POPULARITY
3 episodes with mexican american legal defense
2 episodes with mexican american legal defense
2 episodes with mexican american legal defense
3 episodes with mexican american legal defense
Interviews with Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, Thomas A. Saenz of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more.
The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 20, 2024Federal Court Releases Redistricting Maps After Striking Down Districts Diluting Latino Voting PowerA Washington State fight over Latino voting rights may still not be over, but March 15th, a federal judge approved new state house and senate maps for central Washington State. The previous Washington State Redistricting Commission maps were thrown out as diluting Latino voting power.To view the whole script of today's report, please go to our website.Today's LinksArticles & Resources:U.S. District Court, Western District of WA via Democracy Docket - Order in Palmer v. HobbsWashington State Standard - Federal judge sets new boundaries for Yakima Valley legislative districtWashington State Standard - Redistricting ruling stirs partisan uproarOregon Public Broadcasting/Northwest News Network - Judge approves Washington's new legislative district maps after court battle over Latino voting rightsGroups Taking Action:Campaign Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), UCLA Voting Rights ProjectPlease follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE! Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email? Sign up here!Are you a radio station? Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network's Audioport and PRX#Democracy #DemocracyNews #FairMaps #EndGerrymandering #LatinoVoters
Andrew is the Owner and Managing Partner of the Salinas Defense Law Firm, PLLC where he specializes in Criminal Defense and Immigration law. Since recording this episode, he has also started his own firm in Houston, Texas! He has secured many dismissals and favorable plea deals for clients charged with serious crimes, many of whom were facing deportation if they plead guilty to certain convictions. Prior to starting his own firm, Andrew was an attorney at a prominent Criminal Defense and Immigration law firm in Austin, TX that specialized in "crimmigration". Andrew handled hundreds of cases, including misdemeanors like Driving While Intoxicated and Assault Family Violence and felonies like Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Engaging in Organized Crime. He also has experience as an Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County District Attorney's Office and as a Managing Attorney in charge of a brand-new Immigration Department at a boutique law firm in Brooklyn. Andrew graduated from Baylor University from the Baylor Interdisciplinary Honors Program with a B.A. in History and a minor in Rhetoric & Argumentation. He graduated from the Washington and Lee University School of Law where he actively competed and coached in several national moot court competitions. He had the pleasure of serving as a law clerk for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a civil rights organization, in Washington, D.C., as a legal intern for the most respected non-profit immigration legal aid organization in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region, Ayuda, and as a Summer Fellow at the New York County District Attorney's Office in Manhattan. While in the Immigrant Rights Clinic in law school, Andrew and a fellow student attorney fought for their client to be granted asylum in an uphill battle case – and won. He also got a taste for federal appellate work when his team filed an appeal before the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for a Stateless client who had been fighting to remain in the U.S. for 20 years. In addition to being an editor for the Washington and Lee Journal for Civil Rights and Social Justice, he also proudly formed the leadership board of the Latin American Law Students' Association, serving as Moot Court Director and Vice President. https://salinasdefense.com/ https://www.instagram.com/abogadotejano https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553453914861 #leducentertainment #SpaghettiOnTheWall #newpodcast #trailer #LegalJourney #AndrewSalinas #CrimeAndImmigration
Don't Force It: How to Get into College without Losing Yourself in the Process
Today I sit down with longtime friend, Bob Schaeffer. Bob is an incredible source of knowledge around how the testing landscape has changed in the last several decades and the work that he and his team at FairTest do is invaluable. Tune in to hear about the test optional movement in college admissions and more!Bob Schaeffer is currently the Public Education Director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, where he has coordinated the organization's university admissions reform program for several decades. He served as the organization's Executive Director or co-Executive Director for five years.Previously, Mr. Schaeffer was the Research Director of the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Human Services, Editorial Writer at the NBC-TV affiliate in Boston and talk show host at a regional NPR affiliate. He also worked at the Education Research Center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was both an undergraduate and graduate student. Bob Schaeffer is a featured contributor to the Teachers College Press book The Scandal of Standardized Tests: Why We Need to Drop the SAT & ACT. He also coauthored many FairTest publications, such as Standing Up to the SAT, Test Scores Do Not Equal Merit, Standardized Tests and Our Children, Implementing Performance Assessments, and The SAT Coaching Cover-Up.Bob is frequently quoted by major media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, NPR, and CNN as well as trade publications such as Education Week, Education Dive, Inside Higher Education, and Diverse Issues in Higher Education. He has also spoken at many conferences sponsored by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, Education Writers Association, Higher Education Consultant Association, Independent Education Consultant Association, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, SouthernChristian Leadership Conference, and Southern Education Foundation. Access free resources and learn more about Sheila and her team at Signet Education at signeteducation.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilaakbar/.
Edited to “Season 4 Episode 7 of Activista Rise Up is out now! This week we were joined by Odilia Romero, co-founder and executive director of Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO). CIELO is a woman-led human rights organization that fights for social justice for indigenous migrant women. CIELO's mission is to instill cultural pride and advance the rights of indigenous women by focusing first on cultural preservation, language justice, gender violence prevention, and reproductive justice. Odilia Romero and CIELO's work has been recognized by Lizzo at the Billboard Awards (WATCH HERE) and by MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Learn more about CIELO here: www.mycielo.org. To learn more about CIELO visit 19th News' Article and LA Times' Article. Tune in to watch, listen, and be inspired! ✊
In this episode, Sheppard Mullin attorneys Melissa Eaves and Ray Marshall join host Scott Maberry to explore how the best companies in the world are navigating between directly conflicting regulatory guidance on Environmental, Social and Governance initiatives. What We Discuss in this Episode: What is the SEC doing regarding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing right now? What are state legislatures and Attorneys General doing? How do these enforcement contradict each other, and what should companies do? What should companies be doing to reduce the potential for ESG-related enforcement actions? How does "greenwashing" open the door to civil litigation? What steps should companies and investors take to mitigate risk in this complicated environment? About Ray Marshall Ray Marshall is Of Counsel in the Governmental Practice in Sheppard Mullen's San Francisco office, where his practice focuses on White Collar and Investigations, Fiduciary Duties, and Environmental, Social & Governance issues. Ray represents clients in both complex business litigation and white-collar defense. He has conducted a wide array of internal investigations and company inquiries, including cases alleging insider trading, stock options backdating, securities fraud, accounting irregularities, antitrust violations, public corruption, FCPA and other corporate and individual wrongdoing. He has represented clients in civil, criminal and administrative proceedings brought by governmental authorities, including the Department of Justice and the offices of various U.S. Attorneys, State Attorneys General and District Attorneys. In addition to serving on Sen. Dianne Feinstein's Judicial Advisory Committee for the Northern District of California, Raymond also serves as an adviser to the American Law Institute on the Model Penal Code Sentencing Project. He is past-President of the ABA Retirement Fund Board of Directors, a past member of the ABA Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary, and former president of both the State Bar of California and the Bar Association of San Francisco. In 2004 and 2007, he was appointed by Chief Justice Ronald M. George to chair the California Supreme Court's Advisory Task Force on Multijurisdictional Practice. In addition to his professional affiliations, Ray is extremely active in community affairs, serving on the boards of the Giffords Law Center, the Equal Justice Society, the United Negro College Fund, and HomeBase/The Center for Common Concerns. In March 2009, he argued on behalf of five of the leading civil rights groups in the country (Asian Pacific American Legal Center, California State Conference of the NAACP, Equal Justice Society, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund) before the California Supreme Court, arguing that allowing Proposition 8 (a proposition which sought to outlaw gay marriage) to stand could be detrimental to other minority groups who could easily become the targets of initiative campaigns seeking to take away their rights. About Melissa Eaves Melissa Eaves is Special Counsel in the Governmental Practice in Sheppard Mullen's Los Angeles office. Melissa currently focuses her practice on complex civil litigation, fraud, investigations white collar criminal defense and False Claims Act litigation. She has substantial experience in compliance investigations, fiduciary counseling, ESG, American with Disabilities Act, FTC, SEC and TVPRA/human trafficking litigation. Melissa has successfully represented numerous individuals and entities in connection with a wide range of federal and state investigations and prosecutions. In civil litigation, she has successfully represented both clients in both state and federal court. In addition to complex litigation and white collar defense work, Melissa handles internal investigations for companies. She is an experienced and skilled investigator, handling investigatory matters involving whistleblower claims, harassment and workplace misconduct, criminal misconduct, and healthcare fraud. She has also worked with governmental agencies such as the OIG, DOJ, FTC, SEC, and HHS in connection with such investigations. Melissa was part of the team that recently won a complete defense victory in a human trafficking case, and she has also obtained complete defense verdicts in trials involving ADA claims. In addition, she has represented the California Insurance Commissioner in the Executive Life Insurance Company, First Capital and Mission Insurance Group insolvencies and reinsurance litigation, involving over 300 reinsurers worldwide, representing recoveries in excess of $1.3 billion. Melissa has substantial litigation experience in both state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, enforcing judgments abroad and supervising of domestic and foreign outside counsel. About Scott Maberry As an international trade partner in Governmental Practice, J. Scott Maberry counsels clients on global risk, international trade, and regulation. He is also a past co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group for the Washington D.C. office, serves on the firm's pro bono committee, and is a founding member of the Sheppard Mullin Organizational Integrity Group. Scott's practice includes representing clients before the U.S. government agencies and international U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS), the Department of Commerce Import Administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). He also represents clients in federal court and grand jury proceedings, as well as those pursuing negotiations and dispute resolution under the World Trade Organization (WTO), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other multilateral and bilateral agreements. A member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network, Scott also advises the WEF community in the areas of global risk, international trade, artificial intelligence and values. Contact Information: Melissa Eaves Raymond Marshall J. Scott Maberry Resources: Goldman Sachs SEC Settlement (2022) BNY SEC Settlement (2022) Texas AG Letter ISS Response Glass Lewis Response BlackRock Letter Kentucky AG Opinion Kentucky AG Letter Washington DC AG Letter ClientEarth Lawsuit Against Shell BNP Paribas Case Thank you for listening! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to the show to receive two new episodes delivered straight to your podcast player every month. If you enjoyed this episode, please help us get the word out about this podcast. Rate and Review this show on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify. It helps other listeners find this show. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice specific to your circumstances. If you need help with any legal matter, be sure to consult with an attorney regarding your specific needs.
