Spare Change News

Category: Social Justice

  • A Dialogue on Race Relations in America

    Jacques Fleury Spare Change News I recently joined a writer’s group from the website meetup.com. The first day I attended the group, I was considerably late. Upon entering, a la true Jacques fashion with my cyborg glasses, looking like the black guy from Star Trek, the members (who happened to be all white) looked up…

  • The Legacy of the Black Soldiers of the Civil War

    In honor of Black History Month Jacques Fleury Spare Change News “Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once.” — Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (II, ii, 32-37) The contributions and achievements of black people throughout American History have often been overlooked in traditional history textbooks. Although I was educated…

  • How Haiti Earned Its Place in Black History

    The first independent nation in Latin America and the first Black-led republic in the world shaped the African-American identity Jacques Fleury Spare Change News “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Martin Luther King Jr. In the two years since the earthquake that devastated Haiti, a country already marred by political depravity and economic…

  • If You Don't Demand Change then It Never Will Be

    Beatrice Bell Spare Change News Many people today don’t stand up for human rights or civil rights because they don’t feel that they will be heard. The truth of the matter is that if you don’t vote for a candidate or a particular issue and if you don’t demand change, then it never will be,…

  • An Appreciation Deferred

    Anthony Thames Spare Change News On April 4, 1968, the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee, I was a five-year-old boy, unable to fully grasp the enormity of the situation. I do remember the somber mood both in school as well as at my home. I distinctly recall my mom…

  • ‘Unarmed truth … will have the final word’

    Chris Mesfin Spare Change News Let us mark the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. The 1960s saw a few great men hard at work in America, trying to end the injustices that infected America. Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy knew…

  • Editorial: From MLK to Occupy

    “True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” — The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Looking back on the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (http://www.kinginstitute.info/), we see that many of his primary…

  • Occupy The Dream

    Nakia Hill Spare Change News Harry B. Rutherford, Jr. lives in Columbus, South Carolina, where he has his own dental practice serving his community. On January 16, when the nation celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by taking a day off of work to reflect, attend an event in his honor, like…

  • SENATE GIVES INITIAL APPROVAL TO BILL AIDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

    By Colleen Quinn STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 9, 2012….Domestic violence victims would be guaranteed leave from their jobs under legislation that received initial approval in Senate Monday and has the backing of two major employer groups. The law would require Massachusetts employers with more than 50 employees to give up to…

  • MAN ON THE BEAT: Cambridge police department's homeless outreach officer

    Tom Benner Spare Change News For three years, Officer Eric Helberg has served as the city’s first homeless outreach officer, walking the city and getting to know its street dwellers, helping them however he can — from giving them a blanket to telling them where to get medical care or a free meal, offering a…