Uncivil Democracy is now available worldwide!

Looking forward to this tomorrow!

Scholars & organizers: consider submitting a proposal for this special issue of @jhppl.bsky.social. Community organizing has transformative possibilities. It should be studied, understood, discussed, and highlighted as a core democratic practice. This special issue does part of that work. Submit!

What has happened in Minnesota over the last several months underscores the institutional groundwork that must be laid to catalyze “people power” in the face of authoritarian oppression. State preemption is an important part of that groundwork. Read more in my piece w/ @thelssc.bsky.social 👇🏾

I am excited to be in conversation with the indefatigable John Washington about my book, Uncivil Democracy: How Access to Justice Shapes Political Power. If you are in Buffalo this Friday, join us at Burning Books at 7pm. We'll be talking power, organizing, and legal justice.

“How we do the work is crucial. This may require us to slow down, to provide meaningful thought to each analytical question, to consider all potential impacts, and to move at the speed of trust with our partners and community. But there is so much power in that intentionality.”

Check out the latest from Futures Forum! @carolynfan.bsky.social puts her art (linocut) into conversation w/ the words of racial justice luminaries & incorporates personal reflections from our team at the Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures. equitablefutures.cornell.edu/our-guiding-...

Check out this great write up on #UncivilDemocracy from @cape-team.bsky.social. It concisely but aptly captures core takeaways from the book 🎯

The dystopian realities of the moment make it hard to see a path towards a better future. But we must insist on imagining & illuminating that path. The Futures Forum is a new space to dream, reflect, & envision better futures. Check it out👇🏾 equitablefutures.cornell.edu/introducing-...

Just a reminder this is happening tomorrow! You still have time to register if you want to join in the conversation with @povertyscholar.bsky.social and I about #peoplepower #accesstojustice #housing #tenantorganizing

Tune in for our virtual book launch next week January 28th, 3:30pm ET! Register 👉🏾 lnkd.in/gy9Xu_2m

A book never feels real until you hold it in you hands. @profsorelle.bsky.social & I can now confirm that Uncivil Democracy is real! If you care about #peoplepower #housingjustice, #tenantorganizing & transforming our perverse political economy, this is a book for you. Order here: bit.ly/3NLYCCw

My 15 year old just texted me this TikTok video and told me that “this is our geopolitical situation right now.” I both love that he’s politically astute and hate that this is the world he has to grow up in.

As of today, I am a FULL professor. I do not care much for occupational status markers. Still, it is not lost on me that only 2% of full professors are Black women. This goes beyond personal accomplishment. It is a responsibility to do as much as I can for others. That is exactly what I aim to do.

I wrote about Yglesias “defending liberalism” by joining a right wing moral panic over critical race theory. His vision of liberalism has room for bigots, but no room for scholars concerned about structural racism.

A must read from @neillewisjr.bsky.social, a scholar and friend I constantly learn from.

So many things happening, I nearly missed the @newrepublic.com piece I was quoted in last week. It raises the possibility of continued political threats to SNAP, underscoring a point I make often: the best way to politically protect the safety net is to build the power of those who rely on it.

" @povertyscholar.bsky.social said that losing food benefits is not only a crisis in itself, but it can lead to other crises...'Crises tend to cascade and compound...As this happens, people are less likely to vote.” www.salon.com/2025/11/08/h...

Happening today @1pm ET. Join the discussion if you're able! I'll be starting things off with grounding thoughts on Medicaid & structural racism. The conversation to follow will center on strategies community-based orgs can take to keep folks on Medicaid. meetattheintersection.org/a-crucial-mo...

I am grateful to work alongside colleagues in the health/public health space who are intentional about building our power as academics in service of advancing health equity. We are the Health and Power Organizing Project (HPOP). Read our AJPH paper here: ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...

Super excited for this discussion on the structural determinants of health, moderated by Paula Braveman. A powerhouse panel - @tyson-brown.bsky.social @povertyscholar.bsky.social and Jonathan Heller

My book w/@profsorelle.bsky.social will be out in January! These ideas have brewed since I interned at Queens Legal Services 20 years ago. The book is for anyone who cares about people, justice, power & democracy. Much more to share more in the coming months! press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

For the #EGEssaySeries, @povertyscholar.bsky.social points to how forces fueling right-wing populism are evident in the housing market and how tenant organizing can be powerful for creating better economic policies and strengthening U.S. democracy. Read more 🔗: equitablegrowth.org/housing-inse...

Medicaid turned 60 this week! My piece in Health Affairs Forefront argues that its future "hinges on who has the power to direct its course." Building & organizing power among Medicaid beneficiaries is the path towards transformative change. Read more here 👇🏾 www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

Me & @joanalker1.bsky.social on @npr.org's "It's Been a Minute" talking about the erroneous stereotypes that drive Medicaid cuts & the fundamental connections between all of us. When we harm those whom government deems "underserving," we ultimately harm everyone. www.npr.org/2025/07/04/1...

