I am Justin Wedes, a co-founder of Detroit Water Brigade, a non-profit advocacy and rapid relief organization responding to the city’s aggressive water shut-off program. I work on water issues with low-income families, the homeless, and unemployed people in Detroit and Flint. In Detroit and Flint, people have been facing multiple ongoing crises that arise…
By Diana Skelton (France) Have you ever heard it said that “poverty is a powder keg”? That image has been used by leaders like Bill Clinton and Desmond Tutu in an attempt to spur society to overcome poverty — a worthy goal. But unfortunately that same image feeds the stereotype of the poor as violent,…
By Detrich Peeler (Morocco) Today’s vocabulary lesson Non sequitur: a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement. Example: Black person: We want the police to stop shooting our unarmed black men, we want transparency, accountability and justice. White person: What about the culture of criminality, low test scores…
By Detrich Peeler (Senegal) I am really saddened by the news I am reading related to Ferguson and other senseless violence against black people in America. From where I sit in Dakar it has been thrown into stark relief how divided America still is, in ways that are hard to explain to non-Americans. The image…
By Maria Victoire (Ivory Coast) Life expectancy in Africa is 52 years for men, 54 for women. People die every day for a lack of care. I overheard this conversation: “When you’re sick, will you go to the hospital to get a shot?” “No!”replied the other one. They know what they’re talking about – everyone…
By Amanda Lee (France) It is a soul sheering experience to consider how to go about grouping the polluting effects of male entitlement on my life, as a woman. Especially since there is zero gain for me to take a polarized stance on the matter and vilify my brothers. Because no matter what YOU have…
By: Zeljko Jovanovic At the time, it was a big story. A local police chief had been killed and nine immigrants rounded up. The newspapers denounced the suspects as “lazy beggars” and “violent criminals.” Amid the public outrage, a frenzied mob broke into the prison, found 11 members of the same ethnic minority as the…
By Diana Skelton (France) The 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that skin color would no longer shape people’s judgement of one another has been an opportunity for soul searching linked to racial profiling. But fully honoring his legacy requires us to look much more closely at economic profiling as well. To…
Together in Dignity 