America’s Prison Abolition Movement Fights On

The United States is home to nearly 25% of the world’s prison population. Activists are fighting to dismantle the prison system, hoping to strengthen communities instead. 

Protest against police brutality in Minnesota, 2013. Fibonacci Blue. CC BY 2.0   

The United States maintains the highest prison population rate in the world. Despite making up only 5% of the world’s population, the United States is home to 25% of the world’s prisoners. There is no question that the United States has a mass incarceration problem. For decades, activists have argued that the prison system perpetuates racism, sexism and inequality, leading to what is often seen as a radical solution: prison abolition. 

In the wake of the recent stream of anti-police brutality protests, discussion has turned toward prison abolition. Prison abolition is not just about getting rid of physical prisons; abolitionists aim to undo societal structures that lead to incarceration, known as the prison-industrial complex. The prison-industrial complex is a term used to describe “the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems.” Prison abolition is really the abolition of the prison-industrial complex, with the ultimate goal being to eliminate policing, imprisonment and surveillance and to redistribute government spending from these industries to support housing, education, jobs and health care. 

The concept of prison abolition has been around since the 1980s. Following the war on drugs, which increased prison sentences for both drug dealers and users and more than doubled the prison population from 1980 to 2000, activists began protesting the prison system. They argued that too many nonviolent offenders were being incarcerated, that wealth inequality was a major factor in who was locked up, and that people of color were disproportionately imprisoned. Black and Hispanic people in the U.S. are still incarcerated at higher rates than White people, data shows. The movement gained prominence in the 1990s, when Angela Davis and Ruth Wilson Gilmore co-founded Critical Resistance, a national anti-prison organization with a focus on the prison-industrial complex and abolition. In 1998, Critical Resistance hosted a three-day conference to examine and challenge the prison-industrial complex. The conference was considered a success, but made clear how much work still had to be done to undo a society that maintains mass incarceration. 

“The abolition movement focuses on preventive rather than punitive measures.”

Skeptics of the abolition movement often ask what will happen to violent offenders, like murderers and rapists, if prisons are shut down. The movement’s supporters have two responses. First, abolition activists ask: is the current prison-industrial complex actually effectively addressing the issues behind rape and murder? Most activists say no. Despite the copious amounts of money funneled into supporting the prison-industrial complex annually, the threats of sexual assault and murder, among other crimes, are still sources of concern across the country. The prison-industrial complex locks criminals up, but has not actually addressed the root of the crimes in society. Plus, as prison abolition activist Woods Ervin points out, the prison-industrial complex itself perpetuates some crimes, like when prison guards sexually assault incarcerated people. Second, supporters point out that abolitionists want to help communities address underlying issues, like wealth inequality, that contribute to the rise of crime in the first place. Abolitionists want to build up infrastructures in communities in order to reduce interpersonal issues and create a world where people don’t feel driven into committing crimes. The abolition movement focuses on preventive rather than punitive measures. Ultimately, how crime is dealt with after prison abolition “is going to depend on each scenario,” Ervin says, and on the community in which it takes place. 

Prisons won’t be shut down tomorrow, but activists in the abolition movement are fighting to ensure that prisons will one day be obsolete, and communities will have a stronger foundation to deal with eliminating inequality. The recent killings by police officers and subsequent anti-police brutality protests have illuminated some of the issues with the prison-industrial complex, and highlight the need for a new system. 

To Get Involved: 

To locate your local chapter of Critical Resistance, the national anti-prison organization, and find information on volunteer opportunities or how to become a member, click here.

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

8 Surprisingly Vibrant Desert Destinations

Deserts are much more than the beating sun and rolling sand dunes we often picture. These eight destinations showcase the incredible natural beauty of the desert, from salt flats and chalk formations to mountains and glaciers. 

Though deserts are often thought of as just hot, dry expanses of sand, they come in a variety of climates and landscapes and hold some of the world’s most fascinating natural formations. Deserts “are areas that receive very little precipitation,” making them arid but not necessarily hot and sandy. Many deserts are mountainous, and others are large expanses of rock or salt flats. Though their arid environment makes water in deserts scarce, they are far from lifeless. Plants and animals, including humans, have adapted to desert life. One-sixth of the Earth’s population lives in deserts, which are found on every continent. 

These eight desert destinations range from freezing to boiling in temperature and are all unique, with their own attractions and plant and animal life. Each of these stunning deserts is worth a visit, and they may change your opinion of the desert as a stark, lonely place to one of beautiful landscapes blooming with culture, history and life. 

