Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

What is an American hero?

Enrique Iglesias performs "Hero" 10 days after 9/11.

What is an American hero? Sometimes American heroes are famous. However, as we well know, all famous people are not heroes.

As we honor the 20th anniversary of 9/11, let us celebrate American heroes whose names we may not know, including the first responder, victim, family and citizen.


September 11 is forever etched in the souls of those of us who witnessed the event.

Ten days after 9/11, Enrique Iglesias performed 'Hero' for the 'America: A Tribute to Heroes' telecast. It is a profoundly moving rendition of a beautiful song, and you can watch his performance at the top of this post.

The Fulcrum will be exploring American heroes in greater depth in the coming months. Who is your American hero? What does the term American hero mean to you? What are the characteristics of a hero that you admire and aspire to? We would love to hear from you. Please feel free to share your thoughts via email at newsroom@fulcrum.us.


Read More

Michelle Martinez, University of Michigan (U-M)

Michelle Martinez, the inaugural director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment at the University of Michigan (U-M)

At the University of Michigan, Environmental Justice Starts With Who Gets to Decide

When Michelle Martinez talks about climate change, she does not begin with temperatures, emissions, or models and projections.

She begins with people. For Martinez, the inaugural director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment at the University of Michigan (U-M), climate change is already being experienced through the housing, economic, and political crises confronting communities today. And that makes climate justice inseparable from a more basic civic question: Who has the power to decide what happens to a community?

Keep ReadingShow less
Hand of Man Pointing to an I Voted Sticker

Close Up Hand of Man Pointing to an I Voted Sticker Place on His Shirt

Getty Images

Voters Want Results. The Midterms Made That Clear.

The 2026 midterm elections were never going to be a referendum on one person. They were always a test of whether Americans believed their leaders were addressing the issues affecting their daily lives.

Voters delivered a clear message in the midterm elections. The results were historic. Democrats not only reclaimed control of the House of Representatives, but also captured a majority in the U.S. Senate.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman protesting holds a sign that readds, "Our Raise! Labor Safety Costs, surrounded by other people.

Uber drivers participate in a rally outside of the Uber Headquarters on January 05, 2023 in New York City. Uber drivers in NYC participated in a 24-hour strike outside of the company's NYC headquarters

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

21st-Century Gig Workers Need Portable Benefits

In recent years, the US labor force has been undergoing a fundamental transformation. In today’s "Uber economy," gig workers, freelancers, contractors, temps, permatemps, remote workers after COVID, and so-called “independent workers” have been championed by Silicon Valley and Wall Street as the “new way to work”—the wave of the future, especially with AI changing the nature of work itself.

Many US consumers have driven in an Uber taxi, but don’t realize that most drivers earn below minimum wage after accounting for vehicle expenses, gas, maintenance, and unpaid time waiting for passengers. Those drivers are so-called “independent contractors,” so the billion-dollar Uber is not responsible for providing healthcare, Social Security contributions, workers' compensation, or unemployment compensation, not to mention sick leave or vacation pay.

Keep ReadingShow less