Uncategorized – Breakthrough U.S.

A Warm Farewell from Breakthrough U.S.

Dear Friends, Recently the Breakthrough U.S. Board of Directors announced that the organization will be sunsetting its U.S. office and all operations effective on March 31, 2023. As President and CEO, it has been my honor and pleasure to shepherd Breakthrough U.S. for the past few years and its efforts to use media advocacy and…

Black Women Are Tired Of Being The Mule Of America

As Black women, we often find ourselves in situations where we are forced to hold our identities and lived experiences at the intersections of oppression and marginalization. We tend to live — depending on where we as individuals plot on the axis of privilege — from the perspective of our places of dis-privilege. Recently, I…

Forbes.com: Meet The Black Queer And Trans Women Making History With Radical Approaches Toward Nonprofit Work

“What we don’t see, what we don’t hear, we cannot humanize,” she said. To that end, Lewis explained that without charity through the lens of humanity, our most vulnerable populations will remain so. Reid, Pauleanna, “Meet The Black Queer And Trans Women Making History With Radical Approaches Toward Nonprofit Work,” Forbes.com, March 30, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauleannareid/2022/03/30/meet-the-black-queer-and-trans-women-making-history-with-radical-approaches-toward-nonprofit-work/

Breakthrough Nominated at the Official Latino Film Festival

Cheyenne’s Story from our new documentary series, Our Stories In Vivid Color, was an official selection of the 2021 Official Latino Film Festival! Cheyenne’s Story was nominated for Best Webisode and was eligible for the Audience Choice Award. Directed by Breakthrough’s Creative Director, Emmy-nominated filmmaker Moni Vargas, the episode follows Cheyenne Leonard, a disabled Latinx…

Diana | Double-Immigrant Exploring Identity and Indigenous Roots

Diana Castro (she/they) is a queer, immigrant, woman of color from Los Angeles. Their ethics were shaped by their mother’s dedication to being a childcare worker. Despite working hard, the family faced challenging livable conditions and discrimination due to a language barrier. Diana often assisted their parents in times of need. Eventually, the family decided…

The Increase of Racial Profiling Of Muslims After 9/11

TRIGGER WARNING: This story mentions law enforcement and racism After September 11 2001, there was an uptick in racial profiling across America, including the African American, Latino, Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities. As part of our campaign, Restoring Fairness, we documented stories from those experiencing injustices in the United States of America, including Kurdish-American,…

Using Indigenous Culture in Fashion is Not an Aesthetic, It’s Appropriation

Indigenous folk showcasing cultural fashion

Photography, fashion, and other creative media that incorporate elements of a culture that does not belong to us creates a divide.

The Depression Came (Comic) by Anna Nguyen

The American Psychiatric Association notes that BIPOC adults generally have a harder time locating and receiving mental health services, having found that 48% of whites received mental health services, compared with 31% of Blacks and Hispanics, and 22% of Asians in 2015. This is something comic artists, Anna Nguyen is well aware of and explores…

Tree Girl’s Budding Thoughts by Caela Collins (Part 2)

Part 2 I had to lose my identity in order to find myself. As a Tree, I was only worried aboutmy own growth; I didn’t care about the trees around me, I just wanted to be big andtall but in order to grow like that, you need strong roots. The joke was on mebecause the…

Generation Z: Where do we stand?

Currently, our country is as divided as ever. In the United States, we see open racism, homophobia, white supremacy, and hate crimes. But we also see a lot of people waxing poetic about my generation, calling us a beacon of light for the future. Are we? It’s hard to think of an entire generation as…