(Airdate 5/17/23) Oscar Alvarez is a Community Organizer for the South Central by South Central campaign at the Community Coalition. Oscar has had the honor of participating in national programs like the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship, the University of California Washington Program, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Policy Fellowship, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. In 2018, he became an Inaugural Fellow for Community Coalition's Organizing Fellowship. www.cocosouthla.org
Thomas Saenz is the president and general counsel of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He joins the Chino Y Chicano to explain why the civil rights organization plans to open a Seattle office this year. Saenz also talks about the growth of the Latino population in the United States, plus, the challenges faced in politics, voting, immigration, the courts, media and battling extremism. Read: https://crosscut.com/news/2023/01/two-seattle-asian-american-community-newspapers-go-out-printRead: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/leesa-manion-sworn-in-as-king-county-prosecuting-attorney/Read: The Best & Worst Awards for 2022https://i0.wp.com/nwasianweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/04-05-Matt-and-Gei-1.jpgRead Marcus Harrison Green's Seattle's Times column about Black Youth suicide. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mental-health/more-black-kids-are-dying-by-suicide-the-reasons-unfortunately-arent-surprising/
New Mexico in Focus Senior Producer Lou DiVizio updates some of the top headlines in our state, including the cancellation of NMSU's men's basketball season. Then, NMiF Political Correspondent Gwyneth Doland takes us inside the Roundhouse for insight on HB7, which would guarantee reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare to everyone in the state. Gene Grant and the Line Opinion Panel discuss the bill and what it would mean for local abortion ordinances around New Mexico. Finally, NMiF Correspondent Russell Contreras sits down with Thomas Saenz, the president and general counsel at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund to update the state's response to the Yazzie Martinez ruling. MALDEF represents Louise Martinez, a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit and continues to push for educational advancements for the students highlighted in the court ruling. Host: Lou DiVizio Correspondents: Gwyneth Doland & Russell Contreras Line Host: Gene Grant Guests: St. Rep. Linda Serrato, (D) NM District 45 – Santa Fe St. Rep. Jennifer Jones, (R) NM District 32 - Doña Ana, Hidalgo & Luna Marshall Martinez, executive director, Equality New Mexico Thomas Saenz, president & general counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund Line Opinion Panelists: Dede Feldman, fmr. NM State Senator H. Diane Snyder, fmr. NM State Senator Serge Martinez, professor, UNM School of Law For More Information: ‘La Morena' Art – Lucinda Hinojos Lawmakers Tackle Rasing the Alcohol Tax – NM In Depth Ousted Elections Clerk Hit with Ethics Lawsuit – AP News NMSU Cancels Season After Sex, Harassment Allegations – AP News NMiF on Facebook NMiF on Youtube NMiF on Instagram NMiF on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nmif/message
Finger Pointing in Harris County Texas After Problems Apparently Disenfranchised VotersToday's LinksArticles & Resources:Washington Post - Texas investigating voting difficulties in Houston's Harris CountyVote Beat Texasx/Texas Tribune - Here's why we still don't know what went wrong in Harris County on Election DayTexas Freedom Network - Statement: Judge Rules Harris County Polling Locations Stay Open Until 8 PMFox News - Texas Supreme Court allows Harris County to count 2,000 votes after Election Day extensionNBC News - Double standard? Texas assigns unusual urgency to Democratic county's election mishapsGroups Taking Action:Texas Organizing Project, Texas Civil Rights Project, Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF) Today's Script: (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time) You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.There is still a lot of finger pointing in Harris County, Texas, after widespread November 8th ballot shortages and other problems. While partisan accusations and a lawsuit have been leveled, it appears that a combination of lack of preparedness and voting machine problems were the problem, not fraud.The Washington Post and Votebeat Texas report that Harris County's system didn't have enough paper ballots in at least 23 of its 782 polling places. When precinct officials called for additional ballots, knowing they would run out, resupplies ran out or didn't arrive for hours. The shortage reportedly resulted in hundreds of voters being turned away.Complicating matters, Harris County doesn't have common problem reporting software which could help monitor problems at polling places. Such a system could have helped distribute ballots to places which needed them. One precinct in Houston initially couldn't get its 60 voting machines to work in the morning, forcing a delay in opening. Election officials noted it was human error, not a conspiracy.The Harris County GOP filed a lawsuit, claiming that the lack of ballots disenfranchised voters, and one GOP election official claimed Harris County election officials intentionally withheld ballots for partisan reasons. Democrats pointed to problems in heavily Democratic precincts, too. State police are investigating, and Harris County is conducting an internal review to assess just how many voters were disenfranchised.We have links to articles and resources at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org For the American Democracy Minute, I'm Brian Beihl.
The United States of America has always been a melting pot of different cultures but the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund's Andrea Senteno tells the Morning Show with Nikki Medoro many legal voters whose primary language is not English are experiencing obstacles exercising their civic duty. KGO's listening audience weigh in with their varied opinions on providing help for voters struggling with English.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The United States of America has always been a melting pot of different cultures but the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund's Andrea Senteno tells the Morning Show with Nikki Medoro many legal voters whose primary language is not English are experiencing obstacles exercising their civic duty. KGO's listening audience weigh in with their varied opinions on providing help for voters struggling with English.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Federal Court Strikes Down Arkansas Law Limiting Assistance to VotersToday's LinksArticles:New York Times - Arkansas violated the Voting Rights Act by limiting help to voters, a judge rules.Arkansas Times - Judge strikes down restrictive Arkansas law that violates the Voting Rights ActMexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund - FEDERAL COURT RULES ARKANSAS STATUTE ON VOTERASSISTANCE VIOLATES FEDERAL VRAU.S. District Court - DecisionGroups Taking Action: MALDEF, Arkansas UnitedYou're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.We're in Arkansas today, where August 20th, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that a 2009 state law barring a person from assisting more than six voters was contrary to federal law. In a 39-page ruling, Judge Timothy L. Brooks agreed with an advocacy group which had been helping immigrant citizens with voting, the New York Times reports. Arkansas United had been doing nonpartisan work translating for Spanish-speaking voters at the polls, but had to mobilize more staff and volunteers to meet the one person - six client limit under the state law. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund represented Arkansas United in the case, and argued that despite the intent of the law to prevent undue influence of voters, it amounted to voter suppression. The judge wrote that election officials could legally collect the addresses and names of any voters assisted during the election, but could no longer limit help to six voters per person providing assistance. He cited Congress' intent to allow the voter to choose who would provide assistance.Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund said to the New York Times, “I do think that there is a stigma, an unfair one, on those who are simply doing their part to assist those who have every right to be able to cast a ballot.”Links to articles and the judge's decision are at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.For the American Democracy Minute, I'm Brian Beihl
Florida's Lieutenant Governor, Jeanette Núñez declared recently that undocumented Cubans in Florida were considered “illegals” and should all be sent to Delaware. The following day, Florida's Governor Desantis refuted her statement and said that undocumented Cubans were considered refugees and would not be going anywhere. All while, simultaneously, sending Florida state troopers to Texas to aid in the profiling of Latinos in border towns. Why? Rick Sanchez claims it to be 100 percent political. Sanchez is joined by attorney Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and they both agree that being anti-immigration is a short-sighted political strategy with long-term consequences.
