Immigration

‘Dreams in Arizona Have Been Swept Away’

Written by Guest Blogger

The following article is one of a series of accounts from students who recently returned  from Arizona. They were part of a delegation that spent a week touring the state amid  the enactment of controversial law SB 1070. The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization based in Chicago, sponsored the trip, which included nine students from Washington D.C., New York, Chicago and Colorado.

By Taisha Hawkins

“ Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become action. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for IT becomes your destiny. ” -Unknown

Imagine if an imagination… Read more

What’s Whale Wars Got To Do With Saving the Planet?

Written by Rebecca Poswolsky

Animal Planet’s reality show, Whale Wars, featuring a ragtag group of activists trying to save the planet by attacking Japanese whalers, has as much credibility with environmentalists as Jon & Kate have with parenting experts. It’s the green community’s version of Jersey Shore if you will; so preposterous it’s hard to look away.

Paul Watson is the doughy captain and star of the show. To most viewers he’s nothing more than an eccentric animal rights activist. Most people probably consider him harmless (unless you’re hunting whales of course). But there’s a lot more lurking under the façade of this wacky eco-activist.

Watson is severely at odds with environmentalists striving for inclusive solutions to environmental… Read more

Politics

Fear Resonates in the Eyes of Arizona’s Latino Residents

Written by Guest Blogger

The following article is one of a series of accounts from students who recently returned  from Arizona. They were part of a delegation that spent a week touring the state amid  the enactment of controversial law SB 1070. The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization based in Chicago, sponsored the trip, which included nine students from Washington D.C., New York, Chicago and Colorado.

By Brendan Francis

During the week of August 9, 2010 along with 12 other people, I traveled to Arizona to learn more about the immigration movement from all sides and what I could do to help counter hatred towards immigrants. We traveled to Phoenix and Tucson,… Read more

Politics

Hope in the Making, Somali Americans Run for School Board

Written by Garat Ibrahim

The most recent primary election was quite extraordinary for a new group of Americans who live in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. For the last 10 or so years, school issues have been a big topic of discussion for the Somali and minority communities in Saint Cloud. Students who are refugees or are the children of refugees face unique challenges. Somali parents have had a frustrating time trying to get school officials and board members to understand those challenges, and help their children flourish in the school system.

Unfortunately, the response by school officials made it clear that they were not ready to acknowledge the demographic changes in this small city of 68,000 with minorities making up… Read more

Politics

Mockingbirds, Truth and Justice

Written by Joan Flanagan

My favorite novel is Harper Lee’s brilliant To Kill A Mockingbird, set in small town Alabama in the 1930’s.  The narrator recalls the events that happened when she, Jean Louise Finch (nicknamed Scout) was seven and her lawyer father Atticus defended a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl.  Columnist Carla Carlisle is the same age as I am, so we were both the age of Scout when the U. S. Supreme Court passed Brown v Board of Education.  Carla now lives in rural Suffolk County in East Anglia in England, but she grew up in rural Pike County on the southern end of Mississippi.  Here is how Carla… Read more

Cross-Post: Christian Action Network Mounts Comeback on Islamophobic Agenda

Written by Imagine 2050 Editors

By Bill Berkowitz.

Originally published on Buzzflash on Wed, 08/25/2010

The Christian Action Network, a long-time anti-gay/National Endowment for the Arts organization is back on the scene with ‘Islam Rising,’ a film, it claims, ’exposes the dangers of radical Islam to the Western world.’

Months before the current controversy over the building of an Islamic community center a few blocks from Ground Zero brought a host of professional anti-Muslim bigots out of the woodwork, a small group, long associated with a bevy of Religious Right causes, was marketing its own brand of Islamophobia. Welcome to the world of the Christian Action Network.

Throughout the past two decades, the Christian Action Network CAN), founded in 1990 by Martin

… Read more

Politics

ProEnglish Advisory Board Member Compares Undocumented Immigration to Rape

Written by Stephen Piggott

Eddie Garcia moved to the United States as a child years ago and has since become a naturalized citizen.  Now that Eddie is all grown up, he has a lot to say about immigration and America.

He loves to tell anyone who will listen that he and his parents came to America as legal immigrants. He also loves to promote the English language and bash undocumented immigrants. Eddie lives in Tennessee and has been very involved with trying to get English-only legislation passed in the state, most notably pushing legislation that would make English the only language available for people who take a drivers license test.  In March of this year, Garcia testified… Read more

Health

Low Wage Workers Fired for Injuries on the Job

Written by Axel Fuentes

Day after day, I converse with workers and hear about issues that affect their health and safety, which include injuries and accidents in the workplace.  There have been several workers, especially immigrants, who have told me their personal stories. Today though, I am only going to focus on one of the issues that plague them.

The well-being of many immigrant workers is largely affected because they are expected to do the most dangerous jobs and are the most disadvantaged when claiming their rights. In most cases of course, fear is present. The fear of reprisals from employers or even fear of the government.  There are several cases I have heard about in which workers are… Read more

Immigration

‘This Trip Has Hit Me in My Heart’

Written by Guest Blogger

The following article is one of a series of accounts from students who recently returned  from Arizona. They were part of a delegation that spent a week touring the state amid  the enactment of controversial law SB 1070. The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization based in Chicago, sponsored the trip, which included nine students from Washington D.C., New York, Chicago and Colorado.

By Efrain Ramirez

I never thought that I had enough water in me to be able to cry everyday. It really felt like I was mourning the death of someone. This trip to Arizona hasn’t been an educational experience; it’s been an emotional rollercoaster that took a heavy… Read more

Ecopolitics

The Green War on Immigrants

Written by Jill Garvey

Bigotry. That isn’t the first word that comes to mind when one thinks about environmentalism, but green bigotry is real and growing. A web of individuals, groups and funders who identify themselves as environmentalists are dividing the environmental movement and moving it away from solutions that are inclusive of diverse communities.

The good news is we can take a stand against the greening of hate.