Racism and discrimination have choked economic opportunity for African Americans at nearly every turn. At several historic moments, the trajectory of racial inequality could have been altered dramatically. Perhaps no moment was more opportune than the early days of Reconstruction, when the U.S. government temporarily implemented a major redistribution of land from former slaveholders to the newly emancipated enslaved. But neither Reconstruction nor the New Deal nor the civil rights struggle led to an economically just and fair nation.
Today, systematic inequality persists in the form of housing discrimination, unequal education, police brutality, mass incarceration, employment discrimination, and massive wealth and opportunity gaps. Economic data indicates that for every dollar the average white household holds in wealth the average black household possesses a mere ten cents.
Revealing the dark truth about the impact of predatory private equity firms on American health care.
Private equity (PE) firms pervade all aspects of our modern lives. Unlike other corporations, which generally manufacture products or provide services, they leverage considerable debt and other people's money to buy and sell businesses with the sole aim of earning supersized profits in the shortest time possible. With a voracious appetite and trillions of dollars at its disposal, the private equity industry is now buying everything from your opioid treatment center to that helicopter that helps swoop you up from a car crash site. It may even control how and when you can get your kidney dialysis.
In Ethically Challenged, Laura Katz Olson describes how PE firms are gobbling up physician and dental practices; home care and hospice agencies; substance abuse, eating disorder, and autism services; urgent care facilities; and emergency medical transportation. With a sharp eye on cost and quality of care, Olson investigates the PE industry's impact on these essential services. She explains how PE firms pile up massive debt on their investment targets and how they bleed these enterprises with assorted fees and dividends for themselves. Throughout, she argues that public pension funds, which provide the preponderance of equity for PE buyouts, tend to ignore the pesky fact that their money may be undermining the very health care system their workers and retirees rely on.
What if we could go beyond the conversation about diversity and take real action?
In early 2021, more than two hundred widely respected experts gathered virtually for the world’s most ambitious conversation about diversity. Our aim was to do more than spotlight injustice. We challenged ourselves to imagine how to fix it. The dialogue brought together casting directors, bookstore owners, disabled leaders, healthcare professionals, students, VCs, standup comedians, chief diversity officers, pro gamers, archaeologists, government insiders, startup founders, and even a master puppeteer.
When it comes to the topic of romantic and sexual intimacy, social observers are often quick to throw criticisms at millennials. However, we know little about millennials’ own hopes, fears, struggles, and triumphs in their relationships from the perspectives of millennials themselves. Intimate Inequalities uses millennials’ own stories to explore how they navigate gender, race, social class, sexuality, and age identities and expectations in their relationships. Situating millennials’ lives within contemporary social and cultural conditions in the United States, Intimate Inequalities takes an intersectional approach to examining how millennials challenge—or rather, uphold—social inequalities in their lives as they come into their own as full adults.
“Some people are so poor all they have is money.” —Bob Marley
Joshua Clauer is a beloved man. He is fierce in what and who he loves. He is uncompromising in walking the line in today’s complex, scrappy world. He has no time for hate.
“I wrote this book so that you can be understood and can be motivated to be great. I did this by opening up my life for you, my saddest days and the best days ever.
When the book was nearly complete, advanced stage cancer entered Joshua’s life. His treasured family and friends have surrounded him and supported him as he fights this disease.
Thank you all for showing your love as I fight this cancer! It is so appreciated….I’m a rich man because of all of you!!!!”
Yes, a rich and beloved man. Well played, Joshua. Well played.
Water. Food. Housing. The most basic and crucial needs for survival, yet 40 percent of people in the United States don't have the resources to getthem. With key policy changes, we could eradicate poverty in this country within our lifetime—but we need to get started now.
Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line—about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy.
Journalist Mónica Guzmán is the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who voted—twice—for Donald Trump. When the country could no longer see straight across the political divide, Mónica set out to find what was blinding us and discovered the most eye-opening tool we’re not using: our own built-in curiosity. Partisanship is up, trust is down, and our social media feeds make us sure we’re right and everyone else is ignorant (or worse). But avoiding one another is hurting our relationships and our society. In this timely, personal guide, Mónica, the chief storyteller for the national cross-partisan depolarization organization Braver Angels, takes you to the real front lines of a crisis that threatens to grind America to a halt—broken conversations among confounded people. She shows you how to overcome the fear and certainty that surround us to finally do what only seems impossible: understand and even learn from people in your life whose whole worldview is different from or even opposed to yours.
Reggie Dabbs and John Driver--a Black man and a white man, and longtime friends--engage in a courageous, respectfully honest, challenging exploration of racism in America, including how Black and white Christians can come together to fight the evils of racism within our hearts and our systems, including our churches.
White privilege. Black Lives Matter. George Floyd. When it comes to racism in America, many of us feel confused, overwhelmed, angry--and eager to know how to engage in meaningful conversations and actions surrounding such a difficult topic. In Not So Black and White, public school communicator and internationally acclaimed speaker Reggie Dabbs and pastor John Driver team up to offer a hope-filled, convicting, inspiring look at how to be anti-racist in America today.
How do we vote with our dollars, not just to make ourselves feel good, but to make a real difference?
Wallet Activism challenges you to rethink your financial power so can feel confident spending, earning, and saving money in ways that align with your values.
While we call the American system a democracy, capitalism is the far more powerful force in our lives. The greatest power we have—especially when political leaders won’t move quickly enough—is how we use our money: where we shop, what we buy, where we live, what institutions we entrust with our money, who we work for, and where we donate determines the trajectory of our society and our planet. While our votes and voices are essential, too, Wallet Activism helps you use your money for real impact.
Will a deep appreciation of wisdom lead to more happiness, flourishing, and success in life?
Why is America increasingly plagued by tribalism, elitism, materialism, and ME-ism?
What do philosophy, psychology, and personal growth have to say about wisdom?
Are the Bible and other religious texts legitimate and useful sources of human wisdom?
Wisdom is not able to be bought — no matter how much money a person has! And philosophy has typically discouraged many who find it difficult, abstract, and boring. Modern psychology and age-old personal growth principles are given a bad name by many social media personalities who oversimplify modern psychological science in an effort to make money.
Going from the margins of society as an immigrant child in the United States to becoming a First-Generation physician in his family’s history, William Mundo describes his path to medicine while at the same time overcoming the adversity of being a minority student in medicine and higher education. In Margins to Medicine: A First-Generation Student’s Health Equity Guide on Overcoming Adversity with Diversity, Mundo delivers a health equity guide that discusses the intersections of medicine with ethnic and racial studies alongside public health and the social determinants of health.
Something happened and motivated these quiet activists to make an impact on their family, organization, or community. They chose to speak up about issues they care about. Some are following a tradition of generational activism. Others became involved for the first time and suddenly realized they were engaged in activism. IMPACT: PERSONAL PORTRAITS OF ACTIVISM gathers personal essays, poems, short stories and drama from around the world to show how actions big and small can lead to some form of justice.
It’s Me is dedicated to every person who has ever felt less about who they are or want to be because of someone else’s opinion, feelings, or prejudice. Let's ditch the prejudiced labeling, and embrace our Human Race for the diversity, inclusivity, equity, and individuality we all deserve.
Explores the perils and promise of feminist social media activism
Social media has become the front-and-center arena for feminist activism. Responding to and enacting the political potential of pain inflicted in acts of sexual harassment, violence, and abuse, Asian American and Asian Canadian feminist icons such as rupi kaur, Margaret Cho, and Mia Matsumiya have turned to social media to share their stories with the world. But how does such activism reconcile with the platforms on which it is being cultivated, when its radical messaging is at total odds with the neoliberal logic governing social media?
Pain Generation troubles this phenomenon by articulating a “neoliberal self(ie) gaze” through which these feminist activistssee and storify the self on social media as “good” neoliberal subjects who are appealing, inspiring, and entertaining. This book offers a fresh perspective on feminist activism by demonstrating how the problematic neoliberal logic governing digital spaces like Instagram and Twitter limits the possibilities of how one might use social media for feminist activism.
In 2015, social justice educator and activist Angela Berkfield held her first Parenting for Social Justice workshop. Now it is time to share those tools and inspiration. This book discusses race, class, gender, disability, healing justice, and collective liberation, initiating age-appropriate and engaging conversations with kids about social justice issues. Included are ideas for taking action as families, from making protest signs and attending a local march, to trying healing meditations and consciously connecting with people from different backgrounds. Resources for further learning and activities that readers can engage in on their own or as part of a group.
The Mindset of a Refugee: Understanding the human potential for current and former refugees to change our planet is part autobiography, part call to action. In the book, author Joseph Minani recalls his childhood through the fictional character Karenzo—a young boy living with his family in a Tanzanian refugee camp. Through Minani’s words, you’ll learn of other true stories that prove refugees can offer value to the countries that take them in while advocating for change and help with the international crisis.
In this book, you'll learn about the power of a mindset forged by adversity through:
Karenzo’s experiences in a refugee camp and his journey to the United States
Stories of refugees who persevered and reached happiness and success
Interviews with professionals working on the front lines to help refugees
Minani looks to break the stereotypes and stigmas portrayed through the media and prove that refugees deserve fair treatment. You’ll understand the need for refugees to be directly involved in finding solutions for the problems faced in camps and during the resettlement process. You will be inspired to believe that everyone deserves a right to life, equality, freedom, and a future with endless possibilities.
