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Where are they now?: How Disney Dreamers are achieving their goals since 2023

News Feed
Friday, April 12, 2024

Not all heroes wear capes. Oftentimes, they are in our schools thinking about ways to improve our world.Every year, 100 high schoolers are selected from thousands of applicants to attend Disney Dreamers Academy, which is designed to empower and inspire the brightest young minds of our nation. These teens are called “Dreamers” for a reason. They have so much hope and confidence in their voice as they talk about their visions for the future. During the five-day program, a village of actors, illustrators, filmmakers, producers and other experts mentor the Dreamers so they can one-day become experts in their fields. Last year, DREAMbassador Halle Bailey spoke affirmations over the teens and challenged them to pursue their goals despite negativity from others. Singer and songwriter H.E.R. surprised a group of future musicians with autographed guitars.So when the trip is over and teens are flown back home, how do the Dreamers use their experience at the academy throughout their lives? To answer that question, the Black Joy fam reached back out to the Dreamers we interviewed in 2023 to get an update on what they have been up to and how they’ve incorporated what they gained during their once-in-a-lifetime experience:Award-winning public speaker Bradley Ross JacksonBradley Ross JacksonBradley Ross JacksonBloomington-Normal, Ill.Founder of the nonprofit B.E. Kind Campaign and youngest recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Youth Activist of the Year“The Disney Dreamers Academy was priceless, and I was able to utilize many of the educational and practical nuggets while spending several days at the Academy. Additionally, I built meaningful relationships and I am still very good friends with several of my 2023 Dreamers. We continue to maintain an active “chat group” on Instagram, so that we may empower and encourage each other.Since graduating from the Disney Dreamers’ Academy, I am honored to have received over $1 million in scholarship dollars. I was accepted by many dynamic colleges and universities, including: Howard University, Harvard, Morehouse College, Bradley University, Xavier, Southern, Jackson State University, Augustana College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lindenwood University, and so many other wonderful schools. I proudly included the Disney Dreamers’ Academy on my resume and college application. When I interviewed with Harvard, they inquired about my Disney Dreamers’ experience and they were very impressed when I shared my experiences. Additionally, I was selected for the coveted 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the 2024 NAACP Mr. Harry Hightower Award and the 2024 High School Senior of the Week Award.”Future sports journalist Elle ChavisElle ChavisElle ChavisDallasTheater-lover and future sports journalistElle Chavis is a freshman at Duke University. She is a Robertson Scholar and as a result she has enhanced her leadership skills and increased her knowledge of community development. She entered Duke majoring in Cinematic Arts, but it did not take her long to find a love for journalism. Elle has always loved sports, and that love for sports sparked her interest in sports journalism. She’s now a beat writer in the sports department for The Duke Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper. She covers two of Duke’s many explosive sports: softball and women’s basketball. This newfound passion inspired Elle to change her major to English with a minor in journalism and media. Elle’s favorite part of covering sports is interviewing coaches and players and sharing the stories of the people behind the uniforms.Her love for the theater has only grown in college. In the Fall, Elle was cast as Erika Johnson in “School Girls,” presented by Duke Players. She is currently working as the stage manager for Duke’s upcoming performance of “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”“Disney Dreamers Academy was a phenomenal program that opened up my eyes to realize that your dreams and interests can change and evolve into other things. Writing has always been a passion of mine but I had no idea that I would enjoy journalism as much as I do.”Award-winning athlete and nonprofit owner Jordan AdeyemiJordan AdeyemiJordan AdeyemiAtlantaJordan takes his love of soccer to a whole new level with his nonprofit the Shoeless Ones, which helps alleviate the cost of soccer cleats by donating them to underserved communities.“I’ve had a really busy year since that incredible and inspiring week at Dreamers Academy. In July, I spent a few weeks in Spain where I attended a seminar on youth entrepreneurship at Mondragon University where I learned about the link between traditional culture, economics and commerce, then flew straight to Los Angeles to accept an ESPY Billie Jean Youth Leadership Award. I started senior year as the co-captain of the varsity soccer team, co-head of the Black Student of Excellence and a student listener. At the end of my soccer season, I was invited to the region’s all-star game and received a few college offers to play soccer.Shoeless Ones has now donated over 650 shoes and is working on collaborations with a few programs that I’m excited about. Last week, I was one of 21 youth leaders to be awarded a Georgia Youth Leadership award. The last months have been busy with college and scholarship applications and I’m happy that part is over. For now, I am waiting on college decisions so that I can commit to a school. Overall, I’ve had a great year and I am looking forward to great things in the future.”Teen philanthropist Logan WilliamsDanyelle RashidLogan WilliamsClevelandA teen philanthropist who wants to build the largest homeless shelter in the world and started her own nonprofit, Blanket Blessings.Logan has continued to use her voice, resources, and networks to be a steady vessel to the community. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday is reserved for a day of service and Logan’s grassroots organization “Blanket Blessings” was able to donate 50 blessing bags to a local women’s shelter. The blessing bags are stuffed with toiletry items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, small face towel, lotion, and much more. They were also able to hand out five birthday gifts for the month of January to the unhoused women. Logan has decided to donate small gift items to the shelter every month, to make sure the women feel special on their birthdays. She was also contacted by Spectrum news for the national Giving Tuesday special segment, about young Ohioans who are making a difference in their community.Logan’s experience at Disney Dreamers Academy was a life changing experience and set her life on a more upward cycle. The tools that were instilled in the Dreamers allowed Logan to dream bigger, think bigger, and to not give up on life. Logan inspires many of her friends to do good things in the world, and to know that no matter your age your voice matters. Logan will be attending the Northeast Ohio Youth Climate Summit coming up later in April. This is an event where young people will tackle big environmental challenges. Workshops, learning sessions, student panels, and a green career fair will be a few of the offerings there. Logan was able to share this with other students in her age range and of course she did just that. She has been nominated for an 2024 award from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for her dedication to Cleveland and her community.

