How the U.S. has historically used economic warfare in Latin America and the Caribbean, the current use of tariffs as a tool of political punishment marks a new phase.

One of the first lessons I learned when I tried to run for local office is that politics is less about ideas than it is about paperwork. I was in my early twenties, excited to run for alderman. I thought I could bring fresh energy to my community. At the time I had the encouragement of my political party, but I had no roadmap. To get on the ballot I needed petitions, signatures, filings, legal documents. I assumed there would be a local office to help me sort it out. Instead I found myself bouncing from one municipal desk to another, carrying forms I did not fully understand, waiting for someone to point me in the right direction. No one could give me a straight answer. Each office sent me elsewhere, like a bureaucratic maze with no exit. Deadlines loomed, mistakes meant starting over. What should have been an [...]

"We are not just telling stories about policy, It's about people. It's about us."

The American government fails to reflect the diversity of its constituents, particularly in terms of socioeconomic background.

The move is already drawing concern from immigration attorneys and digital security experts, who warn that the vague wording opens the door to arbitrary decisions and potential violations of free speech.

While the Trump administration seeks to erase places for those with historically marginalized identities, Woman Made Gallery offers more than representation—it offers response. Through exhibitions like the most recent Acts of Care, the gallery creates an intentional space where women, women of color, and nonbinary artists don’t have to ask for permission to belong—they build that belonging themselves. As a nonprofit rooted in justice and community dialogue, Woman Made Gallery continues to model what inclusive, women-of-color-led spaces can look like: ones that honor lineage, complexity, and care as forms of resistance. For Program Coordinator Corinne Pompéy, the mission of Woman Made Gallery is more than just representation—it’s about creating an entry point for connection and care. “Our goal is to ensure women and nonbinary artists are seen in the art world,” she said. “But more than that, we want people to feel something when they walk in—whether that’s reflection, [...]

Eastern Connecticut State University is partnering with the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut to offer scholarships to students from Hispanic-Latino backgrounds – students like David Galvez — who are in need of financial support.  “It’s a blessing, because at this moment I definitely needed that amount so that I could keep going to school next year,” Galvez told CT Examiner. “It came to me at the right time.” The alliance plans to offer scholarships of up to $2,500 each, which the university will match. University President Elsa Núñez said at a press conference on Monday that the $5,000 would cover tuition and fees.  The alliance received a grant from the City of New London for $27,000 from the city’s coronavirus relief funds to go toward the scholarships.  “Sometimes when new immigrant families and new Latina families arrive in the United States [and] they need to climb a ladder, there [...]

The Hortencia Zavala Foundation (HZF) is pleased to sponsor, once again, the Journalism Camp: Covering Race, Ethnicity, and Culture, a first-in-class 12-week program providing practical guidelines for fair and accurate storytelling. The FREE virtual workshop led by award-winning news media veteran and twice president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Hugo Balta, returns after a successful launch last Fall.  Six young journalists from across the country participated in the inaugural class. “I have nothing but good things to say about the camp,” said Stephania Rodriguez, a student at Depaul University in Chicago, Illinois. “It exceeded my expectations by feeding my knowledge, allowing me to network and connect with others, and publishing my work.” Boris Q’va had this to say about his experience, “I felt heard when I needed it the most.” Q’va is enrolled in the New Media Journalism Master of Arts degree at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. “All of the [...]

Hartford Public Schools (HPS) have over 17,000 students, and more than half are Hispanic-Latino; more than 1 in 5 are English language learners. Struggling with the same staffing shortages faced by districts across the country, HPS is recruiting bilingual educators from Puerto Rico to fill teacher vacancies ahead of the 2022-2023 school year. Through the Paso a Paso Puerto Rico Recruitment Program (step by step) — the district plans to recruit as many as 15 teachers from the island who would become full-time educators. Adriana Beltran-Rodriguez is one of them, “I was interested in helping the students feel like they’re not completely alienated in the school.” The Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) educator told WBUR, “For them (students) to know that there’s someone that cares about them and wants them not only to succeed in English but to honor their culture and their language.” Adriana Beltran-Rodriguez [...]

Twenty-two years ago, Juanita Perez-Bassler and Dr. Claudia Rueda-Alvarez decided to start an organization dedicated to supporting Latinx students living within the northwest suburbs of Chicago. These two visionary women began with a mission to improve academic achievement among Hispanic/Latinx students and to encourage the pursuit of higher education. They called their organization The Latino Summit.  The Latino Summit is now in its 22nd year. We operate as a 501c3, serving over 500 Hispanic/Latinx students from 17 northwest suburban high schools yearly. Like our Latinx community, we are stronger than ever.  Our annual event, which normally takes place in-person in November, will now be a hybrid event due to the pandemic. During the week of March 7th, participants will be engaging in various activities at local colleges or virtually through the Latino Summit app. Those participants looking for educational support will get the opportunity to learn about the college [...]

Two days after Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students returned to in-person classes, they were out once again. But this time protesting what they are calling a lack of school safety Covid-19 measures.  On Friday, hundreds of CPS students citywide walked out of their classes midday. The walkout comes as a response to the district’s decision to return to in-person courses during the height of the Omicron variant without hearing students' personal and academic needs.  Organized by Chicago Public School’s Radical Youth Alliance (Chi-RADS), a youth organization representing CPS high school students, students walked out of their high schools at 12:30 p.m. to gather outside the CPS Headquarters at 42 W. Madison St. at around 1:30 p.m.  The student walk-out came after weeks-long negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez on whether or not students should attend in-person classes after [...]

School districts across Connecticut are struggling through staffing shortages, causing delays and school cancelations. Stonington and Torrington Public Schools closed Tuesday and Hamden High School. In addition, Shelton Public Schools run on a two-hour delay, and Ansonia Public Schools closed for the week. "Our schools are open. I think we got our schools open safely, but there are some kids now who are not coming into the classroom and that makes teaching complicated," said Gov. Ned Lamont at a news conference Tuesday. "We're doing everything we can to make sure your school can open safely. You can see that we're making that our number one priority and I think we can succeed." Lamont and other officials doubled down on in-person learning, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health released new guidance Monday to keep kids in school. This is the third calendar year of the pandemic, and the omicron variant has once again forced school [...]