Glenn Nichols, city manager of Benson, Ariz., said last year two men came to the city "talking about building a facility to hold women and children that were undocumented.
NPR aired an impressive piece of investigative journalism today. In short, after the private prison industry, led by the Corrections Association of America identified its growth area as "Immigrant women and children" it worked through a group called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) to move this idea forward.
Glenn Nichols, pictured above, tells how salesman for the prison industry came to his Arizona town selling a prison that would hold immigrant women and children, be full for years and years, and bring money to his town through jobs for guards.
While the connection between the prison industry and legislators is nothing new, this piece connects the chilling dots on SB1070. Read or listen at NPR.org.
When it comes to toxic chemicals in consumer products, one of the most popular messages we hear are about the potentially harmful impact of chemicals on children's health and safety. As a new mom, I completely get this and spend countless hours researching for toys and products that will cause the least harm to my little one.
Most people pay attention to issues that put our children in harms way… But how can we get people to see that this issue affects everyone in our family? And depending on where our family members work, it may affect some families more than others.
For some of the young women we work with, this is just the case. They have parents who work in nail salons, dry cleaners, and other toxic industries where they work and are surrounded by toxic chemicals every day.
Workers health and safety and the impact of toxic chemicals in the workplace is a story we rarely get to hear. But just last week, our allies with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative mobilized numerous members of the nail salon community to a meeting with the San Francisco Supervisors to consider local legislation that would encourage residents to patron nail salons that use green-er nail products.
The fight against toxic chemicals has been a long and bumpy road – one that is currently being waged in both sides of Congress at the federal level, as well as at the state level. It is great to see examples of local activism contributing towards change on this historically pressing issue NOW, and imagine that some families are taking in a big breath of fresh air knowing that some relief is in their near future.
Recently we worked with Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Charles Stuart to develop a short video documenting the story of a nail salon worker in our community. Such stories are critical to increasing public awareness of the need for comprehensive chemical policy that protect everyone, including workers who are at the front lines of exposure to toxic chemicals.
A couple of weeks ago, my coworker Amanda and I were in New Mexico to support Women Building Community, a collaboration of 12 women of color led organizations who are bringing together diverse communities, strategies and leaders to create a unique model of change that is by and for the communities of New Mexico.
As we were driving 90 miles an hour through the desert to get from Albuquerque to Anthony, a small town just 30 minutes from the boarder with Mexico, Amanda and were talking about the familiar and the unfamiliar. Familiar: the experience of meeting amazing grassroots leaders who are innovating effective strategies for change. Unfamiliar: the miles and miles of open desert; border patrol agents scanning for signs of movement under the hot sun; the particular mix of indigenous, Chicana, Latina, immigrant and rural cultures; and, the amazing chili (I like both red and green).
Being in an unfamiliar place provided us the opportunity to explore and remember some of the elements of deep and lasting change.
I remember being in 4th or 5th grade and getting separated from the boys to watch an animated short film about sex. It consisted of a cartoon version of this boy and girl getting it on in a car and suddenly stopping, apparently realizing that they shouldn't go any further. That's all I remember. I don't remember any conversations about sex, body, or sexuality.
In high school, I took Driver's Education. Sex Ed sort of included in health class. Through the the awkwardness of the whole deal and it was only awkward because the teachers probably felt awkward and didn't feel prepared to have these conversations, I didn't learn that much... or anything at all.
Where did I learn about sex? I learned about sex on television. We all know how accurately television portrays desire and sex and how often that becomes our molding for our own desires.
And what happened when I started to engage in sexual behavior (AKA having sex) in high school? Lots of awkwardness, misinformation, close calls and silence.
Elaine Kamilly, like four billion of our fellow earthlings,
spends a lot of time on the cell phone
By Lisa Russ
My first few years as a parent plunged me into a land of great mystery: yes, what is a boppy and how did I make my baby a spleen, but the more persistent, nagging mystery was how to know what is safe for my kids. While plastic baby bottles and flame retardant-filled nursing pillows were available in great abundance, there was a growing concern about the impacts the chemicals in these products had on children’s development. I tried to wrap my head around what was real, what was safe enough, and what we could afford.
