June 14, 2017 Diana Aqra/Denver, CO – In the last public comment session before the Denver Board of Education Thursday, several charter schools gave testimonies to earn the control of two highly contested school closures in 2017. STRIVE Preparatory Schools and McGlone Academy, two growing charter networks in Denver, vied for the takeover of…
Colorado / conflict / education / humanitarianism / immigration / legislation / local crime / public awareness / racism / women's rights
Diana Aqra/Aurora, CO – Federal civil and criminal prosecutors from the Colorado Division of the United States Department of Justice visited the Colorado Muslim Society today in Aurora, Colorado to encourage Muslim women and their children to defend themselves against hate crimes and harassment in public. Four prosecutors in civil and criminal areas and an officer…
conflict / media / public awareness / racism
Did you look the way that you wanted to look as a child? Did people taunt you because of the way you looked? More specifically, did you or maybe even your family treat you differently because of the color of your skin? Racism is not even close to a new topic on Americans’ minds…
africa / Colorado / globalization / international affairs / media / music / youth
Africans, native Americans and Chicano people – these are the people that have such deep stories to tell, but rarely get the spotlight. The youth of these cultures especially have it hard. Whether they are in between two cultures, or struggling to fit into just one, they work hard to merely have their voices heard and be…
Colorado / globalization / immigration / politics / youth
Great art comes from the heart. But more importantly, it comes from our pain. Young high school students at SMART Academy (part of STRIVE Preparatory Schools) are creating art that combines the light and the dark of their spirits while capturing major pieces of their histories. In the words of historian, artist, Chicana teacher, Salina…
In this interview in April 2015 with Nader Hashemi of the University of Denver, Ussama Makdisi explains the trend of sectarianism throughout the Middle East is not all that it ever was. It is too simplistic to call people of the Middle East violent, warring people. It takes many factors of social and global factors,…
Another pretty complicated relationship. RTD is on its way to raise it’s bus fares. Mostly for the poor and disabled. Light Rail fees (for higher income peoples) will go down, but regular routes, transfers on buses within Denver are going up – see information on that here. What I recently learned from a friend is…
Diana Aqra, Denver – Dozens of dance groups representing cultures from all around the world came together Sunday to devote their bodies to raising awareness around domestic violence. On May 3rd, SafeHouse Denver, a shelter and service provider for victims of domestic violence, held their annual fundraiser called, “Shakin’ it for SafeHouse Denver” where female…