Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 2655 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

Seattle Bets on Equitable Development

Isabella Garcia

February 17, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

An Equitable Development Initiative was launched as a result of a racial equity analysis that gauged the effect that Seattle’s economic growth would have on communities of color. Funding for the initiative has gone toward capital for these communities to purchase real estate and develop projects that build up affordable housing, child care, food security, and other issues that would best serve longtime residents and prevent gentrification.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Durham, NC Just Finished Erasing $2.7 Million In Traffic Debt

Cinnamon Janzer

February 17, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

The DEAR program (Durham Expunction and Restoration) put 11,084 drivers back on the road legally and waived $2.7 million in fines in a purge of old cases that had revoked driving privileges for unpaid fines and fees. The two-year amnesty program, part of a national movement, took aim at the often racially disparate enforcement of state laws that burden the formerly incarcerated and others with unaffordable monetary penalties. Deprived of the right to drive, people either miss out on work and educational opportunities, or risk more traffic tickets, arrests, and fines.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Anti-Racist Science Education : Short Wave

Rebecca Ramirez Madeline K. Sofia Emily Kwong

February 17, 2021 |

NPR |

Podcast |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Science is dominated by white men, and some of the most well-regarded scientists were notoriously racist. Some science teachers are not shying away from the history of racism embedded in science but are embracing it. In this episode of Short Wave, three teachers share how they’re integrating race into the curriculum from delving into the ethics of experiments, to journaling, to reading “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." “To fix the lab we have to fix the classroom.”

Read More
Go to Original Story
‘Crime-Free' Housing Ordinances, Explained

Deborah N. Archer

February 17, 2021 |

The Appeal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Starting in the early 1990s, thousands of American towns and cities passed "crime-free housing" ordinances that purport to reduce crime in rental housing. The laws encourage or require landlords to evict tenants based on calls to police, or the criminal records of tenants or their houseguests. The laws' lack of due process has turned them into a tool promoting segregation and retaliation against people of color. Frequently enacted in places that have begun to diversify racially, they give police too much power to declare certain residences a nuisance. Legal challenges have begun to curb some abuses.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Bakery That's Owned by an Idea

Oscar Perry Abello

February 16, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Firebrand Artisan Breads hires people with high barriers to employment, such as people experiencing homelessness or who were formerly incarcerated. The higher-than-minimum-wage starting salary, paid time off, and insurance benefits provide sustainable and secure employment to people whose life circumstances make it harder to get a job. In order to raise capital while maintaining their employment model, the owner worked with lawyers to become a perpetual purpose trust, an alternative ownership model that allows the company to sell shares to private investors while ensuring their principles remain in place.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Anti-human trafficking apps were meant to save lives. They're failing

Emily Ding Corinne Redfern

February 16, 2021 |

Wired |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

Since its April 2018 founding in Malaysia, the Be My Protector app has enabled interventions in 120 cases of suspected human trafficking, sparked by anonymous reports that its app enables. In about a third of those cases, which mostly involved migrant workers in South and Southeast Asia, the victims were able to return to their homes, while others were offered counseling. But, like the more than 90 such apps available around the world, Be My Protector has struggled to make a big impact. Many such apps capitalize on a trendy subject without a clear focus on improving conditions and helping victims.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Wales's "One Planet" Policy Is Transforming Rural Life

Oliver Gordon

February 12, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Wales, Pembrokeshire

Wales’ One Planet Development Policy allows people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by using only the resources on the land where they reside. For one family, they get their electricity from their own solar array, heat from firewood, and food from their gardens and livestock. Each year, they must prove that they are using only their “global fair share” of resources. So far, 46 farms have signed on to the program and the lessons learned from the experiment are helping to inform the government’s actions on other policies like housing.

Read More
Go to Original Story
American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old—And Hanging by a Thread

Vann R. Newkirk II

February 11, 2021 |

The Atlantic |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mississippi

The federal Voting Rights Act required states to ensure access to the polls for Black voters and created federal enforcement mechanisms. The law worked well in the Jim Crow South, but it wasn't built to deal with racial disenfranchisement more broadly. Congress and the courts have stripped important provisions from the bill over time, like those ensuring enforcement. A 2013 Supreme Court ruling dismissed the need for preemptive measures to protect Black voters, which created an opening for states to pass more restrictive voting laws that have created unfair burdens for Black, Latino, and Indigenous voters.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Strengthening Communities and Shifting Power in Pursuit of a Just Transition

Iris M. Crawford

February 10, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Georgia

Two climate coalitions led by BIPOC have strengthened their communities by empowering diverse stakeholders to address social inequities. The coalitions are engaging and centering the voices of Black, Indigenous and people of color and providing the resources needed to advocate for environmental and climate justice. The model is being replicated across the South.

Read More
Go to Original Story
An Atlanta Neighborhood Will Finally Own Property as a Community

Adina Solomon

February 09, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Atlanta, Georgia

A new model for community-owned real estate is attempting to bridge the racial wealth gap and build neighborhood wealth in Atlanta. Instead of watching prime real estate go to investors who would hold onto the building for a profit without any regard for how the space served the community, The Guild is purchasing local real estate. The organization has previously worked with entrepreneurs and business initiatives to boost Black-owned business profitability and combat commercial gentrification.

Read More
Go to Original Story