As I waded through those murky waters, I found myself in a land of molecules and endocrine disrupters, early onset of puberty and possible links to breast cancer. And that was just trying to buy sunscreen. I found myself saddened and alarmed that these negotiations were left to consumers. My college science education consisted of one night-class in Astronomy, and I was ill-equipped to analyze various double-blind randomized trials to decide whether or not to buy organic milk.
Last month, we blogged about two important bills aimed at protecting the health and well being of some of the most marginalized communities in California to ensure strong and thriving families across the state.
Today, as we revel in the passage of one and lament the veto of the other, we give one enthusiastic thumb up and one disbelieving thumb down to Governor Schwarzenegger.
Farm workers, their families and their communities won a major victory with the passage of AB 1963, the Pesticide Poisoning Prevention Bill. The bill protects farm workers from overexposure to pesticides, which can damage the nervous system and cause reproductive harm, by establishing standards for their handling and use. Farm worker communities, made up of mostly immigrants and people of color, have long suffered the terrible health impacts of workers being immersed in toxic chemicals on a daily basis and carrying them home to their children and other family members through their pesticide-drenched clothes. Not surprisingly, it has been women leaders and residents who have led the fight for environmental justice and community health, recognizing the threat of heavy and prolonged exposure to pesticides for their families and communities, including respiratory problems, cancer, and miscarriage. Indeed, the protection of children, babies and women – including those who are pregnant – from toxins that affect them in particular is one of the most significant reproductive justice impacts of this bill.
There has been a massive toxic spill. State of emergency has been declared. Numerous people have either died or suffered numerous injuries from the contamination.
Have you heard yet?
This time it's not within the walls of this country but a European country, Hungary. The toxic sludge is made up of arsenic, chrome, mercury, and high levels of alkaline from iron oxide and aluminium oxide. These chemical can cause burns, cancer if inhaled, and other painful ailments. This accident resulted from a busted dam which was "unusually full" and looked already weakened in June. MAL, the company overseeing the plant, has been accused of overloading the reservoir of toxic residue.
Based on their gender, race, age, citizenship and criminal record, people throughout history have had to fight for their right to vote. . Many people still do not have the right to vote based on these things. So, if you have the privilege to vote, take advantage of it!
This video shows a timeline of the voting rights struggles in the United States. It was showcased at a SAFIRE youth conference on ballot initiatives during the 2008 elections season. We are dusting it off and sharing this video again because it is incredibly relevant to the moment we are in now. Here is "The Changing Face of Democracy":
Produced by Mateo Reyes, former staff of Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and Amanda Wake, ACRJ Youth Organizer:
Please share this post with friends, family, co-workers, your organization, and your youth! And VOTE ON TUES. NOV. 2nd!!!
Jennifer and Lonna, one of the few sister-duos who participated in SAFIRE this past summer, decided to share their Strong Families story through a very cute and colorful puppet show! Their project shares how their parents started cooking and the difficulties they faced in supporting their families.
As you can see, there are many ways to tell your Strong Families story. Come share your story with us here and be part of our Strong Families Story Collection!
Last week I had a blast working with the incredible women of Young Women United in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They work with young women of color and run powerful campaigns on anti-violence against women and comprehensive sexuality education.
Moira Bowman and I had the opportunity to run a Forward Stance training for their staff and their members. We also collected their stories on what makes their families strong. Here is one powerful story we collected:
September 27, 2010
"My name is Avicra and I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
My family includes my brother, my father and I. My family is strong because we have survived my mother’s incarceration. My family needs free counseling and referrals/access to drug rehab facilities as well as national policy education on treatment instead of incarceration possibilities."
With the onslaught of anti-gay bullying, intimidation, and overall harrasment of queer/LGBT youth resulting in numerous consecutive suicides this past month, it's been an emotional and heart breaking time.
I remember, in college, for myself the internalized homophobia and the struggle with giving up my "privilege" of being straight for someone more true, a more real self. I cannot imagine going through that in high school and being ridiculed mercilessly for just being... me. I know that when I came out, knowing my attraction is not bound by societal expectation of my gender... it was completely liberating. It breaks my heart to know and see the struggles that our young queer community faces with homelessness, HIV, depression, drug use, and other host of issues that are a product of intolerance, hate, and ignorance.
