Podcasts about Know Your Rights

In Learning to Lead: Undocumented Students Mobilizing Education (Duke University Press, 2024), Jennifer R. Nájera explores the intersections of education and activism among undocumented students at the University of California, Riverside. Taking an expansive view of education, Nájera shows how students' experiences in college—both in and out of the classroom—can affect their activism and advocacy work. Students learn from their families, communities, peers, and student and political organizations. In these different spaces, they learn how to navigate community and college life as undocumented people. Students are able to engage campus organizations where they can cultivate their leadership skills and—importantly—learn that they are not alone. These students embody and mobilize their education through both large and small political actions such as protests, workshops for financial aid applications, and Know Your Rights events. As students create community with each other, they come to understand that their individual experiences of illegality are part of a larger structure of legal violence. This type of education empowers students to make their way to and through college, change their communities, and ultimately assert their humanity. Jennifer R. Nájera is Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside. David-James Gonzales (DJ) is Assistant Professor of History at Brigham Young University. He is a historian of migration, urbanization, and social movements in the U.S., and specializes in Latina/o/x politics and social movements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latino-studies

In the face of expanded ICE raids, we get a view into what happens in immigration courts and ways advocates are ramping up efforts to connect immigrants to legal resources and Know Your Rights trainings. Reset sits down with immigration lawyer Carlina Tapia-Ruano and spokesperson Brandon Lee of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has an office for Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada right here in West Valley. So what should you do if you or your neighbor is stopped by them? Host Ali Vallarta asks Aaron Welcher with the ACLU of Utah what your rights are when it comes to ICE and how their power differs from local police. Visit ACLU of Utah's resource hub for more information about your rights and guidance for institutions. This episode first aired Feb. 3, 2025.  Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You'll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Utah Arts Festival Stein Eriksen Lodge Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dive into the Trump Administration's renewed crackdown on undocumented immigrants. With ICE ramping up nationwide enforcement and families being torn apart, fear is rising and so are protests across the globe. Immigration Attorney Carla Casas joins us to unpack the chaos. She breaks down President Trump's aggressive immigration policies, explains what they really mean for those living undocumented in the U.S., and shares crucial legal advice for those at risk. Carla also offers actionable ways for communities to stand up, speak out, and support those living under constant threat of detention. This is a must-listen episode that hits at the heart of justice, humanity, and the future of immigration in America. FOLLOW CARLA CASAS: Instagram – @immigration.attorney.carla YouTube – @AbogadaCarlaCasas TikTok – @abogadacarla Facebook – Casas Immigration Website – www.casasimmigration.com