A million dollars in scholarship money and national athletic awards are just some of goals these teens have accomplished since joining Disney Dreamers Academy in last year.

Not all heroes wear capes. Oftentimes, they are in our schools thinking about ways to improve our world.

Every year, 100 high schoolers are selected from thousands of applicants to attend Disney Dreamers Academy, which is designed to empower and inspire the brightest young minds of our nation. These teens are called “Dreamers” for a reason. They have so much hope and confidence in their voice as they talk about their visions for the future. During the five-day program, a village of actors, illustrators, filmmakers, producers and other experts mentor the Dreamers so they can one-day become experts in their fields. Last year, DREAMbassador Halle Bailey spoke affirmations over the teens and challenged them to pursue their goals despite negativity from others. Singer and songwriter H.E.R. surprised a group of future musicians with autographed guitars.

So when the trip is over and teens are flown back home, how do the Dreamers use their experience at the academy throughout their lives? To answer that question, the Black Joy fam reached back out to the Dreamers we interviewed in 2023 to get an update on what they have been up to and how they’ve incorporated what they gained during their once-in-a-lifetime experience:

Disney Dreamer Bradley

Award-winning public speaker Bradley Ross JacksonBradley Ross Jackson

Bradley Ross Jackson

Bloomington-Normal, Ill.

Founder of the nonprofit B.E. Kind Campaign and youngest recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Youth Activist of the Year

“The Disney Dreamers Academy was priceless, and I was able to utilize many of the educational and practical nuggets while spending several days at the Academy. Additionally, I built meaningful relationships and I am still very good friends with several of my 2023 Dreamers. We continue to maintain an active “chat group” on Instagram, so that we may empower and encourage each other.

Since graduating from the Disney Dreamers’ Academy, I am honored to have received over $1 million in scholarship dollars. I was accepted by many dynamic colleges and universities, including: Howard University, Harvard, Morehouse College, Bradley University, Xavier, Southern, Jackson State University, Augustana College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lindenwood University, and so many other wonderful schools. I proudly included the Disney Dreamers’ Academy on my resume and college application. When I interviewed with Harvard, they inquired about my Disney Dreamers’ experience and they were very impressed when I shared my experiences. Additionally, I was selected for the coveted 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the 2024 NAACP Mr. Harry Hightower Award and the 2024 High School Senior of the Week Award.”

