America has a long-standing history of oppression, violence and injustice, but in all of the chaos, there are nonprofits, organizations and people willing to fight the bad with a little bit of good.
In response to the jacket Melania Trump wore when visiting Texas during the family separation crisis, multiple organizations throughout the United States fought back with their own version of the saying. The jacket Melania Trump wore stated “I don’t care, do you?” Wildfang—a clothing company in Portland, Ore.—twisted the insensitive saying and designed its own version of the green jacket—“I really care, don’t you?” The proceeds from the jacket, which sold out the first day, are donated to The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RACIES.
This is one example of how people have come together to fight injustices in America. There are many similar causes and organizations to get involved in.
RACIES
This organization is a nonprofit located in Texas with a mission to provide low to no cost legal services for immigrant families and children. In 2017, RACIES provided legal aid to more than 50,000 immigrants and helped close a majority of those cases. Get involved by donating directly to the charity in one of three ways—through the LEAF Project for Universal Representation of Unaccompanied Children, international donations or the Family Reunification and Bond Fund. The proceeds all go to uniting families, providing legal services and helping asylum seekers.
This nonprofit identifies inequity in education and pairs children in those communities with teachers and educators. There are three ways to help, including donating to the charity, interning or working as part of the foundation.
United Way helps over 1,800 communities all over the world by providing sustainable solutions to recurring issues in sectors such as agriculture, education, health and more. There are several ways to get involved, ranging from donating money and bitcoin to volunteering or running a workplace campaign.
This organization focuses on raising awareness and combating global poverty. The campaign structure is different than a traditional nonprofit, in that The Borgen Project concentrates its efforts on meeting with U.S. leaders and gaining their support on poverty-reducing measures. The project also provides people in communities across the world with the necessary skills to advocate for poverty-related issues. People can get involved through one of their internships, by becoming a donor or through other volunteer work.
American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU focuses on upholding the Constitution and fighting any active injustices. The organization has been directly involved in historic Supreme Court cases dealing with equal treatment of LGBTQ+ communities, rights to privacy, free speech and reproductive rights. The ACLU was also involved in the famous 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, in which the court deemed segregation as a violation of the14th Amendment of the Constitution. People can get involved by donating to the organization or becoming an ACLU voter. Currently, the ACLU is urging people to call their state representatives and ask them to vote no against the recently proposed anti-immigrant bill.
I’m currently attending the MFA creative writing program with an emphasis in nonfiction at Portland State and hold a master’s in English with a concentration in book publishing. Managing content across different platforms, I incorporate creativity and honesty to connect and engage with our audience.