White and Black Deserts, Egypt 

Located just a few hours from Cairo, Egypt’s White and Black deserts are two stunning and underappreciated visitor attractions. The White Desert is located in the Farafra Depression, a section of Egypt’s Western Desert, and boasts some of the most unique geological landscapes in the country. Incredible wind-carved white chalk formations rise from the sand in the shapes of towering mushrooms and pebbles, giving the White Desert its name. The White Desert stretches over 30 miles, and the most visited area is the southern portion closest to Farafra. To the north of the White Desert is the Black Desert, where volcanic mountains have eroded to coat the sand dunes with a layer of black powder and rocks. In the Black Desert, visitors can climb up English Mountain and look out over the landscape. The Egyptian Tourism Authority recommends booking a tour to explore the deserts in depth, and travelers can even stay in the White Desert overnight. 

Joshua Tree National Park, California 

Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California is where two different desert ecosystems meet. Parts of the Mojave and the Colorado deserts are both found in Joshua Tree, along with a distinctive variety of plant and animal life. The Joshua tree, the park’s namesake, is the most identifiable of the plants, with its twisted, spindly branches and spiky clusters of greenery. Some of the park’s most popular attractions are Skull Rock; Keys View, a lookout with views of the Coachella Valley and the San Andreas Fault; and Cottonwood Spring Oasis, which was a water stop for prospectors and miners in the late 1800s. Joshua Tree National Park has roughly 300 miles of hiking trails for visitors to explore. The park is open 24 hours and can be visited at any time of the year, but visitation rises during the fall due to the cool weather and is at its height during the wildflower bloom in the spring. 

Atacama Desert, Chile 

Trips to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile are likened to visiting Mars on Earth. The dry, rocky terrain is so similar to that of Mars that NASA tests its Mars-bound rovers here. The Atacama Desert, the driest desert on Earth, spans over 600 miles between the Andes and the Chilean Coastal Range. Some weather stations set up in the Atacama have never seen rain. Despite its dryness, the desert is home to thousands of people, as well as plants and animals. People have been living in the Atacama Desert for centuries; mummies were discovered in the Atacama dating back to 7020 B.C., even before the oldest known Egyptian mummies. Attractions in the Atacama Desert include El Tatio geyser field, the Chaxa Lagoon, the Atacama salt flats, and sand dunes over 300 feet tall. The Atacama Desert is also said to have some of the clearest night skies in the world, making it perfect for stargazing. It is best to avoid a trip to the Atacama during the summer months, as the high temperatures make for a sweltering visit. 

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia 

The world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni, covers 3,900 square miles in the southwestern corner of Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni is so large it can be seen from space and holds an estimated 10 billion tons of salt. Beneath the salt flat is approximately 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. This lithium is carefully extracted and used for powering laptops, electric cars and smartphones. Salar de Uyuni is surrounded by scenic lakes, geysers and rock formations, and is one of the world’s most beautiful and untouched natural landscapes. Tours of Salar de Uyuni take visitors to the Valley of Rocks; Morning Sun, which is home to geysers and mud pots; Colchani, a salt-processing village; and the Polques Hot Springs, where travelers can soak in warm thermal water. The landscape of Salar de Uyuni changes based on the seasons, so travelers should plan their visits around what they want to see. From July to October, access to all sites of Salar de Uyuni is unrestricted, but during the rainy season from December to April, visitors may be able to witness the salt flat’s famous mirror effect, where a thin layer of water over the salt transforms the land into the world’s largest mirror. 

Tanque Verde Ranch, Arizona 

Located just outside of Tucson, Arizona, near Saguaro National Park and the Rincon Mountains, Tanque Verde Ranch gives visitors “the ultimate dude ranch experience.” The ranch sprawls over 640 acres and stocks over 150 horses. Visitors to the ranch can get a real-life cowboy experience, including horseback riding and team penning. Riders of all experience levels will find something to do at Tanque Verde, where visitors can take beginning, intermediate and advanced lessons and then go on a sunrise or sunset trail ride through the Arizona desert. Tanque Verde Ranch offers kids’ riding activities too, as well as activities for non-riders such as yoga, mountain biking, fishing, swimming and pickleball. Visitors should pack long pants and closed-toe shoes if they plan to ride, and casual wear is appropriate for all non-riding times. Trips to the ranch usually last around four days, and visitors stay on the property. Tanque Verde Ranch is open to visitors year-round. 