Disney Dreamer Elle Chavis

Future sports journalist Elle ChavisElle Chavis

Elle Chavis

Dallas

Theater-lover and future sports journalist

Elle Chavis is a freshman at Duke University. She is a Robertson Scholar and as a result she has enhanced her leadership skills and increased her knowledge of community development. She entered Duke majoring in Cinematic Arts, but it did not take her long to find a love for journalism. Elle has always loved sports, and that love for sports sparked her interest in sports journalism. She’s now a beat writer in the sports department for The Duke Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper. She covers two of Duke’s many explosive sports: softball and women’s basketball. This newfound passion inspired Elle to change her major to English with a minor in journalism and media. Elle’s favorite part of covering sports is interviewing coaches and players and sharing the stories of the people behind the uniforms.

Her love for the theater has only grown in college. In the Fall, Elle was cast as Erika Johnson in “School Girls,” presented by Duke Players. She is currently working as the stage manager for Duke’s upcoming performance of “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”

“Disney Dreamers Academy was a phenomenal program that opened up my eyes to realize that your dreams and interests can change and evolve into other things. Writing has always been a passion of mine but I had no idea that I would enjoy journalism as much as I do.”

Disney Dreamer Jordan Adeyemi

Award-winning athlete and nonprofit owner Jordan AdeyemiJordan Adeyemi

Jordan Adeyemi

Atlanta

Jordan takes his love of soccer to a whole new level with his nonprofit the Shoeless Ones, which helps alleviate the cost of soccer cleats by donating them to underserved communities.

“I’ve had a really busy year since that incredible and inspiring week at Dreamers Academy. In July, I spent a few weeks in Spain where I attended a seminar on youth entrepreneurship at Mondragon University where I learned about the link between traditional culture, economics and commerce, then flew straight to Los Angeles to accept an ESPY Billie Jean Youth Leadership Award. I started senior year as the co-captain of the varsity soccer team, co-head of the Black Student of Excellence and a student listener. At the end of my soccer season, I was invited to the region’s all-star game and received a few college offers to play soccer.

Shoeless Ones has now donated over 650 shoes and is working on collaborations with a few programs that I’m excited about. Last week, I was one of 21 youth leaders to be awarded a Georgia Youth Leadership award. The last months have been busy with college and scholarship applications and I’m happy that part is over. For now, I am waiting on college decisions so that I can commit to a school. Overall, I’ve had a great year and I am looking forward to great things in the future.”

Disney Dreamer Logan Williams

Teen philanthropist Logan WilliamsDanyelle Rashid

Logan Williams

Cleveland

A teen philanthropist who wants to build the largest homeless shelter in the world and started her own nonprofit, Blanket Blessings.

Logan has continued to use her voice, resources, and networks to be a steady vessel to the community. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday is reserved for a day of service and Logan’s grassroots organization “Blanket Blessings” was able to donate 50 blessing bags to a local women’s shelter. The blessing bags are stuffed with toiletry items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, small face towel, lotion, and much more. They were also able to hand out five birthday gifts for the month of January to the unhoused women. Logan has decided to donate small gift items to the shelter every month, to make sure the women feel special on their birthdays. She was also contacted by Spectrum news for the national Giving Tuesday special segment, about young Ohioans who are making a difference in their community.

Logan’s experience at Disney Dreamers Academy was a life changing experience and set her life on a more upward cycle. The tools that were instilled in the Dreamers allowed Logan to dream bigger, think bigger, and to not give up on life. Logan inspires many of her friends to do good things in the world, and to know that no matter your age your voice matters. Logan will be attending the Northeast Ohio Youth Climate Summit coming up later in April. This is an event where young people will tackle big environmental challenges. Workshops, learning sessions, student panels, and a green career fair will be a few of the offerings there. Logan was able to share this with other students in her age range and of course she did just that. She has been nominated for an 2024 award from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for her dedication to Cleveland and her community.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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A Flotilla Kicks off the People's Summit for Activists at UN Climate Talks

As United Nation climate talks get underway in Belem, a different kind of conference is kicking off: the People’s Summit, a gathering of activists, organizers, environmentalists and Indigenous groups from around the world

