Category: Social Justice
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Mass. political leaders hold roundtable on ‘medical deferred action’
Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Edward Markey hosted a roundtable discussion on immigration policies. Photo by Max Reyes Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Edward Markey on Monday questioned how the Trump administration was handling about 400 requests for medical deferred action that were reopened after the administration walked back an attempt to end the practice.…
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Rapid rehousing: The problems with this solution
Several families who have received rapid rehousing subsidies marched with advocates on May 9, 2019 to voice their concerns about the program. Meeting at the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center on Rhode Island Ave., they marched nearly two miles in the heat to the headquarters of the Washington D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS), where…
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Prison industry can’t hide from human rights violations
Roughly 500 protesters — led by 19 different organizations — gathered in downtown Boston on Sunday, August 4, to take a stand against the American Correctional Association. The ACA, an accreditation agency for prisons and detention centers in the United States, held its annual Congress of Correction at Hynes Convention Center from Thursday, August 1,…
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Elder Tenants Fight for Their Rights
On July 27, women facing eviction from Our Lady’s Guild House (OLGH) and volunteers with housing justice non-profit City Life / Vida Urbana, embarked on a journey from Symphony Community Park to New Britain, Connecticut, where they held rallies in front of New Britain City Hall and the headquarters of Daughters of Mary of the…
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Tenants, activists protest unfair rent hike in Hyde Park
Bruce Green of the Stony Brook Tenants Union spoke at the rally against displacement on June 2 in Hyde Park. Photo by Valerie Li. Stony Brook Village residents rallied against their home’s management company for retaliatory rent increase, evictions, and unlivable housing conditions on June 2, at the property in Hyde Park. Two local activist…
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A Tale of Two Bostons
A couple of weeks ago I was among the many who participated in the Poor People’s Campaign’s “Spill the Tea Tour”, also known at the Truth & Poverty tour, in Boston. It was an educational tour meant to bring awareness to to the plight of poor and homeless people – an issue that is ignored…
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Needle Take Back Day launches in Boston
Councilor Annissa Essaibi George (middle) at the inaugural Needle Take Back Day event. On Thursday, April 25, nearly 30 community health care organizations and centers across Boston banded together for the city’s inaugural Needle Take Back Day. The event, promoted by City Councilor At-Large, Annissa Essaibi-George, is part of her continuing objective to increase the…
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Dreamers, TPS holders join Members of Congress to advocate for new Dream and Promise Act
On March 18, in front of the JFK Building at Boston City Hall Plaza, Massachusetts leaders, and immigrant advocates spoke out in support of legislation that would ensure that Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders can obtain permanent residency. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), which represents a number of immigrant advocates…
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And the distractions continue
As if I needed more evidence of what I wrote in my last column; the last few days have been a “you can’t make this stuff up” type of week. First up we have one Jussie Smollett, the Empire actor who said he was jumped, beaten, had a noose planted around his neck and doused…