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight's show is June 19th. We are all connected. We are talking with Asian and Asian American Children's book authors. PowerLeeGirls host Miko Lee talks with Chi Thai and Livia Blackburne about the power of storytelling, maternal heritage, generational trauma, and much more. Title:  We Are All Connected Show Transcripts Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:01:17] Welcome to Apex Express. Tonight's show is June 19th. We are all connected. We are talking with Asian and Asian American Children's book authors. PowerLeeGirls host Miko Lee talks with Chi Thai and Livia Blackburne about the power of storytelling, maternal heritage, generational trauma, and much more. First, we want to start by wishing everyone a happy Juneteenth, Juneteenth commemorates, an end to slavery and the emancipation of Black Americans after the Civil War. In 1865, 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally learned of their freedom. Juneteenth marks the day the last enslaved people learned of their freedom. Though outright slavery became illegal, the systematic oppression of African Americans continues to this day. We see that show up in almost every aspect of American culture, from the high rate of infant mortality to the over punishing of Black children in schools, to police brutality, to incarceration. We must continue to recognize the importance of championing Black lives and lifting up Black voices. We are all connected. June 19th is also an important day in Asian American history. In 1982 in Detroit, Vincent Chin was at a bar celebrating his bachelor party prior to his wedding the next day. Ronald Ebens, a white auto worker, and his stepson Michael Nitz taunted Vincent with racial epithets. They thought he was Japanese and were angry about the Japanese rise in the auto industry. When Vincent left the bar later, the two men attacked and killed Vincent with a baseball bat. He was 27 years old. Ronald Ebens never did time for this murder. Ronald Ebens is 85 years old now. Ebens not only skirted prosecution, he has used bankruptcy and homesteading laws in Nevada to avoid a wrongful death civil suit settlement. Ordered by the court in 1987 to pay $1.5 million to Chin's family, the Chin estate has received nothing. Lily Chin, Vincent's mom could have stayed silent about the racist attack on her son. Instead she spoke out. She took a courageous stance to highlight this most painful moment in her life. In doing so, she helped ignite a new generation of Asian American activists working for civil rights and social justice. We find ourselves in a new wave of activism as our communities band together to work against the injustices of the current regime. And what does this have to do with children's books? It is all connected. We highlight children's books by Asian and Asian American authors because we want our next generation of children to know and appreciate their own heritage. We want them to proudly represent who they are so that they can work in solidarity with other peoples. Our struggle is interwoven. As Grace Lee Boggs said, “History is a story not only of the past, but of the future.” Thank you for joining us on apex express. Enjoy the show.   Miko Lee: [00:04:24] First off. Let's take a listen to one of Byron Au Young's compositions called “Know Your Rights” This is part of the trilogy of the Activist Songbook. This multi-lingual rap, give steps to know what to do when ICE officers come to your door.    MUSIC   That was “Know Your Rights” performed by Jason Chu with lyrics by Aaron Jeffries and composed by Byron Au Yong Welcome, Chi Thai to Apex Express.    Chi Thai: [00:07:13] Hello. I'm really happy to be joining you, Miko.  Miko Lee: [00:07:16] I'm really happy to meet you and learn about you as an artist, as a filmmaker, as a children's book author. And I wanna first start with a personal question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you? Chi Thai: [00:07:30] Ooh, what a great question. You know what? I love being asked stuff that hasn't been asked kind of before. I mean, there's a kinda really kinda natural answer to that, which is, you know, family are my people. Of course. 100%. And certainly, you know, the reason why I'm talking to you today, you know, in regard to the, to the book, you know, it's about my family's journey. But I found, and I don't know if this is. Somewhat to do with, you know, being a child of two cultures and you know, being a child of the diaspora that you really have to kind of find your own family too. 'cause I suppose I grew up feeling, I didn't quite relate to maybe my parents in a way that, you know, you normally would if you weren't part of the diaspora. And I felt estranged from my birth country and I didn't really feel like British either a lot of the time. So in terms of like, who are my people? I've gathered those people as I've kind of grown up and it's, it's a kind of strange feeling too. I feel like it's taken me a really long to grow up and to figure out who I am. And I suppose that's why, you know, the people that I have a really, a lot of people that have come, kinda later in my life, I actually have no friends in my childhood as an example of that. I've had to kind of find these people as I've grown up, but it's taken me a long time to grow up because growing up in the UK there wasn't any literature to read about what it was like to be Asian. And British, to be a refugee and things like that. So it just took me longer and I then, as a result, it just took me longer to find my tribe. but I have it now, but it's still work in progress. That was a very convoluted answer. I'm very sorry Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:09:15] No, it wasn't. No worries. It's fine. And what legacy do you carry with you?   Chi Thai: [00:09:19] Kind of an extension to that answer, I think when you're an artist, practicing your voice, figuring out your voice, can take a while. And I think I've only really started maybe the last like five to 10 years at the most really figured out what I want my legacy to be. The things I wanna talk about are really about s tories from the diaspora, certainly, and about community and healing. These are the things I think that are really important to me, especially when we talk about maybe coming from struggle. I don't feel it's enough to be an artist today and just talk about struggle. I want to talk about justice as well. And justice really is about healing, you know?    Miko Lee: [00:10:00] Oh, that's beautiful. Can you talk a little bit more about that healing and what that means to you and how that shows up in your work?    Chi Thai: [00:10:07] A couple years ago, no, not even that long ago, I produced a, a feature film. This is probably the best example for it, but I produced a feature film called Raging Grace, which we called it Horror with a small H and it. Basically took the story of what it was like to be, undocumented Filipina in the uk who was also a mother. And I think if that film had been made 10 years ago, it would just shown how hard her life was, and unrelentingly. So, and I think the reason why Raising Grace is so special is it goes beyond the trauma, it takes us to a place of justice, of being able to speak out for someone who has felt invisible, to be visible for someone who's not. Had a voice, to have a voice and to begin that kind of healing process of sticking up for herself, making a change transforming herself from maybe the good immigrant to the bad immigrant and things like that. I think that's a really great example and I think I read a really wonderful thing. It might have been in a Guardian article where we, so a lot of my work is around, inclusion representation of like diasporic stories. And I think when you have, when you exist in the poverty of like representation, I. the solution to that is plentitude. I think that Viet Thanh Nguyen probably said that, so I don't wanna take credit for it. He comes up with so many wonderful things, and that's a wonderful thing to be able to move from poverty, like to plentitude and that be the solution, is kinda really wonderful. So I enjoy being really prolific. I enjoy supporting artists to be able to do their work. So as a community, we can also be prolific and I wanna support, narratives that. Take us beyond a place of struggle and trauma to a place of like healing and justice and so forth.    Miko Lee: [00:11:57] Your work crosses so many genres. You were just mentioning how that film was kind of a horror film and, and then you've done these kind of dreamy animation pieces and then now this children's book. Do you select the genre and the format and the medium, or does it select you?   Chi Thai: [00:12:16] Oh, I think the story chooses it. I like 100% believe that. I just actually was thinking about this 'cause I was doing an interview on something else, people, often ask about the creative process and I, can only speak for my own. But usually when I get an idea for a story, the general shape of it comes almost like really well formed. There's a sense of a lready kinda what genre it'll be. There's a sense of the character, there's a sense of the journey and all these things. I felt the same about, writing The Endless Sea I knew it would be from the voice of a child. This probably sounds like my creative process is terrible, but it was just. This is how it was going to be. That kind of part was writing itself, or at least I feel that it'd been writing itself like that in my subconscious for many, many years before it kind of surfacing and writing. Like the writing bit is just the tip of the iceberg at the end of the day. there wasn't like a kind of decision about that. the story in that sense was quite intact. So I often feel like the story is demanding something about kind genre and for, for Raging Grace 'cause I've talked about this a lot, not just in listen to me, but other things. But we always said like if you are an an undocumented person, every breath you take is taken in a hostile environment. It's so natural for it to be a horror. So there's not a sense that you kinda decide that it's like that is the very reality of someone who's going, you know, that's their lived experience. And if you're going to represent that truthfully, it will be through the prism of horror. And I suppose that's how I think about genre. the story is kind of telling you what it needs to tell its emotional truth. and I felt that way, with The Endless Sea same thing with the Raging Grace, with Lullaby. And I think you talked about The Promise, I suppose I, with The Promise, which is an adaptation I had less choice about that because that was a book and it was a adapted into an animation. I've heard Nicola, who's the author of the book, talk about that and she talks about like the story coming to her in a dream and tiptoeing down her arm coming onto the page, she like describes it really beautifully. so maybe our processes are the same. It feels that way. there's not long deliberations. I mean, that's not to say the writing process isn't difficult. It is. But that, I've never found the, [genre] the difficulty or the bit that's required a lot of, I don't know soul searching with it.    Miko Lee: [00:14:28] So with that being said, how did Endless Sea your latest children's book? How did that tiptoe into your imagination?    Chi Thai: [00:14:36] This is a strange one because this is probably the closest thing to like, almost autobiographical work. What I can say is like, it's the true story o f how I and my family, which would've been at the time my mom and dad, my older sister, me, how we fled Vietnam after the fall of an Saigon. we actually left quite late we left in 1979 w hen things were tr were getting truly, truly, truly, quite terrible. And, this was very much a last resort. I think my parents would try to make things work, but realized that they couldn't. This journey that we took on these, boats that were made badly, made poorly, that many of which sank has become almost like the genesis story of our family. It's like it's a big, it has a long shadow, right? Ever since you know I, it is like the first story that I can remember. It's one of the few stories my mom would tell me again and again when we, when they see their old friends, it's something they talk about. So it's something that has happened to it to us, but it's such a big thing that it's just, echoed In my life growing up, as I've you know, got older and older, and the wonderful thing about having a story kinda live with you eventually it's in your blood and in your bones, but also if it's a thing that's kinda shared with you again and again, you actually build up this, there's something about the repetition of it, and then every time you hear it told from an uncle or a family friend or from your mom, a new little detail is embroidered that someone adds. So I've kinda lived with this story for 40 plus years and I've been collecting all these little things about it all this time and all that time it was, I think, kind of just writing itself, you know? You know, it was doing all that work before I actually put like pen to paper. Um, yeah.    Miko Lee: [00:16:31] Was there a catalyst or something that made you actually put the pen to paper?   Chi Thai: [00:16:36] That's really interesting. You know, I probably don't mind it is probably something really banal like. I think I probably wrote it during Covid and I had more time. Um, I think there are probably be some bigger forces in place. And you know what, I can tell you what it is actually if I'm, I'm forcing myself to think and examine a bit closer so when this is totally true. So I remember hearing the news about Viet Thanh Nguyen win winning the Pulitzer for The Sympathizer. And it made such a mark on me and I kind of felt, wow, someone from our community has achieved this incredible thing. And I thought, why? Why now? Like, and I was like, well, you know what? It's probably taken our community certain amount of time to come of age, to develop not just the abilities to write, to create, to make art, but also to have possibly the relationships or networks in place to be able to then make the art and get it out into the world. And I kind of felt when he was able to do that and came of age, I kind of felt there was going to be like other people from the kind of diasporic Vietnamese community that would also start to flourish. And that made me feel really good. About probably being a bit older than the average kind of artist, like making their, kinda like their pieces and everything and saying, you know what? My time can be now. It's okay. And I just find it just really inspiring that, you know our community was kind of growing, growing up, coming of age and being able to do these, these things And I kind of felt like it had given me the permission, I suppose the, the confidence to go, “Oh this story that I've been carrying my whole life, which I don't really see a version of out there I can write that and now I can write it and I'm the right person to write it.” And I had just done The Promise so I had a relationship with Walker. I was like, I have a, you know, a relationship with the publisher. I feel my writing is matured. Like I can do this. And so it was like a culmination and, you know, convergence of those things. And, but I do remember having that thought thinking, “This is a good time to be alive in our community 'cause we're actually able to make our art and get it out there now.” I, I felt it was like a real watershed moment really.   Miko Lee: [00:19:11] What made you decide to do it in this format as a Little Kid's Children's Illustrated book? We were talking earlier about how to, to me, this is the first more realistic version of a boat people experience in a very little kid's voice. What made you decide to do it in this style?    Chi Thai: [00:19:33] So interesting. At the same time, I was writing The Endless Sea. I was writing also the script for a short film, which is called Lullaby, which is takes an incident that happened on my boat but expresses it as a film, as a little kinda horror kinda drama, but a kid cannot watch that. It's like too terrifying. Um, and I wrote, you know, The Endless Sea at the same time. And again, I can't, it's really hard for me to articulate. I just knew it was gonna be a kid's book, like, and I knew it'd be written from the voice of a kid, and I didn't actually, can I say I didn't even ascribe a particular kind of value to that. It wasn't until I had started conversations with the publisher they're like, you know, we see like there's a really high, like this is really great that it's written in the voice of the kid. It somehow gives it something else. Something more is something kind of special. I didn't set out to like, overthink, like what was the most effective way to tell this story? I, I think I just told the story as honestly as I could, you know, with the words that I felt that, you know, I had in me to de, you know, to describe it. In the most authentic way to, to me. And like I say, at the same time, I knew, like I knew that was a kid's book. There was another part of that I wanted to express that was really important to me and that was survivor's guilt. But that I felt was like, that was a horror, so that was really not gonna be suitable for kids. So I was definitely thinking about lots of things to do with the same subject of the same time, but they were definitely being expressed in different ways. And again, Lullaby came to me very kind of quickly, almost fully formed. And I knew, you know, it would be a ghost story. I knew it would be the story of a mother and things like that. And I often maybe, you know, I should, I, I should interrogate more, but I kinda, I take these kinda. These ideas, which are quite well shaped and, and then I just like lean into them more and more and more. But they, the way they arrive it, I've kinda, I, I can see a lot of what is already about to unfold.   Miko Lee: [00:21:43] And do you still dream about that experience of being on the boat as a kid?    Chi Thai: [00:21:52] It's, it's a really difficult thing to explain because you know that that happened now so long ago, and I've probably heard the story thousands of times. I've watched all the terrible Hollywood movies, I've seen all the news clippings, I've watched all the archive. I've listened to, you know, people talk, and I have my own memories and I look at photographs and I have memories of looking at photographs. I feel like, you know, my memory is really unreliable, but what it is instead is it's this, this kind of, kind of tapestry of, you know, of the story of memories, of, you know, images as I grow up of hearing the story, like all coming together. One of the things I did when I wrote, I wrote The Endless Sea, is I then went back to my mom and I did a recorded interview with her 'cause I was really worried about how unreliable my memory might be. And I interviewed her and I asked a lot of questions and I said, and I, it was like, you know, in the way I would've just like listened to the story quite passively before this time I interviewed her and I asked a lot of questions about details and all sorts of things. 'cause I really wanted to be able to represent things, you know, as factually as I could. And that was kinda one of my kinda kind of fact checking kinda exercises I did 'cause I was, I was much quite worried about how unreliable my memory was about it all. And you know, what is, what is a memory of a memory of memory, like, you know, especially when it comes to thinking about that time on the boat and the feelings I had. Yeah. So, you know,    Miko Lee: [00:23:34] and you were so young also to    Chi Thai: [00:23:37] Totally 100%. And sometimes, I don't know, you know, is it a memory of a memory? Is it a dream of a dream?   Miko Lee: [00:23:44] Mm-hmm.    Chi Thai: [00:23:44] Or just some, yeah.   Miko Lee: [00:23:46] Was there anything that your mom said that surprised you?    Chi Thai: [00:23:50] Yeah. Um, she didn't realize how bad it was gonna be and she was like, “God, if it, I'd known how terrifying it was I dunno if I, we could have done it.” I think there's a certain amount of naivety involved and I suppose that surprised me. You know? 'cause we know already now how bad it was. Um, so things like that surprised me.    Miko Lee: [00:24:15] and your mom, the dedication of the book is to your mom. What does she think when she first read it?    Chi Thai: [00:24:22] I've got a funny story. My parents, you know, they, we left, they were in their early twenties and I think it was, you know, the escape was hard for them, but settling in new country was really hard for them. That's. That's been kind of their struggle. They had to work so hard, so many hours to kind of, you know, give us a great life. And, I think a lot of that meant they weren't people that could go out, enjoy, enjoy movies, look at art, read lots of literature and things like that. They're very, very simple, very working class. Simple life or working class kinda life. Very much all about, uh, the work. Um, and I remember when I had a, the publisher had made like a mockup of the book and I gave it to my mum to read 'cause I wanted her to be happy about it too, and she's probably been my toughest critic. I think everything I've done, she hasn't really liked, to be honest. Um, and when I gave her the mockup to read. She went, “Yeah,” but she said it in such a way I knew what she meant was Yeah, that's right. You know, that's the truth. That's the, you know, the book isn't the testimony, but it felt like she was saying yeah. It was like the simple kind of approval. It wasn't like a lot    Miko Lee: [00:25:50] That is the most Asian mom's approval ever.    Chi Thai: [00:25:54] It's so funny, like people say to me, oh Chi, it's such a beautiful book. Oh, the writing so lit, like lyrical. It's stripped back, it's elegant. Like, you know, Viet Thanh Nguyen , like God bless his like consults, gave me a comment to put in the book, said these wonderful things, and my mom goes, “yeah.”. You know, it made me laugh at the time, but I knew what it meant. And I also was old enough, I was mature enough, you know, God, if she'd given me that, if I'd been 20 written that I might have cried and my heart might have broken. Right. But I, I knew I had, I've so much compassion, you know, for my parents. Mm-hmm. And people like my parents, what they've been through and, you know, but    Miko Lee: [00:26:38] That was incredibly high praise for her.    Chi Thai: [00:26:40] It was, I couldn't have asked more.   Miko Lee: [00:26:47] Oh, I totally get that. I think that's such an Asian thing. That is so funny.    Chi Thai: [00:26:53] It is, it is. I didn't feel bad. I, I remember showing her Lullaby, um, and she didn't like it at all.    Miko Lee: [00:27:02] What did she say? What is her not like voice? What did she say to that?    Chi Thai: [00:27:05] Oh, she. Well, firstly, she, well, the, the film is almost silent because basically it tells a story. It's inspired by a mother that was on our boat who lost her baby on the border crossing, and I was very much ever, for as long as I knew about this woman's story, I was like, I was very much haunted by it, and I was haunted by, you know, the fact that that's how she felt and her guilt. Over losing her baby on this journey. And I knew, I knew I wanted to tell her story. 'cause one of the things I feel very strongly about is when you are on the losing side. So I'm from South Vietnam, like that's not the, you know, that's not the story that's told, the story is told of who triumphs at the end of the day. And I was just like all those people that we lost at sea, this mother, her baby. The stories kind of aren't told. So I kind of felt really strongly that this was somehow a very creative way to put down like a, an historical record like this happened. And actually I found out after making the film that five babies were lost in our boat, not just one.   Miko Lee: [00:28:24] Wow. So what did she say, your mom say?   Chi Thai: [00:28:28] Yes. So I made this film, which was for the most part, a silent film. This is a woman that's shut down. She barely speaks anymore. She is living with the guilt ever. You know, when she was on the boat before her baby died, she sang a lullaby, and ever since then, she hasn't been able to speak again. And then we find out that she has been haunted by the ghost of her child that she lost. And then a bit too, you know, to kind of free herself from that. She, she actually sings, you know, the, the film culminates in her singing the Luby one last time. S saying Goodbye finally being able to move beyond her Gild and I Griffin, saying goodbye and hoping she's able to, you know, progress. So I made a film about that was largely silence except for this lullaby, and my mum watched it. She went, next time you make a film, you know you need more words. I was just like, oh, I think my heart probably did crumple off a bit a bit at that point.    Miko Lee: [00:29:30] Aw.    Chi Thai: [00:29:31] You know? Um, but yeah. But yeah, it's okay. It's okay because you know what? My mom doesn't get to see stuff like that very often. So sometimes she doesn't have the wider, and this is why, I mean, like, the life that she's had, you know, hasn't been one where she's been able to surround herself with, oh, I'm so lucky. You know, my life has been so different, but it's been different. Different because of, you know what she's, what she's done for us, so it's okay. I can take it on the chin when she says my film doesn't have enough dialogue in it.    Miko Lee: [00:30:04] I love that. For you, have you had conversations with your mom about your life as an artist, and what are her thoughts on that?   Chi Thai: [00:30:16] Well say. So I, so my mom, I don't really like, you know, she's probably not that into it. I'll be honest about being an artist. I can understand why she wants you to have a good life. And I would say for the most part, being an artist is, is a, is a tough life because it's hard to make, you know, the, the pennies work, right?   Miko Lee: [00:30:44] She wants stability for you, right?    Chi Thai: [00:30:45] Yeah, exactly. But she's made a peace with it. And basically what happened, I think all the best story is gonna be about my mom, right? Is that she basically, I, I, um, I have a partner, we've been together for 15 years. Um, he's a really nice guy and he has a reliable job and we have two kids together and i,    Miko Lee: [00:31:08] So that makes it okay.   Chi Thai: [00:31:10] So yeah, this is what I was saying. So she said to me like. It doesn't really matter what you do now. 'cause she, you are already peaked. You're somebody's wife. We're not married. But she told everyone in Vietnam we were married 'cause she couldn't cope with this not being like having kids out of wedlock. In her head. She's rewritten that we are married. Right. She's like, you are married, you're somebody's wife and you mother, it doesn't get better than that. So if you are an artist or if you're a filmmaker, whatever, it doesn't matter. 'cause nothing can be better than that. Right. So she's accepted on the basis that I've already fulfilled, kind of my promise.   Miko Lee: [00:31:46] Wow. Interesting.    Chi Thai: [00:31:50] And she means that in the nicest possible way.    Miko Lee: [00:31:52] Yeah.    Chi Thai: [00:31:52] That she feels like you have a home, you have stability, you have someone who loves you, you know, you have a, a purpose in life, but really her value, you know, the way, I think, the way she measures my value is like, that's how she looks at it. The, the art is something else.    Miko Lee: [00:32:10] Well, I really appreciate you sharing your art with us in the world and your various, um, genres and styles. And I'm wondering how our audience can find out more about your work. Clearly we'll put links to where people can buy the book and let's see, but how do they find out more about your films?   Chi Thai: [00:32:28] Um, so that like, because it is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War in 2025. Actually the very anniversary of that is the tomorrow, the 30th, April, right? Um, you can watch Lullaby on Altar, which is a YouTube channel. Um, and I can give you the link for it. Rating Grace is on Paramount Plus if you want to, if you've got Paramount Plus, but you can also buy it from all the usual kind of places too. Um, and you know, and we'll see us from all great book stockists, I imagine in, in the us.   Miko Lee: [00:33:07] Thank you so much. Um, I'd love to get, I'd love for you to send me the link so I could put 'em in the show notes. I really appreciate chatting with you today. Um, is there anything else you'd like to share?    Chi Thai: [00:33:19] Um, no, I think, I think that's good. Your, your questions are so good. Mika, I'm already like, kinda like processing them all. Uh, yes.    Miko Lee: [00:33:30] Well, it was a delight to chat with you and to learn more about your artistic vision, and my wishes are that you continue to grow and feel blessed no matter what your mama says, because deep down, she's still proud of you. Even if she doesn't say it out loud.    Chi Thai: [00:33:47] I believe it. I totally believe it.    Miko Lee: [00:33:50] Yay. Thank you so much for spending time with us on Apex Express.Next up, listen to stay, go from dark heart, a concert narrative by singer and songwriter Golda Sargento.   MUSIC   That was the voice of Golda Sargento from the new Filipino futurism punk rock sci-fi dark heart. Welcome, Livia Blackburne Children's book, author of Nainai's Mountain. Welcome to Apex Express.    Livia Blackburne: [00:38:56] Thank you so much for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:38:58] I wanna start with a personal question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Livia Blackburne: [00:39:05] I am Chinese American, and so I carry the stories of my grandparents who fled China to Taiwan, fled that war. And I also carry the stories of my parents and myself who immigrated. To America, and I am, I grew up in New Mexico, so I have fond memories of green chili and new Mexican food. I went to college, Harvard and MIT on the east coast. So I've got a bit of that kind of ivory tower. And now I'm in LA and, you know, my people are, my family and my community, the writing community here. So I, I'm a big mix. Yes.    Miko Lee: [00:39:44] What legacy do you carry with you?    Livia Blackburne: [00:39:47] I mentioned a bit of my grandparents and my parents. What they went through in the war in China, and then my parents and me coming here. the experience of being here in two worlds, coming from Taiwan having that cultural background and also, growing up in the United States. The culture I've been surrounded with here as well.    Miko Lee: [00:40:06] Thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell us about your new illustrated children's book? Nainai's Mountain. What inspired this work?    Livia Blackburne: [00:40:14] The story of this book actually started with another book that is coming out in a couple years that actually I can't share too much about. My grandparents fled the war in China and then my. Parents grew up in Taiwan and I wanted to preserve that family story. My parents are getting older. So I started doing oral interviews with my parents about their childhood, what it was like, growing up. I wouldn't say they weren't refugees in Taiwan. It's a very complicated political situation, but they were transplants to Taiwan, and what it was like growing up there, their daily life. What kind of things they did when they were a child, their pastimes, I wanted to preserve their stories and I got a lot of great material., A lot of that is going into a novel that I'm currently working on. But also as I worked on it, there were so many great details that I thought would be really good in a picture book as well. Also, I'm a mother now. I have an 8-year-old daughter, and she is half Caucasian, half Asian. She has never gone to Taiwan before and I. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking, it would be really great to, I do want to share Taiwan and, my own childhood, home with her at some point. And so I start imagining what would it be like to bring her back to Taiwan and show her everything. And that became the seed for Nainai's Mountain, which is a. Story of a girl visiting Taiwan for the first time with her grandmother. And her grandmother shows her around and tells her stories about her childhood, and the girl through her grandmother's eyes, sees Taiwan, you know, for the beautiful place that it is.    Miko Lee: [00:41:56] You also wrote the book I Dream of Popo. How are these companions to each other and also for audiences that might not speak Chinese. One is a grandmother on the mother's side, and the other is the grandmother on the father's side. Can you talk about how I dream of Popo is linked to Nainai's Mountain?   Livia Blackburne: [00:42:15] Thank you for pointing that out. Yes. So Popo is maternal grandmother, and Nainai is a paternal grandmother. And that is a fantastic question. So I dream of popo is kind of my story. So it's about a little girl who moves from Taiwan , to the United States and it's about her relationship with her grandmother who stays in Taiwan. And it talks about, how a close relationship, navigating long geographical distances about the language barrier that comes up. And that was very much me, Nainai's Mountain. It's kind of like Popo in reverse, you know, it's now it's someone going back to Taiwan and kind of getting in touch with those roots. That, as I mentioned, that's inspired by my daughter. And you'll see in Nainai's Mountain, I specified that the child should be, half Asian, half Caucasian. Because, I wanted more of that representation in the children's literature.    Miko Lee: [00:43:07] Thank you. I, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the artistic style. So you are the author, but you had different illustrators for both of the books and the style is really different. The in, when I look at Nainai's Mountain, which I'm holding here, it's sort of collage and really vibrant colors. Where I Dream of Popo has a different, more. I'm almost realistic, kind of look to it. And I'm wondering what your process was like in collaborating with illustrators.    Livia Blackburne: [00:43:37] That's one of the best things about being a picture book author, is that you get to collaborate with so many illustrators and they all have such different styles, such different visions. Most of the time it's the publisher who chooses the illustrator, although they. Consult me usually. My editor for I Dream of Popo picked Julia Kuo. And she sent me samples and I loved it. And, it was great. I'm friends with Julia now and that book did really well. It was very well known, especially in kind of Taiwanese American, Asian American circles. And so when I did, Nainai's mountain, that was with a different publishing house and my editor. He very consciously said, you know, because it's also a book about Taiwan and a grandmother. We don't want to get it confused with I dream of Popo. So, we made a conscious decision to pick an artist with a very different style and Joey Chou is fantastic. He's very well known for his Disney art. You can see his art in a lot of the hotels and cruise ships. And, he, very bright, vibrant, and I, he's also from Taiwan. I think he did a fantastic job.   Miko Lee: [00:44:41] And have the artistic work ever surprised you as being really different from your imagination while you were writing?    Livia Blackburne: [00:44:48] That's a great question. I don't think they've ever surprised me. By being different. They surprised me in the specifics that they've chosen. For example, I dream of Popo. Julia, spent a lot of time in Taiwan and she put in these great, Taiwan details that, you know, if you're from Taiwan, you would know for sure. There's like a specific brand of rice cooker called the rice cooker, and she has one there and like the giant bag of rice in the corner, and the calendar on the wall.   Miko Lee: [00:45:16] Even the specificities of the food and the trays and everything is quite lovely.    Livia Blackburne: [00:45:20] Yeah, yeah. You know, every time I read that, I look at that spread, I get hungry. So surprise there. And, with Joey, I, I love how he does the different, there's kind of flashback pictures and there's, pictures now and. The thing about him, his color, I just love the color that he put in from the greens, of Taiwan to kind of the bright fluorescent lights, neon lights of Taipei, and then there's kind of the slight sepia tones of the past and he just, you know, brings it so to life so well.   Miko Lee: [00:45:49] I didn't know he was a Disney animator, but it totally makes sense because it feels very layered. It does feel animated in a way and kind of alive. So I appreciate that.   Livia Blackburne: [00:45:59] I'm not sure. If he's an animator. He does a lot of art for the theme parks and like products and the cruise ships and stuff. I'm not sure.    Miko Lee: [00:46:07] Oh, interesting.   Livia Blackburne: [00:46:07] He does like movies and  stuff.    Miko Lee: [00:46:08] Interesting. It looks like animation though. Your book.    Livia Blackburne: [00:46:13] It does look very, yeah. Lively. Mm-hmm.    Miko Lee: [00:46:16] That I'm looking forward to that series. That would be so cute. The grandmother series as a whole little mini series traveling to different places. can you tell us about your new book, Dreams to Ashes? Has that been released yet?   Livia Blackburne: [00:46:29] Dreams to Ashes? That has been released that, released about a month before Nainai's Mountain. Yeah, that one's quite a bit different. So that one is a nonfiction book and it's a picture book, and it's about the Los Angeles massacre of 1871. Whenever people, I tell people about that, they're like, wait, you wrote a picture book about a massacre? Which is slightly counterintuitive. So I never knew about the Los Angeles massacre growing up. And, and, given that I am a Chinese person in Los Angeles, that is kind of weird. Basically, it was a race massacre that occurred. One of the biggest mass lynchings in history, uh, where there was a between two rival Chinese organizations and a white bystander was killed. And because of that, , a mob formed and they rounded the Chinese population up basically. And. Blame them for that death. In the end, 18 Chinese men were killed and only one of them were involved in the original gunfight. It was a horrible tragedy. And unfortunately, as often happened with these kind of historical tragedies in our country, nobody was really punished for it. A few men were indicted and convicted, but their convictions were overturned and it just kind of disappeared into history. And it really struck me that, you know, nobody knew about this. I wanted to kind of bring this to light and unfortunately when I was writing it, it was also, during the Covid pandemic and, I was seeing a lot of anti-Asian rhetoric, anti-Asian hate crimes were going up. And I saw so many parallels between what happened. Back then, because, you know, Chinese people specifically were being vilified , they were being called immoral, stealing people's jobs. And you can see in the years before the massacre the newspapers were saying horrible things and, you know, the hate was just becoming very strong and all that exploded one night into an unspeakable tragedy. Unfortunately as an author, you want your work to be relevant, but sometimes you don't want your work to be relevant in this way. Right. Nowadays I'm seeing so much rhetoric again against immigrants and not of many ethnicities. And in some ways I'm sad. That, this is happening now. And I also hope that this book will contribute to the conversation and show how the danger of racism and xenophobia and hate and what, what can happen because of that.   Miko Lee: [00:48:55] So this occurred in the late 1800s, right? Was it before the Chinese Exclusion Act?    Livia Blackburne: [00:49:03] Yes, it was before the Chinese Exclusion Act. So you'd hope that people kinda learn from these things. And it was just kind of one of the, one of the horrible things that happened on the way to the Chinese Exclusion Act and Chinese immigrants being excluded basically Chinese laborers at least.   Miko Lee: [00:49:23] Oh wow. Okay. I'm looking this up now. And 1882 we know was the Chinese Exclusion Act and this incident actually happened in 1871. Yes. A decade beforehand, Helen Zia always talks about these moments that are missing. MIH missing in history and this is clearly another one of, another time of just wiping out a population.I'm wondering if you could speak a little bit more about how Children's Books can make a difference in the world that we're currently living in, where our government is banning books and you know that there's a narratives that they want to align with a certain kind of conservative ideology. Can you talk about the power of being a Children's Book author in this time that we're living in right now? . I'm really thinking about dreams to Ashes and even I dream of Popo and even Nainai's Mountain, which you would think, oh, they're, you, they're visiting their grandparent, their grandmothers, that would not be controversial. But now when even words like inclusion and diversity are threatened and books are being banned, I'm just wondering if you could. Share a little bit more about your superpower as a children's book author?    Livia Blackburne: [00:50:31] Yeah, that's a fantastic question. We live in a time right now, there's, a lot of hate, a lot of intolerance, a lot of fear of different people groups. And a lot of that I think is because people are unfamiliar with people unlike themselves. They see. People who are different, look differently, act differently, speak differently, and it scares them. And I think the best way to get around that is to actually get to know people of other backgrounds, to see them as human. And I think that's where children's books come in. ‘Cause we don't, children are not born. With this hate of the other. They learn it. But, if they grow up being familiar with people of different backgrounds seeing their stories seeing them as, normal human beings, which, should be obvious, but sometimes it's hard, for adults to realize. Then, I'm hoping, as a children's book author that it will lead to a more empathetic world. And perhaps that's why the government sometimes in certain groups are wanting to, censor this and control the flow of children's books because, children are the most their minds are still open. They're still able to learn.    Miko Lee: [00:51:48] And Livia, tell us what you're working on next.   Livia Blackburne: [00:51:53] So right now I am. Working on a historical middle grade. We haven't quite announced it yet, so I can't say the title or too many details, but it is based on my family history of my parents and grandparents who moved from China to Taiwan after the civil War.   Miko Lee: [00:52:12] Please check out our website, kpfa.org. To find out more about our show tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is created by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preti Mangala-Shekar, Swati Rayasam, Aisa Villarosa, Estella Owoimaha-Church, Gabriel Tanglao, Cheryl Truong and Ayame Keane-Lee.   The post APEX Express – 6.19.25 We Are All Connected appeared first on KPFA.