Gobi Desert, Mongolia 

Spanning most of southern Mongolia and its border with China, the Gobi Desert contains stunning views and years of history. The region was once populated by dinosaurs, and some of the best-preserved fossils in the world were found near the Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag. The Gobi Desert showcases a variety of natural beauty, from towering sand dunes to incredible white granite formations. Dry desert plants that come to life after rain make the Gobi unique, as well as ”saxaul forests” made up of sand-colored shrubbery. Visitors to the Gobi Desert should explore the Khongor Sand Dunes, an area that offers rocky and mountainous terrain in the south, dry and barren terrain in the center, and several oases in the north. Other major attractions are the Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag, where red clay seems to glow in the sun, and the Gobi Waterfall, which looks like a city in ruins but is a completely natural formation. The best time to visit the Gobi Desert is either in late spring or in autumn, when the weather is neither too hot nor too cold.

Nk’Mip Desert, Canada 

Also called the Okanagan Desert, Canada’s Nk’Mip Desert contains the most endangered landscape in Canada. Located in Osoyoos in British Columbia, the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Center is a 1,600-acre area of the Okanagan Desert managed by the Osoyoos Indian Band, and is the only fully intact area of desert in Canada. The desert is situated in a semiarid microclimate. The cultural center was designed to be eco-friendly and resembles the traditional winter homes of the Osoyoos Indian Band. Visitors can explore the desert on walking trails, which are surrounded by sage, prickly pear cactuses and antelope brush, as well as sculptures of desert creatures and native peoples by Smoker Marchand. The trails take visitors through a traditional Osoyoos village, where they will find a traditional sweat lodge and pit house. Many visitors prefer to explore Nk’Mip Desert in the summer due to the region’s relatively cold winters. 

Patagonian Desert, Argentina and Chile

The Patagonian Desert is South America’s largest desert and the seventh-largest in the world. It covers parts of southern Argentina and Chile, and is a cold desert, sometimes reaching a high temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The Patagonian Desert is home to two national parks: Torres del Paine National Park in Chile and Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina. Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares aren’t typical desert environments, but since the Patagonian is a cold desert, its landscape is different from that of most deserts. Before the Andes were formed, the Patagonian Desert was likely covered by temperate forests, so the region containing the desert, Patagonia, is extremely ecologically and geographically diverse. Torres del Paine National Park is known for its towering granite structures, which were shaped by glaciers. Los Glaciares is home to large glaciers, as well as scenic mountains, lakes and woods. The Cueva de las Manos, or “Cave of Hands,” is a series of caves in Argentinian Patagonia which are filled with paintings of hands dating back to 700 A.D., likely made by ancestors of the Tehuelche people. Tehuelche people live in Patagonia today, some still following a nomadic lifestyle. The best time to visit Patagonia is generally said to be in the summer (December to February), when the days are warm and the fauna is in full bloom, but there are merits to exploring the area at all times of year. 

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing. 

Land Witness Project Fights Climate Change in New Mexico

New Mexico is one of the states most vulnerable to climate change. The Land Witness Project shares stories of how climate change has impacted New Mexico communities and what needs to be done to prevent its effects. 

The time to reverse the environmental damage caused by humans is now. Climate change is worsening, and the window to mitigate and undo the harm to our environment narrows every day. The Land Witness Project, which launched in September, is a collection of stories from people with “deep emotional and physical ties to New Mexico” about the way climate change has impacted their lives. 

Focus areas of the project, according to its website, are water, temperature, snowfall and fire. New Mexico is one of the states in the U.S. most vulnerable to climate change. The Union of Concerned Scientists wrote in a 2016 article that climate change alters weather patterns that impact temperature, water availability and weather extremes in New Mexico. Average annual temperatures in the state have increased 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970, causing hotter summers, shorter and less predictable winters, and early springs. Early springs mean earlier snowmelt, which leads to low stream flows during later, more environmentally and economically critical, parts of the year. Since the article was published in 2016, New Mexico’s climate situation has only grown more dire. 

The Land Witness Project shares stories from New Mexicans about “families and traditions, doubt and worry, land and water, and love and commitment” from ranchers, farmers, conservationists, business owners and environmental justice activists. The project is inclusive, with stories from a diverse range of New Mexicans, including Indigenous communities. Beata Tsosie-Pena, a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo, is one of the first people whose story is up on the website. Over 80% of Santa Clara Pueblo’s tribal lands have been lost due to wildfires, and Tsosie-Pena describes how long-term drought and nuclear weapons production are factors in this loss of land. Tsosie-Pena also discusses how Indigenous people are both more vulnerable to the effects of climate change and uniquely positioned to offer solutions to climate change that could benefit everyone. 

