Economic Justice

Silver piggy bank on black background
Lynnise E. Phillips Pantin  Mar 22, 2019 5:07PM EDT

From Fyre Fest to Theranos, the Invisible Racial Subtext of Raising Capital [Op-Ed]

Lynnise Pantin, director of the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic at Columbia Law School, argues that it is possible to create an environment that prioritizes equality of access to capital for entrepreneurs of color.
Woman with red hair in silohuette puts silverware on table while standing in front of a window in daylight, there is a white orchid in a yellow pot and a lamp with a red shade, trees and benches outside
Saru Jayaraman, Destiny Lopez  Mar 8, 2019 9:27AM EST

Congress Must Pass Raise the Wage Act, Secure Better Future for Women [Op-Ed]

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, Saru Jayaraman and Destiny Lopez connect the dots between securing increased pay for women earning a tipped wage and improved access to reproductive health care.
Silver handcuffs on black asphalt
Kenrya Rankin  Mar 7, 2019 10:07AM EST

Former Juvenile Lifers Need a Pressure Valve [Op-Ed]

Abd’Allah Wali Lateef of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth makes the case for social service, mental health and parole policy reform to help former life-sentenced children successfully return to society.
A Latinx boy, Daniel on the left, and his mother, Virginia on the right, stand side-by-side at a rally held outside holding posters. Daniel's sign is white and says "housing is a right." Virginia's is yellow and says, "Queremos Justicia! We want justice."
catherine lizette gonzalez  Mar 1, 2019 2:40PM EST

Oregon Passes the Nation's First Statewide Mandatory Rent Control Law

The law passes on the heels of a new report that calls for sweeping rent control policies around the country.
Ayana Byrd  Dec 18, 2018 1:55PM EST

ICYMI: Poll Says Green New Deal Enjoys Bipartisan Support

Championed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the plan seeks to eliminate income inequality and support communities of color.
Three women in burgundy shirts sitting next to each other. They each make phone calls on blue telephones mounted on a wall with laminated signs including a plaque that says calls may be subject to recording.
catherine lizette gonzalez  Dec 7, 2018 5:30PM EST

Nearly Half of All U.S. Adults Have a Family Member Who Has Been Incarcerated

A new study finds that mass incarceration has ruinous consequences for the 113 million people in the United States whose family members have spent time in prisons or jails, and people of color are disproportionately impacted.
A 100 dollar bills out of focus layinf on top of each other with one 10 dollar bill in the forefront in focus
catherine lizette gonzalez  Oct 23, 2018 11:18AM EDT

'Decolonizing Wealth' Addresses Philanthropy's White Supremacy Problem, Offers Solutions

In his new book, “Decolonizing Wealth,” Native author and philanthropist Edgar Villanueva confronts the colonial dynamics at play in philanthropy and builds a framework centered on communities of color.  
Person holds mini flag to their chest, wearing blue and white striped shirt
catherine lizette gonzalez  Sep 24, 2018 5:48PM EDT

Trump Administration Plans to Restrict Green Cards For Immigrants Enrolled in Safety Net Programs

Per a new 447-page proposal, the federal government seeks to deny green cards to immigrants who have received benefits including Medicaid, housing vouchers and supplemental food assistance.
Black and white picture of dark cell with light coming through bars
Kenrya Rankin  Aug 23, 2018 4:43PM EDT

READ: Notes From Inside the Prison Strike

Kevin Rashid Johnson writes from solitary confinement about the importance of fighting to reform the criminal justice system.
Zoe Saldana in beige dress and blouse behind glass podium with black microphone in front of brown building
Sameer Rao  Aug 23, 2018 1:46PM EDT

Hollywood Doesn't Pay Bankable Latinx Actresses Their Worth

There are no women of color on Forbes’ latest list of the industry’s highest-earning actresses. Remezcla examines the wage gap for Latinx thespians via the status of the extremely bankable Zoe Saldana.
A child walks in his flooded neighborhood on May 4, 2017, in Arnold, Missouri. Towns along the Meramec River braced for the river to crest after days of rainfall in the region.
Ayana Byrd  Aug 22, 2018 2:36PM EDT

STUDY: After Natural Disasters, Whites Accumulate Wealth While People of Color Lose It

There are marked racial differences in the cost of disasters.
A person with their hands shackled behind their back is seen through an opening in a chain-link fence
Alfonso Serrano  Aug 21, 2018 12:07PM EDT

Incarcerated People Stage Strikes Nationwide

Strikers say meager wages and sentencing laws that target people of color amount to modern day slavery.
Large gold fountain in front of white, tan and gold house with massive white columns. Two women walk toward each other, arms above their heads
Iimay Ho  Aug 16, 2018 2:25PM EDT

How This Crazy Rich Asian Fights Wealth Inequality and the Model Minority Myth [OP-ED]

Resource Generation’s Iimay Ho: “I’ve been looking forward to the release of ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ but I’m not surprised that Warner Bros. took a bet on a movie where rich Asians show they can act like rich White people and reinforce the model minority myth.”
Several incarcerated firefighters in orange jumpsuits look on as a plane passes over a burned down field.
catherine lizette gonzalez  Aug 9, 2018 5:34PM EDT

California Uses Prison Labor to Battle Dangerous Wildfires

Some 2,000 incarcerated firefighters from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are earning just $2 a day to contain the largest wildfire ever recorded in the state’s history.
Judge green-lights lawsuit claiming Trump's cancellation of deportation protections, TPS, motivated by race.
Alfonso Serrano  Jul 25, 2018 11:55AM EDT

Judge Approves Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Termination of Deportation Protection

The suit alleges that the Trump administration’s cancellation of Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 immigrants was motivated by race.
The formerly incarcerated have unemployment rates five times the national average.
Alfonso Serrano  Jul 10, 2018 1:56PM EDT

Out of Prison, Out of Jobs: Unemployment and the Formerly Incarcerated

A new report from Prison Policy Initiative says that joblessness for people with criminal records is nearly five times the rate of the general public, with Black women paying the most expensive price.
Black woman at a rally holds a purple sign with yellow text that says America needs union jobs with an illustration of public sector workers
catherine lizette gonzalez  Jun 28, 2018 10:22AM EDT

Alicia Garza On How SCOTUS' Labor Decision Hurts Women of Color

The National Domestic Workers Alliance organizer breaks down the Supreme Court’s ruling to eliminate fair share labor union dues via Janus v. AFSCME and how it will impact communities of color.
catherine lizette gonzalez  Jun 7, 2018 3:19PM EDT

REPORT: Ben Carson's Plan to Raise Rent Hurts Poor Families of Color

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson says he wants to raise rents for people living in poverty to push them into jobs. But a new report says his plan would force millions into homelessness.
A person rests their head on their cross arms with San Juan and the water in the background.
catherine lizette gonzalez  May 31, 2018 5:48PM EDT

Author Q&A: Understanding Puerto Rico's Debt Crisis Through Marx, Monsters and a Queer Decolonial Lens

Colorlines talks to Philadelphia poet laureate Raquel Salas Rivera about their new book, “lo terciario/the tertiary,” which revisits Karl Marx’s “Capital” to examine Puerto Rico’s debt crisis from a queer decolonial lens.
Sign reads "Employment Services"
Kenrya Rankin  May 17, 2018 4:26PM EDT

STUDY: Black Unemployment Rate is Double White Rate in 14 States, D.C.

A new study from the Economic Policy Institute makes it clear that while unemployment rates may be trending downward, they are still indicative of a wide gulf between the unemployment rates for Black and White workers.