Julian Drix

Why HIP is leaving X for Bluesky in 2025 🦋 Follow us into the new year: Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/hiporg… IG: instagram.com/phawakened/ FB: facebook.com/HumanImpactPar… LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/685452… Newsletter: humanimpact.org/subscribe/

Ya’ll bluesky is *so* much better than this. If you’re not sure whether to make the jump, just try. See you on the other side

Long overdue, but finally joining the migration off this hellsite and over to bsky.app/profile/julian… If you’re on bluesky share your handle, I’ll follow

Holding hope, and each other, through difficult times mailchi.mp/humanimpact.or…

Last night, members of JVP RI and allies disrupted our senators’ event with a clear message. @SenWhitehouse and @SenJackReed, you must support an arms embargo now! The people of Palestine cannot wait. 🇵🇸❤️‍🔥✊🏼

BREAKING: During Pres. Biden’s formal apology on behalf of the U.S. Government to all boarding school survivors and their families, attendees call for the violence in Gaza to end, some joining in the chant: #FreePalestine #NoApologyWithoutAction

Last night, as a member of the Ordinance Committee, I voted no on Providence’s Comp Plan—not because I disagreed with much of its content. There are significant victories within the plan that we, as a Council and a city, should be proud of. But one issue kept weighing on me throughout this process, and I struggled with it right up until the moment of the vote: the Port of Providence. After three rounds of revisions, the amendment intended to limit the expansion of polluting activities at the Port remains alarmingly weak. It feels like we’ve diluted the language to the point where these industries aren’t being told "no"—instead, they’re given a "maybe." This ambiguity creates a dangerous opening for expansion, precisely when we should be shutting that door. The language in this final version of the amendment is riddled with vague, hard-to-enforce conditions about limiting pollution. My concern is that these loosely defined terms could be easily exploited by special interest groups who are determined to protect these polluting industries. This amendment not only leaves us vulnerable but also arms these bad actors with our very own Comp Plan, giving them a tool to undermine future efforts for stricter zoning regulations. Why hand them that power? Had I supported the Comp Plan with this weak Port amendment, I would have felt we were signaling to the residents of South Providence and Washington Park—the very communities that have been long ignored as they suffer the consequences of environmental degradation and public health crises—that we’ve given up the fight before it even began. There’s an argument that the amendment could still allow for stricter measures at the Port, and I hope my colleagues will join me in the coming weeks to move in that direction. Let’s reflect on how we reached this point with the Port amendment. Special interest groups have been pushing a narrative that halting expansion will result in job losses—specifically union jobs. But let’s be clear: the existing industries are not going anywhere; they’re grandfathered in and have the legal right to continue operating. What we’re seeking to prevent is their expansion, and that’s not just a moral stance—it’s a necessary one. The economic cost raised by these groups has been exaggerated and, in my view, presented in bad faith. In doing so, we've lost sight of what truly matters: the human cost of allowing polluters to expand their operations at the Port. I may not represent South Providence or Washington Park directly, but these are still my neighbors—some of the most economically and racially disadvantaged residents in our city. And maybe this issue hits home for me because one of the neighborhoods in the North End I represent, Wanskuck, is a frontline community—alongside Washington Park, South Providence, and the West End, they account for the majority of asthma-related ER visits in our city. Our city leaders love to point to the industrial waterfront as Providence’s economic driver, but let’s not forget that it’s also driving some of the highest rates of childhood asthma and hospitalizations in the region—not to mention developmental disorders, cancer, and a host of other health issues linked to neurological and respiratory damage. With another generation’s health on the line, I can’t, in good conscience, support an amendment that falls so far short of what we need. As this amendment progresses to the full Council for a vote, along with the rest of the Comprehensive Plan, I want to be clear: I am committed to working with my colleagues to establish the strongest zoning laws possible. Anything less than a complete ban on new polluting industries at the Port is a betrayal to the children of South Providence. They deserve better than this watered-down amendment because we cannot afford to sacrifice yet another generation.

Joe Mazulla, life coach

Our colleagues and journalists inside Jabalia Camp are telling us that the airstrikes did not stop. They are saying that the situation is very bad and they are being exterminated.

I’ve been scared to speak up more about Gaza. I feel unburdened to share I’ve been targeted & disparaged, as a Black woman physician, by nefarious forces within medicine, because of my pro-humanity stance, but NO MORE. I CANNOT be more scared than Palestinians in this moment.

Sha’ban Ahmed. 19 years old. Burnt alive with his mother by an Israeli airstrike on the tent he was displaced in beside Al Aqsa martyr’s hospital last night. The IV drip still in his arm after recovering from an airstrike on a mosque he was sheltering in nearby just last week.

Stop cop cities, invest in public health solutions

Here at @pvdcitycouncil hearing on Providence’s comprehensive plan. I’m looking forward to testifying in support of these amendments - this will be a huge EJ victory! This is what it looks like when government listens to community and puts visionary leadership into practice ❤️🌍

The level of impunity is just unfathomable: the man is currently violating dozens of UN resolutions and is facing an arrest warrant by the ICJ. Yet he goes to the UN headquarters and orders, *from there*, another egregious war crime. The world is broken.

The link for ordering 4 free COVID tests is now LIVE. Do it NOW! Order here: covidtests.gov

.@SecBlinken lied. People went hungry, and some died. He needs to resign now.

People don't realize the breadth and depth of the terror that the people of Lebanon experienced over the past few days - because the media has focused on the Hollywoodesque aspect of the attack rather than its terroristic nature. Imagine 4,000 bombs going off across the country: at funerals, hospitals, grocery stores, barber shops and on the roads. Children, women, medics and innocent bystanders have been killed and maimed. Those who were not physically injured were left terrified and mentally scarred. I spoke to loved ones who were screaming and crying in fear after Wednesday's explosions. There is no explanation for the valorization of these terrorist attacks other than the now clear belief by many Western journalists and politicians that Arabs and Muslims are lesser humans.

Yes! Providence, let’s be next ❤️🖤💚🤍 @pvdcitycouncil listen to these nearby elected officials talk about why they voted to divest. We can do the right thing! @RachelRI @MSanchezPVD @justinroias @AnderBois @CouncilHelen @pedrojespinal @Juanmpichardo @Shel1219 @MaryKayWard11