Giving Bayard Rustin His Flowers (Encore)
Today, we continue celebrating Black history and heritage with a special encore episode honoring an often forgotten civil rights leader. We take a look at the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, a central figure in the and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin was a trusted advisor to labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin’s methodology for challenging racial inequality and imperialism...
Locked Down and Loaded: The 2020 Gun Surge and Violence Prevention (Encore)
Making Contact · Locked Down and Loaded: The 2020 Gun Surge and Violence Prevention (Encore) Image Caption: Tom Nguyen, founder of L.A. Progressive Shooters, at the Route 66 Shooting Park in San Bernardino, CA. March 27, 2021. Image Credit: Monica Lopez Regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation, Americans in 2020 bought guns, and many, for the first time. Before 2020, events like hurricanes and changes to gun laws were...
Lessons From Defund the Police
Making Contact · Lessons From Defund the Police It’s been a year since the call to “Defund the Police” rang out through the George Floyd Protests. The idea isn’t new – redistributing police funds into community projects that better support healthy communities -but, it’s never been as popular and forceful. Cities across the country have pledged to invest in mental health services, restorative...
Locked Down and Loaded: The 2020 Gun Surge and Violence Prevention
Making Contact · Locked Down and Loaded: The 2020 Gun Surge and Violence Prevention Image Caption: Tom Nguyen, founder of L.A. Progressive Shooters, at the Route 66 Shooting Park in San Bernardino, CA. March 27, 2021. Image Credit: Monica Lopez 2020 and the first few months of 2021 are shaping up to be some of the biggest periods ever for U.S. firearms sales. In California, however, gun sales last year decreased slightly. For the...
Say Their Names: George Floyd and the Movement to Uplift Black Lives
Making Contact · Say Their Names: George Floyd and the Movement to Uplift Black Lives On May 25, 2020, the nation ignited after a bystander posted a horrific video of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes. Now the movement to uplift Black lives, and to defund and dismantle police departments where officers disproportionately kill and brutalize African American men...
Call for Pitches: April 14, 2016
We’re looking for pitches from freelancers on several themes. See list below. If you feel you have a story that fits or you have a new idea, please let us know! We’re also always interested in pitches on any of our ongoing beats: prisons, poverty, corporations’ undue influence, reproductive health, climate change and the environment. We’re still looking for reporters who are themselves immigrants for our Immigrants...
