Spare Change News

Category: Social Justice

  • Boston Mothers Who Have Lost Sons Speak Out Against Police Brutality

    Boston Mothers Who Have Lost Sons Speak Out Against Police Brutality

    Photos by Daniel Friedman In 2005, “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” was published by Dr. Joy DeGruy. Last Monday, Rahimah Rahim referenced DeGruy’s work as she spoke about the loss of her 26-year-old son, Usaamah, killed by members of the Boston Police Department in 2015.  “When we commit or we think we’re committing a negative act such as…

  • As ICE deports higher numbers of Asian immigrants, a Dorchester family is left without a mother

    As ICE deports higher numbers of Asian immigrants, a Dorchester family is left without a mother

    Robert Sparks with his and Nhan’s three children. Photo: Anna Bloxham Robert Sparks and his wife Nhan, a green card holder and native of Vietnam, left their Dorchester home to attend a meeting with ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – at an office in Burlington, Massachusetts on October 2. This was one of several…

  • Housing is a Human Right: Homelessness in the Shadow of Wealth

    Housing is a Human Right: Homelessness in the Shadow of Wealth

    Leilani Farha doesn’t want to live in a world where people have to negotiate to use the bathroom. She doesn’t want to live in a world where residents in the United States, the richest country on the planet, live in encampments infested with rats. Farha doesn’t want to live in a world where people are…

  • Black or White, They’re All Just Kids

    Black or White, They’re All Just Kids

    A couple of weeks ago, not long after the school shooting in Florida, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesh made this statement while speaking at the CPAC meeting: “Now I’m going to say something that some people will say is controversial. So I’ll say it slowly so all the people in the back can hear me loud…

  • Sen. Markey Voices Support for Students Seeking Gun Control Laws

    On Tuesday morning, U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts announced the dawn of a “children’s crusade.” Speaking at a press conference in Hibernian Hall in Roxbury, with the organization Mothers for Justice and Equality, Markey noted the importance of students’ movements, in the wake of to a mass shooting of 17 high school students last…

  • Trump Policies Front and Center at Immigration Roundtable Hosted by MIRA

    As the federal government looks to admit fewer refugees than ever in the country’s history, the Massachusetts Immigrant & Action Coalition (MIRA) hosted a roundtable discussion on the topic on Monday, Feb. 5. The discussion was part of a national movement known as We Are All America, which works to build more inclusive communities while…

  • Social Media Surveillance by Police Targeted Black Lives Matter and Muslims

    The Boston Police Department (BPD) primarily gathered and monitored social media posts and online activity from those in the Muslim community and those participating in protests, according to a newly released report from the ACLU of Massachusetts. The BPD used the surveillance software for years without the approval of the Boston City Council. The report…

  • Trump’s Record on LGBT Rights: Abhorrent, Unprecedented

    After his first year in office, President Donald Trump’s record on LGBT rights and protections fairs far worse than his predecessors, a new report finds. The report from The Fenway Institute, an education, research, training and policy center in Boston focused on access to health for traditionally underserved communities, states that the Trump administration “has…

  • State House Hearing on Jim Brooks Act Draws Massive Crowd

    The Massachusetts General Court held a hearing on Tuesday, January 30, where its Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard two hours of testimony regarding Boston’s Jim Brooks Stabilization Act. Present were about 100 housing activists, including members of advocacy group City Life/Vida Urbana, voicing overwhelming support for the bill. The Jim Brooks Stabilization Act  would…

  • Left Behind: Families of Refugees Wait in Limbo

    Left Behind: Families of Refugees Wait in Limbo

    Wahid Haider talks about his son’s departure to Italy almost seven years ago without regret or hesitation. Haider has not seen Nayeem, now 30 years old, since he left Nankar in search of better economic prospects, travelling through Romania, where he spent several months, before entering Italy. Wahid, a former chair of a Union Parishad…