Subscribe to Danisha Christian's feed

Author Archives: Danisha Christian

Native Organizers: Trained in Seattle for a Week and Built Nationwide Solidarity for the Future

By Danisha Christian on April 19, 2013

Last week, a group of 22 Natives from all over the country came together with a willingness to learn from each other, stand in solidarity with one another, and challenge the systems of inequity that threatens the health and welfare of our elders and youth.

In mid-February, Alliance for a Just Society began to recruit participants for their four day Native Organizer’s training hosted in partnership with the Praxis Project and Communities Creating Healthy Environments initiative. The response was unprecedented! Continue reading »

Who Pays: Millionaires or The Rest of Us?

By Danisha Christian on November 19, 2012

Over the last three decades the average family income has stagnated while the top 2% has seen their portion of the national income quadruple– at the expense of working families. This week, Alliance affiliates across the country mobilized in a series of actions to emphasize the message that was sent in last week’s election. Continue reading »

Alaska Natives Rally for Traditional Hunting & Fishing Rights

By Danisha Christian on November 1, 2012

After days of rain and snow in Anchorage,Alaska, the skies cleared and it warmed to chilly 34 degrees just in time for 400 Natives to rally in a park to call for an end to increasing regulations, enforcement and criminalization of their traditional way of life.

A unique scene in Alaska: 400 Natives taking to the streets with picket signs, unafraid of backlash, no longer willing to compromise on life’s essentials, calling on elected officials to take action and make changes.

The Value(s) of Medicaid: 47 Years Later

By Danisha Christian on August 6, 2012

July 30^th marked the 47^th anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare. It’s hard to imagine that 47 years ago, these critical programs that we have grown to love and rely on, were controversial sticking points that were hotly contested for years prior to being passed through the legislature- similar to the Affordable Care Act; passed only 2 years ago. What is the commonality between these programs? They reach communities that are left behind by the money-driven health care system that has [dominated] our country. We are seeing first hand which members of Congress and Governors will come to bat for these communities when their very lives are at stake. Continue reading »

When Feeding Your Family Is Illegal

By Danisha Christian on June 18, 2012

For Native people of the Yukon Flats, feeding your family requires the ability to hunt and fish for their foods. After spending a week in the Flats, assisting the Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG) on a campaign to secure traditional food and hunting and fishing practices; I would argue that it is the only way to access healthy and affordable foods. Community members are standing up for themselves against a system that is threatening their way of life, their ability to feed themselves and their legal rights guaranteed under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). Continue reading »

Alliance Hosts Institute for Pragmatic Practice Symposium

By Danisha Christian on April 10, 2012

Rural Organizing Project Cara Shufelt (2nd right) joined AJS Executive Director LeeAnn Hall (3rd right) and Gary Delgado (right) in honoring Marcy Westerling (left) founding Director of the Rural Organizing Project.

The Alliance for a Just Society hosted our third Institute for Pragmatic Practice symposium on March 28-30. The Institute for Pragmatic Practice (IPP) is a project of theAlliancethat brings together organizers, academics, leaders and visionaries to explore theories and innovative strategies to address public policy.

By Danisha Christian on February 27, 2012

Alliance for a Just Society brings you an Institute for Pragmatic Practice’s symposium

Building Progressive Power in Rural America

March 28-30^th 2012, Seattle Washington

In order to win progressive change in the U.S. we can not concede rural areas to the right-wing. Those working in small town America are the ones making this fight. In order to advance, we must share best practices, methods, ideas and strategies to gain ground.

The Institute for Pragmatic Practice’s primary goal is to initiate provocative discussions on both social justice ideas and methods of action. Join activists, analysts, visionaries and revolutionaries from around the country working in small towns, small cities and rural areas to explore these questions and more:

What about the economic meltdown is particular to rural America?
What are our ideas and practices for rebuilding and strengthening local economies and living wage jobs?
What are the shifts in demographics that we are seeing in our states and how are we building alliances?
What agenda is the right-wing moving that particularly impacts our areas? How are we responding?

Join us!

Guest speakers include: Marcy Westerling, Rural Organizing Project; Devin Burghart, Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights; Carol Burnett, Mississippi Low Income Childcare Initiative; Scott Douglas, Greater Birmingham Ministries; Ed Whitfield, Fund for Democratic Communities; Niel Ritchie, League of Rural Voters; Edwin Bender, National Institute on Money in State Politics; Kate Kanelstein, Vermont Workers Center.

For more information and to register click here!

Health Care 2011: Year in Review

By Danisha Christian on January 9, 2012

The election in November of 2010 shifted the political ground both in D.C. and in many state legislatures. These political changes brought efforts to repeal the ACA and to reduce the national commitment both to Medicaid and to critical programs funded as a part of reform. The efforts by the political right to reset the national agenda challenge every gain we’ve made. Although the fight for health care has moved from front page news to the trenches, we have seen some impressive achievements this past year: Continue reading »

Food Choices: Families or Corporations

By Danisha Christian on November 9, 2011

Will Congress choose need or greed? Cutting the federal deficit means making some tough choices. The new report, Food Choices: Families or Corporations and online petition asks Congressional super committee members to look at bloated federal subsidies for giant corporations before they cut food assistance struggling families depend on.

Released in partnership with the Praxis Project, the report details the critical role the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s family nutrition programs play in feeding one out of eight Americans. Continue reading »

The Distasteful Politics of Food

By Danisha Christian on October 5, 2011

How, what, and where we eat everyday is strongly influenced by the federal government, in partnership with major food corporations, through a piece of legislation called the Farm Bill. Many of the social determinates of health that impact our communities find their roots in the Farm Bill a massive piece of legislation up for renewal in 2012.

We need to pay close attention to this legislation in the coming months. In particular, we need to focus on the ways in which the Farm Bill enables corporate practices that contribute to racial disparities in health, set us back in terms of racial equity, and promote greed over need. In a climate where Congress is looking to make cuts, corporate agribusiness will be working hard to protect their interests, leaving the rest of us with a huge tab that will cost not just in dollars but also in lives. Continue reading »

Search