July 4th has never resonated. Too many people remained unfree after the U.S. declared independence & too many would be made unfree as a result of that declaration. Today, as so many devastatingly harmful policies unfold, charting a course towards freedom is unfinished work that depends on us.

*Update: Deep thanks to those who shared links, contacts, & encouragement. My brother helped find this family temporary housing. The road ahead for them will be hard. For low-income people, being evicted in NYC means navigating a confusing maze of programs that too often demoralize & discourage.

I don’t normally do this but I am posting w/an ask today. Please read the thread 🧵 My brother took in the family from the apartment across the hall from him last night. They were evicted w/ their 4-month-old. My brother, who has few resources of his own, could not bear to see them on the street.

Sadly, must share this again today: Most. People. Don’t. Want. Medicaid. Cuts. And as @povertyscholar.bsky.social and I argue, there could (should) be political repercussions for this undemocratic act.

During a bleak time (w/massive Medicaid cuts looming), I'm inspired by ordinary people organizing to fight displacement & harm. As @mperezbrower.bsky.social so powerfully writes, democracy hinges on efforts to "transform how power operates in our community." www.seattletimes.com/opinion/in-r...

Though some elected officials are no longer even pretending to represent the preferences of their constituents, it remains important to underscore the gaping chasm between what people want (RE: Medicaid) & what is actually happening. Read our piece for more on this democratic disconnect👇🏾

Looking forward to this discussion today. Join us.

It is a hard, but important time to be thinking and talking collectively about Medicaid. Join us next week (June 12th) for a historically grounded, future facing discussion.

I am under no illusion that the elected officials pushing Medicaid cuts care about the facts. But it is still important to state them clearly, publicly, and incessantly: “Work requirements are simply Medicaid cuts by another name. They serve little other purpose." www.newsweek.com/medicaid-wor...

I enjoyed this discussion today. I learned a lot from my fellow panelists (even those I disagreed with). And as moderator, @jerusalem.bsky.social wasn’t afraid to challenge us with tough questions. I find that approach super generative.

We cannot harm those deemed “undeserving” without also harming many who are supposedly “deserving.” These false dichotomies serve only the most wealthy/elite. MLK was on point when he said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We ignore that wisdom to our own peril.

I'm glad to be part of this team of scholars. I'm not an experimentalist, but by working closely with colleagues who use experiments as a primary research tool, I've been able to explore one of the core preoccupations of my own research agenda (centering the marginalized) in new and novel ways.

I learned about civil legal inequality 20+ years ago, when I did an internship at a legal services org serving low-income people in the community I grew up in. That internship didn't make me want to be a lawyer, but it made me ask the questions at the root of some of my current research (1/n).

How do life changes shape political behavior? Authors Ojeda, @povertyscholar.bsky.social, and Haselswerdt explore this question in the article, “The Politics of Personal Crisis: How Life Disruptions Shape Political Participation”. Read more at the open access link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Compelling perspective from the reliably incisive Christina Greer. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/o...

Instead of weaponizing efficiency to bludgeon government, let's cultivate more responsive, effective government. My new white paper @responsivegov.bsky.social argues for governance rooted in "the robust & systematic centering of the voices of the denizens who most rely on public social programs."

Courage and conviction are a choice. Not the easiest choice, not the path of least resistance, not the safest route to go, but a choice nonetheless. Dean Jackson of the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design is showing us what this looks like and I love to see it 💯 mailchi.mp/04bd06b0c03c...

How can we rebuild our political economy to uplift the health and wellbeing of all Americans? Join us on April 1 at The New School to explore the health investments and policies, power-building strategies, and narratives we need to see real change. RSVP: event.newschool.edu/fromparadigm...

Really looking forward to this! Eager to learn from my (never disappointing) UMich colleagues & excited for any conversation that involves @motorres.bsky.social & @robmickey.bsky.social

Seeing my 15 year old and his (politically varied) friend group analyze politics with razor sharp wit & astonishing insight is giving me a slither of hope. These kids are talking about the debacle w/Zelensky (while gaming) & their takes are smarter than anything I’ve seen in the mainstream media.

If you want to read a great book about Medicaid and understand a big part of why it's under attack now (and is always under attack from the right), read Fragmented Democracy by the brilliant @povertyscholar.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/books/f...

In case anyone needs a break from reality (me, by 9 a.m. every day), my coauthor Anna Berg and I have a new, open access essay out in Perspectives! buff.ly/4gN6cFR. We describe the marginalization of qual methods in the study of American political behavior and make a case for their revival.

Say it louder for the (many, many) folks in the back who think that the most reasonable way to respond to blatant racism is by accepting the twisted terms of the debate & insisting that their behavior is justified per those ahistorical, illogical, empirically unsound terms (“we uphold meritocracy!”)

Today I would like to highlight the-ever-so-salient book #FragmentedDemocracy: #Medicaid #Federalism and #Unequal #Politics by @povertyscholar.bsky.social #BlackHistoryMonth

I am looking forward to this @nationalacademies.org workshop on economic systems as a structural driver of population health. I'll talk about the role of power in shaping the political-economic systems that structure population health. Register (below). Come through in person or log-in virtually!