Labor and immigrant rights activist Victor Narro believes there is a spiritual core within social justice activism from which we can deepen our solidarity with each other. The work for justice is filled with the values attributed to spirituality – love, compassion, empathy for those in need, and a lifetime commitment to bring justice into their lives. His book calls us to integrate that inner spiritual core into our work to make the struggle for justice more compassionate, caring, and sustainable. To be an activist for justice is to love humanity and all of creation. Buy your copy: http://hardballpress.com/fiction--poetry.html About the Author Victor Narro is a nationally known expert on immigrant rights and low-wage workers, Victor Narro has been involved with immigrant rights and labor issues for over 35 years. Currently Project Director for the UCLA Labor Center, Victor's focus is to provide leadership programs for Los Angeles' immigrant workers, policy, legal and organizing campaign planning for unions and worker centers, and internship opportunities for UCLA students. Victor is Core Faculty for the Labor Studies Program at UCLA and Core Faculty for the Public Interest Law Program and Lecturer in Law for the Critical Race Studies Program at UCLA Law School. Victor was formerly the Co-Executive Director of Sweatshop Watch. Prior to that, he was the Workers' Rights Project Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). Before his tenure at CHIRLA, Victor worked in the Los Angeles Regional Office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). For more information, visit https://www.labor.ucla.edu/victor-narro/. The Activist Spirit - Toward a Radical Solidarity is published by Hard Ball Press Tim Sheard is the Executive Editor of Hard Ball Press and is a veteran nurse Timothy Sheard is a writer, publisher, mentor to writers and union organizer with the National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981. After writing 7 mystery novels featuring hospital custodian-shop steward Lenny Moss, he launched Hard Ball Press to help working class people write and publish their stories. Timothy believes that when workers write and tell their stories, they build rank and file solidarity and union power, as well strengthening the fight for social justice solidarity. Their stories help to combat the anti-labor and anti-working class assaults by the One Percent. Hard Ball Press is the premier publisher of working class life. You can watch EML's interview with Tim Sheard here: https://www.empathymedialab.com/post/pandemic-nurse-s-diary-a-tribute-to-healthcare-workers-fighting-covid-19 About Empathy Media Lab The Harmony of Interest Book Talk series interviews authors about their work while exploring ideas that positively shape our world. Empathy Media Lab is produced by Evan Matthew Papp and we are a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network. Support media, authors, artists, historians, and journalists, who are fighting to improve the prosperity of the working class. All Links: https://wlo.link/@empathymedialab
On today's week-in-review, Crystal is joined by a new co-host, political consultant and founding partner at Upper Left Strategies, Seferiana Day. They discuss Corrections Officers and Public Defenders joining forces to demand a reduction in the county jail population to help address their COVID crisis, a new federal redistricting lawsuit alleging the new maps violate the Voting Rights Act, a new survey revealing 78% of Kroger (Fred Meyer & QFC in WA) workers struggle to afford food and shelter, and advice to people considering running for office in 2022. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's co-host, Seferiana Day, at @seferiana. More info is available at officialhacksandwonks.com. Resources “Public Defenders Union Joins Jail Guards' Call to Address COVID Crisis” by Paul Kiefer from PubliCola https://publicola.com/2022/01/17/public-defenders-union-joins-jail-guards-call-to-address-covid-crisis/ “Seattle Police Chief: No more stops for 'low-risk' traffic violations like expired tabs, biking without a helmet” from Capitol Hill Seattle: https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2022/01/seattle-police-chief-no-more-stops-for-low-risk-traffic-violations-like-expired-tabs-biking-without-a-helmet/ “New legislative maps illegally dilute Latino votes in Central Washington, lawsuit says” by Jim Brunner from The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/new-legislative-maps-illegally-dilute-latino-votes-in-central-washington-lawsuit-says/ “Fred Meyer, QFC workers struggle in Washington to make ends meet, new report shows” by David Gutman from The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/fred-meyer-qfc-workers-struggle-in-washington-to-make-ends-meet-new-report-shows/ “WA Supreme Court upholds $18M campaign finance fine against grocery industry group” by Jim Brunner from The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-supreme-court-upholds-18m-campaign-finance-fine-against-grocery-industry-group/ Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspective on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today, we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows where we review the news of the week with a co-host. Welcome to the program for the first time today: our co-host, political consultant and founding partner at Upper Left Strategies, Seferiana Day. Welcome. [00:00:52] Seferiana Day: Hello, thanks for having me. [00:00:54] Crystal Fincher: Hello, hello - excited to have you on the program - a very talented political consultant and highly sought after political consultant. Excited to dive into some of the news of the week. And I guess just starting out, I wanted to talk about news that came out early in the week about the public defenders union joining jail guards to call to address the COVID crisis in the jails in Seattle and Kent that are under county control. Here, there's a huge surge of COVID-19 infections among staff and inmates at the King County jails that actually created this unusual alliance of corrections officers and public defenders, which should tell you how bad the problem is that they're coming together. They sent a joint letter to elected officials in Seattle and King County asking them to immediately intervene to reduce the jail's population and to stem the spread of the virus. One of the quotes from the letter is, "COVID -19 should not be a death sentence for anyone held in jail or anyone working in a jail," the unions wrote. "The stark reality is that if no changes are made, people will continue to get sick and continue to suffer." Paul Kiefer from PubliCola did a great article on this, and just a problem that we've seen before - where people in jail for misdemeanors, petty thefts, pretrial where they have not been convicted of anything, or just waiting to be charged with some simple misdemeanors, and they're basically saying, "If this is not a serious charge, please let them out." What do you see when you look at this? [00:02:44] Seferiana Day: Wow. Well, I'm just shocked, but also not surprised that this is happening in our system. I think it just really points to the fact that this is what's not seen by the general public - who knows what's going on inside the walls of the jail for this to come out. And for this alliance to form just shows the drastic nature of the problem and the fact that we're letting people really just kind of slip into jail. We don't understand what happens behind the door, behind the jail walls, and we almost have this hidden class of people, of citizens, of residents - and it's baffling to me, honestly. [00:03:36] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. I mean our current system - if someone is convicted of something, they're sentenced to a term, but that does not mean that they should be treated inhumanely or left to suffer and die. That's unconstitutional. That is not supposed to happen. And right now you have corrections officers there themselves saying that you're jeopardizing everyone's safety, and asking for four real specific items. In their joint letter, they ask for - one, imposing immediate booking restrictions so that violent offenses are the only ones booked into county jail facilities. Two, stop issuing warrants for misdemeanor and nonviolent offenses. Three, immediately take all necessary steps to improve staffing and workplace safety in the jail. And four, make plans for the immediate release of all misdemeanor and nonviolent offenders. They're being very clear about this and saying that their safety, inmate safety, is at risk - that they cannot continue as they currently are, and enduring these staffing problems that they've been enduring, and just watching needless suffering. Now, this is also happening while Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison has really expressed her intentions to move in literally the exact opposite direction - to more aggressively pursue misdemeanor prosecutions. There was a story by one of the court watch organizations - with great Twitter accounts, by the way, and court watching is very important - but asking for someone who was unhoused, and one of the conditions was that they have home monitoring for two months. But an unhoused person doesn't have a house to do home monitoring in. So because they didn't have a house, they then asked for jail, which is just criminalizing poverty and homelessness once again. And that's exactly the thing that corrections officers are saying that is unsustainable and that doesn't make any sense. And also this week we saw SPD say that they're reconsidering and have moved some new items to the lowest enforcement priority section, so things like low-risk traffic violations for expired tags or biking without a helmet, which David Kroman had done a lot of reporting on at Crosscut - at how that disproportionately impacted unhoused people, that those things, according to the SPD Chief Diaz, quote, "These violations do not have a direct connection to the safety of other individuals on the roads, paths, or sidewalks. We know there are also reasons for concern that these violations may disproportionately fall on those who are unable to meet the financial requirements set forth by law." So, I mean, when you have the SPD chief saying, "Hey, this is basically criminalizing poverty, has nothing to do with public safety. Putting these people in jail doesn't make us any safer - let's actually use our resources on things that do," seems to make a lot of sense, but looks like a lot of tension between the Seattle City Attorney's office, and what SPD just said, and what corrections officers and public defenders are asking for. [00:07:05] Seferiana Day: Yeah. I think it really speaks to just the unprecedented nature of the COVID crisis, that it's almost - I mean, we are two years in, and what is it going to take for us to change our systems? We're seeing them kind of fall apart in front of us, right? And so in prior years, when we've talked about reforms to incarceration or alternatives to incarceration, but it's taking a public health crisis for us to see that we don't need to be convicting these low-level crimes because it really is criminalizing poverty and putting people into jail to basically get COVID and die if they don't have the proper care that they need. [00:07:48] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, no, absolutely. And to your point, this pandemic has really made plain and made worse so many preexisting conditions in society, and just our approach towards punishment and jailing people without connecting that to, "Hey, is this actually making the community safer? Is this helping these people to address the root causes of the problem so that this isn't a revolving door situation and you're setting them up for future problems, like the inability to get a job or the inability to gain housing?" So it really is a challenge. And, again, with our Trump-Republican Seattle City Attorney, with the charge-them-all, jail-them-all attitude, it just seems to fly in the face of what every other entity - law enforcement, those involved in the criminal legal system are saying and what the data shows. So just a mess that I hope is resolved, and we'll certainly be looking to Executive Dow Constantine, the King County Council, Mayor Harrell, and the Seattle City Council to hopefully take meaningful action or do what they can to influence that. Another thing I wanted to touch on were - this week, we saw another lawsuit pop up - don't know how this one is going to end up, but certainly an issue that has been on a lot of people's radar - with the redistricting maps. There is a new