Topic: Social and Environmental Justice

“The Diagnostics of Pain,” Bill Casey

How do we deal with spiritual pain and better ourselves? The answer: we can transform our personal pain into large-scale social action and social justice. In picking to fight for causes that we care about personally, we can better ourselves and our community.

“The Maravillas: Gangs, Aging, and Mattering in East Los Angeles,” by Dr. Randol Contreras

Dr. Randol Contreras spent close to a decade studying the legendary Maravilla gangs of East Los Angeles. Once celebrated in the gang world as rebels who defied the established inmate prison order, veterano Maravilla gang members now grapple with the consequences of leading violent lives. This talk sheds light on how these aging men struggle … Continue reading “The Maravillas: Gangs, Aging, and Mattering in East Los Angeles,” by Dr. Randol Contreras

“The Promise of All Lives Mattering,” by Amanda Udis-Kessler

What does it mean to matter? How do you know you matter?  Today’s reading takes a hard look at systematic racism and how it affects all of us. Colorblindness is often well-intentioned, an attempt to see everyone as a human being and therefore as the same, without paying too much attention to race and other traits … Continue reading “The Promise of All Lives Mattering,” by Amanda Udis-Kessler

“Who’s Who in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict ,” by Alec Peck

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is once again destroying and ending lives of the people who live there, and so American citizens and politicians are once again turning their focus to this conflict. Much effort has been dedicated to determining who are the “bad” guys and who are the “good” guys, and what … Continue reading “Who’s Who in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict ,” by Alec Peck