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Category: Reflections and Musings

What a Cardinal Mother-to-Be is Teaching Me About Purpose and Mothering

What a Cardinal Mother-to-Be is Teaching Me About Purpose and Mothering

May 9, 2021

Last week, I spotted a cardinal sitting on a nest of twigs and branches on a tall shrub right outside my living room window. My son and I have been mesmerized by her as she makes her journey into motherhood. Cardi Bee, as we call her, has been teaching me a lot about maintaining a sense of purpose. She is very clear about hers. She’s single-mindedly focused on making sure that her eggs hatch, that they are protected, that they survive. She doesn’t seem deterred or distracted, not by spring storms or her own hunger, and not by the other birds, squirrels and occasional bunnies that criss-cross the yard. She doesn’t seem to receive support either; no other creature has come by, at least not during our waking hours.

Read the full essay on Medium.

We saw important social activism last year. Here’s how to maintain it in 2021.

We saw important social activism last year. Here’s how to maintain it in 2021.

January 4, 2021

When protests began in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, Daniela Bayon was ready to take action both on the streets and at her workplace. As a marketing manager for a global tech company,Bayon wanted to support her Black colleagues and organize companywide conversations about racism. “There was a mass awakening everywhere, including at work,” she said. “People kept asking: What can I do?”

Read the full essay at The Lily.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Victory Holds Lessons for Organizing in Communities of Color

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Victory Holds Lessons for Organizing in Communities of Color

Dear WTSA Family,

Here is your 4 minute read of the day! I write about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory in New York City’s primary and as we head towards the midterms, we must think about lessons for organizing and communicating with race at the center.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Victory Holds Lessons for Organizing in Communities of Color

Like many people around the country, I have been elated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning victory over ten-term Democratic incumbent, Joseph Crowley. Clearly, her win is a wake-up call to the Democratic Party and aspiring politicians about the power of Black and Brown candidates and voters. But, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign is also a reminder to communities of color that we should be explicit in centering our own racial identities and articulating the ways in which systemic and generational racism affects us — whether we are running for elected office or calling for policy change in our neighborhoods.

To read more, click here.

Reckoning with Trauma 16 Years After

Reckoning with Trauma 16 Years After

Published on Medium.

 

 

Dear WTSA Community: Each of us have our own experiences, insights and stories about 9/11. Many of you know that I’ve spent the bulk of my time in movement work focused on issues affecting South Asian, Muslim, Arab and Sikh communities in post 9/11 America. On the 16th anniversary of 9/11, I wrote a personal essay on the toll of trauma on activists and organizations. I’d love your feedback or thoughts if you have a moment.

Here’s an excerpt:

“I probably haven’t dealt adequately with the impact of September 11th on my own life. In the days that followed 9/11, I had sprung into action, and I’m not sure that I ever stopped. Over the following decade and a half, I have borne witness to a litany of crises targeting our communities. I am not the only one.”

For more, please visit: https://medium.com/@dviyer/https-medium-com-dviyer-reckoning-with-trauma-16-years-after-sept11-98e063b6197e

Thank you in advance for reading and sharing.

Airlines Are Policing the Bodies and Behavior of Women-of-Color Passengers

Airlines Are Policing the Bodies and Behavior of Women-of-Color Passengers

Dear We Too Sing America community:

I have been angry and appalled by the more recent experiences that women of color passengers are having on airlines and airports across the nation, though this has been happening for quite some time, and I wrote an essay about it at The Nation Magazine:

“In a time of #MeToo testimonials and in the midst of national conversations about misogyny and sexual violence, it is not surprising that many women of color resonate with Anila Daultazai and Tamika Mallory. Their experiences sting because they remind us that women and girls of color face judgment, devaluation, invisibility, and physical violence in every sector, from schools to workplaces to encounters with the police. We can’t view what happened to Daulatzai and Mallory in a vacuum either. Both incidents are tinged with the same Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and anti-blackness that we see in our country through government policies and in hateful rhetoric.”

For more, please visit: https://www.thenation.com/…/airlines-are-policing-the-bodi…/

Please read and share, and continue to call upon the airlines and airline industry to make systemic changes.

Gov Jindal Might Be Tanned and Rested, but He’s Not Ready to Court Communities of Color

Gov Jindal Might Be Tanned and Rested, but He’s Not Ready to Court Communities of Color

Following Governor Jindal’s announcement that he’s running for President, Indian Americans have had a gamut of responses. Here’s my take on his readiness from a policy standpoint:

Governor Bobby Jindal’s announcement last week that he is running for President prompted a string of critical responses from progressive South Asians and Asian Americans who are skeptical and even ashamed of him for many reasons, not the least of which are his apparent denials of his culture, heritage, and racial identity. Given our recent national conversations on the fluidity of racial identity sparked by Rachel Dolezal, the questions around whether Governor Jindal is Indian enough or whether he has assimilated into Whiteness are timely ones that merit further discussion (and some well-intentioned humor, thanks to #BobbyJindalisSoWhite and #Jindian, the comedic creations of Hari Kondabolu and Aasif Mandvi). Governor Jindal’s racial identity is not the best litmus test or standard to assess his candidacy for President. Instead, we should take a look at his viewpoints, policies and rhetoric, which have been harmful and divisive, especially with respect to immigrants and communities of color.

Please read the rest over at The Huffington Post.