This week, Diosa and Mala discuss the recent ICE raids in Los Angeles, provide on-the-ground coverage and offer tips on how to support impacted families and community members. They also provide analysis on the phenomenon of Latinos in law enforcement, Latinos For Trump, and "Do it the right way" rhetoric. Can’t Join A Protest? Other ways you can help: Donate to Detained Immigrant Fund Distribute “Know Your Rights” Cards to your neighbors, elders, family members. Find them here in Spanish. Find them here in English. Join A Rapid Response Network In Your Area (For LA) Call 888-624-4752 to report ICE activity. Immigrants Rights Orgs You can support: CHIRLA, Carecen, Órale Long Beach, NDLON. Connect with your friends, family, and community members. Articles cited in this episode: LA Times: "What really happened outside the Paramount Home Depot? The reality on the ground vs. the rhetoric" LA Times: National Guard arrives in Los Angeles as fallout from immigration raids continues LA Times: Multiple immigration sweeps reported across L.A., with a tense standoff downtownSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/locatora_productionsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this explosive episode, we dive deep into what really happened last weekend in LA.

"Know Your Rights" Excerpts from the American Civil Liberties Union/People Power Training on line, advising what to expect and how to stay safe ahead of the upcoming June 14th day of action and other peaceful protests happening across the country. Hudson Mohawk Magazine's Andrea Cunliffe brings you this report. The full recording of this training in both English and Spanish is available from aclu.org/peoplepower "Know Your Rights"

Monday, June 9th, 2025Today, Trump and Kegseth mobilize the National Guard against peaceful protesters in Los Angeles County; Abrego Garcia is back on US soil after being hit with trumped up criminal charges over a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee; San Antonio police walk back their statements about the murder of Jonathan Joss not being a hate crime; the Trump regime scrambles to rehire wrongfully terminated federal employees; the Supreme Court has rejected a Republican bid to throw out provisional ballots in Pennsylvania; the high court has also left in place a ban on high capacity firearms in DC; a West Virginia prosecutor is warning that women who experience miscarriages could be criminally charged; the Boulder Colorado suspect who is already facing nearly 120 criminal charges appeared in court for a federal hate crime charge; Tesla is seeking to block the city of Austin from releasing records on the robotaxi trial; the Supreme Court has allowed DOGE access to our Social Security data and has allowed DOGE to keep records private; 13 House Republicans urge their colleagues in the Senate to block some climate cuts in the Billionaire Bailout Bill that they voted for; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.Thank You, IQBARText DAILYBEANS to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Thank You, PacagenFor an extra 25% off your order and a special gift, head to Pacagen.com/DAILYBEANS.MSW Media, Blue Wave California Victory Fund | ActBlueCheck out Dana's social media campaign highlighting LGBTQ+ heroes every day during Pride Month -  Dana Goldberg (@dgcomedy.bsky.social)Guest:@JenaFriedman - Twitter, @jenafriedman - Instagram, @jenafriedman - TikTokNot Funny | Book by Jena Friedman | Official Publisher Page | Simon & SchusterOn tourTOUR - JENA FRIEDMANSpecial Event: Jena Friedman - Philadelphia - July 31Motherf*cker by Jena Friedman - Union Hall Brooklyn - Aug 5, 6StoriesTrump administration races to fix a big mistake: DOGE fired too many people | The Washington PostTesla seeks to block city of Austin from releasing records on robotaxi trial | ReutersThe National Guard in Los Angeles | LawfareNational Guard troops arrive in Los Angeles as immigration enforcement tensions escalate | CBS NewsColorado attack suspect, already facing nearly 120 state charges, appears in court on federal hate crime charge | CNN13 House Republicans urge Senate to scale back clean energy cuts in bill they voted for | NBC NewsGood Trouble Video: West Virginia prosecutor warns women about possibly facing charges over miscarriages | CNNJess Piper: "West Virginia is warning that women who have a miscarriage could be charged with a crime unless they contact local police. Every woman in WV should call 911 every time they have a period. Gum up the system with malicious compliance" — BlueskyProton Mail: free email account with privacy and encryptionFind Upcoming Demonstrations And ActionsSat June 14 10am – 12pm PDT AG is hosting NO KINGS Waterfront Park, San DiegoDonation link - secure.actblue.com/donate/fuelthemovement250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade and Celebration50501 MovementJune 14th Nationwide Demonstrations - NoKings.orgIndivisible.orgFederal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen. Check out other MSW Media podcastsShows - MSW Media, Cleanup On Aisle 45 podSubscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on SubstackThe BreakdownAllison Gill on Social Media Substack|Muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewrote, Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWroteDana Goldberg on Social Media BlueSky|@dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, Twitter|@DGComedyShare your Good News or Good TroubleMSW Good News and Good TroubleFrom The Good NewsShooting Stars by Rival Sons, White Flag by Joseph, Talk Talk by A Perfect Circle,Killing in the Name of by Rage Against the Machine, Uprising by Muse, Who Will Stand With us by Dropkick MurphysUnderhound RailroadReminder - you can see the pod pics if you become a Patron. The good news pics are at the bottom of the show notes of each Patreon episode! That's just one of the perks of subscribing! patreon.com/muellershewrote Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good TroubleMSW Good News and Good Trouble Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewrote , Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote,Dana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