lawsuit alleging that the legislative maps illegally dilute Latino votes in Central Washington. There's an article in The Times by Jim Brunner, another one in Crosscut detailing this - we'll put those in the episode notes - but a new lawsuit basically saying that, "Hey, this violates the Federal Voting Rights Act. And they have purposely split and diluted the Latino vote to dilute their power." It's a tactic that we've seen in several areas around the country to gerrymander and to disenfranchise non-white male landowners from voting. And so the lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight Latino and Latina residents of Yakima and Franklin Counties by attorneys with voting rights advocacy groups, including UCLA Voting Rights Project, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Campaign Legal Center, as well as Kennewick attorney Edwardo Morfin. So we will see how this lawsuit turns out. If you're asking me my opinion, I think it has merit. This has been talked about for the entire process through redistricting - that the maps that were proposed - most of them did not look like they adhered to the Voting Rights Act, particularly in Central Washington. What do you think about this? [00:11:12] Seferiana Day: I mean, I think Central Washington, and Yakima in particular, for almost a decade has been kind of the center of a conversation around the Latino vote. And I believe in 2014 when they decided that - also because of a ruling - that they needed to redistrict the City Council races so that it would actually be representative because it's a predominantly Latino city and it was very, very segregated. And I believe a majority of the councilmembers there were white and they were from certain parts of the city. And so, just for a decade, it's been a hot topic of conversation - like who is actually representing this community that is largely Latino. [00:12:04] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. And I mean, it really is a move to create a permanent underclass. I mean, so many Latinos are working on farms there owned by white people who wanted to maintain power. And so they're bringing people there to work for them and to create a profit for them, but not wanting to share any power in how their communities are operated, and in fact operating with hostility towards people who they're bringing in to help them, and not recognizing their full humanity and only viewing them as instruments of profit and really subjugation - to work for them and do nothing else and to eliminate modes of mobility and representation to fight against unfair working conditions. We just saw a summer where farm workers died because they lacked adequate protections from the heat - during record heat. And I look at things like that and look at how so many areas in our system are stacked against them. And this is certainly a foundational one. And so 2004 - Yakima County had to enter into a consent decree with the Justice Department because they would not provide Spanish language voting materials - again, to a population that they court and need in their community. And like you said, in 2014, they were ordered to change their council districts because of that. I mean, just a long history of problems - don't know if this is going to affect timelines or alter the current boundaries. Or even if found successful - is it just going to alter the boundaries in those particular areas while all the other ones stay the same? A lot of unknowns - we'll see how this unfolds. I'm not aware of an anticipated timeline that this may roll out in, so we'll just keep our eyes peeled on what happens here. Another element that we saw this week were Fred Meyer and QFC workers struggling to make ends meet - after a new report - following a survey of grocery workers. What did you see here? [00:14:30] Seferiana Day: Well, I just see the - I guess my biggest question around this is who decides when the pandemic is over? We're seeing kind of a piecemeal approach over the past two years of the pandemic - of hazard pay. In Seattle, we have hazard pay because the City has continued to keep it. But as this article states, Federal Way - that hazard pay lasted three months. And you've got workers across the state who have to go to work to feed their families, and they're being paid minimum wage. And it's just - it's a classic story, really - of corporations doing all they can to pay their workers as little as possible. And these are unionized workers, which to me is surprising, and makes me wonder what can unions do? What can even the public be doing to support these folks who are on the frontlines every day and have been there for the last two years, while many of us are in our homes? I'm working from home often, and these grocery workers are out there on the frontlines. [00:15:47] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. Out there on the frontlines dealing with - I mean, we see the stories everywhere. We see people acting ridiculous, locally and nationally, and that really falling on the back of service workers, grocery workers, people on the frontlines to not only manage their own jobs, but manage people acting ridiculously in their store, and needing to - better de-escalation techniques than police officers is what's being asked of them right now. And it really is a challenge. And specifically, it was a survey of more than 10,000 unionized Kroger workers in the Western US, and 78% are struggling to afford basic necessities like food and shelter. One third of those respondents were from Washington where Kroger owns Fred Meyer and QFC stores. One of the issues is that a lot of them are only working part-time, so minimum wage doesn't cut it, and full-time barely. I mean, it's ticking up, but it certainly is far behind inflation and what the cost of living has been. And so to then be working 18 or 20 hours a week and to not know what that schedule is going to be - a city like Seattle has some scheduling regulations, but other cities do not. So someone who came in getting more hours and that can just be cut back and cut down - there's a lot of financial insecurity and everything that results from that. And so this is just kind of a glimpse into - even in a unionized workplace, there are still things that need to be improved. And one of the things that we see, and a worker says in here, is, "Hey, our union did negotiate benefits and some of them start at a certain amount of hours per week, but they keep scheduling us below that amount of hours, so they don't have to pay more and so we don't make enough money." That's a challenge. And I know in that article, it also said that a new contract is going to be negotiated in May - I think it was local UFCW Chapter 21, I think it was, and that they're going to be looking for significant improvements. And I don't know the details, but certainly before the pandemic, I recall a lot of grocery stores talking about how hard times were, how challenging things were. And so in those negotiated contracts, it probably reflected that. Pandemic happened and things got much more dangerous for workers, but wow, the profits skyrocketed in grocery stores and that has not been shared with the workforce. And so just hearing about how just swimming in cash Kroger has been, how incredibly profitable they have been, and the kinds of bonuses that their executives are getting - and then hearing that a majority, a vast majority of their workforce is food-insecure, shelter-insecure, some are actually on public assistance, which basically means that the public is subsidizing the exploitative work practices of this employer. If they're not paying enough, they're just saying, "We expect taxpayers to pick up the bill and to subsidize our profit." It's not like they don't have the money. They're just keeping the money for themselves and expecting us to backfill it. And it just doesn't seem to make much sense. [00:19:30] Seferiana Day: Right. And this article talks about how the CEO himself brought in $22 million in 2020 - which is double the five years before, 909x more than the median employee at Kroger, that brought in $24,000. And that is the same for every corporation in America - that is the situation that we're seeing. And that is the inequality that's just being perpetuated by the pandemic - those that have to go to work every day and work for minimum wage at risk, risking their health. While you have "professional" workers able to work from home, able to keep their jobs, work in the comfort of their home and not be at risk, and continue making more money. And there's just a growing inequality there. [00:20:33] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. Growing inequality, growing resentment, growing intolerance of it, because it really just seems like a callous, cold-hearted exploitation. And to a point you made earlier, trying to pretend the pandemic is over. And the pandemic keeps saying, "Pretend all you want. You're going to have to contend with me," as everyone at schools and businesses and looking at products that are having a hard time shipping because the supply chain problem is not this abstract thing. It's people are not there in the places to get goods from one place to another. It's people who are missing there - people who are sick, people who are taking care of family members, people who can't afford to stay at a job, can't afford childcare. These are people missing in this supply chain problem. So it is really offensive to think about everything we're trying to address in society and the revenue that we need, and so much of it is going to directly and indirectly subsidize these corporations who are not struggling. They're more profitable than they've ever been before, and it just seems absolutely backwards. And this comes in a week where the Supreme Court upheld a judgment against the grocery industry, because while they were fighting it - they fought against hero pay while they're bringing in these record profits, and they fought against a food labeling initiative years ago and sought to cover up who was actually funding it. And just had a record fine of $18 million upheld by the Washington State Supreme Court because they spent more than $11 million and tried to hide that it was coming from Coca-Cola, and General Mills, Nestle - a big coordinated campaign that they tried to make it seem like it was Ma and Pa, locally-owned grocers. And they seem to have deep, unending pockets when it comes to fighting anything that would give their workers a couple more bucks and allow them to reliably feed and house themselves. And will spend tens of millions of dollars of doing that, raking in tens of millions of dollars in profit, and just doesn't make any sense. It would be cheaper to just pay them. But for some reason, that seems like a big problem. Anyhoo, we will move on from that, but we will also continue to keep an eye on what's happening there. And also hope that those UFCW 21 negotiations in May are very fruitful. So I want to talk a little bit now just about where we find ourselves in this election cycle. You're a political consultant, as am I - lots of candidates are considering running for office. Every legislative district has elections this year. People are electing all of their representatives, some of their senators - all of their senators. And we'll see some open seats - as we've seen, there will be some challenges to incumbents, I assume, as we see every year. So in this time when people are considering running, what is the advice that you give to potential candidates as they're considering whether to actually go ahead and run? [00:24:23] Seferiana Day: Yeah, I would say we work with a lot of first-time candidates. We work with a lot of candidates of color. We work with a lot of candidates who are more on the progressive, maybe a little more radical, spectrum or end of the spectrum. And I would say that one of the first things that I tell candidates that I work with who maybe haven't run before is that - even if you've been an advocate, you're about to enter electoral politics, which is a different beast. It's really about - I think there can be a tension between telling your story and being authentic to who you are and what your values and vision are, and kind of marrying that with the electoral process - which because the topics we talked about earlier around voter suppression, the lack of representation on a really systemic level - we're really trying to cater our message to people who vote, people who have access to voting. Which can sometimes go against kind of what you really - what you really dream of is that you're going to be able to turn out the youth vote, people of color to vote - and I think