| In today’s Cuba, can churches and LGBTQ rights each find path forward? Posted: 03 Jun 2019 02:09 PM PDT ![In today's Cuba, can churches and LGBTQ rights each find path forward?]( "In today's Cuba, can churches and LGBTQ rights each find path forward?") John Wesley rides his horse through the Cuban countryside, beneath tall palm trees and mountains so green they look purple. There is no record that Wesley, the 18th century Methodist leader, ever came to Cuba, or anywhere else in the Caribbean – though he traveled so much to preach that it's said he could have circled the Earth 10 times. Religious diversity and participation have flourished in Cuba since the country loosened restrictions over the past three decades, particularly among evangelical churches.
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| Tiananmen 30 years later: ‘Hope has not died’ say Chinese dissidents Posted: 03 Jun 2019 01:53 PM PDT ![Tiananmen 30 years later: 'Hope has not died' say Chinese dissidents]( "Tiananmen 30 years later: 'Hope has not died' say Chinese dissidents") At his house in a tree-lined subdivision south of Sacramento, dissident journalist Zhang Weiguo sips green tea as his gray-haired mother dishes up a steaming bowl of homemade Shanghai wonton dumplings – a fragrant reminder of a long-gone place and time. The World Economic Herald, the semi-independent Shanghai newspaper where Mr. Zhang was a lead reporter, was shut down by the government in 1989 – its outspoken brand of journalism absent from China today. Thirty years ago, Mr. Zhang was among the young intellectuals and activists leading the boldest movement for democracy ever seen in communist China.
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| As Morocco swells with migrants, music is a common language Posted: 03 Jun 2019 11:57 AM PDT ![As Morocco swells with migrants, music is a common language]( "As Morocco swells with migrants, music is a common language") Until 2004 Reuben Yemoh Odoi was living a content life in Dakar: socializing with the president's children, working and winning fights at a local boxing gym, and making music about the aftermath of wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
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| Reimagining Baltimore: Schools invite students to help Posted: 03 Jun 2019 10:49 AM PDT ![Reimagining Baltimore: Schools invite students to help]( "Reimagining Baltimore: Schools invite students to help") "But my perspective of Baltimore City is everyone having fun … at our friend's house or at a playground," the eighth-grader says, pointing to the other side, with drawings of kids on swings. Providing channels for students to express their perspectives is one goal of BMore Me, a new curriculum launched this spring with sixth-, eighth-, and ninth-graders in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS). While it taps into the local community, it is built on a foundation rich in history, geography, and civics. Many educators have long felt that curriculum is an either-or proposition: Present it as is, and risk losing students' interest, or modify and supplement it to keep them engaged but risk watering down required content. Increasingly, district leaders are determined to forge a third way: Offer high-quality curriculum that actually inspires students – and equip teachers to implement it faithfully.
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