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May 2021 Edition

Welcome to Shoeleather Magazine! We publish timely longform work by Honors students at NYU Journalism.

A Crisis at the U.S. Census: Do We Still Need a Race Box?

September 14, 2021 by Sophia Yufei Wang

California Central Valley: Write in Your Identity   A Census meeting in California’s Central Valley. Central Valley Immigration Integration Collaborative.    California’s Central Valley has been home to Dr. Jesus Martinez and his family for over 29 years. Martinez was born in Mexico and feels a strong connection to his country of origin. When asked […]

Defense Against a Controlled Cyberspace

June 8, 2021 by Sydney Brinker

  Abstract During a period of democratic backsliding and increased weaponization of the internet by governments, privacy and censorship circumvention software has become all the more vital in preserving fundamental human rights and protecting vulnerable communities. Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower responsible for revealing the now-illegal NSA phone records collection program, ended his memoir, “In […]

To Defund or Not to Defund: Is Community Policing Viable in the #BLM Era?

May 19, 2021 by Chris Pyo

1. Breaking Windows in “Fear City” “I’m seein’ body after body and our Mayor Giuliani Ain’t tryin’ to see no black man turn to John Gotti.” –   Everyday Struggle, The Notorious B.I.G., 1994. When Biggie rapped these words in 1994 on his song Everyday Struggle, Rudy Giuliani was just entering office as Mayor of […]

Go Call Your Ancestors

May 16, 2021 by Anna Kaufman

A love letter to mine, the new lost generation  We’re in the home stretch. I keep hearing people say this. Cases are falling, vaccine supply is up, the CDC says immunized people can gather indoors, maskless! President Biden practically invited us to his fourth of July Barbecue. There are still worries of a final wave, […]

“I Don’t Perform Black, I Perform Filipina”

May 10, 2021 by Emma Fecko

Part 1: Setting the Stage Han Han stands backstage at the Lula Lounge, puffing up the butterfly sleeves on her inabel dress one last time before her performance begins. It’s January 30, 2020, and the 35-year-old Filipina Canadian rapper is debuting her sophomore album “Urduja” at one of Toronto’s premier clubs.  As she walks onto […]

In the name of Jah and Dick Gregory, a new Vegan Movement is Born

May 7, 2021 by Alison Zimmerman

It’s Friday night, and for the first time in months, warm enough to stroll around New York City without the armor of arm-stiffening winter wear. In a city still timidly emerging from their apartments after a year in quarantine, Crown Heights buzzes with relieved New Yorkers, still masked, but enjoying the early spring weather.  Just […]

Schwarze Leben zählen

May 7, 2021 by Amina Frassl

Perched on an elevated platform, Mireille Ngosso, a Congolese Austrian doctor and politician, addressed a lively, mask-wearing crowd of about 50,000 protesters clustered around the Viennese parliament building. “No justice, no peace,” she bellowed into the megaphone through her black mask, which had “Black Lives Matter” imprinted in white letters. The mob of Afro-Austrians, asians, […]

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