The Land Witness Project was funded by 350 New Mexico and the Isora Foundation. 350 New Mexico’s goal is to create an inclusive movement to prevent climate change and climate injustice in New Mexico while allowing New Mexicans to fight the fossil fuel industry and transition to renewable energy. The Isora Foundation is an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based family foundation that aims to empower individuals to make positive change within their communities in areas like health, social justice, education and economic development. 

The Land Witness Project is accepting submissions of stories about how New Mexico communities are impacted by climate change, which can be sent in through their website here. In addition to providing firsthand accounts about climate change in order to inspire change, the project’s website has a list of resources for how individuals can get involved in the fight, including volunteer opportunities and organizations seeking donations.

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

Street Artists Save Protest Masterpieces

Artists adorned New York City with Black Lives Matter tributes. But what becomes of graffiti when the world tries to erase it?

A mural in Minneapolis remembers George Floyd’s life. Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0.

SoHo prepared for the worst. In the days before the election, the Manhattan neighborhood’s famed boutiques and shops barricaded their windows with plywood to protect their merchandise from looters. After a summer of uprising, one more round of rioting seemed inevitable. The wooden boards provided yet another reminder of how unlivable 2020 had become. It was as if the neighborhood shut its eyes to a reality too bleak to bear. 

Enter into this dismal cityscape the artists who first put SoHo on the map. Before high-end shops and wealthy shoppers gentrified this stylish slice of Manhattan, street artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat adorned its concrete buildings with graffiti. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, countless creatives made SoHo an international hub for artists of all stripes. Now, history comes full circle. Street artists see a rare and irresistible opportunity to take the plywood covering SoHo’s shops and create masterpieces. 

Peace, love and police abolition. iamrenny. CCO 1.0.

Among them are Konstance Patton and Trevor Croop. This past summer, Patton focused on her Goddess Project, adorning the streets with vibrant, noble portraits of Black and Indigenous women. Croop spent much of 2020 abroad, leading art workshops and reconnecting with his Lebanese heritage. Within days of his return to the U.S., the two met on the street, throwing up artwork side by side. 

Both seasoned street artists, they knew firsthand how transitory the form can be. An artist might spend hours on a painting that will be erased in a matter of days. The situation in SoHo is much more fraught. When businesses began reopening, they trashed the pieces painted on sheets of plywood. Others scrambled to grab as many panels as they could and loaded them into vans to sell to the highest bidder. 

Can’t we just get along? iamrenny. CCO 1.0.

Recognizing the inestimable value of these pieces of art, Patton and Croop founded the SoHo Renaissance Factory (SRF), which stores wooden boards bearing protest art in an empty SoHo dance studio. It consists of themselves and three fellow artists: Sule, Amir Diop and Brendan McNally. They developed an extensive network of friends, artists and security guards who alert them when a work of art is about to be trashed. They rush to the scene in an attempt to save the piece. Sometimes they arrive in the nick of time; other times they do not.

SRF member Amir Diop experienced the latter firsthand. During the protests demanding justice for the death of George Floyd, Diop painted a mural on the plywood boards covering the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) design store. It showed smiling faces circling around a black hole beneath the words “Take me to a place where Black Lives Matter.” Only days after he painted it, MoMA tore down the piece and shredded it. In the words of Diop, “They said that place doesn’t exist and they just threw it in the garbage.”

Spray their names. drburtoni. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Street artists enjoy few legal protections. The Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) of 1990 protected art from being mutilated or destroyed but only if it reached a “recognized stature.” In the digital age, this term is ambiguous. Instead of a signature, artists leave their social media handles in a painting’s corner, raising the question of whether online fame qualifies under VARA. For the time being, however, artists cannot depend on the art establishment. If the MoMA won’t recognize art, it is unlikely that a court will. 

A moment to remember. drburtoni. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The future of the SRF is unclear, but it does look promising. The group recently struck a deal with Mana Contemporary, an arts center in New Jersey, to display the wooden boards in a public show next year when COVID-19 restrictions hopefully ease up. For now, the SRF has moved to a spacious studio in the NoMo SoHo Hotel, where it landed a residency. The new space offers a comfortable environment to create art, but the work of the SRF will always be rooted in the streets.

