In my third part of the “After the Fire” series for The Root I touch on politics, #BlackLivesMatter and the current social justice movement. In “Black Voters Matter,” I talk to several people, including Van Jones, Rev. William Barber II, Jeff Johnson, Patrisse Cullors, Charlene Carruthers, Cornell William Brooks and many more. Check it out. Continue reading
For The Root a first in a series of long-form pieces by your truly started running this Sunday. The stories, as part of “After the Fire” series, go in-depth about the state of the movement, where its been, where it’s headed and what it’s facing. The first story, “How to Burn What Can’t Catch Fire,” looks the brief, unfinished history of digital movements around racial justice. Upcoming pieces will look at divisions, politics and challenges. Continue reading
Thursday for The Root I wrote a piece about a nonprofit collective that fell apart in Baltimore like so many have before. It was meant to bring all the groups together so they could fight for various causes, but struggles to find successors who could get along and the founders moving on to other things lead to its demise, to the detriment of Baltimore’s youth. This is a similar pattern that plays out at all social justice nonprofits, where members come together around one charismatic leader, but fall apart once that leader is gone. Continue reading
