Rainbow 50p coin celebrates 50th year of Pride UK
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Pride UK movement, Britain’s Royal Mint introduced a special rainbow-colored 50 pence coin earlier in May. The coin, which is embossed with the colors of the Pride progress flag, was designed by east London artist and LGBTQ+ activist Dominique Holmes. Read More...
This encyclopedia chronicles TV’s history of Blackness
The portrayal of Black people in the entertainment industry is becoming more sensitive, equal, and reflective of society. Showing Black faces on the millions of American TV screens helped amplify this community's voice and break down some barriers of discrimination. Although, the road has been Read More...
All-women news source launches in Somalia to cover inequality
Journalism used to be called the Fourth Estate, referring to its political and societal influence within a country. It has the power to expose injustices and sound a call to action from the people. Finding solutions to endemic problems often starts by identifying them in the media. For a fair Read More...
Meet Sesame Street’s newest muppet
Here at The Optimist Daily, we are great admirers of the beloved children’s show Sesame Street. This educational program has expanded its representation to include muppets of a variety of backgrounds, abilities, and identities to show children how wonderful and diverse the people of our world Read More...
Troy Kotsur becomes first deaf man to win an acting Oscar
Though Hollywood’s Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are often critiqued for their lack of representation, there has been progress in the most recent edition. This past weekend, we saw a beautiful example of inclusion during the 94th Academy Awards, as Troy Kotsur became the first deaf Read More...
A seat at the table for underrepresented communities
Climate change is already affecting all of us—however, those that bear the brunt of these consequences are predominantly from low-income, marginalized, BIPOC communities. So why is it that out of the organizations that are trying to confront climate change and find solutions, about 95 percent of Read More...
Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman featured on a US coin
In 2022, US quarters with the image of poet and writer Maya Angelou went into circulation, making her the first Black woman in the nation’s history to be featured on a coin. Angelou’s quarter kicked off the US Mint’s American Women Quarters program, an initiative led by Democrat Read More...
Australia's national rugby uniforms proudly feature First Nations art
Australia’s national rugby team, the Wallabies, will permanently and proudly represent the Australian coat of arms along with a First Nations design on their primary playing uniform for the first time in history. According to Rugby Australia, featuring this Indigenous artwork on their gold Read More...
Cloudwater craft beer is tackling the industry's diversity problem
Craft beer is having a moment. It’s trendy, it’s tasty… but according to those who drink craft beer and work in the industry, there’s still something missing—diversity. Those who produce and consume craft beer are mostly white, male, and middle class—in other words, white men with Read More...
Broadway is back with more Black writers this fall
Broadway is making a comeback this fall after a year and a half of empty stages and theaters, and the majority of its 2021 fall lineup features shows by Black writers. Shows are scheduled to begin as early as next month, and audiences can look forward to seeing old favorites and plays that were Read More...