See the work of the SoHo Renaissance Factory on its website:

https://sohorenaissancefactory.com/

Or check out each artist’s work on their Instagram pages:

Konstance Patton - @konartstudio

Trevor Croop - @light.noise

Sule - @sulecantcook

Amir Diop - @amir.diop99

Brendan McNally - @brendantmcnally

You can also support the mission of the SoHo Renaissance Factory by getting involved with organizations that support racial justice, some of them listed below:

Black Lives Matter - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Color of Change - https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-us?refcode=coc_website_popup

SURJ - https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/donate-to-surj.html

Organizations for Black Struggle - https://www.obs-stl.org/

Project South - https://projectsouth.org/

Michael McCarthy

Michael is an undergraduate student at Haverford College, dodging the pandemic by taking a gap year. He writes in a variety of genres, and his time in high school debate renders political writing an inevitable fascination. Writing at Catalyst and the Bi-Co News, a student-run newspaper, provides an outlet for this passion. In the future, he intends to keep writing in mediums both informative and creative.

10 Isolated Travel Destinations in the US 

Thinking about your next trip once the pandemic eases? This year, try one of these remote spots where isolation will be the theme. From Maine to Montana, explore nature free from crowds.

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10 Places to Honor Black History and Culture

Through artwork, literature, music and history, these institutions amplify Black voices and address race relations in America.  

George Floyd protests in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clay Banks. Unsplash.

Amid global protests against racial injustice, a growing number of people are educating themselves on systemic racism and white privilege.

1. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park - Atlanta, Georgia

Martin Luther King Jr. locating civil rights protests. Thomas Hawk. CC BY-NC 2.0

Located in one of Atlanta’s historic districts, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park honors the activist who strove for racial equality. The site includes a museum chronicling the American civil rights movement, as well as Dr. King’s childhood home, garden and gravesite. With 185 varieties of roses, the “I Have a Dream” World Peace Rose Garden promotes peace between diverse world communities. Each year, students from the greater Atlanta area write poems that express the ideals of MLK, such as using civil disobedience to reach seemingly impossible goals. These “Inspirational Messages of Peace” are exhibited among the flowers and are read by thousands of visitors each year. Directly across the street is the final resting place of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, his wife, surrounded by a reflection pool. 

Until his assassination in 1968, King preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church, known as “America’s Freedom Church.” The church has continued to serve the Atlanta community since his death, vowing to “feed the poor, liberate the oppressed, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked and visit those who are sick or imprisoned.” While sitting in the pews, visitors hear prerecorded sermons and speeches from Martin Luther King Jr. Most recently, the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man fatally shot by police, was held at the church, with hundreds of prominent pastors, elected officials and activists in attendance. 

2. National Museum of African American History and Culture - Washington, D.C.

A student at the NMAAHC uses an interactive learning tool. U.S. Department of Education. CC BY 2.0

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is the only museum devoted exclusively to African American life, history and culture. In the words of Lonnie Bunch III, founding director of the NMAAHC, “The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American.” From slavery to the civil rights movement, the museum aims to preserve and document Black experiences in America. With the launch of the Many Lenses initiative, students will gain a greater understanding of African American history by studying museum artifacts and discussing cultural perspectives alongside scholars, curators and community educators. Through the Talking About Race program, the museum provides tools and guidance to empower people of color and inspire conversations about racial injustice. 

3. Black Writers Museum - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Langston Hughes, a famous writer featured at the BWM, signs autographs. Washington Area Spark. CC BY-NC 2.0

Built in 1803, the historic Vernon House includes the Black Writers Museum (BWM), the first museum in the country to exhibit classic and contemporary Black literature. The BWM celebrates Black authors, like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, who documented the resilience and resistance of African Americans throughout history. Supreme D. Dow, founder and executive director of the Black Writers Museum, noted, “There was a time in American history when Black people were denied the human right to read or write. But, because of the innate drive to satisfy the unquenchable thirst for self determination, our ancestors taught themselves how to read and write in righteous defiance of the law, and in the face of fatal repercussions.” Through books, newspapers, journals and magazines, the museum honors the Black narrators of history. The BWM also strives to inspire future African American authors with community activities like poetry readings, cultural arts festivals and book signings. 

4. Tubman Museum - Macon, Georgia

Artwork depicting Harriet Tubman on the Underground Railroad. UGArdener. CC BY-NC 2.0

Named after Harriet Tubman, the “Black Moses” who led hundreds of slaves to freedom, the Tubman Museum has become a key educational and cultural center for the entire American Southeast. Through artwork and artifacts, the main exhibits recount the struggles and triumphs of Tubman, a former slave, abolitionist and spy. The “From the Minds of African Americans” Gallery displays inventions from Black inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs, such as Madam C.J. Walker and George Washington Carver. The Tubman Museum also actively contributes to the Macon, Georgia, community. The Arts & History Outreach program takes Black history beyond museum walls. Local African American artists and teachers bring museum resources into the classroom, promoting hands-on learning. Due to COVID-19, the museum recently launched a distance learning program to provide people at home with a deeper understanding of the African American experience. 

