Stories
Echoes of Sandino: Artists Respond to Nicaraguan Violence
By Torri Lonergan
In the latest installment of our Weaving the Streets project, Torri Lonergan reports on a new art exhibit in Costa Rica that features creative, critical perspectives on the ongoing political violence in neighboring Nicaragua.
“Xenophobia Stinks”: The Politics of Nicaraguan Immigration in Costa Rica
By Torri Lonergan
As political violence continues in Nicaragua, neighboring Costa Rica is receiving a significant number of Nicaraguan refugees. In recent months, Costa Rica has seen an upsurge in anti-immigrant sentiment as well as popular demonstrations in support of the refugees. Torri Lonergan reports from Costa Rica in her second installment for our Weaving the Streets project.
UN Funding Cuts Jeopardize Deaf Children in Gaza
By Asmaa Tayeh
Zeyad Aabed has devoted his career—26 years—to running an NGO dedicated to offering education and health services to the deaf. It was, to say the least, a labor of love. But now, much of the funding on which his NGO depends is drying up. And today, he feels exhausted and depressed, fearful he will have to close the El-Amal Rehabilitation Society altogether. (Reposted from We Are Not Numbers)
Will Costa Rica Be the Next Country to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage?
By Torri Lonergan
The issue of marriage equality, set within a larger struggle over LGBTIQ rights, has become a central element of Costa Rica’s ongoing political debate during the country’s 2018 presidential election campaign. In her first post for our Weaving the Streets series, Torri Lonergan reports on how the potential legalization of same-sex marriage is sharpening the fault lines between progressive Costa Ricans and those who hold more more conservative Catholic and evangelical views.
Training Citizen Journalists and “Building Community Power”: SLCJI Launches in Canton, NY
By John Collins
On an early fall weekend, a diverse group of North Country residents gathered on the campus of St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, to inaugurate an innovative new experiment in grassroots journalism: the St. Lawrence Citizen Journalism Incubator.
Protect the Protest Task Force Launches With A Promise: An Attack On One Is An Attack On All
By Jana Morgan
For decades, powerful interests have attempted to intimidate and silence public watchdogs, journalists, and advocacy groups by filing meritless lawsuits. This repressive tactic — called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs) — is an abuse of the court system and a violation of the First Amendment rights of those who speak truth to power. Weave News contributor Jana Morgan announces a new initiative designed to push back.
Lured To Injustice: The 'Sleep of Reason' in Poland
By Łukasz W. Niparko
Reporting from Poland, Łukasz W. Niparko warns of a troubling trend toward authoritarianism in the country as thirty years of post-Communist “shock therapy” give way to sustained attacks on democracy and the rule of law by the ruling PIS party.
Pigs In Our Politics: The #MeToo Movement in France
By Alexandra Nicoletti
In this reflection on the experience of living and studying abroad as an American in France, Alexandra Nicoletti explores the complex process of cultural translation involved when the #MeToo movement crosses the Atlantic.
Mass Action in Boston Against Police Brutality: “It’s about all of us”
By Nicole Eigbrett
BOSTON, MA – Demonstrators gathered at the Boston Police Headquarters in Roxbury on April 4, demanding for justice for Stephon Clark, Usaamah Rahim, Terrance Coleman, and several other victims who were killed by police officers.
Enough is Enough: School Walkout at St. Lawrence University
By Wyatt Adams
At 10:00 a.m. on March 14th, St. Lawrence students and faculty gathered on the university’s Quad as part of the national school walkout against gun violence in schools. More than 200 students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered despite heavy snowfall in a show of solidarity with students across the nation standing up against the epidemic of shootings in America’s schools.
Attack on Academia, Part 5: Interview with Tommy Curry
By Sarita Farnelli
"We’re moving back into a period of time when being a Black academic or a racialized minority in the university is an extremely dangerous occupation. People are threatening our lives because of our research. People are threatening our jobs because of our research." --Dr. Tommy Curry
Attack on Academia, Part 4: Interview with Melissa Zimdars
By Sarita Farnelli
In November 2016, facing Donald Trump’s impending election, Zimdars created a document to help her students practice analyzing the credibility of various websites claiming to share news. After the list went viral, Zimdars was doxxed by alt-right activists, and quickly received a series of threats. At one point, campus security had to be posted outside her office door.
Attack on Academia, Part 3: Interview with Lisa Durden
By Sarita Farnelli
After appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight to defend a Black Lives Matter event, Lisa Durden was met with a wave of online harassment and subsequently fired by Essex County College. However, Durden’s side of the story, revealing the lack of due process and communication from the college, indicates deeper problems faced by adjuncts, people of color and women that regularly contribute to similar incidents to her firing, which she described as a “public lynching.”
The Lightning Strike of False Rape Accusations
By Christian Exoo
The chances of being falsely accused of rape are similar to being struck by lightning-- one in a million. So why is the Department of Education meeting with men’s rights activists who perpetuate the myth of false accusations?
Attack on Academia, Part 2: Interview with Dana Cloud
By Sarita Farnelli
This is the second installment of Attack on Academia, a series of interviews with academics who have endured sustained campaigns of threats and harassment from the alt-right. The first installment, an interview with Heidi Czerwiec, can be found here.
Attack on Academia, Part 1: Interview with Heidi Czerwiec
By Sarita Farnelli
This is the first installment of Attack on Academia, a series of interviews with academics who have endured sustained campaigns of threats and harassment from the alt-right.
Sinaloa, Mexico: Remembering Javier Valdez and Standing for Freedom of Expression
By Savannah Crowley
In her latest post for our Weaving the Streets project, Savannah Crowley reflects on her experience of traveling to Culiacan, Sinaloa (Mexico), to “learn from activists and community leaders on the ground who are building peace in the heart of the Drug War” in the aftermath of the assassination of renowned journalist Javier Valdez.
A Migrant's Story: The Real Human Face of the North Country Dairy Industry (II)
By Julianne DeGuardi
In the second installment of her three-part profile of migrant farm worker Juan Garcia, Weave News reporter Julianne DeGuardi details Juan’s story of moving among a number of different work opportunities in New York, Vermont, and Kentucky. Read Part I.