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — As United Nations climate talks rolled on Wednesday at the elaborate new venues built for the summit, many of the activists eager to shape the talks took to the water.Carried by scores of boats large and small, a vast group whooped and laughed, smiled and wept. Some splashed canoe paddles through the bay where a northern section of the Amazon rainforest meets the Atlantic Ocean. Others hugged old friends. They pressed their foreheads together or held hands or stood solemnly in moments of prayer and reflection.They were there to celebrate a community from around the world at a gathering of activists, organizers, environmentalists and Indigenous groups, outside the halls where world leaders are discussing climate change for the next two weeks. Their joy came after a brief but tense moment the night before when protesters broke through security barricades at the main conference venue, slightly injuring two security guards, according to the U.N.Many emphasized the importance of making the voice of the people heard after years of these talks being held in countries where civil society is not free to demonstrate.“The Amazon for us is the space of life,” said Jhajayra Machoa, an A'l Kofan First Nation of Ecuador member of A Wisdom Keepers Delegation, who helped paddle one of the canoes. “We carry the feeling and emotions of everything lived in this place, and what we want is to remember. Remember where we are from and where we’re going and what we want." Pressing world leaders to keep those who suffer most in mind The people who are attending the Conference of the Parties, or COP30, have a wide range of hopes for the outcome. This year is different than in past years, because leaders aren't expected to sign one big agreement at the end of it; instead, organizers and analysts have said it's about getting specifics to execute on past promises to act on climate change. “When we’re bridging what’s happening in the mind, when we talk about policy, we need to bridge to the heart, and touch our spirit when we do the work,” said Whaia, another member of A Wisdom Keepers Delegation, a Ngāti Kahungunu woman from New Zealand. “It takes both arms, both branches of the tree to really be strong, to be able to find our resilience in this space.” Activists welcome greater freedom to speak out The ability to express thoughts and feelings freely is a welcome respite for many arriving in Brazil after several years of these talks being held in countries where governments imposed limitations on free speech and demonstrations. The evolution that needs to happen for the world to take action is "not in the halls of the U.N. COP, but it’s in the streets and it is with our people,” said Jacob Johns, an Akimel O'Otham and Hopi member of A Wisdom Keepers Delegation who witnessed the security breach. Now is the time to come together, respect each other and reevaluate the systems that govern the planet, said Pooven Moodley of the Earthrise Collective, which brings together activists from different traditions. For him, the canoes seen in Wednesday's gathering are a metaphor for the situation the world is in with climate change.“The current canoe we’re in is falling apart, it’s leaking, people are being pushed over, and ultimately we’re heading for a massive waterfall. So the question is, what do we do, because we’re in that reality,” Moodley said. “We have to continue to defend the territories and the ecosystems that we can, but while we do that, we launch a new canoe.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

Activism
Climate

China made quiet border advances as ties warmed, Indian critics warn

Buffer zones meant to ease India-China tensions along their shared border have disproportionately restricted Indian forces from patrolling, former officials say.