in reality, we're often trying to give that message to moderates, depending on the seat. And I think this year we're looking at a prosecutor's race, which is countywide. We're looking at these legislative races where it's going to be a very important year. I think I'm nervous - seeing how we can maintain our majorities. And so it's really important that we're sending that message out to all voters. And I tell my candidates to really be ready to be authentic with themselves, but also to have conversations with folks that they may not agree with, and that it's important to talk to everyone, it's important to get your message out there. [00:26:27] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. I think that's right on. And for me, I think - I certainly tell people, "Hey, this is going to be different than something that you've done before." I really try and help people understand where they are and what they believe. And it's okay not to have all of the answers today, but kind of have a framework that you process information and policy through, or your own ideology. But really, elections are not about the candidate, they're about the voters and potential voters - people in the community. And your job is to connect with them and to communicate with them in the way that they receive information, which may be different than how they're used to delivering it. And also voting is not a - as much as we like to think that it is, it is not a logical decision. It's an emotional decision, and people need to feel some kind of connection with you that you understand where they're coming from. And even if they don't agree with you completely - if they feel that you care about making their lives better, they'll hear you out, and they'll give you a fair shot most of the time. But getting your message to them is a challenge and oftentimes an expensive one. And doing the work to get those resources in to effectively communicate with people, enough people to win, is work. And so to be prepared for the work of campaigning, which may even - to your point, like someone who's been organizing for a long time, or an advocate for a long time, who has been around politics but hasn't run themselves, may have expectations of like, "Oh, I've done this before." And it isn't the same. Some of it is different. And so it's just important to know that. And elections are weird and strange also. And so having people who have been through it to help you along - having a solid consultant is just really useful because there are a lot of weird things. There are a lot of things that are gate-kept. You look at our national election system - you look at what it takes to get on ballots, and it is not easy. There are tons of rules and regulations with campaign finance rules and everything with our PDC here, the SEEC in Seattle - you need people in your corner to keep you from falling into just weird little traps that would trap someone if you don't have someone actively saying, "Watch out for this." So it's just a serious time commitment. It's not always fun. It's a lot of sitting on the phone. It's a lot of knocking on doors. And a lot of monotony to be prepared for it, but you then get to represent people. And that's when the real work starts. As hard as a campaign can be, actually being accountable for making those decisions is in many ways harder than the campaigning. So it's an interesting and challenging thing. You have successfully guided a lot of candidates through that process, particularly when it comes to, I guess, a couple of things. I mean, so both sitting here as consultants, as non-white consultants, and how, I guess, in terms of working with candidates of color and with white candidates - do people approach you differently with both of those? [00:30:29] Seferiana Day: You mean do candidates approach me differently? [00:30:32] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:30:33] Seferiana Day: Oh, yes. I would say, and there are times when I'm shocked because sometimes white candidates will rush over to us and want to work with us. And candidates of color are sometimes doubtful, to be perfectly honest. And I think that's hard. I think it can be really hard to know that we still after - this is our fifth year, we're entering into our fifth year - that we still have to prove ourselves, especially among candidates of color who expect a white consultant to kind of know what to do and they trust them. And I'm not saying that's every candidate of color. Obviously, we work with many, but I've encountered that as a woman consultant of color - that there's often doubt. And it goes unsaid - you kind of feel it. You're like, "Oh. They doubt the expertise. They doubt the experience and the perspective." And so you're always kind of trying to make up for that doubt that exists because I'm young and I'm Brown, and so yeah, I think that you do get approached differently. And I think as consultants of color, it's often assumed that we're the social media consultant or we're the [crosstalk] experts. And we have to remind people that we're general consultants - we do it all. And yeah, and it's kind of a constant, I would say, dialogue with folks just to remind them, like, "We know what we're doing." [00:32:13] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. I mean, yes, that is definitely a thing. And I mean, we've talked about this a little bit before just in general conversation, but yeah, it's a weird thing. And I've experienced this off and on for the past 10 years where, yeah, sometimes candidates of color will be like, "Well, I think it's safer for me to go with a white consultant," and man, that's a loaded word - safer - and really the advice to candidates a lot of the time that I give, that I stand by, is, "Look to consultants who win races like the one you're looking to go into." That should be your primary lens and consideration. Can they win competitive races? Or is it a lot of incumbents? Are they working with candidates of color? Are they having races where they're looking like things are ahead and the polling looked good at one time, and then things just continued to decline? What is the track record of the consultant that you're looking at? And one of the good things about Black consultants, consultants of color in Washington, is the track records often speak for themselves, but it is a weird dynamic - that feeling like, "Well..." I think some of it is, "People might not give me a fair shake as a Black candidate with a Black consultant. So if I have a white consultant, they can do the work of talking to the community or something." It's a weird thing. [00:33:50] Seferiana Day: [crosstalk] [00:33:51] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. And again, not with all candidates, but it has been a thing that has certainly happened, and it is a strange dynamic. And then sometimes I will get, I've actually gotten a ton, where white candidates will assume that I only work with candidates of color. And I don't do many candidate races anymore, but when I was, it would just be like, "Well, you work in urban areas," or, "You work with urban candidates or just candidates of color or something." It's like, okay, most of the work and candidates I did were in suburban and rural areas and really winning races in the places where, frankly, a lot of white consultants didn't want to work or feel like it was profitable to work. And so it's just like, well, I'm kind of a suburban and rural person more than I am the super inside the city, in terms of winning elections. But it's just this weird thing, the assumption that people have. And certainly like you said, "Well, we want another general consultant, but you can do social media. Well, you do." It's just like, "What would make you think that I would just want to... No, that's not what... Unless you're going to pay me something that you're not going to be happy paying someone doing just social media, I don't know what that's going to accomplish," but it's an interesting thing. I think generally at this point, candidates are just well-served by making sure their teams represent their community and all that that is, and that you have visibility into as many areas in your community - as many communities, organizations, interests - have a connection and visibility to those, have a broad cabinet. If everyone is saying the same thing, that's a red flag. If everyone is talking in the exact same way, that's a red flag, right? You need to make sure that you're able to hear, see, listen to everyone in your community, because solving for all of those problems only will give them confidence in you as a candidate. If you don't even see them, if you can't have a conversation in a way that they could hear, those are votes that you're not getting and that may hinder you from running. But we'll see, it's not an easy process. It can be rewarding if this is what you really want. Have this be what you really want, have this be an office that you really want to seek. Offices are different. Some people love legislative positions, and that's really where they can excel and make a big difference, others more on the municipal level or on a county level, but be intentional about what you choose, if you're considering it. And man, go to trainings. Please get trained. Please get some real information from people who've been there and done that. And it utilizes a number of elements in organizing and certainly governing. Good governing includes good organizing, but the nuts and bolts of campaigns are not identical to that of kind of organizing to help educate a community or shift opinion over a long term, which is valid and necessary. Campaigns are just a little different. And so you just have to be prepared for that. [00:37:39] Seferiana Day: I agree. And I think one last note that I have is just around authenticity and that that's - if someone's considering running - thinking about who can I work with, what team can I build around me that's going to let me be authentic to who I am so I don't lose myself in the campaign? Because when people are voting - yes, campaigns are - it's different than being in office, but when people vote for you, they're going to want to know that you're going to be the same person elected that you were on the campaign trail. And so having a team around you that will let you speak to your values and vision is really important. [00:38:17] Crystal Fincher: Really important. And I'm glad you said that, and it is a red flag if someone is telling you, "Oh, just say this." That will never work. You have to believe what you are saying. If you don't, it's going to show, you're going to have a hard time being consistent with it. You're going to have to get used to talking to people and being able to disagree with them - it sounds so cliché - disagree with them without being disagreeable, have a conversation. I mean, I guess there are some times where it's fine to be disagreeable when you disagree with someone. But if we're not debating someone's personal identity or dignity, and it's details in a proposal or something, you can disagree, it's fine. And have those conversations. But you have to know where you stand and you have to be consistent with that. And if someone is telling you that you don't have to be, that's a red flag. So just as people are considering - please do consider - we need more people running for office who represent more of the community. But just please make an educated, informed decision. Get a good consultant - Seferiana and Upper Left are good consultants, there are a number of good consultants out there, but definitely get one. Do some campaign trainings, really understand what you're getting into so you can adequately prepare for it. Those who come in prepared just have such an advantage when it comes to winning. There's so much that you have to do in a campaign and figuring out campaigning during a campaign - you just can't afford to do it. It just takes up too much time and resources. So thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing your wisdom. Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM this Friday, January 21st, 2022. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler and assistant producer is Shannon Cheng. And our wonderful co-host today was political consultant and founding partner at Upper Left Strategies, Seferiana Day. You can find her on Twitter @seferiana, that's S-E-F-E-R-I-A-N-A. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii. Now you can follow Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Just type "Hacks & Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave us a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you next time.
