women in Massachusetts utilized the Emergency Assistance (EA) shelter program. 190 of these families were housed in motels as of November 29, 2016; this figure does not include families who…
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“Do Not Resist”—A Movie About the Militarization of Our Police Force
As I write this, the outcome of the election is unknown. Many people will be happy; many people will be upset. The fact that our country could be so divided has brought about a police force that is now being gifted with weapons of war that are no longer being used in the Middle East.…
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Harvard Receives Grant to Study Racial and Economic Inequality, Influence Public Policy
Harvard University professor William Julius Wilson will be spearheading a new study conducted by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Studies. As recent news suggests, racial and economic inequality continues to be a poignant reality in America today. In response, the Hutchins Center’s study will send students onto the streets of Boston to…
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Surge in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes, Study Reports
A recent study from the California State University at San Bernardino has reported a surge in hate crimes against Muslims. Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 78% in 2015 across the 20 states surveyed. The report reveals that last year was the worst year for anti-Muslim hate crimes since 2001, just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “Last…
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Special Report: Attacks on LGBT people rarely prosecuted as hate crimes
Photo: Ludovic Bertron By Ned Parker and Mimi Dwyer Courtesy of INSP.ngo / Reuters Dionte Greene, a 22-year-old black gay male, was looking for a hook-up. He reached out to an 18-year-old stranger on Facebook. “I’m not interested in smoking weed with you, Travone,” Greene wrote to the teenager, Travone Shaw, in their first exchange.…
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Solving Dilemmas: Mel King, legendary activist and politician, talks fair housing in Boston
Photo: Zengzheng Wang Mel King is one of the fiercest and certainly most experienced crusaders in the fight for affordable housing in Boston. Just three years ago, at the age of 85, he was arrested at an eviction protest. In addition to his decades-long career of activism, King boats stints as a state representative, an…
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Transgender Rights in Schools: Obama Administration Releases Guidance for Proper Action
Last week, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education unveiled “significant guidance” for public schools to follow in order to protect the civil rights of transgender students. This guidance initiative utilizes the past reforms of Title IX—an amendment which bars discrimination in all federally funded schools—to defend transgender liberties and justify any precautions that should…
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Bill Keller: Holding the Criminal Justice System Accountable
Photo Credit: Zengzheng Wang In February 2014 Bill Keller shocked the media world when he left the New York Times after 30 years to start a national conversation about the U.S. criminal justice system as editor of The Marshall Project. “This felt like an area where there might actually be a chance to make a…