Here in California, we are no strangers to repeated attempts at passing thinly veiled anti-choice ballot initiatives that would take away the rights of women and youth and endanger their health and safety. Remember Prop 73 in 2005, which tried to mandate parental notification for minors accessing abortion services? Or Prop 85 in 2006 and Prop 4 in 2008, which were almost identical measures? None of them passed, although the proponents blatantly claimed victory just for forcing progressive organizations to divert their resources to fight tirelessly to defeat these initiatives.
While California is spared this year from these ridiculously obsessive anti-choice efforts, Colorado is not. For the second year in a row, the state is facing a so-called “fetal personhood” initiative which is even more ridiculous than parental notification. Amendment 62 reads:
"As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of Article II of the state constitution, the term "person" shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being."
The language may seem benign enough at first, but knowing who’s behind it can help us quickly connect the dots. Anti-choice proponents have been trying to pass similar initiatives all across the county, which refer to the fetus as if it’s completely separate from the pregnant woman who is carrying it and ignores her own life, her rights and her experiences. Not only does the measure make no sense, it could cause widespread harm to women and families in Colorado – as well as women and families across the country – by demonizing their decisions and possibly even criminalizing contraception and miscarriage, not to mention its obvious attempt to ban the right to abortion services.
Thank goodness for groups like Choice USA, a member of the EMERJ Strategy Team, for exposing the absurdity of these measures with this hilarious video:
Watch it, share it, and support women and families in Colorado and everywhere by making sure that we vote these measures down every time they arise. Read more in Choice USA Executive Director’s article, “Where’s the Woman,” on Huffington Post.
A friend shared a story of how she encouraged the men in her workplace to take Family Medical Leave when they and their partners had new babies.
Her argument was two-fold. First, she said because California was one of the handful of states that actually had policy to support new parents to take six weeks off to bond with a newborn baby, adopted, or foster child, the men COULD take this time off, be with their families, and still receive partial pay. Second, she said that men SHOULD take this time off because when they don’t, they inadvertently push women – who are often the primary caregivers and have little choice but to take time off work – further down the employment opportunity ladder.
Attorney Gloria Allred, left, escorts Nicandra Diaz Santillan
after a news conference at Allred's office in which she
said Meg Whitman's former housekeeper was
"exploited, disrespected, humiliated and emotionally
and financially abused." (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / September 29, 2010)
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The airwaves in California have been dominated by images of a teary immigrant housekeeper claiming she was mistreated by her billionaire employer and turned away when she asked for citizenship help.
It's far from the message Republican Meg Whitman wants to send to the state's crucial Latino voting bloc as she runs for governor.
Thank you Nicky Diaz Santillan! Thank you for showing us that Meg Whitman is even more foolish, selfish and small-minded close-up than she is from afar.
While money can't buy happiness or, apparently, good judgment, it does give you the ability to treat your employees fairly--in this case, the person you depend on to help raise your kids and run your home.
Nicky Diaz Santillan is Meg Whitman's former nanny and housekeeper who just announced that she is undocumented, and after years of mistreatment by the Whitman's, was recently fired when she made her immigration status explicit.
After looking through videos of stories ACRJ collected for the Strong Families Story Collection, I began to ask myself: “What makes my family strong?” The answer is pretty simple, my mom. Mama is the core of my family; she is the glue that keeps us intact. My mom is the person who motivates me and my sisters to be the best we can be, our success is just a thank you to all the hard work she has done for us.
It has been 17 long years since we emigrated from the Philippines to the United States. We moved to join my dad and to start a better life for our family. Mama was the first and only one in her family to immigrate to the U.S. Barely knowing the language, the culture, or anyone, she persevered through all these challenges to make sure my sisters and I were taken care of. In addition, having a physical but not so present father-figure, Mama ultimately played the role of both mother and father. Through her example, my sisters and I learned to be independent and to find our own strength and power within to motivate ourselves to constantly aim for our goals and our highest potential.