NEW DELHI — In 2020, after Indian and Chinese soldiers brawled with stones and spiked rods in the thin Himalayan air along their countries’ contested border, nationalist fury gripped India.People smashed Chinese televisions and torched effigies of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Indian government banned dozens of Chinese apps and vowed it would not mend ties with its geopolitical rival until border issues were resolved.Five years later, India-China commerce has revived and direct flights between the countries have resumed. At a recent summit in Tianjin, China, Xi met his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders pledged to strengthen relations, with the Indian side touting “the maintenance of peace and tranquility along the border areas.”In New Delhi, however, and along the steep mountain passes that divide the countries, a chorus of critics contend that agreed-upon buffer zones meant to ease tensions have, in practice, disproportionately restricted Indian forces from patrolling in areas they once routinely accessed. With India’s quiet acquiescence, they allege, China has been able to effectively push the boundary lines in its favor.“Some of the buffer zones created are mostly in areas previously patrolled by us and on our side,” said a retired lieutenant general who has overseen these parts of the border. “We are supposed to try and get back our territory, but in the foreseeable future, it is a pipe dream,” he added, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.Warnings about the shifting boundary lines — from former military officials and ambassadors, as well as sitting members of Parliament and border residents — have grown louder and more frequent. The claims are difficult to prove, since foreign journalists are denied access to the area. But the criticisms present a challenge to the Indian government, analysts said, as it mends ties with Beijing and seeks to rebalance its global relations amid an ongoing diplomatic feud with the United States.The Indian army referred questions from The Washington Post to the External Affairs Ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment. The Indian Defense Ministry, the Chinese Defense Ministry, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Chinese officials have urged India not to let the boundary question “define” the relationship.The Chinese strategy is “two steps forward, one step back,” said Jabin Jacob, an associate professor who teaches Chinese foreign policy at India’s Shiv Nadar University. “Then they still have one step in their possession.”A frozen boundaryIndia and China went to war over the border in 1962. More than half a century later, it remains undefined and bitterly disputed.The nuclear-armed neighbors still have drastically different interpretations of the de facto boundary — known as the Line of Actual Control, or LAC — and the soldiers deployed there have periodically come to blows.The most recent confrontation came in June 2020, in the border territory of Ladakh. At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in the fighting, according to official counts. Tens of thousands of troops were rushed to forward positions, and, even after subsequent pullbacks, both sides have maintained a heightened military presence.Since the conflict, the two sides have struck a series of agreements to prevent flare-ups in the most contentious areas. The new protocols allowed some patrolling to resume, but also gave Chinese troops more favorable positions in several key spots, according to former officials, analysts and local leaders.“Around 450 square kilometers of land was converted into a buffer in my constituency alone,” Konchok Stanzin, an official in Chushul, one of the last villages on India’s eastern border, told The Post. “This land belonged to India but now our soldiers cannot set foot there.”As Indian forces have acceded to the new protocols, they have blocked pastoralists from grazing animals in areas where they once roamed freely. That has stirred anger in Ladakh, a restive Indian territory where locals have campaigned for greater political rights and environmental protections. Four people were killed in late September when police in the regional capital of Leh opened fire on people protesting for statehood, according to Human Rights Watch, and a political office belonging to Modi’s party was torched.In the aftermath, prominent environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested by Indian authorities under a national security law for allegedly inciting the violence, a claim he denies. Some of his supporters believe he was targeted, in part, for being outspoken about the loss of pasturelands and Chinese encroachment along the border.“It was not sitting well with government narratives that China is not taking our land,” said his wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo. “What Sonam has been fearing for a long time is that we can’t afford as a border state not to address the demands of the Ladakhis who have so far shown India love and passion.”Increasingly, the warnings from border communities are being echoed within the Indian establishment. A 2022 report by a senior police official in Ladakh said Indian forces no longer had a “presence” at 26 of 65 former patrolling points, highlighting what she called her country’s “play safe” strategy.“The Chinese absolutely have come in and established a position that is more advantageous to them than before,” said Ajai Shukla, a defense analyst and former military official, drawing on conversations with contacts on the ground. “The only question is, how much have we lost?”J.S. Bajwa, a former Indian lieutenant general, said “it is not just salami slicing,” referring to previous Chinese tactics that gradually changed the facts on the ground. “They actually took the whole belly of the pork,” he said.Strategic ‘opacity’The Indian government has been careful and sparing in its descriptions of the situation along the border.Last October, the government said it had reached an agreement with China to restore patrolling rights in two key areas, Depsang and Demchok, and that troops on both sides had pulled back slightly along all friction points. In December, however, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told Parliament that agreements in areas outside of Depsang and Demchok were “temporary and limited.”The MEA then said there had been a “resolution of the issues that emerged in 2020.” But when pressed by reporters and members of Parliament, Jaishankar and his colleagues have avoided stating categorically that patrolling rights have been restored at all friction points. Responding to similar border questions under the country’s right of information laws, the government has repeatedly called them “vague” and “speculative” and, therefore, not answerable.“The opacity is a way of dealing with the problem,” said Ashok Kanta, the Indian ambassador to China from 2014 to 2016. “If you don’t put it out in the public domain, then you don’t need to defend it publicly.”Some former military officials say Chinese troops have also lost access to previous patrolling points, while others reject the notion that India has surrendered any ground.“In all places, the Chinese have gone back to the original points they were at,” said Manoj Mukund Naravane, the army’s chief general during the 2020 conflict.A pragmatic truceIn late August, amid deteriorating U.S-India relations, Modi visited China for the first time since the clash in Ladakh. Videos of the countries’ two leaders engaging in a lighthearted exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin rapidly went viral.India and China have since agreed to allow exchanges of scholars and journalists, cooperate on transboundary rivers, resume direct flights and reopen Indian access to a pilgrimage in Tibet. India has termed it a “gradual normalization of bilateral relations.”Rakesh Sharma, a former lieutenant general who served on the border from 2013 to 2015, said these are “logical” moves, mirroring China’s own increasingly relaxed posture. Some former officials argue that Jaishankar’s description of border measures as “temporary” signals India’s expectation that the issues will be addressed in future talks.“From the Indian side, the story is not over, but you have to live with Beijing next door, so you have to find some sort of an equilibrium,” said Manoj Kewalramani, a China studies fellow at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore.“The danger,” Jacob warned, “is that this becomes permanent out of sheer inertia until the next crisis.”For now, analysts said, India has more pressing problems, like steep U.S. tariffs and sluggish manufacturing growth — and it needs Chinese investment.“We essentially cannot do without China,” said Manoj Joshi, distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.The hard reality, said Daniel Markey, a senior Stimson Center fellow focused on South Asia and China relations, is that “India does not have an easy, cheap, or effective solution to the broader threat posed by China militarily.”And it is that recognition, according to former Indian brigadier Deepak Sinha, driving the country’s current approach. “We remain intimidated and terrified of a conflict with China escalating,” he said. “It’s a fact of life.”Christian Shepherd in Singapore, Shams Irfan in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir, and Supriya Kumar contributed to this report.

