Independent since 2002 Issue No. 1102 Week of November 7, 2026 Get the free email dispatch →

Guest Commentator

Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute

BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Sonali Kolhatkar is the host and producer of Uprising, a popular, daily, drive-time program on KPFK, Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles and co- director of the Afghan Women's Mission, a US-based non-profit organization that works with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

100 pieces

Guest Commentary

Replacing the Capitalist Dream of AI-Driven Profits

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

When asked to share alternatives to capitalism, ChatGPT offered many options, none of which rely on the fantasy that money hoarding at the top can eventually benefit the rest of us.

Right-wing media outlets such as Fox News have long pushed racist narratives to further their goals. And, outlets like the New York Times—the so-called “liberal media”—do…

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Guest Commentary

When Corporate Media Fail, Independent Media Rise Up

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Corporate media outlets have often furthered racist narratives, and do so even today. In contrast, independent media outlets have centered racial justice, offering platforms to marginalized communities.

This excerpt is adapted from chapter two of Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice by Sonali Kolhatkar. Copyright © 2023 by Sonali…

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Guest Commentary

This Pride Month Let’s Remember: Corporations Are Not Allies

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

The Target company’s capitulation to homophobes and transphobes is a testament to the dangers of relying on corporations to uphold social justice.

Just days before the start of June, celebrated around the country and world as “Pride month,” Target corporation decided that proudly allying with the LGBTQIA+ community…

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Guest Commentary

The Move Toward a Four-Day Workweek Obscures Low Pay

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Of course Americans deserve to work fewer hours. But unless the move to a four-day workweek is accompanied by a massive pay raise, it merely frees up time to work more.

Dolly Parton’s signature song “9 to 5,” and the 1980s sitcom of the same name reflect a quintessentially American hustle culture of working 40 hours a…

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Guest Commentary

Republicans Want To Defund Our Libraries

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

Claiming to protect children, Republicans are going after libraries and librarians instead of the police, gun manufacturers, and actual child sexual abusers.

Missouri Republicans in early April voted to cut all public funding for libraries as part of their state budget proposal. Leading the move was Cody Smith,…

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Guest Commentary

A New Republican Assault on Children: Overturning Labor Laws

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

It seems unimaginable that we are backsliding into the era of exploiting child labor. But that’s precisely what the GOP appears to be doing.

Two recent exposés about child labor in the United States highlight how prevalent the once-outlawed practice has become. In February, the New York Times published an…

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Guest Commentary

The Real Reason Disney Is Defying DeSantis

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

A corporation does not have morals—it has a bottom line. Disney’s lawsuit against Florida is more about being able to reap profits while underpaying workers than it is about protecting LGBTQ communities.

Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis is eager to cast himself as the new and improved Donald Trump. He has waged a relentless war against what he…

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Guest Commentary

TV Writers Flex Their Union Power

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

A strike authorization by the Writers Guild of America is threatening the television industry’s corporate business model of relying on an underpaid workforce to pay for its mergers.

Television has been experiencing a boom in the United States, the likes of which has never been seen before. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there…

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Guest Commentary

Clarence Thomas Proves It’s Time for Supreme Court Term Limits

By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute Guest Commentator

If justices can be bought by billionaires, lifetime terms only enable corruption rather than protect the U.S. Supreme Court from undue influence.

A pair of new investigative reports from ProPublica about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are a testament to not only the importance of good journalism in…

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