Today marks the 81st anniversary of D-Day–the Allies landing on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from fascism. As we remember the heroes, we salute the Nazi hunters of then and now. Our resistance lives on. This week, just like early June 1944, was a great week for the resistance. Welcome to the second Gaslit Nation block party of the week. Ukraine launched a stealth campaign, destroying 34% of Russia's warplanes with cheap drones and sheer ingenuity. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the MAGA death cult is imploding. Steve Bannon just declared war on Elon Musk and called for him to be deported, Trump wants to gut Musk's government contracts and Bannon claims an executive order is being drafted to seize SpaceX, and MAGA influencers are melting down. It's an oligarch "Lord of the Flies." Welcome to the second Gaslit Nation block party of the week.  We end on a high note featuring advice from Constitutional law scholar Leah Litman of the Strict Scrutiny podcast and author of Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. In part two of our discussion, we cover knowing our rights in a time of lawlessness.  Thank you to everyone who supports the show–we could not make Gaslit Nation without you! Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: June 16 4pm ET – Keira Havens of Citizens' Impeachment joins our salon to discuss the growing movement to impeach Donald Trump.  June 30 4pm ET – Book club discussion of Lillian Faderman's The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle NEW! Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available here.  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon. Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon. Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Show Notes:   See you at No Kings March on June 14! More info here: https://www.nokings.org/   Join a Tesla Takedown protest near you: https://www.teslatakedown.com/   Trump describes D-Day as 'not a great day' to German chancellor https://youtu.be/noJgJb-prDU?si=JEVYoPTuzg9sF1OB   As feud explodes into public view, Trump implies government could cut contracts and subsidies to Musk's companies https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-musk-contracts-subsidies-budget-cuts-rcna211288   Musk says Trump is named in Epstein files https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5335453-elon-musk-donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-files/   Bannon on Trump, Musk implosion: ‘We're going to go to f‑‑‑ing war' https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5336511-steve-bannon-elon-musk-donald-trump-feud/   Remember When Elon Musk's 4-Year-Old Son Said They'll 'Quietly Do Whatever We Want'? https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/remember-when-elon-musks-4-year-old-son-said-theyll-quietly-do-whatever-we-want/ar-AA1yXSQX   Elon Musk's Kid Keeps Saying Weird Stuff About Trump (includes clip of Musk's kid played in this bonus show) https://gizmodo.com/elon-musks-kid-keeps-saying-weird-stuff-about-trump-2000563118   Trump Tax Bill Targets Current EV Owners With New $250 Annual Fee https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/house-tax-bill-new-ev-annual-fee   Lawless: Gaslit Nation's Interview with Leah Litman https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2025/5/21/lawless  

In this episode of Tiny Pulpit Talks, Rev. T.J. Fitzgerald sits down with Dallas-based immigration attorney Jiroko Lopez for a conversation about what it really means to seek legal status in the United States. Rev. T.J. and Jiroko unpack the myths, the fear, and the staggering complexity of immigration law in this country. They talk about red cards, the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and the rights of undocumented people. They discuss how to prepare your family if you're living without status including how to build a safety plan, create a power of attorney, and gather the documents that could make all the difference in a crisis. But more than that, this is a conversation about humanity. About the fear parents live with every time they drop their kids at school. About the quiet heroism of people working without protection, paying into systems they may never benefit from. About hope, and heartbreak, and stubborn love. Jiroko brings her frontline experience in Dallas immigration courts, where policy meets real lives—families, children, and workers trying to navigate a system that often feels stacked against them. Together, they lift up voices too often silenced and share what communities can do, even when the law feels immovable. About Jiroko Lopez - Jiroko Lopez is a partner at Lopez & Freshwater, PLLC, an immigration law firm based in Richardson, Texas. Her passion for immigration law began during her undergraduate studies at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where she was hired to interview immigrants in the Dallas–Fort Worth area as part of an anthropological study. Through these interviews, she witnessed firsthand the inequality and poor working conditions many immigrants faced—an experience that inspired her to pursue a legal career focused on immigrant advocacy. After earning her law degree from SMU, Ms. Lopez began her career with Catholic Charities Legal Services. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, she led the legal orientation program for custodians of unaccompanied children. One year after, she co-founded her own firm and has since represented hundreds of clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Dallas Immigration Court. In addition to her private practice, Ms. Lopez volunteers with the SMU Criminal Clinic, screening non-citizens for potential immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Her firm also holds one of the few contracts from the Mexican Government for External Legal Assistance, providing legal aid to victims of domestic violence and violent crime. In collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in Dallas, she has helped organize free legal clinics offering immigration consultations, power of attorney services, and human trafficking screenings for the local community. Ms. Lopez has been recognized as one of D Magazine's Best Immigration Attorneys every year since 2017. She remains committed to community outreach, regularly delivering “Know Your Rights” and immigration presentations throughout the DFW area, including at Genesis Women's Shelter, local schools, places of worship, and other community organizations.

This week we spoke with Moira Meltzer-Cohen, an anarchist and lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild who practices mostly in New York City. For the hour, Mo talks about knowing ones rights and risks during interactions with law enforcement in the US during Trump 2.0, why even scofflaws should know some basic Bill of Rights trivia, info on warrants and house visits, airports and borders, and the importance of face-to-face practice with local lawyers who know the legal precedents on the ground in your jurisdiction. Links NLG Anti-Repression Hotline: 212.679.2811 NLG website: https://www.nlg.org/ CUNY CLEAR website: https://www.cunyclear.org/ instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuny_clear/ LLWD episode with Mo on Federal Grand Juries Our past episodes on Grand Juries and Grand Jury Resistance Magic Words flyer to stick on the back of your door in case of police visits: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/files/2025/05/Magic-Spell_2025.pdf Announcements June 11th, 2025 Asheville We're a week and a half out from the annual June 11th Day of Solidarity with Long Term Anarchist Prisoners. If you're in the Asheville area, Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at The Odd (1045 Haywood Rd near Firestorm in West AVL) . $10 door, opens at 7pm, music at 8pm Featuring XOR, Lo Wolf, Run Over By A Horse and Blake Hornsby with lots of free lit and prizes available including books, stickers, clothing, jewelry and more. More info on the mastodon post: https://kolektiva.social/@BlueRidgeABC/114589079620149305 Also coming soon at the BRABC website: https://brabc.noblogs.org/june-11th-2025/ Elsewhere If you're elsewhere, you can check out announced local events in your area by checking out the social media accounts for June11.Noblogs.Org, particularly their mastodon account on @june11@kolektiva.social Fire Ant Movement call to action Finally, the Fire Ant Movement released the following statement concerning June 11, 2025: "Fire ant movement defense, an organization that works to gather mass opposition to the political prosecutions of the stop cop city movement in atlanta, is calling for a “movement defense day of action” on June 11 to support stop cop city defendants and long term anarchist political prisoners. Their statement reads: This year, June 11th arrives amid growing repression: Pro-palestine protesters are facing indefinite detention in ice facilities, and in Georgia, the state continues its aggressive persecution of the stop cop city movement, with 61 activists currently facing RICO charges. In response, we call for a united front, to link the defense of the stop cop city struggle with the june 11th tradition of solidarity with long-term anarchist political prisoners.   We invite people to learn about Marius Mason and other long-term anarchist prisoners, host public events, drop banners, throw fundraisers, and take action to defend our movements for total liberation.”   Fire ant movement defense says that this will be the first of many movement defense days of action, drawing connections and lines of solidarity between movements fighting for liberation. You can find more information at fireantmovement.org and follow them on instagram, twitter or bluesky." They also wanted to point people to learn more at supportmariusmason.org and weelauneethefree.org . ... . .. Featured Track: Know Your Rights by The Clash from Combat Rock  

On the radio show this week, we cover the many powerful ways that you can help save democracy, and why the rule of law still matters. We also dive into the One Big, Ugly Budget that is now heading to the U.S. Senate, and correct false narratives about "work requirements." Next, we discuss how the House-passed budget will impact child care funding and how we keep fighting for universal child care for all. We close the show talking about the complex and evolving nature of immigration law, including important Know Your Rights resources for immigrant families.   SPECIAL GUESTS: Fatima Goss Graves, National Women's Law Center, @nwlc, @nwlc.org; Peggy Bailey, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, @CenterOnBudget, @centeronbudget.bsky.social‬; Erica Gallegos, The Child Care for Every Family Network; @CC4EFN, @childcareforeveryfamily.org‬; Viviana Westbrook, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), @CLINICLegal, @cliniclegal.bsky.social‬

TJ, Cody Ryan and Beefsteak debate what's right and wrong about wildlife and 2a Rights.

What should you do if you are engaged by law enforcement when you are on the street? In this episode of Trail Blazing Justice, co-director of the Oregon Innocence Project Kenneth Kreuscher explains the rules for safely asserting your rights and understanding your risks with these three rules: don't trust, don't talk, don't consent. Whether you're a protester, non-citizen, or just someone who wants to understand how to navigate law enforcement interactions, this conversation breaks it down.The Trail Blazing Justice podcast is a production of the Oregon Justice Resource Center.

Unmask the truth behind the 14th Amendment and expose the roots of systemic deception in this explosive episode of Revolutionary Hour. We dive deep into the revolutionary undercurrents they don't want you to hear—challenging the narrative, decoding lawful enslavement, and reigniting the fire of true sovereignty. From Black Codes to modern chains, this episode is more than just a conversation—it's a call to action.

“The Empire cannot win. You'll never feel right unless you are doing what you can to stop them.” Andor season 2. Bridging the gap between Star Wars' Andor and the real life history and theory of antifascist movements, organizer Anthony Vidal Torres from the Get Free movement and critic Klaudia Amenábar join me to cover the first two arcs of Andor season 2.  Join Project Fulcrum: a Star Wars fan activism campaign fighting for freedom and equality in a country not so far away: https://www.getfreetogether.org/project-fulcrum Read issue 2 of Nemik's Weekly Manifesto https://bit.ly/NemiksManifestoApril24 Take Action: Protect our freedom to protest and free Mahmoud Khalil: https://bit.ly/Free_Khalil Stop the New York mask ban: https://covidadvocacyny.org/stopmaskbanny Know Your Rights guide for immigrants & allies: https://unitedwedream.org/resources/know-your-rights/ Keep up with us: https://www.instagram.com/getfree_mvmt/  https://bsky.app/profile/getfree-mvmt.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/avtorres4.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/kaludiasays.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/levin.bsky.social    Listen to Andor Season 1 Podcasts Part 1 https://bit.ly/ComradeAndor Part 2 https://bit.ly/AndorInternationale

WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas reports. 

In this solo episode of Daves Head Podcast, Dave reflects on the life and impact of Pope Francis, The Peoples Pope, who passed away at 88. From advocating for migrants and the LGBTQ+ community to challenging the global economic system and environmental policy, Francis defied convention and left a powerful legacy. Dave also shares a personal story of resilience after a guest cancellation and reminds listeners in his GRIN (Great Reason to be In love with Now) segment why knowing your rightsespecially when dealing with Customs and international travelis essential. Tune in for thoughtful commentary, cultural insight, and a dose of motivation.

Charge without Solar or DC to DC? It's possible! But advisable? Well... We'll also visit the French Riviera, brew up a home grown WiFi network replacement, explore a WEIRD device, and take a look at Campendium. If you're looking for my personal articles, you can find them at https://peregrinus.ghost.io A very strange and yet interesting device.  NEWS Best Security Items for Vanlife https://tech.yahoo.com/cybersecurity/articles/best-security-tech-van-life-110000515.html Cracker Barrel Banning Overnight Camping?  https://www.rvtravel.com/cracker-barrel-banning-overnight-camping/ Know Your Rights at Immigration Check Points https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/border-zone PRODUCT REVIEW Galvanox Battery Voltage Tester (Cannot be used to check AA, AAA, etc batteries!) https://amzn.to/4ire8NO RESOURCE RECOMMENDATION Campendium https://www.campendium.com TECH TALK Meshtastic https://meshtastic.org/ Some links are affiliate links. If you purchase anything from these links, the show will receive a small fee. This will not impact your price in any way.  

In this episode, we're diving into a topic that's essential for anyone working in Germany: labor laws. Whether you're a German national or an immigrant, these laws apply to everyone. We will also tackle a critical issue: discrimination in the workplace.

Know your rights at roadblocks: OUTA's Advocate Stephanie Fick's advice to motorists by Radio Islam

On this week's Labor Radio Podcast Weekly: Hands off our public services, our public workers, and our public spaces.

