Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

It’s time for all of us to get in the game

It’s time for all of us to get in the game

Aaron Maybin at Joseph Gross Gallery on August 15, 2015 in New York City.

Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images

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

In America we love our superstar athletes. Whether they are college or professionals, today’s star athletes are some of the most recognized pop culture icons that America has to offer.


While some of us may think of them only as sport icons, many of them are using their stardom to positively impact their communities and the nation more than they ever possibly could have on the field of competition.

This is not new in America. In the early 1950’s Jackie Robinson built upon his stardom as America’s first African-American player in Major League Baseball to use his stature to advance civil rights throughout his career.

In this first of an ongoing series in The Fulcrum, we will highlight the work of athletes off the field as they set an example of how America is stronger if we become more civically engaged.

The story of Aaron Maybin who walked away from a successful NFL football career to pursue a career as a professional artist, activist, writer, educator and community organizer is a perfect example.

Maybin is an artist who uses his art to express his vision, perspective and views on American society. For democracy to endure we must be open to perspectives different from our own. As a powerful medium, art fosters a sense of understanding and caring for our fellow man.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

In 2009, Aaron established Project Mayhem to provide aid, both personal and economic, to help underserved and at risk youth excel beyond their current conditions. Through his work with Project Mayhem and as a teacher, Aaron has implemented art workshops and curricula into many schools in the Baltimore City area that have had budget cuts due to a lack of funding.

Aaron teaches creative arts and literacy in Baltimore’s public schools, created his Art Activism Curriculum (being taught in several Baltimore City Schools), and also co-founded the Operation Heat Campaign, raising more than $90,000 for schools struggling with heating issues in the wintertime.

Enjoy this video to learn more about how Aaron is now a star off the field:

Read More

Justice is blind statue symbolizing law with scales and sword in hands and a US flag in the background
SimpleImages/Getty Images

When lawyers attack the rule of law

Lawyers Defending American Democracy invites you to attend a free webinar, “When Lawyers Attack the Rule of Law,” on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. Pacific (5 p.m. Eastern).

Please register for this important webinar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Latino man standing at the counter in a bakery

"Trump wants to bring jobs back to America. For us, this means more work here and for our community,” says Joge Sactic, who owns a bakery just outside Washington, D.C.

Beatrice M. Spadacini

Small-business owner prioritizes immigration in this year’s election

Spadacini is an Italian American freelance journalist who writes about social justice and public health.

The Fulcrum presents We the People, a series elevating the voices and visibility of the persons most affected by the decisions of elected officials. In this installment, we explore the motivations of over 36 million eligible Latino voters as they prepare to make their voices heard in November.

Keep ReadingShow less
"Vote Here" sign
Grace Cary

Bill would require ranked-choice voting for congressional elections

Meyers is executive editor of The Fulcrum.

Three members of Congress are hoping to bring ranked-choice voting, which has been growing at the state and municipal levels, to congressional elections.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Thursday introduced the Ranked Choice Voting Act, which would change how all members of Congress are elected. In addition, the bill would authorize funding to assist states to help them educate voters and implement RCV-compliant systems for primary and general elections by 2028.

Keep ReadingShow less
Red elephants and blue donkeys
Carol Yepes

America's two-party system is failing us

Cooper is the author of “How America Works … and Why it Doesn’t.

Are Kamala Harris and Donald Trump really the two best candidates for America's most demanding and important job? Hardly. Trump tried to reverse the last election. And while Harris would be a reversion toward the mean — after an unfit Trump and an aging Joe Biden — she's far from the most talented executive in the country.

So why, then, are they the two candidates to be president?

The answer is America's two-party political system. While third parties occasionally make some noise, they never threaten the Democratic-Republican duopoly.

Keep ReadingShow less