902 Search results for "criminal"

Yup. Non-profit culture and performative activism perpetuate ableism and anti-Blackness
In May, I quit my paid job as a counselor/ organizer in Oakland, CA. I was burned out, depressed, and incredibly frustrated with the conditions that Black folks are exposed to and expected to accept while working within social justice organizations. I had health insurance, but my co-pay was $60 and it didn’t cover mental […]
The business of prisons and the laws that make sure they exist
by Cheryldean Peters Beginning in the early 1600s, my ancestors were legally forced into slavery and robbed of their freedom. They were involuntarily exploited, beaten and forced to work as servants, which primarily helped generate income for America’s economy. Their servitude drastically enhanced local and colonial economics while creating generational wealth for their oppressors. Africans […]
Increases in police funding will not make Black people safe, it is time city leaders listened
by Philip V. McHarris Communities directly impacted by violence are starting to advocate for the diversion of funds from policing towards more community based solutions to violence and harm. Unfortunately, city leaders are not listening. Early in December, residents and community organizers attended the Minneapolis City budget hearing. They argued against allocating funds for […]
We need Restorative Justice in our schools, not more police
by Rann In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, she states, “The fate of millions of people—indeed the future of the Black community itself—may depend on the willingness of those who care about racial justice to re-examine their basic assumptions about the […]
Black and in Vietnam, my hair is not a spectacle
by Adam Mahoney I’ve been living in Vietnam for four months and from the first 30 minutes I arrived in the country, my hair was a problem. I’m a 20 year old junior in college, so when the opportunity to not be in a classroom full of wealthy, white peers presented itself, I jumped at […]
‘Queen & Slim’ and what I (don’t) want from Black love stories
This essay contains spoilers for Queen & Slim He knew how to boost cars, and had learned to do it when he was younger. She was a harder woman than most, and ended up nursing an injured leg for most of the time that they were on the run together. An officer of the law […]
Older siblings pay an unfair cost in poor Black families
by Cosima Smith Mobility is the ability to move, both physically over land (and territorial lines) and metaphorically through social and political classes and rankings. But mobility is also so much more than that: it is the chance to explore and live and interact across dividing lines, it in itself can be a lifeline when […]
How the myth that all Black parents give kids “the talk” about police is used to silence resistance
It’s interesting how so many of the stories we claim to be universal Black experiences seem to involve cutting ourselves smaller to avoid anti-Black violence. Stories involving that ever-present white woman—more perennial than any weed—who clutches her purse whenever she crosses our path, and how we all supposedly just want her to know we aren’t […]
Why I no longer police my Black son’s behavior to make the world more comfortable
Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring the US Elections & Family/Parenting issues, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. How has our political system been working for and against us? What dynamics are different today? How should we prepare for the presidential election, and what is the […]
5 tips for engaging non-voters this election
Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring the US Midterms & Family/Parenting issues, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. How has our political system been working for and against us? What dynamics are different today? How should we prepare for midterm elections vs presidential ones, and local […]
How the media & justice system re-traumatize sexual assault survivors
Editor’s Note: This Sexual Health and Awareness month, we will be exploring related issues at BYP, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What does sexual health look like outside of cishetero norms? Where does the #MeToo movement go from here? What can we do to better support survivors, including survivors […]
LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately vulnerable to homelessness and survival sex work
by Maximillian Matthews This essay contains discussions of racialized sexual violence and mentions r/pe “There is probably no greater (or more misleading) body of sexual myths in the world today than those which proliferated around the figure of the American Negro. This means that he is penalized for the guilty imagination of the white people […]