The Power of Oral History: Personal Narratives Take Us Deep Into the Human Rights Stories Hidden Behind the Headlines
When people tell their own stories, history is written from the bottom up.
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鈥淣ever Think You鈥檙e Worth Less Than the Boss鈥�: How a Mexican Seamstress Learned to Speak Up for Justice
Ana Ju谩rez started her first job at the age of fifteen, as a sewing operator鈥檚 assistant in Mexico. She was working at a local contracting company of global brands like Levi Strauss & Co. when senior workers began to organize.
A Modern-Day Debtors鈥� Prison? Judges Push Back Against the South鈥檚 Privatization Wave
In Southern states, small-town courts have outsourced probation management to for-profit companies charging fees out of reach to the country's poorest residents. Many people end up in jail for nonpayment. These judges want private companies out of their courts.
Language Matters: How #YesAllWomen Named a Problem With No Name
If you lack words for a phenomenon, an emotion, a situation, you can鈥檛 talk about it鈥攚hich means that you can鈥檛 come together to change it.
We Went Behind the Scenes of the Global Economy to Bring Back Workers鈥� Stories
After dozens of interviews, the guiding question of this oral history project shifted from, 鈥淲ho are the people in the factories?鈥� to, 鈥淗ow are workers and communities putting their futures at risk when they demand something better?鈥�
鈥淚n 10 Years, I Want to Walk Again鈥�: How a Worker Making Circuit Boards Got Sick鈥攁nd Is Holding Samsung Accountable
While manufacturing circuit boards for Samsung, Hye-kyeong Han was diagnosed with a brain tumor, leading her to undergo a number of surgeries and radiation treatments. She was just 26 years old.
鈥淣ow They Can鈥檛 Get Me to Stop Talking鈥�: How a Teenage Tobacco Farmworker in North Carolina Found Her Voice
In North Carolina, when school gets out each summer, a stream of young people鈥攏early all Latino鈥攈ead into the fields to help bring in the state鈥檚 most profitable crop: tobacco. Neftali Cuello was twelve years old when she first accompanied her family into the fields.
鈥淐losing Down the Mine Brought Our Community Back Together鈥�: How a Small Pacific Island Stood Up to a Transnational Company
Clive Porabou was born on the Pacific island of Bougainville. Transnational mining company Rio Tinto was beginning to dig the world鈥檚 largest open-pit copper mine, displacing native residents. Armed conflict started even before excavation began.
Tennessee Tied Teachers’ Jobs to Standardized Test Scores. Here’s How They Pushed Back鈥擜nd Won.
The teachers found their careers at risk when an erratic statistical tool became a key measure of their success.
The War on Drugs Destroys Lives鈥擧ere Are 6 Things You Can Do About It
The movement to end the violence through the decriminalization of drugs has never had so much momentum. And it's never been easier to get involved.
Meet the Girl Who Sparked Brown v. The Board of Education With a High School Walkout
The stories of people behind the landmark decision鈥攍ike that of 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns鈥攁re even more compelling and inspiring than the sea-changing ruling itself.
New York Inmates Draw Strength from Prison-Themed Hip-Hop Album
Members of the Rochester-based group Da Cloth have sent the tape to more than 150 inmates.
How a “Black Snake” in the Heartland Brought Spirit to American Environmentalism
It's possible that the Cowboy Indian Alliance offers a glimpse into what a spiritually integrated environmental movement might look like, honoring diversity while resisting cooptation.
The Game of Thrones Rape Scene: Why We Can’t Pretend It Never Happened
Pretending that a rape never happened is a problem鈥攔egardless of whether it took place in fiction or reality.
Explainer: Agriculture and Human Rights
A journey into agriculture, from early irrigation to industrial farms.
Explainer: Garment Manufacturing and Human Rights
A journey into the garment industry, from Elizabethan England to Rana Plaza.
Explainer: Electronics and Human Rights
A journey into the electronics industry, from transistor radios to semiconductor suicides.
Explainer: Mining and Human Rights
A journey into resource extraction, from colonization to transnational corporations.
Brought Together by Keystone Pipeline Fight, “Cowboys and Indians” Heal Old Wounds
As natives and ranchers work together to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, they're also learning to understand one another's history, culture, and relationship with the land.
Photo Essay: “Cowboys and Indians” Against Keystone XL Bring Newfound Unity to DC
On the frontlines of resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline, ranchers and tribal members join forces in a striking display of solidarity.
They Started by Blockading a Bus Full of Detainees鈥擜nd Went on to Shake Up the Immigration Debate
A look at the growing influence of undocumented voices in the movement for immigrant rights.
An End to “The Hole”?: 6 Signs that Solitary Confinement Reform Is Coming
Much of the momentum in the movement to reform the use of solitary confinement in the United States comes from the work of prisoners themselves.
Russian Aggression Deserves a Response, But U.S. Lacks Credibility to Lead It
The United States cannot legitimately lead an international response to the illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine until it abides by international law itself.
Immigrant Detainees’ Hunger Strike Targets Legal “Grey Area”
A hunger strike in a Washington state detention facility draws attention to a facility where most U.S. laws don't apply.
Meet the Ambassadors from Canada’s Indigenous Fossil Fuel Resistance
In 1885, a revolutionary leader wrote, "My people will sleep for one hundred years" and then wake up. In the "genocidal" wilderness of Canada's tar sands, that renaissance has begun.
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