January 25, 2016 By Joy Cannon On the heels of a growing protest, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced major changes to its membership requirements and recruitment processes […]
NewPeople Newspaper
NewPeople is the peace and justice newspaper of Pittsburgh and the Tri-state area, and is published 11 times a year. It fills the voids left by the mainstream media reflecting the reality of progressive, alternative politics locally, nationally and globally.
As a publication of the Thomas Merton Center, the paper reports on the issues of war, poverty, racism and oppression, raising the moral questions involved in the non-violent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. The NewPeople acts as an organizing tool and communiqué for Thomas Merton Center members and the activist community at large.
The Oscars Have a Race Problem
January 22, 2016 By Imaz Athar To celebrate and commemorate the year’s great films and performances, the Oscars presents wide-ranging categories with endless nominees. Within the long list of categories are a […]
White Feminists, What’s Good?

January 20, 2016 By Nijah Glenn Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m super guilty of having watched HBO’s series Girls. I’ll go even further and admit that not only did I not hate […]
Culture Watch: America’s Knights
December 15, 2015 By Jo Tavener Last month I identified George Bailey and Archie Bunker, as media representations of the middle and working classes, respectively, created by progressive middle class writers. I […]
Culture Watch 2: The Evanescent Middle Class
November 28, 2015 By Jo Tavener The next two entries deal with the twin notions of ‘middle’ and “working classes,” their cultural construction and ensuing effect on our (in)ability to imagine a […]
Culture Watch: Is the ACLU Out of Date?
November 28, 2015 By Jo Tavener Has free speech become a tool in the racist toolbox – is the ACLU out of date? “I hate what you say but I will protect […]
Culture Watch: Reflections on our virtual-infested lives and other tidbits
November 22, 2015 By Jo Tavener I am beginning this blog to share my thoughts on what I read or see in the “hyperreal” of the popular, mass media. It’s a space […]
Wars on Syrian Streets After Lynn Emanuel – a Poem by Kate Koenig
I have dreamed of those: In 2015 the people were at war and fighting in the streets of Syria Below a foreign God watched the cities bleed. Under his view, children screamed […]
The War on the Female Body – a Poem by LoCi
Listen as the battle cry comes calling, As the battle cry calls you to come. Listen hard, for the enemy sings louder He muffles her voice so it may not be heard […]
Sincerely, A Chola – a Poem by Christina Acuna Castillo
A little birdie came and sat right outside my window Body all confident, lips smirking, it said it saw you cry for me. He asked God why you had to be an […]