Blog
Looking for something specific?
The Coldest Winter
Within days, I found like minded people. Even knowing almost nothing about how this is supposed to work, we started organizing together. It’s been 10 months since this movement started in a cold and dark February in America. Over that short window, this movement of which I am but a tiny part has become a living organism of incredible strength and resilience.
Mass 50501 says, “Flock Off!”
Allowing the collection of this data in the context of an antagonistic federal administration endangers us all— it’s an invasion of privacy that we shouldn’t accept even under the friendliest administration. None of us should be put under this kind of microscope by our government.
Did Misogyny Ruin the New York Times?
The short version? Yes. Yes, it did. On November 5th, the New York Times published an opinion piece entitled, “Did Women Ruin the Workplace?” To publish such an article right now, while women’s rights are under attack, is appalling. That it came from so highly-regarded a source is alarming. And that this piece masquerades as a championing of women’s rights? Unforgivable. Let’s discuss the term “conservative feminism,” what real feminism looks like, and why intersectional feminism is so important.
What We Are Thankful For
This holiday season, we at Mass 50501 asked our volunteers to share what they’re thankful for and what our movement means to them. Click through below to see what they had to say.
Democracy Means Talking To Each Other
The United States is a democracy. In a democracy, the people rule. What does a democracy require of its citizens? Specifically, if democracy is run by people in the collective sense, what does that require of us as individuals?
The Right to Read
Book bans are a rampant problem in the U.S. According to PEN America, there were 6,870 book bans in the 2024–2025 school year. The American Library Association recorded challenges to almost 2,500 unique titles in the 2024 calendar year. These numbers show an alarming increase—more than eight times over—when compared with the prior two decades. Almost 23,000 books have been banned nationwide since 2021, and these bans disproportionately attack books with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters. The good news is, there are many ways that we can fight back!
The Most Powerful Idea
The bold proposition was that through debate, introspection, revision, and testing of ideas against a voting public with conflicting interests, it was possible to produce better leaders, better economies, and better nations. Our country’s creation was dubbed the American Experiment because most people, including some of the Founders, had doubts that a people governing themselves could be done. America was a product of the Enlightenment.
About the Upcoming SNAP Cutoff in Massachusetts
If the federal government doesn’t reopen, SNAP benefits in Massachusetts are not slated to be distributed as usual in November. Read this piece for resources if you need help and groups you can support if you have resources you can offer.
True Life Shouldn’t Be Scarier than Fiction
As Trump continues to point fingers about who is to blame for the fractured state of our country, when it comes to the dismantling of public health policy, the call is definitely coming from inside the house. In honor of spooky season, click through for some talking points about some of the terrifying ways that RFK Jr. has undermined public health policy.
Perspectives Series: USAID Collapse
In this Perspectives Series, we redirect people to important narratives, directly hearing from everyday Americans about their struggles. This week, we hear from a local researcher whose longstanding work improving conditions in Guatemala was abruptly ended by the Trump administration during the forced shutdown of USAID.
Mass says, again, No Kings!
Thank you for standing with us, whether you were in Boston or in your hometown; we hope that you deepened connections to your community, came away with some other ways to take action, and had an awesome day that refilled your cup to redouble our fight against authoritarianism.
350, No Kings, and the Climate
The truth, of course, is that people are part of nature, and that people require a livable climate. Without it, there is no food. With frequent extreme weather, farmers cannot grow crops, and harvests fail. Our oceans, which have been absorbing most of the carbon, are losing oxygen, endangering countless marine species, including those that at least a billion people depend on for food. Droughts also lead to dangerously low levels of drinking water in our freshwater reservoirs. In short, climate change is deadly.
Massachusetts Cultural Council: What It Does and Why It’s Important
Technological and cultural trends are pushing people away from consuming local art, to the detriment of local communities. Fortunately, Massachusetts is better geared than other states to respond to this trend due to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). Established in 1990, the MCC sponsors and supports artistic and cultural initiatives in the state…
Massachusetts Judge Upholds Free Speech Rights
“Each day, I recognize (to paraphrase Lincoln again) that the brave men and women, living and dead, who have struggled in our Nation's service have hallowed our Constitutional freedom far above my (or anyone’s) poor power to add or detract. The only Constitutional rights upon which we can depend are those we extend to the weakest and most reviled among us.”
A Bastion of Democracy
One of the most beautiful and most terrifying things about a nation defined by ideals is that we must choose over and over again—in every generation, in every household, in every heart—whether or not to uphold our shared identity… As our values and our institutions begin to buckle under the blows, the burden to support and defend our Constitution becomes one that more and more Americans must take up in order to ensure its survival.
Reflections on Modern Motherhood
I know there is no law I would not break, no mountain I would not climb, no border I would not cross for her. There is nothing I would not do to give my daughter a better, safer life. How can we demonize other mothers for doing these things? By a stroke of luck, I was born to this life where I can cuddle my daughter in our warm bed, in our cozy house, with our full pantry, the sound of rain falling gently on the roof.
Fact Check: Transgender Mass Shooters
Transgender individuals have long been targets of the right-wing propaganda machine. Even before the murder of Charlie Kirk, innocent people have been pinned as violent nihilistic terrorists who perpetrate mass shootings and gun violence.
A Network of Networks
People need to be reminded that they are not alone in an era of institutional collapse, and that sense of solidarity makes them more likely to act. We cannot do this alone. A single individual has limited power, but en masse, people can move mountains.
Standing Armies Are a Threat to the Constitution
It is tragically ironic that these deployments are happening as we celebrate the 238th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which happened Wednesday, September 17th. This is because these actions recall a threat that the Constitution was designed to protect against: the presence of standing armies and the resulting encroachment on civil liberties.
Perspectives Series: Drug Access
In this Perspectives Series, we redirect people to these important narratives, directly hearing from everyday Americans about their struggles. This week, we hear from a resident of Massachusetts, a research scientist by occupation, whose everyday life is impacted by the business-focused healthcare landscape of the United States, and whose ability to afford medication has been impacted by recent administrative actions.