Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

So this is Christmas. And what have you (we) done?

David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” a song by John Lennon released in 1971 that has become a Christmas classic, is more relevant today than ever.

As we approach 2024, a year that will certainly test our resolve as a nation and test our democracy, the opening verse of the song is a question all of us as Americans should ask:

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

The song’s message – calling for an end to fear and war, for hope and peace – is still applicable today, especially considering the ongoing conflicts in our nation and wars around the world. And the message of asking what each one of us can do rings as loudly today as ever. Hope is empty unless it is accompanied by helpful action.


The lyrics remind us that we should strive for a better world, where people of all races and backgrounds can live together in harmony. The song encourages us to look beyond our differences and work towards a common goal of peace and love.

As I listen again to “Happy Xmas,” I am reminded of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, delivered 10 years before Lennon’s song debuted. It has a similar message but with a call to action for us as a people:

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Yes, a call to action for Americans to contribute to their country and to work towards a better future for all. In 1961, when Kennedy delivered the speech, our nation was facing many challenges as it is today. He

inspired millions of people to take action and work towards a better future.

Yet for us to take action we must have hope. The two are inextricably woven together. Hope is a powerful emotion that often inspires us to achieve remarkable things. In 1963, just two years after Kennedy’s inaugural address, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his own famous speech of hope, asking those in attendance to never give up.

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

There are thousands of organizations working towards a better future in communities and organizations around the world. In the corner of the world reached by The Fulcrum, we highlight election reforms and bridging work daily. What is missing are millions of Americans who take action in good faith, willing to set aside differences for a brighter future.

So today, as we approach Christmas day 2023, ask yourself, “What have you done”? And most importantly ask yourself, “What you can do for your country?”

Consider answering that question with a simple, but meaningful, first step:

Affirm your commitment to a safe, fair and peaceful 2024 election.

Take the words of John Lennon, JFK and MLK to heart, and take action and make a Pledge for Democracy.

Click here to read and sign the Pledge.

On this Christmas day, reflect on how you can help bring about the dream of a brighter future. Please join us in 2024 so the glory of our nation will be revealed.

Wishing you peace, goodwill and hope.

And of course enjoy John Lennon’s beautiful song:

HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER). (Ultimate Mix, 2020) John & Yoko Plastic Ono Band + Harlem Community Choirwww.youtube.com

Read More

A Cruel Season at the Bus Stop

File: ICE agents making arrests

A Cruel Season at the Bus Stop

The poem you’re about to read is not a quiet reflection—it’s a flare shot into the night. It emerges from a moment when the boundaries between surveillance and censorship feel increasingly porous, and when the act of reading itself can be seen as resistance. The poet draws a chilling parallel between masked agents detaining immigrants and the quiet erasure of books from our schools and libraries. Both, he argues, are expressions of unchecked power—one overt, the other insidious.

This work invites us to confront the slippery slope where government overreach meets cultural suppression. It challenges us to ask: What happens when the stories we tell, the knowledge we share, and the communities we protect are deemed threats? And who gets to decide?

Keep ReadingShow less
Where’s Athlete Activism During Trump’s Second Term?

Antoine Bethea #41 and Rashard Robinson #33 of the San Francisco 49ers raise their first during the anthem as Eli Harold #58 while teammates Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 take a knee, prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi Stadium on October 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California.

(Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Where’s Athlete Activism During Trump’s Second Term?

Despite the 2016-17 NFL season featuring Tom Brady and the New England Patriots’ iconic 28-3 comeback over the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl, the retirement of legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, and the emergence of Joey Bosa as one of the top defensive players in the league, one monumental event stands above the rest: Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem in the heart of Donald Trump’s first term to protest racial injustice and police brutality in the United States.

Kaepernick spawned one of the most talked-about protests in the history of American sports, leading to national conversations about police brutality while earning himself severe backlash in the process.

Keep ReadingShow less
Political Spectacle: Sydney Sweeney’s “Great Jeans”

A digital advertising display featuring US actress Sydney Sweeney is seen outside an American Eagle store in Times Square in New York City on August 4, 2025.

Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Political Spectacle: Sydney Sweeney’s “Great Jeans”

What began as a denim campaign has morphed into a political spectacle, with far-right groups, conservative commentators, and progressive critics all weighing in on Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad. The slogan—“Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”—was interpreted by many as a pun on “genes,” sparking accusations of racial messaging and white supremacist undertones.

- YouTube youtu.be

Keep ReadingShow less
A Place for Women of Color: Woman Made Gallery

Building a Home Out of Dirt (2018)

A Place for Women of Color: Woman Made Gallery

While the Trump administration seeks to erase places for those with historically marginalized identities, Woman Made Gallery offers more than representation—it offers response. Through exhibitions like the most recent Acts of Care, the gallery creates an intentional space where women, women of color, and nonbinary artists don't have to ask for permission to belong—they build that belonging themselves. As a nonprofit rooted in justice and community dialogue, Woman Made Gallery continues to model what inclusive, women-of-color-led spaces can look like: ones that honor lineage, complexity, and care as forms of resistance.

For Program Coordinator Corinne Pompéy, the mission of Woman Made Gallery is more than just representation—it’s about creating an entry point for connection and care. “Our goal is to ensure women and nonbinary artists are seen in the art world,” she said. “But more than that, we want people to feel something when they walk in—whether that’s reflection, joy, or even release.”

Keep ReadingShow less