Remembering Alice Wong, the latest on food justice, Starbucks workers on strike and the latest DEI news.

Plus: Four Native American artists you should know.

Author

Nicole Cardoza
November 23, 2025

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Happy Sunday and welcome back to Reimagined! I have a video going viral on social media, and I saw the comments from some of you readers surprised that I popped on your timeline that way. I also got to meet another reader IRL at my magic show last weekend! I love how the world has so many ways to connect us–know that I’m grateful for every single one of you in whichever ways we cross paths.

I sent an email last week inviting of you to share your tried and trusted holiday gathering tips, and over 300 of you responded! The email is going out on Tuesday, so you have a couple days left to share your tips and tricks. Details here – reply to either email to submit yours! Cannot WAIT to share the wealth of knowledge from this community. In the meantime, here’s a resource-heavy newsletter to give you lots to read this holiday week.

Take care,

Nicole

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Wong is best known for her work on the Disability Visibility Project, which she founded in 2014 to magnify disabled culture, particularly the work and lives of those who are multiply marginalized. (Dana Rogers/John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Alice Wong, disability justice advocate and author, transitions. Wong envisioned a world where disabled people, particularly those from multiple marginalized backgrounds, could live freely and with full autonomy. 19th News >

Meet the L.A. print makers weaponizing art against ICE. When the federal immigration raids ramped up in L.A. and protesters took to the streets in June, Chan decided to make a statement the only way he knew how: By printing thousands of protest signs and distributing them for free. L.A. Taco >

After DOJ pulls millions for public safety, nonprofits and neighborhoods step in. With or without government support, this Jackson woman keeps fighting for safety and justice. Capital B News >

Starbucks union says 30 more US stores are joining week-old strike. As of last Thursday baristas from 30 more stores in 25 U.S. cities planned to join the strike ,including stores in Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Missouri, and Albany, New York. bringing the total number of stores with striking workers to 95 in 65 cities. AP News >

ICE raided my son’s daycare to abduct a teacher. This kind of trauma lasts. Children in Illinois have suffered months of systematic abuse by federal agents enacting Trump's immigration raids. Truthout >

Head Start programs begin to shutter, leaving 65,000 kids at risk. The government shutdown has forced providers of the early learning and child care program for lower-income families to close across the country. 19th News >

A judge blocks Texas law forcing Ten Commandments displays in schools. The judge said Texas’s mandate exposes students to unwanted religious pressure, likely violating the First Amendment. Truthout >

Immigration raids expected to escalate in North Carolina as locals organize to protect their neighbors. As the impacts of the raids quickly ripple outward from Charlotte, North Carolinians are mobilizing to stem enforcement operations in their communities. Prism >

The data center resistance has arrived.  Local opposition to the economic and environmental impact of data centers blocked or delayed $98 billion in projects from March to June of 2025 alone. Wired >

‘Clean slate’ laws could help millions of Black Americans clear their records. Advocates say automatic expungement could open doors to jobs, housing, and a fresh start for millions long held back by old convictions. Capital B News >

The fight over prison flipping. As shuttered jails and prisons become luxury venues, a growing movement is calling for community-led alternatives that honor the sites’ violent histories. Inquest >

Who are Afrikaners, the group at the center of Trump's dispute with South Africa? Trump has repeated debunked claims that Afrikaners are facing a "white genocide" in South Africa. Critics say the false statements are causing conflict in a country still recovering from apartheid. NPR >

On Trans Day of Remembrance, advocates call on politicians to halt anti-trans rhetoric. In the past year, Advocates for Trans Equality found 27 violent deaths of trans people in the United States, as well as 21 suicides. 19th News >

The tragic loss of Teen Vogue. Condé Nast folded a beloved magazine that treated youth and feminism as political topics, not trends. Columbia Journalism Review >

The following are the latest news impacting the workplace. Want more news on equity and justice in the workplace? Subscribe to our consultancy’s weekly newsletter.

Told to avoid DEI, arts groups are declining grants instead. Even with arts funding at risk, some organizations are rejecting federal money because of censorship concerns. NYTimes >

Women are dropping out of the workplace. Men have recently become the majority of workers who are juggling employment and caregiving, signaling how many women have been forced to leave altogether. Axios >

Updates on how politics and climate change are sweeping food access and justice.


What will it take to rebuild Jamaica’s food system after Hurricane Melissa? For farmers in the nation’s breadbasket, surviving this storm is no guarantee against the next one. Grist >

How the shutdown broke America’s food chain — and what happens next. Cash-strapped farmers, gaps in the public safety net, and food inspection backlogs could reshape who eats what in the years to come. Grist >

How to reclaim land ownership for Black Americans in the South. Restoring Black land ownership in the United States requires a multifaceted approach, including using nonprofits to buy farmland. NonProfit Quarterly >

Food banks, already strained, brace for prolonged demand. Now that SNAP food aid is flowing again, needy families are feeling relief. The same can't be said of many food banks and pantries. NPR >

Food stamps are back, but millions will soon lose benefits permanently. Even though the shutdown is over, the GOP’s signature tax and spending law is poised to kick people off the nation’s largest anti-hunger program. Politico >

How urban farms can make cities more livable and help feed America. Metropolitan gardens and farms are extraordinarily powerful tools that can improve food security, lower temperatures, and create invaluable gathering spaces. Grist >

How employers and labor groups are trying to protect workers from ICE. Here are some tactics unions and employers at farms, factories, restaurants and other job sites are using to shield employees from immigration raids. Capital and Main >

Conflict Evolution 101

Tuesday, January 13 | 3-5pm EST

Learn how to navigate moments of tension and conflict as they arise in professional settings. Participants will learn practical, real-time strategies for de-escalating situations, intervening effectively, and rebuilding trust after moments of rupture. Through hands-on practice and scenario work, we’ll develop a personalized toolkit for addressing workplace tensions while maintaining cultural awareness and psychological safety.

In honor of Indigenous Heritage Month, explore the work of four Native visual artists that bridge the current and the past in their work.

Wendy Red Star  

Raised on the Apsáalooke (Crow) reservation in Montana, Red Star creates humorous, surreal, and often challenging stoic portrayals of Native Americans in photographs, sculptures, videos, fiber arts, and performances. This practice his her response to misrepresentations of Native Americans taken for and in the white gaze.

Eric-Paul Riege

Riege is a Diné fiber artist who creates installations and performance art as an homage to generations of weavers that came before him. He considers his work as an immersion in "ceremonies, and rituals, from his past, future, and present selves."

Jeffrey A. Gibson

Gibson is an American Mississippi Choctaw/Cherokee painter and sculptor that honors the Indigenous queer experience. He uses materials and techniques that deliberately reference his heritage—such as raw hides and bead work–to create multi-sensory installations of reverent spaces.

Teresa Baker

Baker’s work is rooted in her Mandan and Hidatsa background. She creates abstracted landscapes that explore space, movement and how to engage with it. In her practice, Baker imbues innate objects with culture and identity with unique materials, texture, shapes, and color relationships.

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