Racial Justice
Heather McGhee on the Costs of Racism and How to Create Shared Prosperity
Blue Tent editor David Callahan talks to Heather McGhee about how she came to write her New York Times bestselling book and what she hopes to achieve with its publication. Read more
Apr 21, 2021
Texas Jail Project
How a Tiny Group of Activists Built a Criminal Justice Reform Organization
The Texas Jail Project has statewide and even national reach. It was founded by four women who knew nothing about criminal justice. This is what they did—and how others can follow. Read more
Mar 30, 2021
Steve Phillips on the Rising Power of the New American Majority
Blue Tent founder David Callahan talks to Steve Phillips, a donor and author who has spent years talking about how to mobilize new voters of color and win more elections. Read more
Mar 29, 2021
Image via Creative Commons/Flicker user ep_jhu.
After Attacks, Some Asian Activists Push Back Against More Policing
A historic distrust of the police and other factors are fueling a debate among AAPI leaders about stepped-up law enforcement in responding to hate crimes. Read more
Mar 24, 2021
John David Bigl III/Shutterstock
Inside the Fight for Fair Redistricting in 2021
While the GOP is gearing up to rig voting districts in its favor yet again, reformers are pushing back across a gerrymandering landscape that's very different than it was a decade ago. Read more
Mar 23, 2021
Life After Release
This Local Maryland Criminal Justice Abolition Group Has Attracted National Support and Star Power
Founded by a formerly incarcerated woman, Life After Release watches the courts, helps people navigate the system, and is building a movement through intentional relationships. Read more
Mar 22, 2021
Image via Steven Depolo/Creative Commons.
Youth Organizations Demand an End To Police in Schools
Working with the Center for Popular Democracy, youth organizations have created a list of demands for the new Congress and White House to end the presence of police in schools. Read more
Mar 15, 2021
KRISHNIA_PARKER
A State Donor Table Builds Progressive Power on the Ground, With National Lessons
The California Donor Table aims to make lasting progressive political change beyond any single election cycle or issue campaign. Lately, it's been scoring key wins across the state. Read more
Mar 10, 2021
Eric O. Ledermann/Shutterstock
How a Top Criminal Justice Group Backs Reform Efforts Across the U.S.
Civil Rights Corps has been moving fast and growing fast in recent years. It provides a range of supports to local groups working to reform criminal justice systems. Here's a peek inside. Read more
Mar 9, 2021
Photo: Latino Victory/Facebook
Latino Victory's Strategy for Building Latino Power
Latinos are massively underrepresented at all levels of government—gaps that, in turn, reflect the unrealized power of Latino voters. This group has a strategy to change that. Read more
Mar 8, 2021
MiniStocker/Shutterstock
For These Nonprofits, Progressive Values Begin At Home
The world of nonprofit work, even in progressive organizations, is riddled with low pay and inequitable labor conditions. We look at two groups that aim to change all of that. Read more
Mar 4, 2021
Spencer Overton on Leading a Think Tank Focused on Black America
Blue Tent's David Callahan talks to Overton about his work to revive the Joint Center for Economic and Political Studies, the challenges of scaling a think tank, and the need to invest in Black policy experts. Read more
Mar 1, 2021
lev radin/Shutterstock
These are the Top Asian American Advocacy Groups
Asian Americans have been mobilizing for more electoral influence and also to combat a rising tide of anti-Asian hate crimes. We look at the key players leading this growing activism Read more
Feb 22, 2021
DANNA KINSKY/SHUTTERSTOCK
With an Impressive List of Backers, a New Fund Supports Black-Led Groups in California
A coalition of more than 20 funders recently launched the California Black Freedom Fund, with $100 million to support Black-led power-building groups. Organizers share the details of how it came about. Read more
Feb 16, 2021
Beowulf Sheehan
Look South: Charles Blow Tries His Hand at a Big Idea
We talk with the New York Times columnist about his new book, "The Devil You Know," which argues that Black voters should seek the path to power (and a better life) by moving to the South. Read more
Feb 2, 2021
The Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Shutterstock: Leonid Andronov
What a Coalition of Civil Rights Advocates Wants from Biden—and the Federal Government
Even as Biden starts to make good on his commitments to racial justice, advocates are eyeing the long game by pressing for measures to embed attention to these issues within the federal bureaucracy. Read more
Feb 2, 2021
Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock
Viva GOP? Nope. New Data Paints a Clearer Picture of Latino Voting in 2020
Initial analyses of Latino voter patterns were based on exit polls. But a new report from UCLA shows that Latinos not only turned out to vote in greater numbers, they overwhelmingly supported Biden. Read more
Feb 1, 2021
Julia Galilker
Criminal-Justice-Impacted People Are Just Starting to Realize Their Power
Ad-hoc, small organizations across the country that originally came together "just to survive" having a locked-up loved one are starting to wield political power alongside incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people alike. Read more
Jan 28, 2021
Venita Gupta
For Biden’s Civil Rights Nominees, a Big Agenda and Implacable Foes
Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke want to be Biden’s civil rights enforcers. Like others, they’ll meet GOP opposition every step of the way. Here's what they're up against, both now and when they take office. Read more
Jan 27, 2021
arindambanerjee/Shutterstock
This Coalition is Seeking an End to Unaccountable Cops
A mix of progressive activists, business leaders, celebrities and libertarians have come together to call for an end to qualified immunity, a legal shield for police accountability. What's their strategy? Read more
Jan 27, 2021
