Peter Dreier is E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics and chair of the Urban & Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College. His latest book, The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame, was just published by Nation Books.
In Richmond, California, home prices plummeted 58 percent since their peak. Now the city is trying out a new way to help homeowners refinance—and halt the slide into foreclosure.
It’s time to end the sale of military-style assault weapons to civilians.
In the next four years—and beyond—progressives must create the political space for the president to represent the majority of Americans.
Called the “Paul Revere of ecology,” Barry Commoner followed Rachel Carson as America’s most prominent modern environmentalist.
Let’s celebrate a new generation of activists who challenge the powerful and mobilize the masses.
Outside the US, May 1 is international workers’ day. Unions, immigrant activists and Occupiers are now resurrecting May Day for Americans.
Anti-sweatshop activists are embracing Alta Gracia, a company that is going head-to-head with brands like Nike to sell socially responsible clothing on college campuses.
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The OWS phenomenon has inspired millions. If it links up with the slow, difficult work of movement-building, it can bring about systemic change.
Why not let Reagan rest in peace? Because many of the most serious problems facing America today began on his watch.
Peter Dreier's list of the fifty most influential progressives of the twentieth century honored the people who moved progressive ideas in America from the marginal to the mainstream. But his list could only include a handful of all those who have contributed to this tradition. We asked our readers to nominate the American progressives who have made the biggest difference in the twentieth century.