The California Community Foundation is dedicated to finding systemic solutions to the biggest issues facing Los Angeles County by addressing the root causes. The foundation gives grants to nonprofit organizations throughout LA that help with poverty, homelessness and racial inequities, and its president and CEO is uniquely equipped to handle her role. Antonia Hernandez tells host Giselle Fernandez she was raised in the Maravilla projects and called derogatory names in school all because she came from Mexico. Determined to prove everyone wrong, she went on to graduate from UCLA's school of law, serve as the head of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and become the first Latina staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee under former Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Less than a week after the Texas legislature's special session on redistricting, there is already a lawsuit challenging the state's new maps. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Vice President of Litigation Nina Perales explains the suit. Then, Fort Worth City Councilmember Chris Nettles, who was elected in the spring as one of five new council members, explains his different approach as a council member as opposed to an activist.
Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, recently spoke about the implications of the 2020 Census on redistricting for South Texas and the border region.Perales, who has litigated on behalf of Latino communities in two previous redistricting cycles, spoke at a board meeting of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.Perales said the loss of population in rural parts of Texas and the growth in its urban and suburban parts, as shown by Census 2020, was incredible.Perales said: “We have a new and very different picture of Texas than we had before, even a decade before. The population changes are quite stunning, in fact. There is widespread and consistent loss of population in rural areas in Texas and at the same time really extraordinary population gain in Texas in large cities and suburbs. I have never seen a pattern like this and this is my third round of redistricting with MALDEF.”Editor's Note: The attached podcast features Perales' remarks at the LRGVDC meeting. To read the full story in the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, click here.
Check out the Entire ArticleIn recent years, NEA has also contributed money to a wide variety of leftwing advocacy groups, including: ACORN, the AFL-CIO, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Campaign for America's Future, the Center for Community Change, the Children's Defense Fund, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Democracy Alliance, the Economic Policy Institute, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the Human Rights Campaign, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the National Partnership for Women & Families, the National Urban League, the National Women's Law Center, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Service Employees International Union, the Sierra Club, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, USAction, the Voter Participation Center (formerly called Women's Voices-Women's Vote), and the WAND Education Fund.In the 2008 and 2010 election-campaign seasons, the NEA gave a combined total of more than $15.3 million in Support the show (https://www.parentsrightsined.com/support-the-cause.html)
Over a 20-year-plus career as a pro-bono attorney, Alma Silva has worked with La Raza and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, served as an associate with the law firm Connerton, Ray, and Simon, and has served two terms as an alumni representative to Stanford's El Centro Chicano Guiding Concilio.
Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine podcast (consumer distribution)
• Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund's Thomas Saenz: Joe Biden's Immigration Reform Proposals Will Test Prospects for Bipartisanship• Journalist and author Mike Giglio: After the Deadly Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection, Pro-Trump Militias Ponder Their Future• DCVote's Bo Shuff: Statehood Campaign Demands Political Representation for 700,000 Washington, D. C. Residents• Bob Nixon's Under-reported News Summary- Uganda’s Museveni clings to power—but troubles lie ahead- Wall Street eyes billions in Colorado River- Superfund toxic cleanup needed for public housing
Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine (Broadcast-affiliate version)
• Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund's Thomas Saenz: Joe Biden's Immigration Reform Proposals Will Test Prospects for Bipartisanship• Journalist and author Mike Giglio: After the Deadly Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrection, Pro-Trump Militias Ponder Their Future• DCVote's Bo Shuff: Statehood Campaign Demands Political Representation for 700,000 Washington, D. C. Residents• Bob Nixon's Under-reported News Summary- Uganda’s Museveni clings to power—but troubles lie ahead- Wall Street eyes billions in Colorado River- Superfund toxic cleanup needed for public housing
*Assessing Joe Biden's Immigration Reform Proposals Thomas A. Saenz, Pres & Gen Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense& Educational Fund MALDEF Producer: Scott Harris *After the Failed January 6th Capitol Insurrection, What's Next for Pro-Trump Militias? Mike Giglio, journalist, and author of “Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate” Producer: Scott Harris * Statehood Campaign Demands Political Representation for 700,000 Washington, D. C. Residents Bo Shuff, Executive Director of DC Vote Producer: Melinda Tuhus
When does the definition of a “person” become contentious? The mandate to “count all persons” includes undocumented immigrants. But some are trying to exclude them as people in the current census. It starts with a constitutionally mandated decennial census count that says the census must count “all persons” living in the U.S. and that count leads to how 435 seats in the US House of Representatives apportioned among our 50 states. But in 2020 this is the first time that a president has intervened in this process by attempting to subtract, rather than count, all persons. Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF-the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund- walks us through President Trump’s unprecedented executive memo and issues a collective call to action.
200 years ago all the inhabitants of at least one village in India disappeared overnight. What could possibly cause 1500 people to vanish so suddenly? Regardless of the cause, the town is now thought to be incredibly haunted by spirits and evil creatures alike. Join us for a creepy over seas tour of Kuldhara, India's Roanoke.Don't forget to check out this week's spotlight, The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund at https://www.maldef.org/Featured trailers were from Nopeville Podcast https://linktr.ee/nopeville and Inconceivable Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inconceivable/id1524369931If you'd like to support the show, you can buy us a beer at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/drinkdrunkdeadBecome a donor on Patreon or purchase merch atMerch Use our special TeePublic link to purchase merch & help support our show at the same time!Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/drinkdrunkdead)
Many recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program collectively took a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the program last week. But the state of uncertainty that “Dreamers” live in is far from over. Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund , dissect the high court’s decision and discuss what comes next.
This week, New Mexico in Focus interviews Thomas Saenz, the national president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Saenz has been a key figure in the Martínez/Yazzie v. State of New Mexico lawsuit, the case that is forcing the state to improve the education it provides for certain groups of students. Recently, both groups of plaintiffs asked the court to set more strict deadlines for the state to prove it’s making progress. Correspondent Russell Contreras speaks with Saenz about what’s ahead in the case. New Mexico in Focus takes a hard look at crime’s effect on young people with Albuquerque filmmaker John Acosta, whose documentary “Growing Up in the Real Breaking Bad” aims to raise awareness about youth violence. NMiF host Gene Grant interviews Acosta, who is joined by a group of young activists who say policymakers need to listen and try a different approach to addressing the problem. In a repeat showing of Our Land from August, correspondent Laura Paskus travels to the Gila National Forest for an in-depth report on the battle over the Gila River. In the intervening months there have been new updates on the project, and NMiF host Gene Grant sits down with Paskus to discuss these developments.
San Francisco's closely watched District Attorney's race remains too close to call. Scott and Marisa discuss how the contest fits into the growing attention paid to local prosecutor elections and analyze the rest of the SF election results (0:39). Then, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund President Thomas Saenz joins to discuss the lead-up to the passage of Proposition 187 in 1994, the legal strategy that MALDEF used to defeat the measure in court, and the political and legal repercussions of the initiative, 25 years later (7:00).
Mon. 10/14 7p: Espejos de Aztlán features an exclusive interview with Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) President, Dr. Thomas A. Saenz. Dr. Saenz sat down with Espejos De Aztlán hosts, Froilan Orozco, Moi Santos, & Rafael Alejandro to talk about important ongoing cases in immigration, education, and labor rights.
Supreme Court Ruling Ends Trump Drive to Include Citizenship Question in 2020 US Census; Thomas A. Saenz, pres & gen counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund MALDEF; Producer: Scott Harris. * Roots Action Encourages Challenges to Incumbent Corporate Democrats; Jeff Cohen, media critic and co-founder of the online activist group RootsAction.org; Producer: Scott Harris. * Rallies Nationwide Protest Trump’s Punitive Immigration Policies; Rev.Vicky Flippin, pastor First & Summerfield United Methodist Church; Anghy Idrovo, CT Students for a Dream; Producer: Melinda Tuhus.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund was founded 50 years ago to defend the rights of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. We explored some of the organization’s victories with Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the organization (01:02). And, a new play is shedding a light on some Latino Vietnam veterans who have gone unaccounted for decades (16:45).
