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Activism

Women demonstrate with street vendors in memory of Mame Mbaye in Madrid, Spain, on March 16, 2018. Hundreds of people, mostly black, protested in Barcelona by the death of Mame Mbaye, street vendor in Madrid who lost his life after the harassment by the municipal police of Madrid

Black Nationalist Women and Global Visions of Freedom

By Commentaries/Opinions

By Keisha N. Blain — The #MeToo movement in the United States is one of the contemporary expressions of women’s political power and evidence of women’s commitment to dismantling systems of oppression that give rise to sexual harassment and assault. The fact that a Black woman founded the movement is not surprising; especially considering the crucial role Black women have always played in shaping US and global politics. During the 20th century, a dynamic…

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Alex King and D'Angelo McDade at the March for Our Lives, Washington, DC, March 24, 2018

What Happens When You Put Young People of Color at the Center of #NeverAgain

By Commentaries/Opinions

Gun control becomes only one part of the larger solution to violence in our communities. By Lori Bezahler — The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have catalyzed a social movement demanding an end to gun violence. While their leadership and moral authority have undoubtedly taken the movement to another level, youth-led activism against gun violence is not, in fact, new. In Florida in 2013, for example…

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Shooting survivors Tyra Hemans and Emma Gonzalez from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at the March for Our Lives, Washington, DC, March 24, 2018.

The Adults Have Failed, So Students Are Leading the Way

By Commentaries/Opinions

It was young people who made possible the largest gun-control rally in a generation. By George Zornick — Sydney Neal was already planning to attend the March for Our Lives in Washington when tragedy struck her community on Tuesday. A student opened fire at the nearby Great Mills High School, killing 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey and wounding another student. On Saturday morning, Neal, the president of the association of student councils…

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Black and Latino students called attention to how gun violence affects communities of color during the National School Walkout on March 14, 2018

The gun reform debate has largely ignored race. Black students made sure the school walkouts didn’t.

By News & Current Affairs

Students of color highlighted police violence, poverty, and more during the National School Walkout. By P.R. Lockhart — In Atlanta, high school students took a knee in protest. In Baltimore and Chicago, teenagers called for programs to address poverty and mental health services. And in Brooklyn, students demanded that the police system be reformed. Across the country, many students of color who participated in the National School Walkout on Wednesday…

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Alicia Garza

Black Americans Face ‘Impossible Choices’ at Election Time. Alicia Garza Wants to Change That.

By Commentaries/Opinions

The co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement talked to The Nation about her initiative to engage skeptics and build political power among black communities. By Collier Meyerson — In 2015, I profiled activist and organizer Alicia Garza as part of Glamour’s “Women of the Year” issue. Garza, along with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, is credited with coining the phrase #BlackLivesMatter, popularizing the hashtag and for its quick ascendance…

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Patrisse Cullors and Tarana Burke - How #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo Went From Hashtags to Movements

Patrisse Cullors and Tarana Burke: Anger, Activism, and Action

By Editors' Choice, Video/Audio

By ELLE — The Founders of Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo Movement on Making Change. Patrisse Cullors and Tarana Burke are recognizable, but their work is perhaps even more so. #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo became the shorthand for the agitation and labor these activists lent to their causes, and the hashtags spread the word about police violence against black people and sexual harassment, respectively.

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Amy Jacques Garvey with her husband, Marcus.

The Hidden History Of Black Nationalist Women’s Political Activism

By Editors' Choice

By Keisha N. Blain, the Conversation — Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the historical contributions of black people in the United States. Too often, however, this history focuses on black men, sidelining black women and diminishing their contributions. This is true in mainstream narratives of black nationalist movements in the United States. These narratives almost always highlight the experiences of a handful of black nationalist men, including…

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