Grace Lee Boggs Double Header in the Bay Area

Can’t make today’s Grace Lee Boggs event in Berkeley that we posted a few days ago? Well then, lucky you, cause the Chinese Progressive Association is holding another GLB event on Saturday, March 3rd:

March 3, 2012 | Building the Next American Revolution: A Celebration and Tribute to Grace Lee Boggs

Building the Next American Revolution: A Celebration and Tribute to Grace Lee Boggs
Saturday, March 3rd, 2012
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Chinese Culture Center
750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor (in the Hilton Hotel)
San Francisco, CA 94108

Ticket price:  $5-$20 sliding scale. Purchase tickets in advance online.

As CPA celebrates our 40^th anniversary this year, we are excited to begin 2012 by honoring the legacy of an Asian American movement shero, Grace Lee Boggs. We will co-host a very special event, “Building the Next American Revolution: A Celebration and Tribute to Grace Lee Boggs,” which will take place on Saturday, March 3^rd, 2012 at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco Chinatown from 1-4 pm, with a reception and book signing.

This event will feature Grace Lee Boggs, who will reflect on Asian American activism and our movement during the current political times and key issues affecting the world today.

Born in 1915 to Chinese immigrants, Grace is a long-time activist and writer who has committed over 70 years of her life to building a movement for social change. She is a legendary figure in the civil rights and Black power movement. Now 96, she continues to devote her life to developing new young leaders and a vision for the 21^st century.

The program will also include cultural performances, long-time friend and actor Danny Glover and Scott Kurashige, Professor of American culture and history and co-author of her book, “the Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century.

Learn more about Grace’s work at: http://graceleeboggs.com/

Arizona Legalizes Racial Profiling

Howdy pal! Are you an immigrant? Non-white? Kinda tanned? Speak another language? Wear Fobby slippers? Well, if you said yes to any of the above and you’re in Arizona, you’re shit outta luck!

Thanks to SB 1070 and Gov. Jan Brewer, if you arouse “reasonable suspicion” of being an illegal immigrant in the eyes of local AZ law enforcement, you can be stopped, asked to prove your legal status, and arrested. Now what, you may ask, on Jeebusez green earth qualifies one as being suspiciously illegal? What cues could police possibly be looking for? Speaking Spanish, wearing dish gloves and an apron, having mad cuzins, sporting brown skin…The sky’s the limit here folks! Let’s get creative with this harassment!

Is there anything really, that can “arouse suspicion”, that isn’t tied to race, ethnicity, and skin color? People generally don’t wear signs around their neck declaring their status. Nor do undocumented folks act different than legal residents. So what indicators do you think cops will use as a proxy?

SB 1070, at its core, has nothing to do with immigration status, which it claims to address. It actually don’t matter if you’re a citizen, a permanent resident, or undocumented. If you’re not white, you ain’t right. Meaning if you ain’t white, law enforcement has full authority to assume you are a criminal.

Now, everyone in Arizona is required to carry papers with them at all times, especially important if you are a person of color. Sound familiar? Gestapo-run Germany? South African apartheid? Jim Crow?

But that ain’t all. SB 1070 also criminalizes knowingly transporting an undocumented person. But 85% of immigrant families (those with at least one non-citizen parent) are mixed-status families. So it’s not unlikely that a US-born citizen would be prosecuted for driving their undocumented mom to the grocery store or doctor’s appointment. Also awesome: private citizens can sue police officers for not harassing suspected illegal immigrants enough, further empowering your charming neighborhood Minuteman or Teabagger.

Bottom line — AZ ain’t down with the brown. This law is out-and-out racist, no matter how many pundits try to rationalize or talk their way around it. It’s also unconstitutional, undermines the trust between the community and police required for the public safety of everyone, and will likely wreak havoc on AZ’s already-struggling economy (San Francisco’s City Attorney has called for a break of business contracts with the state, and others urge a boycott of Arizona Diamondbacks games).

And if you think this law only concerns the Latino community, guess again. Last time I checked, Asian Americans also have a long history of being stereotyped and harassed based on our appearance and language, and we are included in the populations being smuggled across the border (arrests of Chinese crossing the AZ border increased tenfold in the last year), and subsequently who law enforcement will be profiling. What affects one community affects us all, and we need to stand up together to fight it.

The silver lining of all this is, hopefully the national attention garnered will put pressure on federal administration for Comprehensive Immigration Reform — something Obama promised to deliver during his first year in office. It’s up to us to hold him accountable. May 1st is National Immigration Day. Go here to find a rally or here for more info on boycotting AZ (did you know P.F. Chang’s is headquartered in Phoenix? Delicious). Text “Justice” to 69866 to join the campaign for immigration reform. NOW is the time to put government’s feet to the fire. Otherwise, we continue our downward slide towards becoming criminals in our own country.

The Promise: An Interactive Portfolio about the Civil-Rights Era by The New Yorker

Head over to The New Yorker now to check out this amazing audio pictorial:

An interactive portfolio about the civil-rights era, with contemporary portraits by Platon, historical photographs, interviews, and audio commentary by David Remnick, whose written introduction appears below the portfolio. -The New Yorker.

Thanks ePanda!

Black History Month Tribute to the 1968 Olympics

Just a friendly reminder to y’all that February is Black History Month. One of BcB’s favorite blogs, P is for Props had a tribute to the 1968 Olympics’ heroics of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the medal podium. If you’re interested in the history behind the statement, come down to sunny San Jose to visit the SJSU campus where a statue of Smith and Carlos (both products of SJSU’s “Speed City” track team, coached by Lloyd (Bud) Winter) was built in 2005. Its been a long time coming…

Open Letter to All Californians Who Voted YES on 8

Dear Bigots:

What the fuck is your problem?? Who are YOU to deny the CIVIL RIGHT of ANYONE else? You fucktards. Take your conservative religious views and stuff it up yo ass.

Now, that I have your attention, I just want to ask, why did you vote yes? Why? Why? Well, there are three reasons why I think your ignorant asses marked YES on your ballots yesterday.

1. You think it will affect your children’s education.

2. You hate gay people.

3. Both of the above.

First of all, in no way shape or form is it required in schools to teach any child about marriage in the state of California. Jack O’Fucking Connell even made a television commercial to tell you that it has NOTHING to do with education! So where the hell did you get this idea that same sex marriage/relationship is a part of the educational curriculum in schools. Now, in my opinion, so what if it is?! But, it isn’t. SO your first reason has no validity whatsoever you dumbass.

Secondly, you think a man&man or woman&woman marriage/relationship threatens family values? Really? If you want to rid all things that undermine family values and the sanctity of marriage then protest against shows about golddiggers wanting to marry a millionaire or 25 cougars trying to win over the heart of a douchey whiteboy. Don’t tell me that same sex marriages, or even the LGTBQ community in general undermines your holy standards and values when there are a plethora of other things in this society that goes well beyond what is “traditional” family values. I don’t see you up and arms at divorce courts or outside of the law offices of divorce lawyers protesting the fact that divorce rates in this country is overwhelming over 50%, because doesn’t divorce also undermine your holy standards?? So if the reason you voted yes on 8 is because you hate gay people, then I hope your face gets smeared in shit tomorrow.

The LGTBQ community, just like you homophobes, have every right to get married, have babies, and realize that they aren’t compatible and get a divorce just like YOU. So, again, who the hell are you to deny them that right?

Sincerely,

One of the 48% who voted AGAINST 8

ps. for all of you who are curious to know what dumbasses contributed to the YES on 8 campaign, check out sfgate’s database.