Activism
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Crisis

Jailed climate activist facing deportation from UK fights ‘crazy double punishment’

Marcus Decker is supported by climate experts, religious leaders and celebrities as he fights being first person in UK to be ‘deported for peaceful protest’A climate activist who is appealing against his deportation after serving one of the longest prison sentences in modern British history for peaceful protest has criticised his “crazy double punishment”.Marcus Decker was jailed for two years and seven months for a protest in which he climbed the Queen Elizabeth Bridge over the Dartford Crossing and unveiled a Just Stop Oil banner in October 2022. Continue reading...

A climate activist who is appealing against his deportation after serving one of the longest prison sentences in modern British history for peaceful protest has criticised his “crazy double punishment”.Marcus Decker was jailed for two years and seven months for a protest in which he climbed the Queen Elizabeth Bridge over the Dartford Crossing and unveiled a Just Stop Oil banner in October 2022.The 36-year-old German national, who was released from prison in February last year after serving 16 months, was sent a letter by the Home Office while in prison informing him of his automatic deportation. In his legal challenge, being heard at a tribunal in central London on Monday, Decker has the support of climate experts, religious leaders, celebrities and members of the public.“I would be the first person in this country to be deported for peaceful protest,” he said. “It’s such a crazy double punishment. I have my established life here with my partner, Holly, and the kids [he is stepfather to her two children], we’ve been living together for many years.“We’re in the middle of a multi[faceted] crisis. There’s an inequality crisis, the situation for immigrants has been getting so much worse since Labour has come in, and the climate crisis is getting worse by the day, which, of course, was the reason I took this action in the first place.“It sort of makes sense to be in this situation where I can communicate the values around care that made us take this action in the first place and that need to carry on in this society.”Decker, a teacher and musician, was released from prison in February 2024 after having served 16 months but still has an ankle tag, must report to the Home Office every other week and cannot leave the country. Because he began the appeal against deportation while in prison he served longer than his fellow protester, Morgan Trowland, despite Trowland having been given a longer three-year jail term.“I’m very sorry for those that were impacted by the harm that we caused directly on the day or on the two days,” said Decker. “The people that missed funerals or missed hospital appointments, who were stuck in traffic, that is real harm. But then at the same time whole countries are either on fire, or a third of Pakistan was underwater that year in 2022, London had for the first time experienced 40C heat. If you put it in the greater perspective, zoom out, then we have to keep trying different approaches to addressing these crises, to make change for the greater good.”Decker lauded the “incredible” support he has had in his fight against deportation, which has included a 10-page letter sent to the UK government by the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, Michel Forst, a letter signed by 22 Nobel prize laureates and support from 562 actors, musicians and other artists. Much of it is being presented in evidence at his appeal.Lord Hain, the former cabinet minister who was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement during the 1970s and 1980s, said: “It is difficult to see how the further step of deportation can be justified. That seems to me to cross a line and become unnecessarily punitive.”The former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, Sir David King, described the action by Decker and Trowland as a “reasonable and proportionate response in light of the escalating climate crisis”, while the actor Juliet Stevenson said Decker was a father figure to Holly Cullen-Davies’s children, and that his removal “would do them untold harm and cause unnecessary anguish and abandonment”.The former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said: “Deportation will reinforce the growing perception that environmental activism at the moment attracts excessively punitive sentencing and assimilates activists to terrorists.”The tribunal’s decision is expected at a later date. The Home Office has been approached for comment.

