Craig Jennex, Ryerson University As we dream of the lives we might once live again when the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, I find myself most excited about potential experiences of collective effervescence — the hopeful feelings that arise from a shared sense of belonging with others. Having kept our distance over the last two years to keep each other safe, these spontaneous moments of communal joy … Continue reading How LGBTQ2+ 1980s dance parties sparked collective joy and power — and can again

Shantel is a Dominican immigrant and single mother, whose 8-year-old daughter is a U.S. citizen. They have lived in New York City public housing and received financial assistance since Shantel lost her job in mid-2021 after an accident. The two currently still rely on those services. “Once I had my foot surgery in June, I had to apply for unemployment, because I couldn’t receive [both] … Continue reading How to Address Poverty Among Latinx Children

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that we have to be a nonprofit to address food insecurity,” says Adam Dole, co-founder of Bento. PHOTO COURTESY OF BENTO In May 2021, Chelsea Vasquez and her mother caught two metro buses from their Inglewood, California, home to St. John’s Well Child & Family Center clinic, where they had appointments to receive their first doses of the COVID-19 … Continue reading Where a Free Meal for Food-Insecure Families Is Just a Text Away

Protestor’s at a Black Lives Matter demonstration. PHOTO BY BRAXTON DANIELS In May of 2020, 17-year-old Darnella Frazier was in front of a local market in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when she saw a White police officer pin a Black man to the ground. She pulled out her phone and pressed record and stood there for more than nine minutes, silently documenting George Floyd’s murder. Frazier’s split-second … Continue reading When Witnessing Becomes Activism

Marycarmen Lara Villanueva, University of Toronto https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/in-mexico–how-erasing-black-history-fuels-anti-black-racism In early 2021, a Ghanaian migrant known as Faruku died in the northern Mexican city of Tijuana, near the Mexico-United States border, of an apparent stroke. This was after being turned away from a hospital and later being asked to pay for an ambulance before it would assist him. A report from Refugees International notes that the circumstances … Continue reading In Mexico, how erasing Black history fuels anti-Black racism