The Maggie Phair Institute for Democracy 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 […]

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 […]

The fifteenth episode of Exit Capitalism, Stage Left is out now. This podcast is supported by The Maggie Phair Institute for Democracy and Human Rights. In this episode, we go over an old relevant interview that highlights what’s going on with UAW workers in the past and what has lead to a strike now, as well […]

Unions, throughout their history here in the U.S., have brought us things like the 8-hour workday, safer workplaces, family leave, and protections against discriminations based on race and sex. But those victories are not enough; there’s still a vast divide between the American worker and their boss in terms of power and earnings. With the […]

The history of capitalism is the history of exploitation – and exploitation and human rights cannot and do not coexist; they are inherently at odds with one another. That means that capitalism is a system in which human rights are constantly under threat by a system that exploits. You don’t have to take my word […]

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 […]

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 […]