Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Meet the reformer: Christina Harvey, progressive pushing to spend on healthier and easier voting

Christina Harvey of Stand Up America
Cheddar

The progressive Stand Up America, created after the 2016 election, became particularly visible last year pressing Congress to spend more on election security — and is reprising that role now in pushing for more federal funding to boost voting options in light of the pandemic. Christina Harvey became managing director, or No. 2 staffer, last year after her employer of 15 years, Eric Schneiderman, resigned as New York attorney general when four women accused him of physical abuse. She had joined his state Senate staff in 2003 after her first job, as a union organizer. Her answers have been edited for clarity and length.

What's the tweet-length description of your organization?

Working to strengthen our democracy by empowering our members to advocate for policies that increase voter participation and unrig a corrupt system that stands in the way of progressive change.


Describe your very first civic engagement.

I'm a coal-miner's daughter from West Virginia, raised by a single mother. I stood on my first picket line when I was 6 years old and my mom was on strike.

What was your biggest professional triumph?

Repealing New York's draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws, passing the original millionaire's tax and ending prison-based gerrymandering in a single session of the state Senate. All three were in my legislative portfolio.

And your most disappointing setback?

Driving 330,000 calls to Congress to impeach President Trump — but then the Senate not removing him.

How does your identity influence the way you go about your work?

I was fortunate enough to be working class growing up, because my mom had a steady union job, but I was always conscious of how easy it would be to slip into poverty like many of the kids around me. One set of layoffs and a month or two of unemployment and we would have been there. I was able to stay in a Sandinista cooperative in Nicaragua in high school, study liberation theology with the Jesuits in El Salvador and volunteer in an orphanage in Guatemala while in college — and saw conditions similar or worse than in rural West Virginia.

These experiences ingrained in me a sense of just how lucky I am in every moment, and probably a fear of ever resting because you might turn around and not be one of the lucky ones anymore. Every time I turn on the faucet and clean water comes out, or I have a meal too big to finish, I think about how I am literally among the most privileged people on this planet. That perspective gives me a visceral sense of some inequalities that need righted in the world. It also makes it harder to complain or sweat the small stuff, and easier to focus on the work at hand and the big picture.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

"Se hace camino al andar." You make the way as you go. It's one of the most famous lines by the early 20th century Spanish poet Antonio Machado.

Create a new flavor for Ben & Jerry's.

SUA — Strawberry, Ugli-fruit, Apple.

What's your favorite political movie or TV show?

"Homeland."

What's the last thing you do on your phone at night?

Read Politico Nightly.

What is your deepest, darkest secret (something fun!)?

I only make my child take a bath twice a week since the quarantine started. Yeah, it's disgusting.

Read More

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Since the development of American mass media culture in the mid-20th century, numerous examples of entertainment media have tried to improve attitudes towards those who have traditionally held little power.

Getty Images, skynesher

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Entertainment has been used for decades to improve attitudes toward other groups, both in the U.S. and abroad. One can think of movies like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, helping change attitudes toward Black Americans, or TV shows like Rosanne, helping humanize the White working class. Efforts internationally show that media can sometimes improve attitudes toward two groups concurrently.

Substantial research shows that Americans now hold overly negative views of those across the political spectrum. Let's now learn from decades of experience using entertainment to improve attitudes of those in other groups—but also from counter-examples that have reinforced stereotypes and whose techniques should generally be avoided—in order to improve attitudes toward fellow Americans across politics. This entertainment can allow Americans across the political spectrum to have more accurate views of each other while realizing that successful cross-ideological friendships and collaborations are possible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Close-up of military man holding hands with his therapist during counseling at mental health center.

PTSD Awareness Day is not only a time to advocate for veterans' mental health but also an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the emotional responses triggered by political division.

Getty Images, Drazen Zigic

National PTSD Awareness Day: A Call to Action for Veterans and Civil Discourse

Each year on June 27, National PTSD Awareness Day shines a light on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), encouraging those affected to seek support. This observance was officially recognized by the U.S. Senate in 2010, following an initiative by Senator Kent Conrad to honor a North Dakota National Guard member who tragically took his own life after serving two tours in Iraq.

PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events such as combat, assault, accidents, or natural disasters. Its symptoms—ranging from flashbacks and anxiety to mood swings and avoidance behaviors—can be deeply disruptive. PTSD Awareness Day is part of PTSD Awareness Month, which spans the entire month of June, promoting education, treatment options, and community support for those affected.

Keep ReadingShow less
International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues
woman in brown sweater covering her face with her hand
Photo by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash

International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues

Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at the University of Washington, said moving to Seattle with hopes of studying computer science quickly became overwhelming.

"The hardest part for adjusting to life in the U.S. as an international undergrad was also my first year living overseas alone without my parents around me," said Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at UW. "Trying to manage your time, your money, and your energy, all while being so lonely, the first year felt like living in a nightmare."

Keep ReadingShow less