Voting for prison reform promises
It was three and half years ago, at the Roger Williams University Symposium “Sounding the Alarm on Mass Incarceration” (which I wrote about in RIFuture back in 2013), when Rhode Island started a difficult, ambitious statewide conversation about undertaking major criminal justice reform efforts. Now, at the end of another election cycle, voters that care […]
Providence, Central Falls sue Jeff Sessions and Justice Department
The cities of Providence and Central Falls—and in a separate suit, the state of Rhode Island—are taking the Department of Justice and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to court over its manipulation of federal grant funds to support the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agenda. The grant in dispute is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice […]
Spicer claims Cohen doesn’t have info against Trump during sparse book-signing
I had time to ask Sean Spicer, the former press secretary under President Trump for six months last year, exactly one question during his book signing at a Middletown Barnes and Noble on Friday. I asked: “This week, reports were released saying that Michael Cohen testifies that Donald Trump knew about a meeting of campaign […]
Graduate workers at Brown dodge Trump’s labor board in historic agreement
Graduate workers at Brown University announced a landmark agreement with the university Thursday afternoon, paving the way for one of the first collective bargaining agreements for graduate employees at a private institution in the country. Graduate teaching and research assistants at public universities have long had access to collective bargaining rights, as they fall under […]
Raimondo supports Kristen’s Law, a member of her drug task force doesn’t
Amid reports that Gov. Raimondo is planning on signing Kristen’s Law (H 7715)—a bill passed in the House last week which mandates a life sentence for individuals who sell controlled substances involved in fatal overdoses—many are saying that the bill will only increase the number of overdose deaths, including one of the governor’s own appointees […]
Henrietta White-Holder, Linda Finn Receive Red Bandana Awards
The Red Bandana Fund is pleased to announce two local advocates, Henrietta White-Holder and Linda Finn, as the 2018 recipients of the Red Bandana Award! The Award, the sixth annual, honors individuals and groups whose work embodies the spirit and work of Richard Walton, a longtime Rhode Island activist who died in 2012. The awards […]
Red Bandana ‘Community Hero’ nominations now being accepted
It’s Red Bandana nominations and award time again! We all know people who work tirelessly, selflessly for others with little regard for themselves. They donate their time, give up bigger salaries (or work for free), and work to make a difference in the community around them. Well, it’s time they were recognized for all that […]
Ninth Circuit rules in favor of youth plaintiffs in constitutional climate trial
Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, rejected the Trump administration’s “drastic and extraordinary” petition for a court order to drop the landmark climate lawsuit brought by 21 youth supported by Our Children’s Trust. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon lifted the […]
ACLU files second class action lawsuit against UHIP
Rhode Island put low-income residents “at risk of losing their homes and their utilities and deprives them of funds needed for their daily living expenses, including food,” by removing them from a popular Medicaid program without proper notice, according to a new class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island. It […]
Welcome to RI Victoria Strang, new director of RI Interfaith Coalition
When the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty holds its 10th annual Fighting Poverty with Faith Vigil at the State House next week (Wed., Jan. 3, 3pm), it will be among the first public event for the group’s new director and lead organizer, Victoria Strang. Strang, who started in October, grew up in Massachusetts […]
Marcela Betancur keeps busy for Rhode Island
Marcela Betancur is director of the RI New Leaders Council, vice-president of the RI Latino Political Action Committee and a policy associate with the ACLU. She was raised in Colombia and moved to Rhode Island when she was 12. She graduated from Rhode Island College with a BA degree in political science and public administration […]
Democracy without equality has led to ‘Ubermensch Escapism’
Our anxieties about democracy typically focus on the scum floating on the surface. Political polarizations might lead us to note different noxious currents, and the good hearted and most civic among us are likely, then, to say that the problem rests in our distant standpoints, our filter bubbles, our echo chambers. I think that the […]
Providence FOP elections sparks concerns over implementation of the CSA
We hope they will engage productively in the implementation of the [Community Safety Act] and not waste time trying to undo an ordinance that has had several years of vetting by all parties involved.
Migrant Justice signs dairy farm worker human rights agreement with Ben & Jerry’s
For Migrant Justice, this is just the beginning. As the program is rolled out on the farms in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain, Migrant Justice will be preparing to expand Milk with Dignity to other companies.
The March for Racial Justice in Rhode Island
Well over 400 people converged on India Point Park for the March for Racial Justice (M4RJ). Sister marches were held across the country. In Providence, the “march” was actually more of a rally.
Milk With Dignity: Vermont dairy farm workers want Ben & Jerry’s to honor their human rights
The tour is building support for a national day of action on October 5th with protests and actions outside Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shops across the United States.
ACLU challenges DOC’s use of ‘civil death’ statute in denying rights to prisoners
The state’s “civil death” law, enacted more than a century ago, declares people sentenced to life in prison to be “dead” for virtually all legal purposes, even though most of them are eligible for parole after 20 years.
Immigrant rights organizations call for ‘action, not just words’ on DACA
The Democratic Party has railed against Trump’s decision to end DACA in six months but actual action, in the form of legislation that could help undocumented immigrants in RI, has not passed in the Democrat controlled General Assembly.
K-Love must continue WBRU tradition of engaging with ACI, prison populations
That Rhode Island’s 95.5 WBRU has, for around 50 years, served as Rhode Island’s alternative radio station and our state’s lifeline to the national music scene is only half of its significance. WBRU is also one of the community’s most direct communicative links into the Adult Correctional Institution. Listen to WBRU on Sundays and you’ll […]
Governor Raimondo pledges to defend Dreamers
“Rhode Island was founded on the principles of tolerance and diversity. Those values mean nothing if we abandon them in times of difficulty. Dreamers are in our schools in every community. They are Rhode Islanders. As long as I am Governor, Rhode Island will stand with Dreamers and DACA recipients.”
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