Stories From Appalachia: ‘I Was Born in Mexico, but I’m From McDowell. We Grew Up Here, and We’ll Stay Here.’

PUBLISHED 7/3/2024 by

An oral history project five years in the making, Beginning Again: Stories of Movement and Migration in Appalachia brings together narratives of refugees, migrants and generations-long residents that explore complex journeys of resettlement.

Meet Cindy Sierra Morales: When she was 6 years old, Sierra Morales’ family migrated from Durango, Mexico, to Los Angeles, fleeing gang violence. After a short stay with family friends, Cindy’s family drove to Marion, N.C., where her aunt, uncle, cousins and older siblings already lived. Her parents held a variety of factory jobs, and Cindy started second grade just a few weeks after arriving. After living in the United States for 15 years, Cindy and her siblings were able to secure legal documentation through DACA.

At Its Moment of Peril, Democracy Needs Journalists to Be Activists

PUBLISHED 7/3/2024 by

If U.S. democracy falls, one key enabler will have been the most consequential failure to date of a vital institution doing its job: journalism.

It makes my journalism friends profoundly and understandably uncomfortable to think of themselves as activists. But if they won’t use their platforms to raise the alarm loudly and persistently, beyond spotting some burning brush while ignoring the blazing forest, we—and they—are in deep, deep trouble.

Even if they do, we’ll all still be at risk, but at least the craft I believe in will have tried. And that will be a start.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell: A Reproductive Justice Champion

PUBLISHED 7/3/2024 by
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Shortly after taking office last year, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell created a Reproductive Justice Unit that has worked tirelessly to protect and expand reproductive health, rights and justice. This Unit has focused on eliminating disparities in maternal health, combatting anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, working across state lines to respond to national attacks on reproductive health care, and defending and enforcing Massachusetts’ strong legal protections for reproductive rights.

Supreme Court ’23-’24 Term in Review: ‘It’s About Power. It’s About Politics.’

PUBLISHED 7/2/2024 by , and

Monday, July 1, marked the end of a historic and ominous Supreme Court term—with bombshell rulings on presidential immunity, the right to abortion care in emergencies, gun control, the criminalization of homelessness, the availability of medication abortion and more.

A panel at the 14th annual Supreme Court Review at Georgetown Law School discussed the high Court’s monumental decisions from the last several months, which will have ripple effects for years and decades to come. 

Pregnant People Who Use Drugs Deserve Supportive Policies and Treatment, Not Punishment

PUBLISHED 7/2/2024 by and

It is an unarguable fact: Pregnant people use opioids and other drugs. The stigma and discrimination they face, including when seeking prenatal care, can lead to worse outcomes for them and their babies. 

Addiction is a medical issue, not a moral one, and persistent stigma is a continued barrier to care. We must roll back punitive policies and create non-stigmatizing medical environments that can support pregnant people who use drugs. I