Howdunnit

After the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Cathy Doherty, a leader at a local parochial school, became galvanized to do something. She started an after-school program bringing together youth from local schools with the intention to prevent them from developing racist attitudes. This is part of a broader effort in St. Louis by Catholic women to fight racism and work towards meaningful change.

In order to keep local farms and businesses afloat, the Metuchen Farmers Market in North Jersey went virtual. Volunteers for the market enlisted the help of the Canada-based Local Line to build the market's platform, which allows customers to place orders online for a weekend pickup.

At Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit, the support of the high school doesn't stop at graduation. Staff at the school follow up with alumni at their new campuses to make sure they are on track and connect them with the resources they need to succeed, whether academic, financial, or social.

The NYC-based campaign, Dumplings Against Hate, has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Asian Americans for Equality’s Emergency Small Business Relief Fund by bringing together a virtual community of support. As the COVID-19 pandemic picked up in early 2020, Chinatown restaurants and businesses saw a decrease in revenue because of xenophobia and racism, inspiring the group’s creation. Since then, it’s acted as a model for similar groups across the country, and is creating a toolkit for cities to create their own campaigns.

Rewilding wolves rebalances ecosystems. Following the 1970s Endangered Species Act (ESA), efforts to reintroduce wolves into the Yellowstone National Park have proven successful, helping to reduce land degradation from overpopulated grazing animals. The effort began in 1995 with the introduction of wolves captured in Canada, with the help of Canadian agencies. Today, the wolves keep the park’s biodiversity in balance and attract tourists.

Governing Hope, an anti-racism organization, is combating racism in Portland by asking white people to pay reparations. The organization created an event called “Reparations Power Hour,” which invites people of color for a discussion and food. They also receive $10 for showing up. The money is donated primarily by white people. “ We call on folks to imagine what reparations in their own communities could look like.”

In 2017, Illinois passed a bill to re-establish the Women’s Correctional Services Division in response to the disproportionate level of discipline handed out to female inmates and in an effort to create more trauma-informed practices. An initial audit showed declines in discipline and there is now mandatory training for correctional officers on working with female inmates. But the main reform champion retired after the law passed and the state wouldn’t provide updated data on discipline.

As a response to the way in which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food supply chains, especially in remote parts of the Navajo Nation, the new “Seeds and Sheep” program is mailing seeds to families so they can grow food for themselves and their community. The nonprofit running the program, Utah Diné Bikéyah, has connected with over 300 families so far. It is part of a larger trend of Native efforts to provide agricultural education, teach people to grow culturally relevant food, and reduce food insecurity.

New York City is piloting a methadone distribution system for residents struggling with opioid addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially intended to avoid unnecessary visits to medical centers, the model is now championed by policy experts as a permanent solution for reaching more patients. “It’s amazing, unprecedented, ground-breaking, and will be something that we’ll continue to fight to make sure that it stays in place after COVID has passed,” one proponent said.

Les Alchimistes is a social enterprise outside of Paris that turns the 900,000 tons of food waste produced every year into compost that is then sold to farmers. The group is supported by industrial composters named Tidy Planet who have managed to speed up the natural composting process from 6-12 months to less than two weeks. The Alchimistes have six composting sites across France, and they rely on city cyclists to pick up the food waste from each participating restaurant.