Long-time Democratic activist and author Thomas B. Reston says the Democratic Party has lost its way and lost its soul over the past generation or more. In his book, “Soul of a Democrat: Seven Core Ideals that Made our Party and Our Country – Great,” Reston claims that the party has lost its focus and it has jettisoned old philosophies that historically sparked the electorate. He cites the Presidential Election of 2016 as an example. He gives reasons for the party’s lackluster recent performances and outlines suggestions on how it can right itself. Reston claims that Democrats spend too much time running against and attacking Donald Trump and not enough time and effort crafting a messages that would resonate with voters. Instead of developing a unifying message that would appeal to the whole electorate, he claims Democrats also spend too much time and effort targeting specific blocs of voters and tailoring a number of messages to appeal to those individual blocs. He asserts that President Trump, as a candidate, espoused messages that took many traditional Democratic voters away from the party. Reston says Democrats need to get back to seven basic ideals: 1) Stand for the individual common person; 2) Fight for all outsiders; 3) Honor today’s secular altruism; 4) Making the ideas and ideals of the party understandable to everyone; 5) Bolster economic security for all; 6) Return to a pragmatic and idealistic foreign policy; and 7) Support the ongoing struggle for civil rights. In his book, he uses historical references to individuals who are mainstays of the Democratic Party to make his points -- people like Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Reston has spent his life in politics. He has worked for eight presidential campaigns and countless state and local elections. He was twice the Secretary of the Democratic Party of Virginia and was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Jimmy Carter. He also is a strong civil rights advocate. He has twice been Chair of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).
Brent Wilkes is the former CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and a lifelong advocate for Latino rights. We discuss what fair and comprehensive immigration could be, the positive impact of immigrant labor in the US economy, and how we can demand sound immigration policy at the ballot box. Our economy depends on immigrant labor Immigrants are doing some of the hardest jobs in America for the lowest amount of pay, such as producing food, building houses, and providing care. Labor abuse is common with undocumented workers, as their status makes them particularly vulnerable. Providing a path to legalization for these individuals is the least we can do. Comprehensive immigration reform The goal is to help out-of-status residents, those who work hard and contribute to the economy, to get right with the law. Three major focus areas are: the Dreamers, children who were brought to the US by their parents as minors; the agricultural sector, which produces major exports to the rest of the world and is a traditional employer of immigrants; and the rest are laborers in other industries, such as care giving or construction. Voter turnout is the answer Immigrants have historically come to America from all over the world to pursue their dreams. We need to remember that our ancestors were once immigrants too, and be more welcoming to those who are pursuing the American dream today. The best way to win on immigration and encourage people to vote is to raise awareness, talk to people who are different than you, and show them that they are included in the process. Find out more: Brent Wilkes is the former CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). He was recently given the Lifetime Achievement, Excellence in Community Service Award by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Every ten years, the federal government conducts the census of all people in the United States. The stakes are extraordinarily high, particularly in light of the push to include questions about citizenship. The tally determines everything from the allocation of congressional seats and the shape of legislative districts, to the flow of vast amounts of government funds. Political pressure is especially high this time, as demographic change transforms the country. In all, it's a potential crisis looming ahead – with huge ramifications for civil rights and government policy for years to come. How could budgetary constraints, new and untested technologies, and potential political interference create obstacles to an accurate count? What are the steps engaged organizations and individuals can take to increase the likelihood of a successful census? Join civil rights leader Vanita Gupta, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Wendy Weiser, Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Joseph J. Salvo, Director of the NYC Department of Planning's Population Division, to unpack the many questions and challenges of the upcoming census. They will spotlight work that litigators are doing to bolster the health of the census and ensure the decisions that will impact our society in political and economic ways are made are based on honest and accurate calculations. Vanita Gupta, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Joseph J. Salvo, Director, Population Division of the NYC Department of Planning Wendy Weiser, Director, Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Every ten years, the federal government conducts the census of all people in the United States. The stakes are extraordinarily high, particularly in light of the push to include questions about citizenship. The tally determines everything from the allocation of congressional seats and the shape of legislative districts, to the flow of vast amounts of government funds. Political pressure is especially high this time, as demographic change transforms the country. In all, it's a potential crisis looming ahead – with huge ramifications for civil rights and government policy for years to come. How could budgetary constraints, new and untested technologies, and potential political interference create obstacles to an accurate count? What are the steps engaged organizations and individuals can take to increase the likelihood of a successful census? Join civil rights leader Vanita Gupta, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Wendy Weiser, Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Joseph J. Salvo, Director of the NYC Department of Planning's Population Division, to unpack the many questions and challenges of the upcoming census. They will spotlight work that litigators are doing to bolster the health of the census and ensure the decisions that will impact our society in political and economic ways are made are based on honest and accurate calculations. Vanita Gupta, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Joseph J. Salvo, Director, Population Division of the NYC Department of Planning Wendy Weiser, Director, Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Nikolai DiPippa, Clinton School Director of Public Programs, sat down with Mickey Ibarra. Mickey Ibarra is president of the Ibarra Strategy Group, a government relations and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. He is the founder and chairman of the Latino Leaders Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to “Bringing Leaders Together” to establish relationships, build unity, and share personal stories. He is a member of the Ibarra Foundation Board of Directors and completed six years of service on the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund Board. Appointed Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House in 1997, Mr. Ibarra served as a member of the President’s senior staff. His role was to build support for the President’s policy initiatives and to coordinate outreach to state and local leaders on a broad range of issues. His new book published in 2017 by Arte Publico Press, “Latino Leaders Speak: Personal Stories of Struggle and Triumph,” features 33 keynote addresses delivered at the Latino Leaders Luncheon Series since 2004.
Bio Here to discuss net neutrality and sexual health is Leslie Kantor, PhD, MPH (@lesliekantor), Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Vice President of Education. Dr. Kantor is a widely respected leader in the field of sexual and reproductive health, with over two decades of experience in sex education. Since arriving at PPFA, Dr. Kantor has led efforts to develop innovative, technology-based approaches to sex education, partnered with affiliates to strengthen programs and evaluation, served as a national spokesperson, and spearheaded PPFA's policy efforts related to sex education. Dr. Kantor has extensive experience training professionals as well as expertise in working directly with children, adolescents, young adults and parents throughout the United States. Ms. Kantor appears frequently in the media speaking about sexual and reproductive health and has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, the Associated Press, The Daily Show with John Stewart, the CBS Evening News, NY1News and the Today Show. In addition, she is a member of the faculty at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University where she teaches “Pedagogy of Sexuality Education.” Dr. Kantor's scholarly articles have appeared in journals such as Sexuality Research and Social Policy, the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and the Journal of the American Medical Women's Association and she has published book chapters on adolescent sexual development and sexuality in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Sixth Edition and Epidemiology of Women's Health. She is a member of the editorial review board for the journal Sex Education. Dr. Kantor has received two prestigious awards from the American Public Health Association (APHA) —the Early Career Award for Excellence from the Population, Reproduction and Sexual Health section and the APHA Jay S. Drotman Memorial Award which is awarded to a public health professional who has “challenged public health practice in a creative and positive manner.” In 2011, the Association of Planned Parenthood Leaders in Education (APPLE) awarded Ms. Kantor their prestigious “Golden Apple” award for leadership in the field of sexuality education. Dr. Kantor has served on the boards of directors of several of the major organizations in the field of sexual health including the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and Answer. She is a past board member of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and chaired their board committee on community education and leadership development for several years. Dr. Kantor holds a BA magna cum laude from Barnard College, a master's in public health (MPH) from the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, and a PhD from the Columbia University School of Social Work. She is also the mother of a teenage son. Resources Planned Parenthood Planned Parenthood's Statement on Net Neutrality and Sexual Health Planned Parenthood's Chat Tool Reproductive Justice: An Introduction by Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger (University of California Press, 2017) News Roundup House passes FISA surveillance renewal The House of Representatives voted last week to renew the statute that grants U.S. spy agencies sweeping powers to surveil foreign nationals. The statute--Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act--is set to expire at the end of January. President Trump introduced uncertainty as lawmakers negotiated the renewal by sending conflicting tweets, which first opposed the renewal and then appeared to support it. Now the bill heads to the Senate where Democrat Ron Wyden as well as Republican Rand Paul, have vowed to filibuster the bill out of concern for the fact that American citizens' data are often swept into surveillance requests when they communicate with individuals outside the U.S. The bill would renew the surveillance program until 2023. Jeff Bezos donates $33 Million for DREAMER college scholarships Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is donating $33 million in college scholarships for DREAMERS--undocumented high school graduates in the U.S. The grant will fund $33,000 worth of tuition for 1,000 students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status. Bezos indicated in a statement that his father came to the U.S. from Cuba when he was 16 years old and unable to speak English. Facebook overhauls newsfeed You'll be seeing a lot fewer ads and news stories on Facebook. The social media company announced last week that it is tweaking its news feed to emphasize content from its users' family and friends. Some are skeptical that this will have any effect on fake and misleading news appearing on the site. Popular articles shared by family and friends would still rise to the top of the news feed if they get enough engagements. Mike Isaac reports in the New York Times. Trend Micro warns the Senate about Russian hackers A new Trend Micro report warns about the ongoing threat of Russian hackers. The report states that the same Russian hackers who broke into the Democratic Party during last year's election are still at work. This time they are attempting to access the private emails of U.S. Senators. The Associated Press has more. Intel promises more transparency Intel CEO Bryan Krzanich wrote an open letter last week promising that Intel will be much more transparent going forward about the way its processors are performing. Krzanich wrote the letter in the wake of revelations that Intel's processors had two major security flaws affecting countless computers worldwide. In the meantime, Intel is facing at least 3 class-action lawsuits stemming from the security flaws. Tom Warren reports in the Verge and Samuel Gibbs reports for the Guardian. FCC halts its review of Sinclair/Tribune Reuters reports that the FCC has decided to pause the 180-day transaction clock on Sinclair Broadcast's acquisition of Tribune Media. The agency said that it needs to be able to "fully review" some station divestitures Sinclair will be making. These would include the 10 stations that Fox wants to purchase from Sinclair.