5. Museum of the African Diaspora - San Francisco, California

Contemporary art by Kehinde Wiley exhibited at the MoAD. Garret Ziegler. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), a contemporary art museum, celebrates Black culture from the perspective of African diaspora. Focused exclusively on African migration throughout history, the museum presents artwork, photography and artifacts related to the themes of origin, movement, adaptation and transformation. Currently, MoAD is featuring various exhibitions from emerging artists that explore ancestral memory and Black visibility. As active members of the San Francisco community, museum curators offer various programs like public film screenings, artist talks and musical performances. In response to worldwide protests, the museum created a guide with resources to support Black Americans, as well as a video series that promotes community resilience. Monetta White, MoAD’s executive director, announced, “Now more than ever, we affirm that Museums are Not Neutral. As humanitarian educators and forums for conversation, museums are a space to confront some of the most uncomfortable conversations in human history.”

6. National Museum of African American Music - Nashville, Tennessee

Jimi Hendrix, a featured musician at the NMAAM. Clausule. Public Domain.

Scheduled to open its doors for the first time on Sept. 5, the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) will be the first museum in the world to showcase African American influence on various genres of music, such as classical, country, jazz and hip-hop. NMAAM will integrate history and interactive technology to share music through the lens of Black Americans. “African American music has long been a reflection of American culture. Additionally, African American musicians often used their art as a ‘safe’ way to express the way they felt about the turbulent times our country faced,” said Kim Johnson, director of programs at the museum. NMAAM will also support the Nashville community through various outreach programs. From Nothing to Something explores the music that early African Americans created using tools like spoons, banjos, cigar box guitars and washtub basins. Children receive their own instruments, learning how simple resources influenced future music genres. Another program, Music Legends and Heroes, promotes leadership, teamwork and creativity in young adults. Students work together to produce a musical showcase in honor of Black musicians. In 2015, student guitarists paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix, the rock icon. “This opportunity gave them a real-life connection to an artist they had only seen in their textbooks or online,” said Hope Hall, librarian at the Nashville School of the Arts.

7. The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration - Montgomery, Alabama

Exterior of the Legacy Museum. Sonia Kapadia. CC BY-SA 4.0

The Legacy Museum is located in a former slave auction warehouse, where thousands of Black people were trafficked during the domestic slave trade. The museum employs unique technology to portray the enslavement of African Americans, the evolution of racial terror lynchings, legalized racial segregation and racial hierarchy in America. Visitors encounter replicas of slave pens and hear first-person accounts of enslaved people, along with looking at photographs and videos from the Jim Crow laws, which segregated Black Americans until 1965. The Legacy Museum also explores contemporary issues of inequality, like mass incarceration and police violence. As part of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), the museum is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, with proceeds going toward marginalized communities. “Our hope is that by telling the history of the African American experience in this country, we expose the narratives that have allowed us to tolerate suffering and injustice among people of color,” says Sia Sanneh, member of EJI. 

8. African American Military History Museum - Hattiesburg, Mississippi 

Circa 1942, the Tuskegee Airmen pose in front of their aircraft. Signaleer. Public Domain.

The African American Military History Museum educates the public about African American contributions to the United States’ military. During World War II, the building functioned as a segregated club for African American soldiers. Transformed in 2009, the museum now commemorates the courage and patriotism of Black soldiers, who have served in every American conflict since the Revolutionary War. Artifacts, photographs and medals tell the story of how African Americans overcame racial boundaries to serve their country. For instance, the World War II exhibit features the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American soldiers to successfully enter the Army Air Corps. 

9. National Voting Rights Museum and Institute - Selma, Alabama 

The 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery for the right to vote. Abernathy Family. Public Domain.

In the historic district of Selma, Alabama, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute honors the movement to end voter discrimination. With memorabilia and documentation, the museum illustrates the struggle of Black Americans to obtain voting rights. In 1965, nearly 600 civil rights marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, hoping to reach Montgomery. However, the day became known as “Bloody Sunday” as local law enforcement attacked peaceful protesters with clubs and tear gas. While the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed voting practices that disenfranchised African Americans, many believe voter suppression still exists through strict photo ID laws for voters, a failure to provide bilingual ballots, and ex-felon disenfranchisement laws. By educating the public, the museum hopes to forever dismantle the barriers of voting in the United States. 

10. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - Cincinnati, Ohio

On the banks of the Ohio River, a statue depicts a mother and her child escaping slavery. Living-Learning Programs. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Near the Ohio River, where thousands of slaves traveled in search of freedom, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center reveals the ongoing struggle for autonomy. From the historical vantage point of the Underground Railroad, the museum promotes the modern abolition of slavery. Due to widespread human trafficking, nearly 40 million people are currently enslaved around the world. As stated on the museum’s website, “Despite the triumphant prose of our American history books, slavery didn’t fully end 150 years ago. Today and throughout time, people around the world have struggled for their freedom. Yet, as forms of slavery evolve, so do the imaginations of those fighting for freedom.” Through artifacts, photographs and first-person accounts, the museum introduces the men and women who have resisted slavery. “Invisible: Slavery Today” is the world's first permanent exhibition on the subjects of modern-day slavery and human trafficking, challenging and inspiring visitors to promote freedom today. 

Shannon Moran

is a Journalism major at the University of Georgia, minoring in English and Spanish. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she is passionate about languages, cultural immersion, and human rights activism. She has visited seven countries and thirty states and hopes to continue traveling the world in pursuit of compelling stories.

The Threat to America that’s been Growing Inside America

While the Middle East and the border crisis get all the attention, Charlottesville and El Paso remind us that America’s worst threat is right here at home.

White supremacists gathered for the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. By Anthony Crider. CC by 2.0.

August 12th 2017, fresh out of my first year at the University of Virginia, I sat in front of my TV horrified, watching white supremacists marching through a place I had recently starting calling home. Headlines on every major paper ran with Trump’s quote regarding “fine people on both sides.”

When classes started in the fall, my peers and I returned to Charlottesville deeply unsettled by what had happened on our grounds. Our community was rocked to its core. However, the rest of the world quickly moved on without us.

 The past two years, this weekend has marked a time for remembrance, but also caution and fear in Charlottesville. The dates, August 11th and 12th, have become something of the towns very on 9/11, and the police presence during these two days isn’t easy to ignore. The events that took place to years ago are on our minds, however, not on the mind of the nation.  

The march on Charlottesville was the last time I saw white supremacy dominate all the major headlines, that is, until this weekend’s mass shooting in El Paso. We, as a nation, let ourselves become distracted and forgetful of a real problem that’s been growing in the heart of our country. We can point to how the nation has so eagerly embraced the narrative of the “dangerous outsider” to explain why.  

 A decade ago, the Department of Homeland Security released a report on the growing threat of right wing extremism, correctly predicting “the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.” However, this warning was not given serious merit by the Trump administration. President Trump’s transition team made it clear to the DHS that it wanted to focus on Islamic terrorism and reorient programs meant to counter violent extremism to exclusively target international threats like al-Qaeda and ISIL. These Islamic terrorist groups have stayed in the headlines, despite the fact they no longer pose a serious domestic threat. It should come as no surprise that this June the FBI reported a significant rise in white supremacist domestic terrorism in recent months.

 President Trump’s rhetoric has also turned American’s attention away from the alt-right matter at hand, and turned our attention to what he would call an “infestation.” Searching through theTrump Twitter Archive, I failed to find one mention of domestic terrorism, white nationalists or the growing menace they pose to our country. After all, why shouldn’t Trump protect his loyal voter base? It’s no secret that white nationalists are Trump supporters; alt right leaders have even been spotted at his rallies.

President Trump says immigrants “infest” our country. Via Twitter. June 19, 2018.

The president has protected these terrorists by turning the national discussion elsewhere -the southern border. As a result, liberals have kept themselves busy investigating the disgusting conditions of border control centers and “children in cages,” while conservatives call for further border restrictions. These leaves no one time for anyone to wage war against the real domestic threat --white supremacy. 

Trump denounced “racist hate” Monday after the shooting this weekend. He blamed violent video games, mental health and, ironically, internet bigotry from prompting the Dayton and El Paso attacks. He failed to make mention of any real action that might be taken against white supremacist terrorism, let alone endorse gun law reform. 

 Had the attackers been Black, Hispanic or Middle Eastern, the White House would surely be taking extreme action. However, just like during the aftermath of Charlottesville, nothing serious is being done to combat alt-right violence. 

