October 31, 2026

The Maggie Phair Institute for Democracy and Human Rights

Building Radical Democracy

Education

Discover stories, ideas, and inspiration from this collection.

The History of Capitalism and Human Rights

The History of Capitalism is the History of Exploitation. In the early modern period, capitalism and oppressive power structures like racism, sexism, ableism, and classism (just to list a few) formed in such a way that they are not only entangled but nearly impossible to distinguish from one another; further, the underlying foundation of modernity as […]

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Leftists Should Love Lucy

There’s a biopic out now about Lucille Ball called Being the Ricardos that has mixed reviews (something like a 6.6 on IMDb from users and a similar 68% on Rotten Tomatoes). But there are some things the movie gets right about Lucille – like her ties to the Communist Party and Lucy being targeted during the McCarthy […]

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What Is Mutual Aid?

For the past year in Riverside, CA, there’s been a huge resurgence of mutual aid groups in response to the city, county, and state falling short in its support of people during the COVID-19 crises. While I have the most experience organizing, cooking, and distributing food as part of Riverside Food Not Bombs, I and […]

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Mimi Soltysik Memorial Scholarship Winners

The Maggie Phair Institute for Democracy and Human Rights would like to announce Adonis Cherry and Nyemah West as the first recipients of the Mimi Soltysik Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Adonis Cherry just graduated  high school in Las Vegas, NV. He will be attending the Sage Colleges in New York. He has been active in a […]

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