How do you represent your community in Washington, when it’s been said that Washington stopped representing the people a long time ago? Sam Jammal, the son of Arab and Latino immigrants, and candidate for Congress in southern California’s 39th congressional district, joins the pod to discuss why running for something can help restore our trust and values in the American Dream. Jammal is a lawyer and candidate for Orange County’s 39th Congressional District. As the son of Latino and Arab American immigrant parents who came to this country to work hard and build a better life, Sam worked his way through high school, college and law school. He has spent his entire career fighting to improve his community and is committed to building a better future for the next generation. Sam most recently worked as a Manager and Attorney at Tesla and, before that, as a Director at SolarCity. Prior to joining the clean energy movement, Sam was a Chief of Staff in Congress and served in the Obama Administration as a presidential appointee at the Department of Commerce. Sam began his career as a civil rights attorney at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. ______________________________________________________________ There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough. “American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office. If political commentary, having your say, and America matter to you — you’re going to love this podcast. “American Enough” and MouthMedia Network do not necessarily support nor endorse any specific candidate for elected office.
Sam Jammal, Democratic candidate for California's 39th Congressional District, joins Jordan Valerie on the podcast to discuss his work at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, in Congress, and as an Obama appointee to the Department of Commerce. Key topics include how campaigning needs to change as our nation continues to diversify, and his views on immigration as a first-generation Arab-Latino-American.
When Texas governor Greg Abbott went on Facebook Live to sign Senate Bill 4 on May 7, it took many by surprise, including many Texans who have been fighting against the bill. To opponents of SB 4, the new bill is just a more subtle version of Arizona's anti-immigrant SB 1070 bill. Tony Diaz and Celina Moreno join us to talk about SB 4 and what it means for the Lone Star State. Tony is an original Rebelde based in Houston and Celina is an attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Photo by Marco Galaviz Luna
in which i present some things artists can do in response to the 2016 election, SPECIFICALLY GETTING INVOLVED AND CONTINUING TO MAKE ART other things referenced: 2016 Mobbies - http://www.baltimoresun.com/about/social-sun/bal-mobbies-2016-voting-htmlstory.html President-Elect Trump: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rSDUsMwakI Holy Fuck Now What - http://www.holyfucktheelection.com/ Human Rights Campaign - http://www.hrc.org/ American Civil Liberties Union - https://www.aclu.org/ Planned Parenthood - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ Center for Reproductive Rights - https://www.reproductiverights.org/ Natural Resources Defense Council - https://www.nrdc.org/ International Refugee Assistance Project - http://www.refugeerights.org/ NAACP Legal Defense Fund - http://naacplegaldefensefund.org/landing/support/join-the-fight.php?track=gbrbr&gclid=CjwKEAiAsMXBBRD71KWOh6fcjRwSJAC5CNE1wkC8l_plPrFQrXBGSg3r4mJ099TS6X_kj0ibYhClchoCzGrw_wcB The Trevor Project - http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund - http://www.maldef.org/ ProPublica - https://www.propublica.org/ Oh Crap! Now What? Survival Guide - http://www.theworldisaterribleplace.com/ohcrap/ "We're His Problem Now" calling list - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/174f0WBSVNSdcQ5_S6rWPGB3pNCsruyyM_ZRQ6QUhGmo/htmlview?usp=sharing&sle=true National Endowment for the Arts grants - https://www.arts.gov/grants Americans for the Arts funding resources - http://www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/funding-resources The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grants database - https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/ my big long list of residencies - https://docs.google.com/document/d/18xqN-h7MLDrcjT-EM64h4MTHEklAKTiUmPYcacoshZ8/edit?usp=sharing how to talk to your members of Congress so they listen - http://weleavehome.tumblr.com/post/153151106973/weavemama-here-are-some-tips-on-how-to-further WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE SOMEONE BEING HARASSED - http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2016-6-november-december/green-life/what-do-if-you-see-someone-being-harassed
At the American Bar Association’s Midyear Meeting, there was a discussion about Evenwel v. Abbott, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that will determine the constitutionality of a Texas legislative redistricting plan that could have extensive implications if the state’s approach is overturned. In this episode of Special Reports, Laurence Colletti interviews presenters Dr. John Eastman and Thomas Saenz about Evenwel v. Abbott, the issues of voting rights and federalism, and the impact of Justice Scalia’s death on this important case. Eastman and Saenz then debate their opposing viewpoints on how to redistrict: according to population or according to eligible voters in a given district. Dr. John Eastman, from the Chapman University Fowler School of Law in Orange, California, is a former Supreme Court Law Clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas. In 1999 he founded the Center for Constitutional Jurist Prudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute. Their mission is to recover the principles of the American Founding in their Constitutional Jurist Prudence. Thomas Saenz is president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national civil rights legal organization whose mission is to promote the civil and constitutional rights of all latinos living in the United States. They focus on the areas of employment, education, immigrant rights, and voting rights.
What is the state of Latino voting rights in the state of Texas and beyond? What's happening with the never-ending redistricting litigation in San Antonio, raising questions about whether Texas discriminated against Latino voters and others? Has the demise of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act thanks to the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder hurt minority voters? On Episode 5 of the ELB Podcast, we talk to Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and one of the country's leading voting rights lawyers.
Fronteras: U.S. Customs and Border Protection is undergoing a shakeup following intense scrutiny over the Border Patrol’s use of force. Waves of unaccompanied Latino minors continue to make their way to Texas. What happens after they get here? The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is suing Texas, claiming the state has violated the civil rights of English language learners.
A lecture focused on the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 bringing together a panel of speakers as part of the Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Lecture Series on Equality and Justice in America. The event is hosted by Sonia Jarvis, Visiting Associate Professor and sitting Ackerman chair. The lecture focuses on the value and justice of voting rights as well as the challenges America still faces 40 years after the passing of this legislation. Stan Altman, Dean of the School of Public Affairs introduces Marian Engleman, granddaughter of Lillie and Nathan Ackerman. Sonia Jarvis introduces the panelists: Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR); Debo Adegbile, Associate Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc (LDF); Commissioner Doug Kellner, commissioner of the New York City Board of Elections; Nena Perales, Regional Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); and Veronica S. Jung of the Asian Pacific American Voters Alliance (APAVA).
The new maps that will create boundaries for California’s political districts will be certified in August, but will they actually change the state’s political landscape? Zócalo invites a panel including Kathay Feng, director of California Common Cause and one of the authors of the 2008 redistricting reform bill; Steven Ochoa, national redistricting coordinator for MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Joe Mathews, senior fellow at the New America Foundation; and Dan Schnur, director of University of Southern California's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics to discuss whether regular Californians can expect any effects from the latest round of redistricting.
2011 marks the year for redistricting – the once-in-a-decade process to draw boundaries that determine your elected officials from local school boards and city councils to state and congressional representatives. As all 50 states begin drawing lines, battles will ensue among political parties, racial and other interest groups. On this edition, we examine the U.S. redistricting system and some of its pitfalls. What is gerrymandering and how does it affect us? How does the rise in prison population change power dynamics? What does the rise in Latino population mean for redistricting? And how can the redistricting process be fairer? Featuring: Barack Obama, U.S. president; Bernie Grofman, UC Irvine political science professor; Justin Levitt, New York University's Brennan Center for Justice counsel; Ed Rollins, former RNC chairman; Susan Lerner, Common Cause New York; Nancy Cordes, CBS News; Christina Hartman, Newsy.org; Alex Kellogg, NPR; EJ Dionne, NPR; Peter Wagner, Prison Policy Institute executive director; Neil Breslin, New York state senator; Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew Hispanic Center associate director; Nina Perales, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund litigation director; Lydia Camarillo, Southwest Voters Registration Education Project vice president. For More Information: Gerrymandering movie: http://www.gerrymanderingmovie.com/ Prison Policy Institute http://www.prisonpolicy.org/ Northampton, MA Pew Hispanic Center http://pewhispanic.org/ Washington, DC Southwest Voters Registration Education Project http://www.svrep.org/ San Antonio, TX Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund http://www.maldef.org/ NYU's Brennan Center for Justice: http://www.brennancenter.org/content/pages/redistricting_for_advocates New York, NY California Statewide Database: http://swdb.berkeley.edu/resources/ Berkeley, CA The Redistricting Game: http://www.redistrictinggame.org/ U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/ Purdue University's links to redistricting resources for each state: http://www.lib.purdue.edu/govdocs/redistricting.html The post Making Contact – April 15, 2011 appeared first on KPFA.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
