Activism in pushing for change while challenging U.S. policy will become even more urgent in the coming year. 

This is a year of anniversaries for Israel and Palestine. It marks 100 years since the signing of the Balfour Declaration, which signaled British agreement to the formation of a Jewish state in historic Palestine. It also marks the 70th anniversary of the 1947 U.N. Partition resolution and the start of the fighting in historic Palestine that culminated in the 1948 war. And June will mark 50 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

In his final days in office, President Obama granted commutation to hundreds of federal prisoners, including Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera and army whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Meanwhile, people across the country are mobilizing to mark inauguration day with protests and community events. Here's what we're reading to learn more.

An interview with Arnie Alpert, co-director, AFSC New Hampshire program

Arnie Alpert has coordinated AFSC’s work in New Hampshire for over 30 years. In that time, he helped lead a decade-long campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a state holiday. We asked Arnie for his thoughts on how King’s words and actions resonate in struggles for justice today.

Q: King is considered the most important leader in the Civil Rights Movement, but you’ve written about the limits of this characterization.

This week, confirmation hearings began for President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees. The hearings were met with protests both on and off the Senate floor. Here's what we're reading to learn more.

The Donald Trump cabinet tracker by Russell Berman via The Atlantic

This is the third post in a three-part series from my conversation with Quaker author, activist, and educator George Lakey. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Click here for part 1, and here for part 2.

This is the second post in a three-part series from my conversation with Quaker activist, author, and educator George Lakey.

This is the first in a three-part series from my conversation with Quaker activist, author, and educator George Lakey. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Click here for part 2, and here for part 3.

On Jan 10, Gen. John Kelly faced the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to answer questions related to his nomination for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Kelly is one of at least six confirmation hearings this week for cabinet posts, and Sen. Chuck Schumer has claimed that “Senate Republicans are trying to ram [nominees] through as quickly as possible.” The frenzied schedule virtually guarantees that concerns about individual nominees won’t get the attention that such important decisions deserve.