Aubrey speaks to Kirstie Haslam, Partner at DSC Attorney, about Knowing your rights in a roadblock” since the easter weekend is just around the corner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday, April 4th, 2025Today, the acting Inspector General for the Department of Defense has launched an investigation into Pete Hegseth's Signal chat messages; the Senate has voted to rescind some of Trump's tariffs which caused the third biggest stock market crash in modern history; federal prosecutors have dropped the charges against the guy Nancy Mace says assaulted her; massive layoffs at the FDA include scientists working on bird flu and pet food safety; Judge Boasberg held a hearing in the contempt proceedings in the Alien Enemies Act case; and Allison delivers your Good News.Guest: Mayor Karen BassMayor Bass Applauds FEMA's Extension of Deadline for No-Cost Debris Removal ProgramWildfire Recovery Resources - LA CityResources Centers Available For Those Impacted by L.A. WildfiresEARTH DAY LA - April 25Mayor Karen BassMayor Karen Bass (@mayor.lacity.gov) — BlueskyGuest: John FugelsangTell Me Everything — John FugelsangThe John Fugelsang PodcastSiriusXM ProgressThank You, Pique LifeGet 20% off on the Radiant Skin Duo, plus a FREE starter kit at Piquelife.com/dailybeans.Stories:Pentagon watchdog launches probe of Hegseth Signal messages | CNN PoliticsSenate Votes to Rescind Some Trump Tariffs, With G.O.P. Support | The New York TimesTrump contradicts aides, talking points on purpose of global tariffs | The Washington PostVeterinarians working on bird flu, pet food safety are fired in HHS purge | The Washington PostCharge dropped against foster advocate accused of assaulting Rep. Nancy Mace | The Washington PostGood Trouble:Hands off 2025 is tomorrow! Go to HandsOff2025.com to find the rally nearest you, put on your comfy shoes, stay hydrated and KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Know Your Rights | Protesters' Rights | ACLU From The Good NewsShit Show (Instrumental) | YouTubeItalian Government -Citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis)Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/ Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote, Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewroteDana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

Remember, if you stay prepared, you don't have to get prepared. If you're tear gassed: Get out of the cloud of tear gas and away from the general area as soon as you can. Seek high ground. Walk, don't run. Running may cause you to breath more heavily, filling your lungs with more tear gas. Try to keep breathing even.If your eyes have been exposed and are burning or blurry, flush them with water immediately. Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Use water from your water bottle to flush. If you can find an open drinking fountain or sink in a public restroom, flush your eyes with water for 10 to 15 minutes.There is no evidence that baking soda or milk is better than cool water alone. There is one small randomized controlled trial that found that baby shampoo is no better than water. Using baby wipes or makeup wipes if water is not immediately available may cause increased irritation.If possible, and you are not affected yourself, help others by moving them to a clean and ventilated area.Do not try to remove the tear gas canisters, as doing so may put you at an increased risk for further harm and injury.Protest Preparedness: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safetyKnow Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights Digital Security Checkup: https://securityinabox.org/en/Tear Gas Protocol: https://phr.org/our-work/resources/preparing-for-protecting-against-and-treating-tear-gas-and-other-chemical-irritant-exposure-a-protesters-guide/DONATE:www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before the Protest:Burner Phone: Ditch smartphones (or remove batteries, use Faraday bags). Use encrypted apps (Signal, but assume it's compromised).Buddy System: Assign check-in times with someone not at the protest. Share arrest plans (e.g., lawyer's contact).Write Emergency Contacts on Skin: In Sharpie, under clothing. Cops tend to confiscate bags/phones.During the Protest:Masks & No Distinctive Clothing: Cover tattoos, wear generic attire. Hands Visible, No Sudden Moves: Assume any interaction with police could escalate. Locate Medics: Find them early. Know basic first aid for tear gas (cool, clean water works best).If Arrested:Say ONLY: “I want a lawyer.” Never talk to cops.Expect Isolation: Authorities aren't the good guys, designate an external person to sound alarms if you're arrested.Protest Preparedness: https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safetyKnow Your Rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights Digital Security Checkup: https://securityinabox.org/en/Tear Gas Protocol: https://phr.org/our-work/resources/preparing-for-protecting-against-and-treating-tear-gas-and-other-chemical-irritant-exposure-a-protesters-guide/DONATE:www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since taking over in January, the new Trump administration has made immigration enforcement and deportation a priority — even orchestrating high profile arrests of university students — leading to growing fear and confusion in Pittsburgh's immigrant communities. Vanessa Stine, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, joins us to explain what happens during an ICE stop or raid, what rights immigrants have regardless of their legal status, and how bystanders can help during an ICE encounter.  Looking for more help and resources?  The ACLU of Pennsylvania has Know Your Rights guides available in English and Spanish. If you believe you've witnessed ICE activity in the Pittsburgh area or have any other concerns, you can call the main line at Casa San José: 412-343-3111. If you are experiencing ICE detention, you can call their emergency response line: 412-736-7167. Find the latest data on ICE arrests and removals at TRAC. Learn more about the sponsor of this April 2nd episode: History UnErased Become a member of City Cast Pittsburgh at membership.citycast.fm. Want more Pittsburgh news?  Sign up for our daily morning Hey Pittsburgh newsletter. We're on Instagram @CityCastPgh. Text or leave us a voicemail at 412-212-8893. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From New York to Boston to Washington, we've seen arrests of noncitizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, citing ties to Hamas and Hezbollah. The evidence seems to be their participation in protests of the Israel-Gaza war, or social media posts.Civil liberties groups say the legal justifications are tenuous and potentially unconstitutional. The First Amendment protects the right to speak, protest and publish views, regardless of citizenship status. But experts say that deportation is an area where courts have historically granted the executive branch broad latitude — and that gray area is where the Trump administration is operating.Today on “Post Reports,” reporter María Luisa Paúl joins host Colby Itkowitz to outline the rights of noncitizen protesters. And, as reports emerge of travelers being questioned, detained or refused entry at U.S. ports of entry — and of travelers having their phones searched and taken by border patrol officers – technology reporter Heather Kelly shares her guide to locking down your devices.Today's show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was mixed by Sean Carter, and edited by Maggie Penman. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

This Lukan fable has a pretty clear message: Wealth creates an impassable crevasse between humans. Wealth is only one of the many things that can create impassable crevasses between people; so too can race and religion and immigration status, to name a few more. But I have to believe the fable is ultimately meant to inspire us to bridge crevasses before it's too late. This sermon will take you to the midnight bedroom of Ebenezer Scrooge, to the summit of Mt. Rainier (aka “mama Tahoma”), to a jail cell in Durham NC, and to an Executive Board decision of some uncharacteristically speedy Mennonites. Buckle up and come along for the ride; we need one another more than ever. And please remember: I do not answer questions. I do not answer questions. I do not answer questions. We keep each other safe, beloveds.Sermon begins at minute marker 5:22Luke 16.19-31ResourcesBibleWorm podcast: Episode 633 - The Rich Man and Lazarus, Amy Robertson and Robert Williamson, Jr'Crevice' and 'Crevasse': A Gap in Meaning, Merriam-Webster.Anabaptist Community BibleNew release: “MC USA and more than two dozen Christian and Jewish denominations and associations sue to protect religious freedoms,” February 11, 2025.Isaac Samuel Villegas, Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice (Eerdmans, 2025), 6-8.Front Light podcast, by Mennonite Action, “From ‘quiet in the land' to suing the US Government, reflections on Mennonite advocacy with Iris de León-Hartshorn,” Season 1, Episode 4 (2025). Mennonite Action: “God's Love Knows No Borders” actions, 2025.Know Your Rights with ICE, by WAISN (Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network)Rebecca Solnit, A piece for all hard times. Excerpt: “They want you to feel powerless and to surrender and to let them trample everything and you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and neither am I. The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving.  You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is. The pain you feel is because of what you love.”Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843.Image: Ladder bridging crevasse on Mt. Rainier; G310ScottS, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsHymn 149 - Forgive, Forgive Us, Holy God. Text: Shirley Erena Murray (Aotearoa/New Zealand)  Music: Barbara Hamm (USA), © 1996 & © 2016 Hope Publishing Company. Permission to podcast the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, license #A-726929. All rights reserved.

⚖️ How to Protect Your Rights During a Divorce? | Los Angeles Divorce ⚖️ How to Protect Your Rights in Divorce & Avoid Costly Mistakes! Divorce can be an emotional and complicated process, but it's critical to protect your legal rights from the start. Whether it's property division, child custody, or spousal support, making informed decisions early on can prevent legal and financial problems later. In this video, I'll explain the key steps to protect your rights during divorce and secure the best outcome for your future.

⚖️ How to Protect Your Rights During a Divorce? | Los Angeles Divorce ⚖️ How to Protect Your Rights During Divorce – Don't Get Taken Advantage Of! Divorce is emotional and complex, but protecting your rights is critical to ensure fair settlements, custody arrangements, and financial security. Making informed decisions early can prevent legal and financial mistakes that could hurt you later. In this video, I'll explain how to protect yourself in divorce and secure the best outcome for your future.

