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Tami Thomas-Pinkney with her daughter Trinity Handy on their front lawn in Port Arthur, Texas, across from one of the city's temporary dumpsites. (Photo: Julie Dermansky)

Why Is a Dump for Hurricane Harvey Debris Next to an African American Community?

By News & Current Affairs

Tami Thomas-Pinkney’s house in Port Arthur, Texas, was not damaged when Hurricane Harvey soaked the city with up to 28 inches of rain on August 29. But now, a month and a half after the storm, she is preparing to move. Across the street from her family’s home is a temporary dumpsite for storm debris, which she says is endangering her family’s health and making her home unlivable.

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Martin Luther King, Jr., stands next to Mathew Ahmann at the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C.

How MLK Inspires Today’s Battle to Provide Clean Air, Water and Energy to Poor Communities of Color

By News & Current Affairs

King highlighted the link between systemic racism and unhealthy environmental conditions. By Jeremy Orr, AlterNet — As we approach the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I often reflect on the circumstances surrounding his death. He wasn’t murdered while boycotting the segregated bus system in Montgomery, during the March on Washington for economic justice, or while marching for voting rights in Selma.

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Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport, Olivia Grange (2nd left), assists in displaying the CARICOM Reparations Youth Relays Baton at the launch of the Jamaican leg of the project yesterday at the Morant Villas in St Thomas. Others (from left) are member of the National Council on Reparations (NCR), Steven Golding; Head Boy at Paul Bogle High School, Daniel Reid; Head Girl at the school, Renae Robinson; and teacher at the institution, Lorraine Williams.

J’can leg of CARICOM reparations youth baton relays launched

By News & Current Affairs, Reparations

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Jamaican leg of the CARICOM Reparations Youth Baton Relays and Rallies was launched in St Thomas, yesterday, to encourage participation from young people and the general public for the success of the region-wide movement. Speaking at the ceremony held at the Morant Villas, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, said…

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African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) soldier greets a group of children during a patrol in the Kaa’ran district of Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Driven to Extremes – How Poverty Fuels Extremism, and How to Help Africa’s Youth

By News & Current Affairs

By Siddharth Chatterjee — Poverty is a blight, and one that disproportionately affects sub-Saharan Africa. It is a vast and complex issue whose tentacles reach into many areas, including climate change, sustainable development and–crucially–global security. The link between poverty and violent extremism is compelling, and means that if we want to address extremism, we must…

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Dominica, 2 October Devastation after Hurricane Maria.

Ending Poverty in Next 13 years Means Boosting Resilience Now

By News & Current Affairs

By Jessica Faieta — This month the world marks two key International Days: for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October and for Disaster Reduction, four days earlier. It is no coincidence that they are profoundly connected. Reducing risks related to disasters has never been so urgent—and the Latin America and the Caribbean region bears witness to this. Seven hurricanes have hit the Caribbean…

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Cassandra Welchlin

Voices of Resistance: Centering the Needs of Black Women in Mississippi

By News & Current Affairs

By Rebekah Barber, Facing South — As a child growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, Cassandra Welchlin witnessed the struggles her mother endured working as a maid. She also learned the importance of serving those in need from her foster grandmother, who instilled in her the importance of taking care of the community’s elderly and disadvantaged. Welchlin took those lessons…

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