Language Matters, Too
My brother, sister and I were all brought up to speak a very clear, accent-less English with good grammar and syntax. We were not “perfect,”... Read More
Human Rights Violations: The Wrong Narrative
Every human has the right to exist and to exercise their ability to live a productive and positive life (as outlined in the Universal Declaration... Read More
Oh No He Didn’t!
Check biased behavior before it keeps your holidays from being merry and bright. As I thought last week about Thanksgiving dinner and hosting my extended... Read More
Election Day 2015
Despite “get out the vote” efforts by civic groups, nonprofit organizations, religious institutions and political parties, millions of registered voters in towns and cities across... Read More
Voting Today Means Democracy Tomorrow
I don’t think so! Democracy is often measured by free and fair elections. Free and fair generally means that individuals vote one time every two... Read More
The New Caste Class
As the top 1% grabs most of the new wealth created in the United States, a conversation about inequality has risen to the top of... Read More
Visiting the Relatives: A Worthy Vacation
My nephew Christopher loaded his three kids and his partner Sam’s three kids into their 2004 passenger van and drove the 300 miles out of... Read More
Cheap Plastic Crap …
… and the Trouble with Hating It I grew up thinking that the problem was “cheap plastic crap.” Cheap Plastic Crap (CPC) is an expansive... Read More
Who Are the Despicable Racists?
We all know that a young white man murdered nine black worshipers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S.C., just two weeks... Read More
All It Does Is Hurt
We are not wealthy people. We live in a trailer. We barely make ends meet. We are happy. We have each other. Most of the... Read More
Classism: Not Exactly Sporting
Cheering, Chanting, and Clapping – for Classism? My daughter went to public schools in Milton, Mass, which is an economically diverse suburb right outside Boston.... Read More
Why democratic ownership matters if we care about class
I often open my lectures by explaining that the current distribution of wealth in the United States—with the richest 400 people owning more of the... Read More
Flying Toward the Light: Women Transitioning from the Working to the Upper Class
When I was a teenager in the mid-80s, my parents laid out how my life was to be lived even before I lived it. As... Read More
The Benefit of the Doubt: Homelessness and Trust Stigma
I have heard some homeless people tell me that they get the police called on them ten times a day. Not for any good reason,... Read More
Through the Front Door
In recent news, New York City council members revealed that a new Manhattan high-rise, in which 20% of the units will be reserved for subsidized... Read More
The Unity of Class and the Division of Nationality
This world is divided into unrepresentative and irrelevant categories. Rather than looking at what we have in common with others, we are told to focus... Read More
Neighborhood Class Divisions and Hope for the Future
On Halloween in my neighborhood, kids come around dressed as princesses, super heroes and ghosts – nothing that would be offensive based on class, race... Read More
Labor Day, 2013: Realities and Hopes
I like to listen to Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball” album from time to time, at moments when my spirits need lifting up. In “Jack of... Read More
Reflections on the West Coast Class Action Training of Trainers
For two and a half days, a cross-class, multi-racial group of folks from all across the gender spectrum and the country met in Oakland to... Read More
Gifts, power and money
The holidays can be hard times. With all the hopes and expectations of the season up, disappointments have more room to play. And when we... Read More
Classism Exposed: Contradictions on the left
One of my pet peeves on The Left or other Progressive organizations is that when asking for donations, PLEASE tell me WHY it is okay... Read More
Who Are Congress’s Protectors of Class Privilege?
Mitt Romney and I both grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. For much of our childhoods, we were represented in... Read More
New classism book holds the keys to movement-building
Barb Jensen was a rebellious teenager. When she tells her own stories in her new book Reading Classes, readers can vicariously enjoy her mouthing off... Read More
Verizon Strike: A Teachable Moment?
Why Health Care Strikes Should Demand “Health Care For All,” Not Just “Hands Off My ‘Middle Class’ Benefits” For two weeks in August, thousands of... Read More
Visioning Our Way to Justice
I grew up in poverty, the daughter of a tenant farmer. I thought people were privileged if they lived in a house, had running water... Read More
Deep Interrelatedness and Transformation
Perhaps ending classism is not so much a political process but a spiritual one. Humanity is evolving! We are at a new and extraordinary threshold... Read More
Restorative Circles: Justice without Classism
We know the justice system is biased by inequality. The best justice money can buy. And the locations where this justice system is carried out... Read More