  A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Grace Lee Boggs said, “History is not the past. It is the stories we tell about the past. How we tell these stories – triumphantly or self-critically, metaphysically or dialectally – has a lot to do with whether we cut short or advance our evolution as human beings.” In our current chaotic time, it feels like we are intentionally ignoring history. Our lack of awareness feels like a de-evolution, as our education department is gutting, books are banned, and so many American institutions are at risk, it feels as though a critical analysis of history is being ignored.  On Tonight's APEX Express, Host Miko Lee focuses on Wong Kim Ark and the importance of Birthright Citizenship. She speaks with historian David Lei, Reverend Deb Lee and lawyer/educator Annie Lee and activist Nick Gee. Discussed by Our Guests: What You Can Do To Protect Birthright Citizenship Our history is tied to the legacy of Wong Kim Ark and birthright citizenship, and it will take ongoing advocacy to protect this fundamental right. Here are four ways you can stay involved in the work ahead: Invite a friend to attend an event as part of Chinese for Affirmative Action's weeklong series commemorating Wong Kim Ark. Take action and oppose Trump's executive order banning birthright citizenship. Learn about Wong Kim Ark and Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship. Sign up to join Stop AAPI Hate's Many Roots, One Home campaign to fight back against Trump's anti-immigrant agenda.   How you can get engaged to protect immigrants: https://www.im4humanintegrity.org/ https://www.bayresistance.org/ Bay Area Immigration: 24 Hour Hotlines San Francisco 415-200-1548 Alameda County 510-241-4011 Santa Clara County 408-290-1144 Marin County 415-991-4545 San Mateo County 203-666-4472   Know Your Rights (in various Asian languages) Thank you to our guests and Chinese for Affirmative Action for the clip from Wong Kim Ark's great grandson Norman Wong   Show Transcript: Wong Kim Ark Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.   Miko Lee: [00:00:35] Grace Lee Boggs said history is not the past. It is the stories we tell about the past, how we tell these stories. Triumphantly or self critically metaphysically or dialectically, has a lot to do with whether we cut short or advance our evolution as human beings. I. Well, in our current chaotic times, it feels like we are intentionally ignoring history. Our lack of awareness feels like a de-evolution. As our education department is gutted and books are banned, and so many of our American institutions are at risks, it feels as though a critical analysis of history is just being intentionally ignored. So welcome to Apex Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight we're gonna delve back into a moment of history that is very much relevant in our contemporary world. Tonight's show is about long Kim Ark. There's a famous black and white photo of a Chinese American man. His hair is pulled back with a large forehead on display, wide open eyes with eyebrows slightly raised, looking at the camera with an air of confidence and innocence. He is wearing a simple mandarin collared shirt, one frog button straining at his neck, and then two more near his right shoulder. The date stamp is November 15th, 1894. His name is Wong Kim Ark. Tonight we hear more about his story, why it is important, what birthright citizenship means, and what you could do to get involved. So stay tuned. Welcome, David Lei, former social worker, community activist, lifelong San Franciscan, and amazing community storyteller. Welcome to Apex Express.    David Lei: [00:02:21] Thank you, Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:02:23] Can you first start with a personal question and tell me who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    David Lei: [00:02:31] I'm now on the board of Chinese Historical Society of America. Chinese American History is pretty important to me for my identity and the story of Chinese in America is American history, and that's where I'm at now.   Miko Lee: [00:02:50] And what legacy do you carry with you from your ancestors?    David Lei: [00:02:56] To pass on the wisdom they pass to me to future descendants. But I'm here in America, so I know after a few generations, my descendants won't look like me. Most likely they won't speak Chinese. They're going to be Americans. So. The lessons and values and wisdoms, my ancestors passed to me, I'm passing to America.   Miko Lee: [00:03:30] we are talking on this episode about Wong Kim Ark and as a community storyteller, I wonder if you can take me back to that time, take me back to Wong Kim Ark growing up in San Francisco, Chinatown, what was happening in San Francisco, Chinatown at that time    David Lei: [00:03:48] Okay, this is the end of the 19th century and we have the Exclusion Act in 1882 where Chinese were excluded from coming to America with few exceptions like merchants, diplomats, and scholars. So if you're Chinese and you're a laborer you just can't come. And there were concerns about. Going, even if you were here, there's a process for your return, the documents you will need. But even that was iffy. But for Chinese in general, there was birthright citizenship. So if you were born here, you have citizenship and that because of the 14th amendment. So many Chinese thought birthright citizenship was important 'cause you can vote, you have more rights, less chance that you will be deported. So the Chinese, born in America, right at 1895, formed a Chinese American Citizens Alliance. The concept of being a American citizen was in everybody's mind in Chinatown at that time. The Chinese been fighting for this birthright citizenship ever since the Exclusion Act. Before Wong Kim Ark, there was Look Tin Sing in the matter regarding Look Tin Sing was a CA federal Court of Appeal case. Look Tin Sing was born in Mendocino, so he's American born. He assumed he was a citizen. His parents sent him back to China before the Exclusion Act, and when he came back after the Exclusion Act, of course he didn't have the paperwork that were required , but he was born here. So to prove that he was a citizen. He had to have a lawyer and had to have white witness, and it went to the federal Court of Appeal, ninth Circuit, and the Chinese sixth company. The City Hall for Chinatown knew this was important for all Chinese, so gave him a lawyer, Thomas Den, and he won the case. Then in 1888, this happened again with a guy named Hong Yin Ming. He was held and he had to go to the Federal Court of Appeal to win again, then Wong Kim Ark 1895. He was stopped and. This time, the Chinese six company, which is a city hall for Chinatown they really went all out. They hired two of the best lawyers money could buy. The former deputy Attorney General for the United States, one of which was the co-founder of the American Bar Association. So these were very expensive, influential lawyers. And because Wong Kim Ark was a young man under 25, he was a cook, so he was poor, but the community backed him. And went to the Supreme Court and won because it was a Supreme Court case. It took precedent over the two prior cases that only went to the Court of Appeal.    Now you might think, here's a guy who has a Supreme Court case that says he's an American citizen. Well, a few years later in 1901, Wong Kim Ark went to Mexico to Juarez. When he came back to El Paso the immigration stopped him at El Paso and says, no you are just a cook. you're not allowed to come in because we have the 1882 Exclusion Act. Wong Kim Ark Says, I have a Supreme Court case saying I'm a US citizen, and the El Paso newspaper also had an article that very week saying they're holding a US citizen who has a Supreme Court case in his favor saying that he is a US citizen. However, immigration still held him for four months in El Paso. I think just to hassle. To make it difficult. Then by 1910, Wong Kim Ark had a few sons in China that he wants to bring to the us so he arranged for his first son to come to America in 1910. His first son was held at Angel Island. Interrogated did not pass, so they deported his firstborn son. So he says, wow, this is my real son, and he can't even get in. So this is dealing with immigration and the US laws and the racist laws is unending. Just because you win the Supreme Court case, that doesn't mean you're safe as we are seeing now. So it takes the community, takes a lot of effort. It takes money to hire the best lawyers. It takes strategizing. It takes someone to go to jail, habeas corpus case oftentimes to test the laws. And even when you win, it's not forever. It's constantly challenged. So I think that's the message in the community. Chinese community had push back on this and have pushed for Birthright citizenship from the very beginning of the Exclusion Act.    Miko Lee: [00:09:48] Thank you so much for that. David. Can we go back a little bit and explain for our audience what the Six Companies meant to Chinatown?    David Lei: [00:09:57] From the very beginning, there were a lot of laws racist laws that were anti-Chinese, and the Chinese always felt they needed representation. Many of the Chinese did not speak English, did not understand the laws, so they formed the Chinese Six Companies. Officially known as the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. most Chinese come from just the six districts from Guangdong Province. They're like counties. However, in China, each counties most likely will have their own dialect. Unintelligible to the county next to them. They will have their own food ways, their own temples. almost like separate countries. So there were six major counties where the Chinese in America came from. So each county sent representatives to this central organization called the Chinese six companies, and they represented the Chinese in America initially in all of America. Then later on, different states set up their own Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, so they would tax their own membership or get their own membership to pay fees. They had in-house lawyers to negotiate with city government, state government, federal government, and they would raise the money. They were the GoFundMe of their days. Almost every month they were hiring lawyers to protect some Chinese, somewhere in America against unfair unjust laws. The Chinese six company was very important to the Chinese in America, and they were the first to really push back on the Chinese exclusion Act between 1882 and 1905. 105,000 Chinese in America after the exclusion Act sued a federal government more than 10,000 times. This is about 10% of the Chinese population in America, sued the federal government. I'm not including state government, counties nor municipalities. This is just the federal government. About 10% of the Chinese here sued and almost 30 of these went to the Federal Supreme Court, and it was the sixth company that organized many of these winning for all Americans and not just the Chinese right. To a public education. Even if you are an immigrant tape versus Hurley in 1885. Then we have the Yick Wo versus Hopkins case that gave equal protection under law for everyone. Now, the 14th Amendment does have this clause equal protection under law, but everybody thought that meant you had to write a law that was equal for everybody. But in the case of Yick Wo versus Hopkins, it was also important that the law is executed and administered equally for everyone. That's the first time where it was made very clear that equal protection under law also means the administration and the execution of the law. So that is the core of American Civil Rights and the Chinese won this case for all Americans. Of course, Wong Kim Ark.    The concept of political asylum, public law 29 was a Chinese case passed by Congress in 1921, and then we have Miranda Act. If you look into the Miranda Act, it was based on a Chinese case, 1924 Ziang Sun Wan versus the US two Chinese were accused of murder in Washington DC They were tortured, denied sleep. Denied food, denied attorneys, so they confessed. But when it came to trial. They said we didn't do it, we confessed 'cause we were tortured and they won in the Supreme Court, but it was a Washington DC case only applicable to federal jurisdictions. So when Miranda came up, the Supreme Court said, well, we decided this in 1924, but now we'll just make it applicable to state, county and municipality. And then of course, as recently as 1974 Chinese for affirmative action helped bring the Lao versus Nichols case. Where now is required to have bilingual education for immigrant students, if there are enough of them to form a class where they can be taught math, science, history in their original language. These and many more. The Chinese brought and won these cases for all Americans, but few people know this and we just don't talk about it.    Miko Lee: [00:15:35] David, thank you so much for dropping all this knowledge on us. I did not know that the Miranda rights comes from Asian Americans. That's powerful. Yes. And so many other cases. I'm wondering, you said that Chinese Americans and the six companies sued, did you say 10,000 times?    David Lei: [00:15:53] We have 10,000 individual cases. In many of these cases, the Chinese six company helped provide a lawyer or a vice.    Miko Lee: [00:16:03] And where did that come from? Where did that impetus, how did utilizing the legal system become so imbued in their organizing process?   David Lei: [00:16:14] Well, because it worked even with the exclusion act, during the exclusion period most Chinese. Got a lawyer to represent them, got in something like 80%. In many of the years, 80% of the Chinese that hire a lawyer to help them with the immigration process were omitted. So the Chinese knew the courts acted differently from politics. The Chinese did not have a vote. So had no power in the executive branch nor the legislative branch. But they knew if they hire good lawyers, they have power in the court. So regardless of whether their fellow Americans like them or not legally the Chinese had certain rights, and they made sure they received those rights. By organizing, hiring the best lawyers, and this was a strategy. suing slowed down after 1905 because the Chinese lost a important case called Ju Toy versus the us. The Supreme Court decided that since the Chinese sue so much, their courts of appeal were tied up with all these cases. So the Supreme Court says from now on, the Supreme Court will give up his rights to oversight on the executive branch when it comes to immigration because the Chinese sue too much. And that's why today the executive branch. Has so much power when it comes to immigration, cause the court gave up the oversight rights in this ju toy versus the US in 1905. So if we go to the history of the law a lot of the legal policies we live in today, were. Pushback and push for by the Chinese, because the Chinese were the first group that were excluded denied these rights. but the Chinese were very organized one of the most organized group and push back. And that's why we have all these laws that the Chinese won.    Miko Lee: [00:18:30] And in your deep knowledge of all this history of these many cases, what do you think about what is happening right now with all the conversations around birthright citizenship? Can you put that into a historical perspective?    David Lei: [00:18:44] So being an American. We always have to be on the guard for our rights. Who would've thought Roe v. Wade would be overturned? So all these things can be challenged. America's attitude change. Civil disobedience, the Chinese are actually, we have on record the largest number of people practicing civil disobedience over a long period of time. In 1892, when the Exclusion Act, Chinese Exclusion Act had to be renewed, they added this. New requirement that every Chinese must carry a certificate of residency with their photo on it. Well, this is like a internal passport. No one had to have this internal passport, but they made the Chinese do it. So the Chinese six company. Says, no, this is not right. Only dogs need to carry a license around to identify. Itself and only criminals needs to register with a state. And we Chinese are not dogs and we're not criminals, so we're not going to do it 'cause no one else needs to do it. So the six company told all the Chinese 105,000 Chinese not to register. 97% refuse to register. In the meantime, the six companies sued the federal government again. Saying the Federal Go government cannot do this. The Chinese lost this case in the Supreme Court and everybody then had to register, but they didn't register until two years later, 1894. So they held. Held out for two years.   Miko Lee: [00:20:31] How many people was that?    David Lei: [00:20:32] About a hundred thousand. 97% of the 105,000 Chinese refused to do this. So if you look at these certificate of residencies that the Chinese were forced to carry. They were supposed to register in 1892. Almost all of them are 1894. Some of them in fact many of them are May, 1894, the last second that you can register before they start deporting you. So the Chinese. Also practiced civil disobedience and the largest incidents, a hundred thousand people for two years.    Miko Lee: [00:21:15] How did they communicate with each other about that?   David Lei: [00:21:18] The Chinese were very well connected through the six companies, their district association, their surname association oftentimes because of. The racism segregation, the Chinese were forced to live in Chinatowns or relied on their own network. To support each other. So there, there's a lot of letter writing and a lot of institutions, and they kept in touch.That network was very powerful. In fact, the network to interpret a law for everybody interpret uh, any rules of business, and. Just how to conduct themselves in America. They have a lot of institutions doing that. We still have them in the 24 square blocks we call Chinatown. We have almost 300 organizations helping the immigrants. Chinese there with language, with how to do your taxes tutoring for their kids. Advice on schools paying their bills and so on. We have surnames associations, we have district associations, we have gills, we have fraternal organizations, and we certainly have a lot of nonprofits. So it's very, very supportive community. And that's always been the case.    Miko Lee: [00:22:42] I'm wondering what you feel like we can learn from those organizers today. A hundred thousand for civil disobedience. And we're often portrayed as the model minority people just follow along. That's a lot of people during that time. And what do you think we can learn today from those folks that organize for civil disobedience and the Chinese Exclusion Act?    David Lei: [00:23:03] It takes a community. One person can't do it. You have to organize. You have to contribute. You have to hire the best lawyers, the very best. In fact, with the Yik Wo versus Hopkins case, the equal protection under law, the Chinese immediately raised 20,000 equivalent to half a million. It takes collective action. It takes money. You just have to support this to keep our rights.    Miko Lee: [00:23:29] And lastly, what would you like our audience to understand about Wong Kim Ark?    David Lei: [00:23:35] Well, Wong Kim Ark, he was just an average person, a working person that the immigration department made life miserable for him. Is very difficult to be an immigrant anytime, but today is even worse. We have to have some empathy. He was the test case, but there were so many others. I mentioned Look Tin Sing, whose adult name is Look Tin Eli. We know a lot about Look Tin Eli and then this other Hong Yin Ming in 1888 before Wong Kim Ark and so generations of generations of immigrants. Have had a hard time with our immigration department. It's just not a friendly thing we do here. And you know, we're all descendants of immigrants unless you're a Native American. Like I mentioned Look Tin Sing, who was the first case that I could find. For birthright citizenship. His mother was Native American, but Native American didn't even get to be citizens until 1924. You know, that's kind of really strange. But that was the case.    Miko Lee: [00:24:50] That's very absurd in our world.    David Lei: [00:24:52] Yes, Chinatown is where it is today because of Look Tin Sing, his adult name, Look Tin Eli. He saved Chinatown after the earthquake. He's the one that organized all the business people to rebuild Chinatown like a fantasy Chinese land Epcot center with all the pagoda roofs, and he's the one that saved Chinatown. Without him and his Native American mother, we would've been moved to Hunter's Point after the earthquake. He later on became president of the China Bank and also president of the China Mayo Steamship Line. So he was an important figure in Chinese American history, but he had to deal with immigration.   Miko Lee: [00:25:39] David Lei, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us. I appreciate hearing this story and folks can find out when you are part of a panel discussion for Wong Kim Ark week, right?    David Lei: [00:25:50] Yes.    Miko Lee: [00:25:51] Great. We will be able to see you there. Thank you so much for being on Apex Express. Annie Lee, managing director of Policy at Chinese for affirmative action. Welcome to Apex Express.    Annie Lee: [00:26:01] Thank you so much for having me Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:26:02] I wanna just start with this, a personal question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Annie Lee: [00:26:10] I am the daughter of monolingual working class Chinese immigrants. And so I would say my people hail from Southern China and were able to come to the United States where I was born and was allowed to thrive and call this place home. I do this work at Chinese for Affirmative Action on their behalf and for other folks like them.    Miko Lee: [00:26:31] Thanks Annie, Today we're recording on March 17th, and I'm noting this because as we know, things are changing so quickly in this chaotic administration. By the time this airs on Thursday, things might change. So today's March 17th. Can you as both an educator and a lawyer, give me a little bit of update on where birthright citizenship, where does it stand legally right now?    Annie Lee: [00:26:55] As an educator and a lawyer, I wanna situate us in where birthright citizenship lives in the law, which is in the 14th Amendment. So the 14th Amendment has a birthright citizenship clause, which is very clear, and it states that people who were born in the United States, in subject to the laws thereof are United States citizens. The reason. This clause was explicitly added into the 14th Amendment, was because of chattel slavery in the United States and how this country did not recognize the citizenship of enslaved African Americans for generations. And so after the Civil War and the Union winning that war and the ends of slavery . We had to make African Americans citizens, they had to be full citizens in the eye of the law. And that is why we have the 14th Amendment. And that clause of the 14th Amendment was later litigated all the way to the Supreme Court by Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco, like me, two Chinese immigrant parents. When he left the United States, he went to China to visit his family. He tried to come back. They wouldn't let him in. and he said, I am a citizen because I was born in the United States and this clause in your 14th amendment, our 14th amendment says that I'm a citizen. It went all the way to Supreme Court and the Supreme Court agreed with Wong Kim Ark. Does not matter your parents' citizenship status. Everyone born in the United States is a US citizen, except for a very, very narrow set of exceptions for the kids of foreign diplomats that really is not worth getting into. Everyone is born. Everyone who's born in the United States is a citizen. Okay? So then you all know from Trump's executive order on day one of his second presidency that he is attempting to upends this very consistent piece of law, and he is using these fringe, outlandish legal arguments that we have never heard before and has never merited any discussion because it is just. Facially incorrect based on the law and all of the interpretation of the 14th amendment after that amendment was ratified. So he is using that to try to upend birthright citizenship. There have been a number of lawsuits. Over 10 lawsuits from impacted parties, from states and there have been three federal judges in Maryland, Washington State, and New Hampshire, who have issued nationwide injunctions to stop the executive order from taking effect. That means that despite what Trump says in his executive order. The birthright citizenship clause remains as it is. So any child born today in the United States is still a citizen. The problem we have is that despite what three judges now issuing a nationwide injunction, the Trump's government has now sought assistance from the Supreme Court to consider his request to lift the nationwide pause on his executive order. So the justices, have requested filings from parties by early April, to determine whether or not a nationwide injunction is appropriate. This is extraordinary. This is not the way litigation works in the United States. Usually you let the cases proceed. In the normal process, which goes from a district court to an appeals court, and then eventually to the Supreme Court if it gets appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. This is very different from the normal course of action and I think very troubling.    Miko Lee: [00:30:36] So can you talk a little bit about that? I know we constantly say in this administration it's unprecedented, but talk about how there's three different states that have actually filed this injunction. , how typical is that for then it or it to then go to the Supreme Court?    