 Now,in light of the two year anniversary, I can’t help but wonder if our country truly took notice of the event that shook our little community two years ago. I still pass by the street where Heather Heyer was killed by a domestic terrorist who drove his car into a crowd of people two years ago. The street, now named Heather Heyer Way, remains adorned with chalk writing, flowers and crosses dedicated to her memory. How many more memorials must we lay in El Paso, and the rest of the world, before we address the white supremacist threat?  






EMILY DHUE is a third year student at the University of Virginia majoring in media. She is currently studying abroad in Valencia, Spain. She's passionate about writing that makes an impact, and storytelling through digital platforms.






Literacy… for Whom?

The significance of the Gary B. v. Snyder lawsuit dismissal.

Detroit students opened up the conversation on who has the right to education (Source: Steve Neavling).

On June 29, 2018 US District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III dismissed a federal class-action lawsuit, Gary B. v. Snyder. The lawsuit, filed in 2016 by Public Counsel and Sidley Austin LLP on behalf of a class of students, claimed the plaintiffs were deprived of the right to literacy. The decision will be appealed at the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Although Judge Murphy agreed a degree of literacy is important for such matters as voting and job searching, he did not say it was fundamental: constitutional.  The central reasoning for the dismissal of the case was the suit failed to show overt racial discrimination by the defendants in charge of the Detroit Public Schools: the state of Michigan. The other reasoning Judge Murphy provided was that the 14th amendment’s due process clause does not require Michigan provide “minimally adequate education.”

Meanwhile the case brings up an important question its initial filing gave rise to: is literacy a constitutional right? One could argue the importance of literacy goes back to Reconstruction. According to Professor Derek Black, Southern states had to rewrite their constitutions with an education guarantee in addition to passing the 14th amendment before they could be readmitted into the US. Black states “the explicit right of citizenship in the 14th  Amendment included an implicit right to education.”

The theme of education and citizenship is a central component to the complaint’s argument for literacy as a fundamental right. It appeared in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case too, which emphasized that education was “the very foundation of good citizenship.” The complaint drew on this citizenship theme to argue the importance of establishing elementary literacy tools—about the equivalent of a 3rd grade reading level. These can then develop into adolescent literacy skills, which allow an individual to comprehend and engage with words. Such engagement is what democratic citizens need when they are making decisions on who to vote; even more importantly, literacy is essential to understanding the often complex ballots voting requires. Further, literacy allows one to take part in political conversations.

The schools in question also “serve more than 97% children of color,” according to the complaint. Many of these students also come from low income families. On the 2017 Nation’s Report Card the average score out of 500 for reading was 182 for Detroit 4th graders, compared to the national average of 213 in other large city school districts. If the 1982 Pyler v. Doe case argued children could not be denied free public education that is offered to other children within the same state—in line with the 14th amendment—then why the disparity in scores?

The plaintiffs believe the disparity lies in deeply rooted issues in the Detroit Public Schools. They argue literacy tools that are first taught in elementary school are not only unavailable to them but that their schools are also not adequate environments for fostering education.The complaint mentions unsanitary conditions, extreme classroom temperatures, and overcrowded classrooms as environmental stressors. They also mention inadequate classroom materials as well as outdated and overused textbooks.

Worn history textbook from 1998 (source: Public Counsel).

Not only is the school environment not conducive to learning for these students but their teachers are often not the proper facilitators for learning. The complaint mention such issues as high teacher turnover, frequent teacher absences, lack of short term substitute teachers, inadequate teacher training, and allowance of non-certified individuals.  The complaint also states students at these schools may also have unaddressed issues related to trauma teachers are not trained for.

And the solution to these discrepancies could very well be what the plaintiffs are arguing for: make literacy, education, a fundamental right. In a 2012 Pearson study on global education systems, the US was number 17. All the countries ahead of the US had either a constitutional guarantee of education or a statue acknowledging the role of education. According to Stephen Lurie, this creates a baseline ruling of what education entails: a culture of education around which laws can form.

Such a baseline ensures education is not a question of privilege. Indeed such conditions as the complaint mentions, as lawyer Mark Rosenbaum stated, would be “unthinkable in schools serving predominantly white, affluent student populations.”  What Gary B. v. Sanders is asking for is a safe school environment, trained teachers, and basic instructional materials. It is asking that Detroit students are guaranteed a minimum of education that will at least give them the chance other students in Michigan have at becoming informed citizens and adults.

Teresa Nolwalk

Teresa Nolwalk is a student at the University of Virginia studying anthropology and history. In her free time she loves traveling, volunteering in the Charlottesville community, and listening to other people’s stories. She does not know where her studies will take her, but is certain writing will be a part of whatever the future has in store.