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Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

​The U.S. Constitution.

Call for a Constitutional Convention Veils Anti-Constitutionalism and Portends Political Chaos

Coins on top of countries.

If Countries Stop Buying U.S. Debt, Everything Changes.

Redistricting

Redistricting

Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on stage

Luke Combs, politics and healing our nation's divide

Employees being let go, laid off, fired.

Part One, The Impact of Trump’s Executive Actions: The Federal Workforce

Anusha Harid-Paoletti: "Diversity is intertwined with success"

Anusha Harid-Paoletti: "Diversity is intertwined with success"
Colorful Diversity Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures
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Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaMar 03, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
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Anusha Harid-Paoletti, the CEO of Ellevate Network.

Ellevate’s mission is to “make work, work for all” and to create a world where everyone belongs by helping women thrive at work.

I spoke with Anusha on a recent episode of Fulcrum Democracy Forum (FDF). The program engages citizens in evolving government to better meet all people's needs. Consistent with the Fulcrum's mission, FDF strives to share many perspectives to widen our readers' viewpoints.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Anusha shared that Ellevate has a reach of 200,000 plus women globally. "We have 50+ corporate sponsors that we (Ellevate) speak to," she said. "Where we have standing to speak to is what is needed in the workplace for everyone who earned their spot to truly succeed."

In February, the Fulcrum published a column by Anusha titled Even Without The Acronym, Diverse Workforces Thrive. In our conversation, she shared how data does not support President Donald Trump’s executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion in government. She noted, for example, that "Boards that have gender diversity are 27% more likely to outperform financially."

Anusha immigrated to the US with her family from India after spending her childhood in the United Kingdom and Dubai.

A graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, she worked in financial services at Goldman Sachs for 10 years until launching a financial technology company in 2017. "Innovation happens because you are constantly interacting with the best and the brightest from all backgrounds. I live in New York City. I feel that way about my city as well. Diversity is intertwined with success," she said.

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If you have a suggestion for a change leader I should profile in an upcoming episode of the Fulcrum Democracy Forum, please email me at Hugo@thefulcrum.us.

I am the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. I am also the publisher of the Latino News Network and an accredited solutions journalism trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network.

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Future of the National Museum of the American Latino is Uncertain

PRESENTE! A Latino History of the United States

Credit: National Museum of the American Latino

Future of the National Museum of the American Latino is Uncertain

The American Museum of the Latino faces more hurdles after over two decades of advocacy.

Congress passed legislation to allow for the creation of the Museum, along with the American Women’s History Museum, as part of the Smithsonian Institution in an online format. Five years later, new legislation introduced by Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) wants to build a physical museum for both the Latino and women’s museums but might face pushback due to a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

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Fairness, Not Stigma, for Transgender Athletes

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Fairness, Not Stigma, for Transgender Athletes

President Trump’s campaign and allies spent $21 million of campaign spending on attack ads against transgender people. With that level of spending, I was shocked to find out it was not a top concern for voters of either party, but it continued to prevail as a campaign priority.

Opponents of transgender participation in sports continue to voice their opinions, three months into the Trump presidency. Just last month, the Trump administration suspended $175 million in federal funding to Penn State over a transgender swimmer. $175 million is a bit dramatic over one swimmer, or in the case of the entire NCAA, fewer than 10 athletes. Even Governor Gavin Newsom was recently under fire for sharing his views on his podcast. Others, like Rep. Nancy Mace, have also caught on to the mediagenic nature of transphobia right now. “You want penises in women's bathrooms, and I'm not going to have it,” she said in a U.S. House hearing last month. I had no clue who Nancy Mace was prior to her notorious views on LGBTQ+ rights. Frankly, her flip from being a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights to shouting “Tr**ny” in a hearing seems less like a change of opinion and more of a cry for attention.

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April 2nd is International Children's Book Day. It is time to celebrate the transformative power of children's literature and mourn the spaces where stories once lived. The numbers are staggering: there were over 10,000 book bans in U.S. public schools during the 2023-2024 school year alone, affecting more than 4,000 unique titles. Each banned book represents a mirror taken away from a child who might have seen themselves in those pages or a window closed to a child who might have glimpsed a world beyond their own.

I'm a child of the 80s and 90s, back when PBS was basically raising us all. Man, LeVar Burton's voice on Reading Rainbow was like that cool uncle who always knew exactly what book you needed. Remember him saying, "But you don't have to take my word for it"? And Sesame Street—that show was living proof that a kid from the Bronx could learn alongside a kid from rural Kansas, no questions asked. These and other such programs convinced an entire generation that we could "go anywhere" and "be anything.” Also, they were declarations that every child deserves to see themselves in stories, to dream in technicolor, and to imagine futures unlimited by the accidents of birth or circumstance.

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Storytelling that exposes injustices and inspires equity
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Storytelling that exposes injustices and inspires equity

Stephanie R. Toliver is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction focusing on English Education and Adolescent/Secondary Literacy.

In her research, Toliver employs creativity and imagination to confront systemic inequities and promote more equitable education environments.

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