SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG

Read and share the extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change

Kids Win Big In Yazzie Case: New Mexico Court Says State Must Address Systemic Discrimination
Education, New Mexico Constitution, Children's Rights Teddy Basham-Witherington Education, New Mexico Constitution, Children's Rights Teddy Basham-Witherington

Kids Win Big In Yazzie Case: New Mexico Court Says State Must Address Systemic Discrimination

Like all parents, Wilhelmina Yazzie wants her children to have an education that gives them the opportunities they need to learn and thrive. But her 15-year-old son Xavier hasn’t been getting what he needs to be college and career ready because the state has been starving our public schools. Unfortunately, Wilhelmina’s son Xavier, like so many other students in New Mexico, has not had the benefit of the programming and resources he needs to thrive.

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Poisoned by Uranium, Navajo Nation Seeks Justice
Environmental Justice, Navajo, Uranium Mining Teddy Basham-Witherington Environmental Justice, Navajo, Uranium Mining Teddy Basham-Witherington

Poisoned by Uranium, Navajo Nation Seeks Justice

Flint, Baltimore, Philadelphia ... Churchrock?  The list of communities facing drinking water crises is ever growing, but some communities don’t get mentioned in the media or the halls of power.  When the Flint water crisis made national headlines, Americans were shocked that any community's drinking water could be sacrificed just to save a few bucks.  But contaminated water is a fact of life for many communities impacted by this nation's fetishistic fascination with atomic power. 

The Navajo (or "Diné" in their native language) village of Churchrock straddles a dusty arroyo called the Puerco River in the northwestern corner of New Mexico.  This inauspicious village is ground zero in the fight to prevent uranium mining from doing further damage to the land and its people.  To fully understand the current fight, one must look to history first. 

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