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Bridging the class divide

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activism

The Work to Be Done This Labor Day

August 31, 2018 by Miranda Cunningham Leave a Comment

On Labor Day 2018, it’s hard to maintain hope. Many will labor on Labor Day (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Growing up in a blue-collar union household, working on holidays was considered a boon). Many labor in worse conditions than our parents and grandparents. The Gig Economy The gig economy leaves millions on their […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Classism in the Economy, Classist Corporations, Corporate power, Dismantlng Classism, Labor movement, Poverty, Systemic Classism Tagged With: activism, community organizing, downward mobility, low-wage jobs, middle class, Minimum wage, public services, race and class, social movements, unions

Addressing Food Insecurity on Campus

February 15, 2018 by René Franceschini Leave a Comment

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had been both poorly understood and oftentimes neglected until very recently. I think the overwhelming view of the administration was that students were, in general, […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Class in Higher Education, Classism, Classism in Higher Education, Cross-class alliances, Money Tagged With: academia, activism, community organizing, education, money

Trump One Year Later: Most of Us Live in Dread

January 29, 2018 by Bill Fletcher Jr. Leave a Comment

I had a discussion with my doctor late spring 2017. I was having gastrointestinal issues, and I said to him that I kept wondering whether the anxiety that I felt about the Trump regime was affecting me physically. My doctor responded very seriously and with a straight face. He replied that many of his patients […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Dismantlng Classism, Labor movement, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, budget cuts, bullying, classism, community organizing, owning class, super-rich, tax cuts, union-bashing, working class

President Trump, One Year Later

January 29, 2018 by Josh Hoxie Leave a Comment

After 12 months that have felt like an eternity, Mr. Trump remains as greedy and volatile as ever. Donald Trump campaigned on the pledge to “Make America Great Again,” but he never did specify exactly who he wanted to make the country great for. After a year in office, we can deduce from his actions […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Corporate power, Owning class, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, bullying, owning class, privilege, super-rich, tax cuts

Cross Class Dialogue Circle

December 20, 2017 by Alana Fichman Leave a Comment

It was on a bulletin at a local coffee shop, Cross Class Dialogue Circle. What did those words mean? Cross made me think of the patterns on top of a pie. Class, I thought I knew what that was: divisions based on wealth and a word I always flinched at for some reason. Dialogue, easy: a […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Cross-class alliances, Cross-class Relationships, Dismantlng Classism Tagged With: activism, class cultures, classism, community organizing, downward mobility, health care, social movements

Cross-Class Alliances: Silicon Valley

December 20, 2017 by Lita Kurth Leave a Comment

On Labor Day, I thought, what better way to celebrate than to show up for cross-class picketing at a local McDonald’s? The first thing I saw was a line of yellow school buses bringing the picketers from the local labor council to the restaurant, partly because many workers rely on a bus, not a car […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Cross-class alliances, Dismantlng Classism, Race and Class Tagged With: activism, classism, community organizing, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, speaking up, unions

Class in Crisis

April 18, 2017 by Jude Diebold 1 Comment

Usually when I sit down to write out my thoughts on a political event, I write because I want to express an idea to resolve an issue. In fact, I would venture to say that most political writing is a reaction to some current event, with an idea of how this event can/will/should be handled. Today that is […]

Filed Under: Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Dismantlng Classism, Electoral politics Tagged With: activism, budget cuts, classism, community organizing, speaking up, working class

Five Classist Pitfalls to #Resist in Your Activism

February 13, 2017 by Davey Shlasko 4 Comments

In a moment of potentially revolutionary activism and mobilization, don’t let classism undermine your efforts. The past few weeks have been both terrifying and inspiring. In the midst of ascending totalitarianism and the drastic, likely unconstitutional roll-backs of basic rights, we are also seeing a swift mobilization from both new and established activists. Organizations and […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Cross-class alliances, Dealing with privilege, Internalized classism, LGBT & Class, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, class cultures, classism, community organizing, middle class, owning class, privilege, social movements, working class

Resistance Is Critical

January 19, 2017 by Betsy Leondar-Wright Leave a Comment

The election outcome was a shock – but wasn’t something new. Throughout U.S. history we’ve had waves of right-wing populism, when people bought into explanations of their economic hardships that scapegoat other marginalized groups and reject traditional elites. This election was a right-wing populist upsurge that few of us saw coming. We underestimated the number […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups Tagged With: activism, classism, snobs, social movements, working class

Building Bridges, Not Walls

November 24, 2016 by Class Action 1 Comment

Class Action was founded by visionaries who realized that they had grown up at different ends of the class spectrum, but who had arrived in the same place when it came to their passion for advancing social equity and justice. Their commitment to building bridges across differences – instead of building walls – continues to inform […]

Filed Under: Classism in Diversity Work, Classism in Politics, Electoral politics Tagged With: activism, classism, privilege, race and class, racism, social movements, stereotypes

