Category Archives for "COMMUNITY CHANGE"

Mar 22

Environmental Justice in RVA: Coal Ash or Community

By Jason Sawyer | COMMUNITY CHANGE , ECONOMIC JUSTICE , ENVIORNMENTAL JUSTICE , RESOURCES , SOCIAL JUSTICE

Listen Here:  Community Against Coal- With Good Reason Jason Sawyer, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Norfolk State University and think.create.change co-founder talks to Sarah McConnell from “With Good Reason” about his work as a community organizer for the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton.  As a part of a community engagement and planning initiative […]

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Jan 24

Immigration Policy and The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Values, Ideology, and the Clash of Misinformation

By Vanessa Eddington | ARTICLES , COMMUNITY CHANGE , CULTURE WORK , ECONOMIC JUSTICE , IDENTITY , RACE , RESOURCES , SOCIAL JUSTICE

This is a three part series exploring American Values, Immigration Policy, and the Syrian Refugee crisis within the context of the current political climate in the United States. Pt. III- Refugees, Politics, and the Fear of Difference We live in an age of terrorism right now, and a new argument currently surging is that an […]

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Jan 18

The Power of the Pantsuit: The Women’s March on Washington

By Melissa Ooten | ARTICLES , COMMUNITY CHANGE , ECONOMIC JUSTICE , FEMINISM , IDENTITY , RESOURCES , SOCIAL JUSTICE

  On January 20, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. The day after, many thousands will gather in Washington, DC to participate in the Women’s March on Washington. The march represents a long history of activists gathering in large numbers to pressure presidential administrations and Congress to either […]

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Jan 13

Mountain Top Removal, Coal Ash, Water, and Urban Neighborhoods in Virginia:

By Jason Sawyer | CLASSROOM TOOLS , COMMUNITY CHANGE , ENVIORNMENTAL JUSTICE , NEIGHBORHOODS , RACE , RESOURCES , SOCIAL JUSTICE

The Cycle of Energy, Waste, and Community Disinvestment A Three Part Series on the Complicated Relationship Between Local Organizing for Environmental Justice and Sustainability Pt. I: The Case of The East End Landfill In September of 2010, I accepted a position as a community organizer at an urban center in the far East End of […]

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Jan 12

The Critical Difference Engagement Model:

By Jason Sawyer | CLASSROOM TOOLS , COMMUNITY CHANGE , COMMUNITY TOOLS , IDENTITY , NEIGHBORHOODS , RACE , RESOURCES

Using Community Engaged Model Development to Forge Alliances Across Difference in Community Organizing “when you get deeper, building alliances is also about dealing with the history of pain, rejection, disappointment, abuse, and oftentimes individuals that are in that room represent that to the other.  And you don’t always know who represents what…”   Introduction The […]

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Jan 05

Immigration Policy and The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Values, Ideology, and the Clash of Misinformation

By Vanessa Eddington | ISSUES , RACE , SOCIAL JUSTICE

This is a three part series exploring American Values, Immigration Policy, and the Syrian Refugee crisis within the context of the current political climate in the United States. Pt. II- Myths and Realities of Resettlement The nature of the refugee problem calls for careful consideration of the history and tradition the United States has in […]

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Dec 17

Immigration Policy and The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Values, Ideology, and the Clash of Misinformation

By Vanessa Eddington | ISSUES , RACE , SOCIAL JUSTICE

This is a three part series exploring American Values, Immigration Policy, and the Syrian Refugee crisis within the context of the current political climate in the United States. Part I- The Syrian Refugee Crisis and American Ideology: A Crossroads The war in Syria has caused millions of people to flee their country in search of […]

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Dec 05

Just the “Good Ole’ Boys”: Moving Beyond the Dukes of Hazard’s Racism of Innocent Ignorance

By Jason Sawyer | COMMUNITY CHANGE , IDENTITY , RACE

A three part series on the meaning of the confederate flag from a semi-conscious white ally born and raised in the ex-confederate south Pt. III- Intent vs. Impact: Life Long Learning and Unlearning This is the third piece in a series on identity, media, and the history of the confederate flag.  The first focused on […]

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Nov 16

Just the “Good Ole’ Boys”: Moving Beyond the Dukes of Hazard’s Racism of Innocent Ignorance

By Jason Sawyer | COMMUNITY CHANGE , IDENTITY , RACE , SOCIAL JUSTICE

A three part series on the meaning of the confederate flag from a semi-conscious white ally born and raised in the ex-confederate south Pt. II- The Cornerstone, the Flag, and the Heritage Myth   In my last post, I discussed the ubiquitous branding, reframing, and consistent shaping of public memory perpetuated by media images, and […]

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Oct 03

Labor Day Blues: A Three Part Series on the Fight for a Fair Wage / Part Two: The Poverty of Exemption

By Melissa Ooten | COMMUNITY CHANGE , ECONOMIC JUSTICE , SOCIAL JUSTICE

  Earlier this year, the Obama administration announced new rules that would significantly increase the number of workers eligible for overtime. Previously, the only salaried workers who could receive overtime, that is, one and a half times their salary for any hours worked over forty in a given week, made $23,660 per year or less. […]

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