Annie Lee: [00:30:53] Just to clarify, it's not three different states. It's judges in three different states. In fact, more than many, many states, 18 more than 18 states. There have been two lawsuits related, brought by states one that California was a part of that had multiple states over 18 states as well as San Francisco and District of Columbia. Then there was another lawsuit brought by another set of states. and so many states are opposed to this, for different reasons. I find their complaints to be very, very compelling. Before I get into the fact that multiple judges have ruled against the Trump administration, I did want to explain that the reason states care about this is because birthright citizenship is not an immigration issue. Birthright citizenship is just a fundamental issue of impacting everyone, and I really want people to understand this. If you are white and born in the United States, you are a birthright citizen. If you are black and born in the United States, you are a birthright citizen. It is a fallacy to believe that birthright citizenship only impacts immigrants. That is not true. I am a mother and I gave birth to my second child last year, so I've been through this process. Every person who gives birth in the United States. You go to the hospital primarily, they talk to you after your child is born about how to get a social security card for your child. All you have to do is have your child's birth certificate. That is how every state in this country processes citizenship and how the federal government processes citizenship. It is through a birth certificate, and that is all you need. So you go to your health department in your city, you get the birth certificate, you tell, then you get your social security card. That is how everyone does it. If you change this process, it will impact every state in this country and it will be very, very cumbersome. Which is why all of these states, attorneys general, are up in arms about changing birthright citizenship. It is just the way we function. That again applies to re regardless of your parents' immigration status. This is an issue that impacts every single American. Now, to your question as to what does it mean if multiple judges in different states, in different federal district courts have all ruled against. Donald Trump, I think it really means that the law is clear. You have judges who ha are Reagan appointees saying that the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th amendment is crystal clear. It has, it is clear in terms of the text. If you are a textualist and you read exactly what the text says, if you believe in the context of, The 14th Amendment. If you look at the judicial history and just how this clause has been interpreted since ratification, like everything is consistent, this is not an area of law that has any gray area. And you see that because different judges in different district courts in Maryland, in Washington, in New Hampshire all have cited against Donald Trump.    Miko Lee: [00:33:54] So what is the intention of going to the Supreme Court?    Annie Lee: [00:33:59] I mean, he is trying to forum shop. He's trying to get a court that he believes will favor his interpretation and that is why the right has spent the last half century stacking federal courts. And that is why Mitch McConnell did not let Barack Obama replace Antonin Scalia. The composition of the Supreme Court is. So, so important, and you can see it at times like this.    Miko Lee: [00:34:28] But so many of the conservatives always talk about being constitutionalists, like really standing for the Constitution. So how do those things line up?   Annie Lee: [00:34:38] Oh, Miko, that's a great question. Indeed, yes, if they were the textualist that they say they are, this is a pretty clear case, but, Law is not as cut and dry as people think it is. It is obviously motivated by politics and that means law is subject to interpretation.   Miko Lee: [00:34:59] Annie, thank you so much for this breakdown. Are there any things that you would ask? Are people that are listening to this, how can they get involved? What can they do?    Annie Lee: [00:35:09] I would recommend folks check out StopAAPIHate. We are having monthly town halls as well as weekly videos to help break down what is happening. There's so much news and misinformation out there but we are trying to explain everything to everyone because these anti-immigration. Policies that are coming out be, this is anti-Asian hate and people should know that. You can also check out resources through Chinese for affirmative action. Our website has local resources for those of you who are in the Bay Area, including the rapid response lines for bay Area counties if you need any services, if you. See ICE. , if you want to know where their ICE is in any particular location, please call your rapid response line and ask them for that verifiable information. Thank you.    Miko Lee: [00:36:00] Thank you so much, Annie Lee for joining us today on Apex.    Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:36:04] You are listening to 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno, 97.5 K248BR in Santa Cruz, 94.3 K232FZ in Monterey, and online worldwide at kpfa.org.   Miko Lee: [00:36:23] Welcome, Nicholas Gee from Chinese for affirmative action. Welcome to Apex Express.    Nicholas Gee: [00:36:29] Thanks so much, Miko. Glad to be here.    Miko Lee: [00:36:31] I'm so glad that you could join us on the fly. I wanted to first just start by asking you a personal question, which is for you to tell me who you are,, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you.   Nicholas Gee: [00:36:46] I'll start off by saying Miko, thanks so much for having me. My name is Nicholas Gee and I am a third and or fourth generation Chinese American, born and raised in Houston, Texas. And for me, what that means is, is that my great-great-grandparents and great-grandparents migrated from Southern China, fleeing war and famine and looking for opportunity in the middle of the early, like 19 hundreds. And they wanted to start an opportunity here for future generations like me. My people are my family who migrated here over a hundred years ago. who were settling to start a new life. My people are also the people that I advocate with, the Language Access network of San Francisco, the Immigrant Parent Voting Collaborative, my colleagues at Chinese for affirmative action and stop AAPI hate. I think about my people as the people that I'm advocating with on the ground day to day asking and demanding for change.   Miko Lee: [00:37:41] Thank you. And what legacy do you carry with you?    Nicholas Gee: [00:37:45] I carry the legacy of my elders, particularly my grandparents who immigrated here in around the 1940s or so. And when I think about their legacy, I think a lot about the legacy of immigration, what it means to be here, what it means to belong, and the fight for advocacy and the work that I do today.    Miko Lee: [00:38:05] Thanks so much, Nick, and we're here doing this show all about Wong Kim Ark, and I know Chinese for affirmative action has planned this whole week-long celebration to bring up as we're talking about legacy, the legacy of Wong Kim Ark. Can you talk about how this one week celebration came to be and what folks can expect?    Nicholas Gee: [00:38:26] Yeah. As folks may know we are in the midst of many executive orders that have been in place and one of them being the executive order to end birthright citizenship. And Wong Kim Ark was actually born and raised in San Francisco's Chinatown, particularly on seven. 51 Sacramento Street. In the heart of the community and local partners here in this city, we're really trying to figure out how do we advocate and protect birthright citizenship? How do we bring momentum to tell the story of Wong Kim Ark in a moment when birthright citizenship is, in the process of being removed And so we really wanted to create some momentum around the storytelling, around the legacy of Wong Kim Ark, but also the legal implications and what it means for us to advocate and protect for birthright citizenship. And so I joined a couple of our local partners and particularly our team at Chinese for affirmative action to develop and create the first ever Wong Kim Ark Week. Officially known as born in the USA and the Fight for Citizenship, a week long series of events, specifically to honor the 127th anniversary of the Landmark Supreme Court case, US versus Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed birthright citizenship for all in the United States.    Miko Lee: [00:39:44] What will happen during this week-long celebration?   Nicholas Gee: [00:39:48] We have several scheduled events to raise awareness, mobilize the community, and really to stand up for the rights of all immigrants and their families. One is an incredible book Talk in conversation with author and activist Bianca Boutte. Louie, who recently authored a book called Unassimilable. And she tells a personal narrative and provides a sharp analysis for us to think about race and belonging and solidarity in America, particularly through an Asian American lens. This event is hosted by the Chinese Historical Society of America. Following. We have a live in-person community symposium on Wong Kim Ark legacy and the struggle for citizenship. There'll be a powerful community conversation with legal advocates, storytellers, movement builders, to have a dynamic conversation on the impact of birthright citizenship. Who is Wong Kim Ark? What is his enduring legacy and how people can join us for the ongoing struggle for justice? And you know, we actually have a special guest, Norman Wong, who is the great grandson of Wong Kim Ark. He'll be joining us for this special event. We have a couple of more events. One is a Chinatown History and Art Tour hosted by Chinese Culture Center, this is a small group experience where community members can explore Chinatown's vibrant history, art, and activism, and particularly we'll learn about the legacy of Wong Kim Ark and then lastly, we have a in-person press conference that's happening on Friday, which is we're gonna conclude the whole week of, Wong Kim Ark with a birthright, citizenship resolution and a Wong Kim Ark dedication. And so we'll be celebrating his enduring impact on Birthright citizenship and really these ongoing efforts to protect, our fundamental right. and the San Francisco Public Library is actually hosting an Asian American and Pacific Islander book display at the North Beach campus and they'll be highlighting various books and authors and titles inspired by themes of migration, community, and resilience. So those are our scheduled, events We're welcoming folks to join and folks can register, and check out more information at casf.org/WongKimArk    Miko Lee: [00:42:04] Thanks so much and we will post a link to that in our show notes. I'm wondering how many of those are in Chinese as well as English?    Nicholas Gee: [00:42:13] That is a fantastic question, Miko. We currently have the community symposium on Wong Kim Ark legacy in the struggle for citizenship. This event will have live interpretation in both Mandarin and Cantonese.    Miko Lee: [00:42:46] What would you like folks to walk away with? An understanding of what.    Nicholas Gee: [00:42:30] We really want people to continue to learn about the legacy of birthright citizenship and to become an advocate with us. We also have some information on our website, around what you can do to protect birthright citizenship. As an advocate, we are always thinking about how do we get people involved, to think about civic engagement intentional education and to tie that back to our advocacy. And so we have a couple of ways that we're inviting people to take action with us. One is to invite a friend to consider attending one of our events. If you're based here in the San Francisco Bay area or if you're online, join us for the book Talk with Bianca. , two, we're inviting folks to take action and oppose the executive order to ban birthright citizenship. Chinese for affirmative action has. A call to action where we can actually send a letter to petition , to oppose this executive order to send a message directly to our congressman or woman. and lastly, you know, we're asking people to learn about Wong Kim Ark as a whole, and to learn about the impacts of birthright citizenship. My hope is that folks walk away with more of an understanding of what does it mean here to be an advocate? What does it mean to take action across the community and really to communicate this is what resilience will look like in our community    Miko Lee: [00:43:44] Nick Gee, thank you so much for joining me on Apex Express. It was great to hear how people can get involved in the Wong Kim Ark week and learn more about actions and how they can get involved. We appreciate the work you're doing.    Nicholas Gee: [00:43:56] Thanks so much Miko, and I'm excited to launch this.   Miko Lee: [00:43:58] Welcome, Reverend Deb Lee, executive Director of Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity and part of the Network on Religion and justice. Thank you so much for coming on Apex Express.    Rev. Deb Lee: [00:44:09] Great to be here. Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:44:11] I would love you just personally to tell me who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Rev. Deb Lee: [00:44:17] Wow. Well, my people are people in the Chinese diaspora. My family's been in diaspora for seven generations, from southern China to southeast to Asia. and then eventually to the United States. What I carry with me is just a huge sense of resistance and this idea of like, we can survive anywhere and we take our love and our family and our ancestor we gotta carry it with us. We don't always have land or a place to put it down into the ground, and so we carry those things with us. , that sense of resistance and resilience.    Miko Lee: [00:44:56] Thank you so much. I relate to that so much as a fifth generation Chinese American. To me, it's really that sense of resilience is so deep and powerful, and I'm wondering as a person from the faith community, if you could share about the relevance of Wong Kim Ark and Birthright citizenship.   Rev. Deb Lee: [00:45:12] Yeah, Wong Kim Ark is critical because he was somebody who really fought back against racist laws and really asserted his right to be part of this country, his right to have the Constitution apply to him too. I'm just so grateful for him and so many of the other Chinese Americans who fought back legally and resisted against in that huge wave of period of Chinese exclusion to create some of the really important immigration laws that we have today. I wouldn't be a citizen without birthright citizenship myself. Wong Kim Ark really established that every person who is born on this soil has a right to constitutional protection, has a right to be a citizen. And in fact, the Constitution in the 14th Amendment also applies to let equal treatment for everyone here, everyone who is here. You don't even have to be a citizen for the constitutional rights. And the Fourth Amendment, the fifth Amendment, the first amendment to apply to you. And those things are so under attack right now. It's so important to establish the equality. Of every person and the right for people here in this country to have safety and belonging, that everyone here deserves safety and belonging.    Miko Lee: [00:46:24] Thank you so much for lifting up that activist history. as, a person who was raised in a theological setting at a seminary, I was really raised around this ethos of love as an active tool and a way of fighting for civil rights, fighting for things that we believe in. And I'm wondering if you could talk about how you see that playing out in today. And especially as you know, this Trump regime has had such incredible impacts on immigrants and on so much of our activist history. I'm wondering if you have thoughts on that?    Rev. Deb Lee: [00:47:00] Well, so much of the civil rights history in this country, you know, going back to like the activism of Chinese Americans to establish some of those civil rights. You know, it goes back to this idea of like, who is fully human, who can be fully human, whose humanity will be fully recognized? And so I think that's what's connects back to my faith and connects back to faith values of the sacredness of every person, the full humanity, the full participation, the dignity. And so I think, Wong Kim Ark and the other, like Chinese American activists, they were fighting for like, you know, we don't wanna just be, we're gonna just gonna be laborers. We're not just going to be people who you can, Bring in and kick out whenever you want, but like, we want to be fully human and in this context of this nation state, that means being fully citizens.And so I think that that struggle and that striving to say we want that full humanity to be recognized, that is a fundamental kind of belief for many faith traditions, which, you know, speak to the radical equality of all people and the radical dignity of all people, that can't be taken away, but that has to really be recognized. What's under attack right now is. So much dehumanization, stigmatization of people, you know, based on race, based on class, based on gender, based on what country people were born in, what papers they carry, you know, if they ever had contact, prior contact with the law, like all these things. You know, are immediately being used to disregard someone's humanity. And so I think those of us who come from a faith tradition or who just share that kind of sense of, value and, deep humanism in other people, that's where we have to root ourselves in this time in history and really being, you know, we are going to defend one another's humanity and dignity, at all costs.   Miko Lee: [00:48:55] Thank you for that. I'm wondering if there are other lessons that we can learn from Wong Kim Ark, I mean, the time when he fought back against, this was so early in 1894, as you mentioned, the Chinese exclusion acts and I'm wondering if there are other lessons that we can learn from him in, in our time when we are seeing so many of our rights being eroded.   Rev. Deb Lee: [00:49:17] I think that there's so many ways, that we think about how did people organize then like, you know, it's challenging to organize now, but if you can imagine organizing then, and I'm thinking, you know, when Chinese people were required to carry identification papers and you know, on mass they refused to do that and they. Practice, like a form of civil disobedience. And I think we're at this time now, like the Trump administration's telling anybody here who's unauthorized to come forward and to register well, I think people need to think twice about that. And people are, there are many other things that they're trying to impose on the immigrant community and I think one like lesson is like, how do people survive through a period of exclusion and we are today in a period of exclusion. That really goes back to the mid 1980s, when there was, last, a significant immigration reform that created a pathway to citizenship. Only for about 3 million people. But after that, since that time in the mid 1980s, there has been no other pathways to citizenship, no other forms of amnesty, no other ways for people to fix their status.So in fact, we are already in another 40 year period of exclusion again. And so one of those lessons is how do people survive this period? Like right, and left. They're taking away all the laws and protections that we had in our immigration system. They were very narrow already. Now even those are being eliminated and any form of compassion or discretion or leniency or understanding has been removed. So I think people are in a period of. Survival. How do we survive and get through? And a lot of the work that we're doing on sanctuary right now we have a sanctuary people campaign, a sanctuary congregations campaign is how do we walk alongside immigrants to whom there is no path. There is no right way. there is no opening right now. But walk with them and help support them because right now they're trying to squeeze people so badly that they will self deport. And leave on their own. This is part of a process of mass expulsion but if people really believe that they want to stay and be here, how do we help support people to get through this period of exclusion until there will be another opening? And I believe there will be like our, our history kind of spirals in and out, and sometimes there are these openings and that's something I take from the faith communities. If you look at Chinese American history in this country, the role that faith communities played in walking with the immigrant community and in supporting them, and there's many stories that help people get through that period of exclusion as well.   Miko Lee: [00:51:52] Deb, I'm wondering what you would say to folks. I'm hearing from so many people [say] I can't read the news. It's too overwhelming. I don't wanna get involved. I just have to take care of myself. And so I'm just waiting. And even James Carville, the political opponent, say we gotta play dead for a few years. What are your thoughts on this?    Rev. Deb Lee: [00:52:11] Well, we can't play totally dead. I wish the Democrats wouldn't be playing dead, but I think that a person of faith, we have to stay present we don't really have the option to check out and we actually have to be in tune with the suffering. I think it would be irresponsible for us to. You know, turn a blind eye to the suffering. And I wanna encourage people that actually opportunities to walk with people who are being impacted and suffering can actually be deeply, fulfilling and can help give hope and give meaning. And there are people who are looking for solidarity right now. We are getting a lot of calls every week for someone who just wants them, wants someone to go to their court or go to the ice, check-in with them, and literally just like walk three blocks down there with them and wait for them. To make sure they come out. And if they don't come out to call the rapid response hotline, it doesn't take much. But it's a huge act like this is actually what some of the immigrant communities are asking for, who are millions of people who are under surveillance right now and have to report in. So those small acts of kindness can be deeply rewarding in this. Sea of overwhelming cruelty. And I think we have an obligation to find something that we can do. , find a way, find a person, find someone that we can connect to support and be in solidarity with and think about people in our past. Who have accompanied us or accompanied our people and our people's journey. And when those acts of kindness and those acts of neighbors and acts of friendship have meant so much I know like my family, they still tell those stories of like, this one person, you know, in Ohio who welcome them and said hello. We don't even know their names. Those acts can be etched in people's hearts and souls. And right now people need us.    Miko Lee: [00:53:59] Oh, I love that. I've talked with many survivors of the Japanese American concentration camps, and so many of them talk about the people of conscience, meaning the people that were able to step up and help support them during, before and after that time. Lastly, I'm wondering, you're naming some really specific ways that people can get engaged, and I know you're deeply involved in the sanctuary movement. Can you provide us with ways that people can find out more? More ways to get involved in some of the work that you are doing.    Rev. Deb Lee: [00:54:29] I'll put a plug in for our website. It's www dot I am number four, human integrity.org. So it's, iam4humanintegrity.org. We work with families that are impacted facing deportation, looking for all kinds of ways to get the community to rally around folks and support and we work with faith communities who are thinking about how to become sanctuary congregations and how to be an important resource in your local community. The other organizations, I would say sign up for Bay Resistance. They're organizing a lot of volunteers that we call on all the time we're working with. We're, you know, working with many organizations, the Bay Area, to make sure that a new ice detention facility does not get built. They are looking at the potential site of Dublin. We've worked really hard the last decade to get all the detention centers out of Northern California. We don't want them to open up a new one here.   Miko Lee: [00:55:27] Deb Lee, thank you so much for joining us on Apex Express and folks can actually see Deb on Tuesday night in Wong Kim Ark Week as one of the speakers. Thank you so much for joining us.    Rev. Deb Lee: [00:55:38] Thank you, Miko.    Miko Lee: [00:55:39] Thank you so much for joining us on Apex Express. We're gonna close this episode with words from Norman Wong, the great grandson of Wong Kim Ark.   Norman Wong: [00:55:49] So let's fight back. Threats to birthright citizenship will only divide us, and right now we need to come together to continue the impact of my great grandfather's. This is my family's legacy, and now it's part of yours too. Thank you    Miko Lee: [00:56:11] Please check out our website, kpfa.org to find out more about our show tonight. We think all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is created by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preti Mangala-Shekar, Swati Rayasam, Aisa Villarosa, Estella Owoimaha-Church, Gabriel Tanglao, Cheryl Truong and Ayame Keane-Lee.    The post APEX Express – 3.20.25- Wong Kim Ark appeared first on KPFA.