Beyond Trump: Creating Class-Race Alliances

October 20, 2016 by Rahula Janowski 3 Comments

Part of the White, Working Class, and Worried about Trump (#WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump) Campaign*: I grew up in economically depressed, though beautiful, northeastern Vermont. My family was on and off welfare throughout my childhood, and we were always poor. As a child, I was acutely aware of the ways poverty set me apart from other people. As I […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Diversity Work, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Classism in the Economy, Cross-class alliances, Dismantlng Classism, Electoral politics, Institutional racism, Owning class, Politics and Class, Poverty, Race and Class Tagged With: #WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump, activism, classism, community organizing, owning class, poverty, racism, working class

Beyond Trump: Building a Coalition for Change

October 19, 2016 by Justin Stein Leave a Comment

Part of the White, Working Class, and Worried about Trump (#WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump) Campaign*: I grew up in South St. Louis City in a multi-racial, working-class neighborhood. My dad was a union carpenter, and my mom worked part-time at various jobs while maintaining the home. I’m the oldest of seven children. I remember the constant anxiety in our […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Diversity Work, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Classism in the Economy, Cross-class alliances, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism, Electoral politics, Politics and Class, Race and Class Tagged With: #WhiteWorkingClassVsTrump, activism, blaming the victim, classism, community organizing, privilege, race and class, racism, social movements, working class

Being an Owning-Class Activist

September 29, 2016 by Jennifer Ladd Leave a Comment

All of us are more than a label, right? We each are more than one of our identities standing by itself. We are complex, changing, contradictory beings, and a mystery in many ways. And yet, our identities do matter – at the very same time as those identities are not all of who we are. […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Class cultures, Cross-class alliances, Cross-class Relationships, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism, Owning class Tagged With: activism, community organizing, money, owning class, privilege, social movements, super-rich

Wealthy, Come Home

September 29, 2016 by Chuck Collins Leave a Comment

Here’s my invitation to those of you, like me, in the top of America’s income and wealth ladder. Come home.  What I mean by “coming home” is to bring your whole self – your passion, your stake in a place, your wealth and sense of agency – and throw it fully into the movements to reduce […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Cross-class alliances, Dealing with privilege, Dismantlng Classism, Money, Owning class Tagged With: activism, community organizing, Felice Yeskel, owning class, privilege, speaking up, super-rich

Where is labor on Labor Day 2014?

August 29, 2014 by Bill Fletcher Jr. Leave a Comment

With every passing year, Labor Days becomes increasingly surreal. Labor, as a movement, receives decreasing attention and, to the extent to which Labor Day is acknowledged, it tends to be in the context of work alone. This may sound strange except when you remember that both the original Labor Day—May 1st—as well as the US-constructed […]

Filed Under: Labor movement Tagged With: activism, Labor Day, movement building, unions, working class

Grassroots Voices Rising for a New Economy

May 15, 2014 by Aisha Shillingford Leave a Comment

Imagine an event where the people in control were the house cleaners, the nannies, the family farmers and the unemployed! A little over two weeks ago I attended the joint organizing summit and member assembly of National People’s Action (NPA) and National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). Entitled Rising Voices for a New Economy, the four-day […]

Filed Under: Cross-class alliances, Labor movement, Politics and Class, Workplace classism Tagged With: activism, immigrants, low-wage jobs, organizing, working class

A surprising class culture pattern

March 12, 2014 by Betsy Leondar-Wright Leave a Comment

When I was studying 25 social justice groups for Missing Class, one of my biggest surprises was a class category I hadn’t even thought to look for: lower professionals. Activists of that class had such unique ways of speaking, participating, and especially dealing with conflict that they had a notable impact on their groups. By […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups Tagged With: activism, class cultures, social movements, speaking up

Trying to survive on $8.25 an hour

December 13, 2013 by Ann Berlak and Nelson Myhand Leave a Comment

On Thursday December 5th in 130 cities across the country fast food workers walked off their jobs calling for $15 in wages and the right to form a union. In Oakland, CA, hundreds of supporters joined the action at a local McDonalds during the lunch rush hour, successfully interrupting business as usual. The crowd was […]

Filed Under: Corporate power, Labor movement, Money Tagged With: activism, corporations, greed, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage

Inspiring examples of legal protections from classism

March 1, 2013 by Traverse City Rice and Roses Human Rights Project 4 Comments

At least two cities make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of class, and we’re determined to add one more. The Traverse City Rice and Roses group’s goal is to convince the Traverse City Human Rights Board that class should be included as a protected category, like race, gender, ability, age, and sexual orientation. […]

Filed Under: Dismantlng Classism, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, class discrimination, classism

Student Leaders Lobby for Affordable Education

February 18, 2013 by Ruzielle Ganuelas Leave a Comment

Emily Dickinson once wrote, “why not have a big life?” These are the words I kept close to heart when I joined the Seattle Education Access (SEA) staff and my fellow members of the SEA Student Advisory Board Council for the SEA Lobby Day. I had never been to the State Capitol, and the closest […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, Classism, First Generation College Students, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, education, financial aid, first generation college students, immigrants, speaking up

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