Activism
Climate
Government

California’s pro-housing laws have failed to raise new home numbers

New housing starts were around 100,000 a year when Newsom took office in 2019; they still hover around that number today.

California YIMBY, an organization founded eight years ago to promote housing construction in response to an ever-increasing gap between demand and supply, held a victory party in San Francisco recently. “Welcome to the most victorious of California YIMBY’s victory parties,” Brian Hanlon, founder and CEO of the organization, told attendees. Its acronym (Yes In My Backyard) symbolizes its years-long battle with NIMBYs (Not in My Backyard), people and groups who have long thwarted housing projects by pressuring local governments that control land use. YIMBY’s party marked the passage of several pro-housing legislative measures this year, two of which have long been sought by housing advocates. Assembly Bill 130 exempts many urban housing projects from the California Environmental Quality Act, while Senate Bill 79 makes it easier to building high-density housing near transit stations in large cities. “2025 was a year,” Hanlon gleefully declared. The celebratory atmosphere was understandable because this year’s legislative actions capped a half-decade of ever-mounting state government activism on housing that followed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2017 campaign pledge to build 3.5 million new units of housing if elected. That goal was wildly unrealistic, as Newsom should have known, but he did push hard for legislation to remove barriers to housing development. His housing agency also ramped up pressure on local governments to remove arbitrary hurdles that YIMBY-influenced officials had erected and to meet quotas for identifying land that could be used for housing. However, the celebration omitted one salient factor: Pro-housing legislative and administrative actions have failed to markedly increase housing production. New housing starts were around 100,000 a year when Newsom took office in 2019, and they are about that number today, with the net increase even lower. As the Housing and Community Development Department admits in its statewide housing plan, “Not enough housing being built: During the last ten years, housing production averaged fewer than 80,000 new homes each year, and ongoing production continues to fall far below the projected need of 180,000 additional homes annually.” The Census Bureau calculates that since Newsom took office, new housing permits in California ranged from a high of 120,780 units in 2022 to a low of 101,546 last year. Newsom’s own budget agrees with the Census Bureau’s data for the same period and projects future construction through 2028 at 100,000 to 104,000 units a year. Those are the numbers. But how data on housing is collected and collated has been a somewhat murky process, and opponents of housing projects often challenge how they comport with quotas the state imposes on local communities. Fortunately, the Census Bureau has unveiled a new statistical tool that should go a long way toward having complete data that includes not only conventional single- and multi-family projects, but alternative forms of housing such as backyard granny flats, officially known as Accessory Dwelling Units; basements or garages that are transformed into apartments; single-family homes converted into duplexes or apartments; mobile homes or office buildings that become housing. The tool uses several sources of data but is heavily reliant on the Postal Service, which maintains a constantly updated roster of addresses that includes all housing types. More accurate data should make it easier to overcome conflicts and may even reveal that California’s pro-housing actions have had positive effects that current methodology misses. “The housing crisis has persisted in part because we haven’t been able to measure our progress accurately,” an article about the new tool published by the Niskanen Center, a think tank, concludes. “With the Census Bureau’s Address Count Listing File data, that excuse is gone. Now the question is whether policymakers will use this powerful new tool to finally build the housing America needs.”

Activism
Crisis
Government

Britain's Prince William Calls for Optimism on Environment at EarthShot Prize Event

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Britain's Prince William expressed optimism on Wednesday about tackling global environmental challenges at a star-studded...