⚖️ What If Your Spouse Hires an Attorney and You Don't? | Los Angeles Divorce ⚖️ Spouse Hired an Attorney & You Didn't? Here's What to Do! If your spouse hired an attorney and you didn't, you might be wondering if you're at a disadvantage. The good news? You don't always need an attorney to get through a divorce—especially if it's amicable or uncontested. In this video, I'll explain what to do if your spouse has legal representation and you don't.

Taylor's day of service fixing bikes and teaching kids how to ride safely with Brett Atencio-Thomas, Active Costa Mesa, California's Transportation Coordinator. Brett tells about the Three Pronged approach to making a 21st century city (0:38). On February 25th, a group of cyclists in Boyle Heights were handing out "Know Your Rights" cards with information on what to do if approached by ICE. They were struck by a hit-and-run driver in a Kia sedan with the license plate 8GAN606, and the driver is still at large. Amari and Deity talk about what it was like (5:02) More bike news, including studies that show being stuck in traffic makes drivers eat more fast food, and San Francisco slow streets reduce injuries 61%. Powered by bikinginla.com (10:31). An Ecargobike library in Minneapolis is the brainchild of Our Streets Minneapolis Board President Laura Groenjes Mitchell (16:20). Cyclocross explained by Mike Wissel of the B2C2 Massachusetts racing community (22:51). The upcoming bike racing season previewed by Dane Cash of Escapecollective.com (33:47).

“Empowerment begins with understanding the law.” Host Adell Coleman sits down with Kisha A. Brown, CEO of Justis Connection, to explore the intricacies of legal rights during police encounters. Gain insights into the immediate steps to take after such encounters, the distinction between criminal and civil cases, and the importance of legal knowledge in empowering Black communities.  Discover how to navigate police complaint processes and access vital resources through Justis Connection. Tune in to learn how the law can serve as a tool for justice and change. Hosts & Executive Producers: Adell Coleman and Chris Colbert Producers: Q. Hill and Heather Johnson Engineer and Editor: Q. Hill The House: DCP Entertainment Subscribe to our Say Their Name Newsletter for up to date resources on how to keep you and your loved ones safe and aware. https://dcpentertainment.substack.com/s/say-their-name  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's mini episode, Madigan discusses Trump's address to Congress (and the reaction to it), the threat against student protesters in the US, and more world news from France and Serbia. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/students-rights Do you have a topic that you want the show to take on?    Email: neighborhoodfeminist@gmail.com Social media:     Instagram: @angryneighborhoodfeminist Get YANF Merch! https://yanfpodcast.threadless.com/ JOIN ME ON PATREON!! https://www.patreon.com/angryneighborhoodfeminist Sources: https://www.advocate.com/politics/trump-presidential-address-joint-session https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/politics/fact-check-trump-address-congress/index.html https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/04/trump-students-college-protests-00210193 https://www.thedailybeast.com/jasmine-crockett-slams-trump-as-putins-ho/ https://www.npr.org/2025/03/03/nx-s1-5307187/trump-executive-order-visa-pro-palestinian-foreign-students-protests-hamas-hezbollah-israel https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/europe/macron-france-nuclear-arsenal-ukraine-intl-hnk/index.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's Assembly Democrats are pushing back against the Trump administration's overreach when it comes to immigration. Even before the new administration took office, exactly one month ago today, Assembly Democrats have been providing immigration information and support to all Californians. Assemblymembers Juan Carrillo and Jose Luis Solache join us for a conversation about their personal immigration stories, what rights you need to know and the work they are doing to help.

Alt episode titles : Hegemony, Iniquity, Occlusion Dehumanization, Erasure, Indoctrination We've been here before, we've never left. The place where a z*on*st and a n*zi can exist inside the same washed up, shock jock recycled racist tech magnate bureaucrat, use the quintessential anti-semitic gesture on national television and be defended by the head of a million dollar anti-semitism watchdog org that mostly just targets Black people. Yes, even here: a place where neo n*zis came up short in Lincoln Heights, the first all-Black, self-governing city north of the Mason-Dixon Line, and got ran out, they shit took, their flag burned. Happy Black History, Present, Futures Monf and 365 days of the year in my anita baker voice. Sending you all our tender love no matter where you are, what you are going through, whether it's genuine fear from a place of privilege, comfort from having felt a false sense of safety in the promise of a democractic administration or a delayed reaction to living under a Herrenvolk democracy, join us for the first episode of the year in our attempt to ease the collective anxiety with a little, gentle, reality check and reminder of where you are and more importantly, who you are, from the Federal Act-Rite Administration (with love). "Racism and racially structured discrimination have not been deviations from the norm; they have been the norm"---Charles W. Mills "White supremacy forced white americans into rationalizations so fantastical that they approached the pathological."--James Baldwin Everything's going to be okay. Know Your Rights, Resources about ICE: https://baltimorebeat.com/know-your-rights-in-english-spanish-and-french/ https://maketheroadny.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/KYR_FLYER_ENGLISH-single.pdf Cincinnati Stand Up, Dialing in from the Resistance: https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local_news/cincinnati-residents-burn-swastika-flags-of-neo-nazi-demonstrators/article_73b5e730-e95c-11ef-9e39-372cfa716541.html Excerpt from Queering the Color Line by Siobhan B. Somerville Consider becoming a patron to support this podcast: www.patreon.com/ihartericka or make a one-time donation via Venmo (@Ericka-Hart, Paypal: ericka@ihartericka.com). Thank you!

In this episode about being a part of the beloved community of God, Julia hosts a conversation about how current events are impacting our New American sisters and brothers. About a quarter of Vineyard Columbus is foreign born, so this is a very personal conversation for many! And Julia's mother was born in a DP camp after WW2 and entered the US as a refugee when she was a child, so it's personal for her too. It's also personal for our guests: Dr Seleshi Asfaw is President and CEO of ETSS, an immigration and refugee organization here in Columbus. Flo Gimei is on the board of ETSS, she herself came to the US decades ago, and she's a long time member of Vineyard Columbus.Listen in to not only hear some personal stories, but also to learn more about some of the challenges that New Americans are facing right now. Please check out our show notes for more resources and ways to serve, and if you do know someone needing practical helps like Know Your Rights materials, please feel free to point folks to vineyardcolumbus.org/immigration... where we've also posted a longer explanation of our Theology, Posture, and Pastoral Practices regarding immigration, immigrants, and refugees. And if you're someone who wants to help, volunteer, or who is able to volunteer to do some much needed translation work for us, please reach out to podcast@vineyardcolumbus.org and we'll point you in the right direction.Dr. Seleshi Ayalew Asfaw, currently the President & CEO of ETSS, has an extensive and distinguished background in the medical and public health fields. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, followed by a master's in public health Methodology, Education, and Behavioral Sciences from the Public Health School in Brussels, Belgium. He has been a driving force behind the design and implementation of ETSS Adult and Youth refugee programs, reflecting his deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing new immigrants. His passion for aiding their transition to life in the United States is evident in his work.Flo Gimei is a dedicated wife of over 25 years and a proud mother of 2 adult children. She is a Technology Executive Director in the financial industry and has served on the ETSS board for 3 years. She has been a member of Vineyard Columbus for 20+ years where she has actively served as a small group leader for over 15 years, a leader of the International Women's Breakfast, and she has also served as a member of the Church Council.https://www.crisohio.orgvineyardcolumbus.org/immigration

By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan Years of organizing, educating and empowering people to defend themselves from racist immigration policies are showing results.

The numbers are an undercount, but at least 40,000 children in Gaza are now orphans.  Meanwhile, Biden handed Trump a helluva network of immigrant oppression. Here's what you should know to keep yourself and your community safe.  United Health overcharged cancer patients by thousands of dollars - because you know, that's the right thing to do.  PLUS hell freezes over in New Orleans, and AI issues in the new world order.    leecamp.net artkillingapathy.com  

The fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every person, regardless of immigration status.Know your rights! Cops can lie to you, and although you can't lie to them, you can and should remain silent when interacting with them. Today, we dig into your individual rights and what to do if you're stopped by law enforcement. SAMPLE WARRANT + know your rights list: https://immigrantjustice.org/know-your-rights/ice-encounterStates with Stop + Identify Statute: https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/stop_identify_statutes_in_us-lg-20180201v3.pdfACLU know your rights PDF: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/bustcard_eng_20100630.pdfToolkit for dealing with ICE raids: https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Raids-Toolkit-web-2019-05.pdfUnderstanding the "ruse" (tactics cops use to lie): https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/ice-ruses/DONATE TO ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/DONATE support aid for children in Palestine: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FACT: Immigrants are 60% LESS likely to commit a crime than an American born citizen. It's been studied for decades and immigrants make our community + nation SAFER, not more dangerous.FACT: Immigrants contribute BILLIONS to our economy and don't benefit from the systems they pay into. FACT: No human being is illegal... especially when you consider we are on stolen land. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rightsImmigrant resources: https://www.wehaverights.us/THE "debunking myths" SOURCE: https://iine.org/2024/04/dispelling-10-common-myths-about-immigrants-and-refugees/#:~:text=Myth%3A%20Immigrants%20are%20more,rate%20than%20U.S.%2Dborn%20individuals.DONATE: www.pcrf.netGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcastOR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcastOR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss many of our rights that are at risk under the new Trump administration, what our rights actually are–like due process and the 1st amendment, and an action plan for when they come under attack.    Monica's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Know what your rights are and speak up. Talk to your friends and family about DC statehood   Monica Hopkins is the Executive Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC).   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow the ACLU D.C. on X:  https://x.com/ACLU_DC    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Monica Hopkins Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Monica Hopkins is the executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, she joins Allison to the ACLU's strategies to combat mass deportations, protect First Amendment rights, and uphold D.C. statehood and autonomy.Monica Hopkins - executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC)ACLU of DC (acludc.org)HOW TO TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY FROM OTHER STATES ABOUT D.C. STATEHOOD (acludc.org) Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote, Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewroteDana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts