Actualize

Home/Actions/Actualize

Race, Memory, and the World That Made New Orleans

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

My father is listed as white on his birth certificate. His great-grandfather was the founder of America’s first black daily newspaper. But when I tell the story of my family, inextricably linked to the narrative of New Orleans and, in fact, to the country, I [...]

10 Uncomfortable Truths About Being Black in America

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

I talk and write about race a lot. I can’t escape being Black, even if I want to. I have always been race conscious, known who I am, and where I stand in the world. However, everything changed for me during the Trayvon Martin [...]

Five Days in the Life: Single, Minimum-Wage Fast Food Working Mom in Chicago

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

Name: Adriana Alvarez, 23 City: Cicero, Illinois Child: Manuel, three Job: I’ve worked at a McDonald’s franchise for almost five years. I do everything in my store: cashier; kitchen; runner; drive-through. Wherever I’m needed, I’m there. When I’m not at work, I’m with my son — and sometimes [...]

Choosing Queer: I Was Not Born This Way, And That’s Ok.

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

I don’t remember the first time I found a boy attractive. I do know that in my earliest memories, when I was 4 or 5, this attraction felt natural and innate. I know, too, that there was a first time I found a girl [...]

#FightForDyett in Voices from the Frontlines Today [Videos]

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

After 34 days, the Hunger Strike may have ended, but the commitment has not waned. The "conversations" with Chicago Public Schools remain. Through the video presentations [below] we invite you to the Dyett Hunger Strikers Press Conference held at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. [We apologize for [...]

I Don’t Act Like An ‘Angry Black Woman’ – But I’m Read That Way If I Broach Race

2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00

“Why are you so angry?” my mother asked me during her recent visit to Brooklyn. It’s the first time my mother has ever asked me that question, and I know that she is lovingly unaware of its ramifications as a nocuous cliche, despite its power as [...]

Go to Top