A CALL TO ACTION: Now that Trump is President, What Will You Do?

#CharlitUprising. Photo: Katina Parker Katina Parker (Durham, NC) | November 16, 2016 Election night. I’m stationed in Charlotte, producing coverage for Al Jazeera. I’ve been dispatched with a gas mask, helmet, bullet proof vest, and personal body guard. Without an

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In Solidarity with the Water Protectors at Standing Rock

November 16, 2016 This letter is in response to the Standing Rock Sioux’s call for statements of support. We encourage our members and partner organizations to write your own letters, sign a petition addressed to President Obama to permanently halt

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My 1968 in South Carolina 2015

Article and Photos by Omari Fox (Orangeburg, SC) | December 7, 2015 With official and ‘on the fly,’ #BlackLivesMatter chapters sprouting up everywhere in the country after non-indictments of law enforcement officers in late 2014, South Carolina’s two key cities,

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ROOTS Week 2015: A Preview

We are pleased, proud, and excited to announce the incredible artists, culture-bearers, organizers, activists, and scholars who will share their work with us at ROOTS Week under the banner, A Call to Action: Transformation. Within this theme, we’ll be focusing

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Teatro Sin Fronteras: Shifting Narratives to Include Latina/os in the Rebirth of Post-Katrina New Orleans

A packed house at Teatro Sin Fronteras #3 at Old Marquer Theatre. Photo: Craig Morse, June 2015.  Article by José Torres-Tama (New Orleans, LA) “The workers and families who helped rebuild New Orleans live in terror today … If they leave their

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LOVEbaltiMORE

Article by Ashley Minner, ExComm Member (Baltimore, MD) Photos by Sean Scheidt (Baltimore, MD) Baltimore is always the center of my world, but over the past few days it seems like it’s become the center of the world. We have seen

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In Solidarity with Baltimore

By Carlton Turner, Alternate ROOTS Executive Director (Utica, MS) “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” –Frederick Douglass This quote has been on my mind today as I think about the uprising that is

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Selma: A Bittersweet Celebration

Article & Photos by Katina Parker (Durham, NC) Saturday, March 7th. Selma, Alabama. Tens of thousands from around the world packed the streets leading to and from the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the

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#SpotlightonFerguson

Article & Photos by Katina Parker (Durham, NC) Since August, Katina Parker has been traveling to Ferguson, documenting and organizing against police brutality. Here, she shares a series of photo essays and her written, first-person account of the #Blacklivesmatter movement in Ferguson. 

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The Sweetness and the Spoil: Durham Stories of Resistance

Article by Nia Wilson (Durham, NC) and Rodrigo Dorfman (Durham, NC); Photographs by Rodrigo Dorfman Reflections: Building towards “Mother to Mother” Nia: August 10th 2014: I heard about the premature deaths of two young Black men — John Crawford in Ohio

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Breathing Room for Something Unstoppable

“Wholehearted.” Collage for June Jordan by Alexis Pauline Gumbs. Article by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Ph.D. (Durham, NC)           A. Opening Prayer (take deep breaths in the stanza breaks) C(h)ant.   Breathe. Dedicated to Eric Garner* And to

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WANTED: ONLINE ORGANIZER FOR SOCIAL-JUSTICE CAMPAIGN

WANTED: ONLINE ORGANIZER FOR SOCIAL-JUSTICE CAMPAIGN Deadline: Friday, January 23, 2015 Please send cover letter and resume to: cindy@nationinside.org Nation Inside is looking for an Online Organizer for a short-term contract (one day a week for 20 weeks) to provide

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Spotlight on Ferguson (Part 1): An Activist Framework

Article & Video by Katina Parker (Durham, NC) Don’t miss Part 2 of this series: Spotlight on Ferguson: A First-hand Account. To donate to support continued documentation by #SpotlightOnFerguson, please visit: igg.me/at/dontshoot.  Mike Brown’s Memorial – Canfield from Katina Parker on Vimeo.

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Spotlight on Ferguson (Part 2): A First-hand Account

Article and Photos by Katina Parker Don’t miss Part 1 of this series: Spotlight on Ferguson: An Activist Framework. To donate to support continued documentation by #SpotlightOnFerguson, please visit: igg.me/at/dontshoot.  August 30, 2014 Ferguson Today, I stood where 17-year old Mike Brown

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The Power of One

Article by Don Harrell (Winter Park, FL) Aleta Alston Touré, the no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners organizer of the Free Marissa Now Movement is a clear demonstration of the power of one. She stands firmly at the center of the movement, reminding all

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Standing Our Ground for Marissa Means Standing Our Ground For Us All

Article by Aleta Alston-Toure’ The 20-year conviction of Marissa Alexander in the Old Duval County Courthouse was unreal for all of us that witnessed this most god-awful atrocity. Hearing Marissa’s daughter’s plea for her mother to the jury was more

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A Call To Action, A Time to Make Our Presence Felt

ROOTS Week-A Call to Action

In just two short years, Alternate ROOTS will turn 40. In the build-up to this milestone, we are launching A Call to Action – a three-year initiative that will deeply investigate our work as artists and cultural organizers. During each year of

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Safe In Our Streets: A Precursor to SpiritHouse’s Harm Free Zone Project

Young African-American boy holds sign that reads "I AM indisposable."

Judgment they pass first, always tryin to break us, we always survive  Black August Haiku of 2011 Community, safety, love, food, security, family, fun, dance, song, life, death, poverty, wealth, elders, youth. All of these things exist in our communities

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Stand Your Ground Laws and Their Impact on Minority Communities in the United States

Stand Your Ground Laws and Their Impact on Minority Communities in the U.S.  Briefing Paper for Thematic Hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights While organizing my thoughts for this coming Tuesday’s hearing, I was reading the briefing page trying

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Alternate ROOTS supports the creation and presentation of original art that is rooted in communities of place, tradition or spirit. We are a group of artists and cultural organizers based in the South creating a better world together. As Alternate ROOTS, we call for social and economic justice and are working to dismantle all forms of oppression—everywhere.