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Britain's Prince William expressed optimism on Wednesday about tackling global environmental challenges at a star-studded event in Rio de Janeiro for the fifth edition of his EarthShot Prize.William's first visit to Latin America comes shortly before Brazil hosts the UN climate summit COP30 next week."I understand that some might feel discouraged in these uncertain times," William said during the ceremony for the award, founded in 2020 and inspired by a visit to Namibia."I understand that there is still so much to be done. But this is no time for complacency, and the optimism I felt in 2020 remains ardent today."Named in homage to John F. Kennedy's "moonshot" goal, the award was intended to foster significant environmental progress within a decade that has now reached its midpoint.The prize, which aims to find innovations to combat climate change, and tackle other green issues, awards five winners 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) each to drive their projects.Pop stars Kylie Minogue and Shawn Mendes, Brazilian musicians Gilberto Gil, Seu Jorge and Anitta, along with former Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel, were among those who appeared or performed at the ceremony.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan also attended.William will attend the UN climate summit in place of his father, King Charles. On his trip, he announced initiatives for Indigenous communities and environmental activists, and visited landmarks in Rio.(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo and Michael Holden in London; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

Activism
Climate
Indigenous

Suggested Viewing

Salmon Secrets

Fish farming is pushing wild salmon to the brink of extinction. The federal government has promised to remove fish farms from BC waters by 2025, but now industry is pushing back with false solutions. Join Clayoquot Action’s fish farm watchdog program as a team of underwater cinematographers investigates an “experimental” fish farm near Tofino. What they find surprises them, and spells potential disaster for wild salmon. Featuring marine biologist and bestselling author Alexandra Morton, and traditional 'Na̱mg̱is Chief Ernest Alfred, who document the successful resurgence of salmon after the removal of fish farms from the Broughton Area and Discovery Islands.

Land Use
Activism
Nature

Eating the Future

Bafta-winner Mia McKenna-Bruce voices an eco-investigator who is traumatised by her work accessing factory farms and documenting animal abuses undercover. Terrified of a future of climate apocalypse, she embarks on a journey into the food systems that shape our planet, to look for hope.

Activism
Climate
Food

In His Own Home

Heavily armed officers of the University of Florida police department in Gainesville, FL, responding to a 911 call from a neighbor who heard screams, break into the campus apartment of Ghanaian graduate student, Kofi Adu-Brempong. Clad in SWAT gear and ready to attack, they see the disabled doctoral student, sitting with a metal table leg in his hand and within a minute of entry, shoot the unarmed man in the face. Adu-Brempong, who because of childhood polio, needed a cane to walk, and had been suffering from mental illness, now has severe facial injuries, and is charged with resisting arrest. He is guarded outside his hospital door, his legs shackled together when going to the bathroom. The officer who shoots Kofi, and who had previously been caught cruising through town throwing eggs at residents of a Black neighborhood, is not suspended or fired. Student protests lead the administration to drop charges but calls for revoking SWAT-like teams on campus go unheard. Kofi’s shooting is not an isolated incident but part of an ongoing pattern of police brutality against Blacks and a stark reminder of the dangers of increasingly militarized campuses nationwide. In His Own Home came out of outrage by a small group of concerned community members committed to seeing social justice happen on a local level. This documentary is an educational and organizing tool, especially calling for our communities to be safe from violence by racist and over-armed police.

Social Justice
Health
Activism

Still River, Silent Jungle

When a novel dam proposal threatens indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon, an Uchupiamona woman named Ruth Alipaz Cuqui must step into the unknown and become a spokesperson for her people. To the Uchupiamona people, the river has its own life and personality, just as a woman does. Returning to her land for guidance, Ruth and her people explore an alternative future for their rivers based on adventure tourism and whitewater rafting. While opposing powers much bigger than her, she must come to terms with how much she is willing to risk to protect her river and her people.

Water
Indigenous
Activism

The Monarch Ultra

Deeply concerned about the steep decline of insect pollinators due to devastating environmental impacts, a group of runners trace the migration path of the monarch butterflies across three countries as they organized a 4,300 kilometre relay run, aiming to raise awareness for pollinator conservation.

Animals
Conservation
Activism

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