The Struggle for Black Lives
Content warning: This article discusses physical and emotional violence and trauma against Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+ folx, and immigrants. On May 25, George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis resident, was murdered at the hands of the state. Then-officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground by his neck, brutally strangulating him while […]
No Justice for Black Women: The Memeification of Breonna Taylor
No justice, no peace. All too often, Black women are excluded from the narrative of police brutality and systemic racism. All too often, the names of Black women are excluded from the fight for justice—a reality that is highlighted on social media. Social media’s powers in mobilizing change are innumerable. Information can spread instantly, allowing […]
Diversity and Inclusion Are Too Important to Be Trivialized
Photo by greatdegree. On August 20, University of Southern California (USC) business professor Greg Patton lectured to his “Communication for Management” class on presenting information effectively. He explained that filler words are culturally specific and based on one’s native language. Patton stated: “like in China, the common word was ‘that, that that that that,’ so […]
America’s Ever-Shifting Goalposts on Violence and Protest
Photo by Andy Montgomery Last August, Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. As the incident gained national attention, NBA players protested the shooting by temporarily halting playoff games. But anyone who remembered how NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest was met with threats, scorn, and […]
A Letter to My Brother
Illustration by Emily Rubin (Business Administration 2022) In 1965, African American author James Baldwin took part in a debate at Cambridge University against William F. Buckley, founder of National Review and staunch opponent of the Civil Rights movement. They discussed whether “the American Dream is at the expense of the American Negro.” I often come […]
Even the Environment is Racist: How Pollution Affects People of Color
After World War II, the United States began conducting nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. The second test resulted in the radioactive contamination of hundreds of Navy ships. In an attempt to decontaminate these ships, the Navy moved them to a lab in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, where the military would deep […]
Bust or Bust: The Future of Boston’s Christopher Columbus Statue
Who deserves to be a statue? Recently, activists around the world have answered this question with “not a murderer”—a statue of slave owner Edward Colston was thrown into a river in Bristol, UK; a confederate statue was hung in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Boston’s very own Christopher Columbus statue was beheaded. Columbus’s statue was until […]
Returning to Pride’s Intersectional Protest Roots
The Stonewall Riots of June 1969, one of the major turning points leading to the gay liberation and modern LGBTQ+ rights movements, was a multi-night rebellion against the police. Black trans women of color, namely Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, were central figures at Stonewall and in the movement it sparked. In fact, […]
A Window of Opportunity: How COVID-19 Is Changing California Prisons
American prisons are founded on punishment over rehabilitation and profit over humanity. They maintain slavery under the guise of criminalization. And they have only worsened over time. Our prison practices exploit, neglect, and kill incarcerated people. California’s incarceration rate alone is higher than the United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Belgium, and Italy combined. California’s prisons are […]
In The Fight to Defund, Social Media is the Mobilizer
Photo by Sydney Kornegay On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers brutally murdered George Floyd, sparking mass outrage and protests across the United States and around the world. These demonstrations are not just about Floyd; they’re about all of the victims who have died due to the systemic racism that built this nation. The history […]