[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

The photo I am sharing this week is of a poster that says “The Gay Agenda: 1. Equality. 2. See Item 1.” This was submitted by NightFrog on http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/gay-rights/images/30759640/title/gay-rights-photo. I chose this photo because it relates to what I stated in class- the rights of the LGBTQIA community will not negatively affect another person’s life. People have this common misconception that by accepting them in our society, we will be influencing the younger generation to explore their sexuality and gender. This is not the purpose of LGTBQIA community, of course, but the media and people have painted this picture for themselves. It is not that this movement is influencing young children to become someone they aren’t- instead, this movement is empowering them to embrace who they truly are. There is nothing on the agenda besides wanting equality.

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

Henry Payne, on March 2nd, 2016 posted this cartoon on Sunshine State News with the title “For Illegal Immigrants by Illegal Immigrants.” This cartoon brings light to the fact that Trump has big ideas to keep out undocumented immigrants out of the United States, but will also employ them and take advantage of the cheap labor.

Bernie Sanders tweeted about this, stating that Donald Trump is a hypocrite and has “no problem hiring undocumented immigrants to help him build the Trump hotel in DC or Trump Tower in New York City.”

This clearly displays how some powerful people in our country say one thing but actually practice another. It displays how important undocumented immigrants are for our country and economy, but how much hate and discrimination they receive in the media and legislation.

 

http://sunshinestatenews.com/story/trumps-great-wall

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

I stumbled upon this short video while I was scrolling through Facebook one day and it really impacted me. Because no recording devices are allowed inside immigration courtrooms, Linda Freedman worked with the public interest firm Immigration Counseling Service from Oregon to create a reenactment to display just how difficult it was for children to represent themselves. It is a heartbreaking video, as you can see that these children are too young to fully understand what is going on. The United States does not offer these children any court- appointed representation in immigration proceedings. They are caught in a cycle in which they have no way out, and they don’t even have the basic support they need. According to the video, when children appear in immigration court alone, 9 out of 10 of them are deported. This clearly displays how the U.S. legal system is set up to to trap these children and offer them no representation.

Video: Unaccompanied: Alone in America by Linda Freedman and Immigration Counseling Services on May 9, 2018 on:  https://vimeo.com/268812608

Article:  http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/short_film_dramatizes_difficulties_of_children_representing_themselves

 

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

Since I grew up after 9/11 happened, it’s hard to imagine life without a negative stigma against Muslims. Seeing this image on the internet sent a jolt of fear and disgust through my body. I did not understand how any one could immediately group together 1.8 billion people practicing Islam with the few who committed the most heinous act in 2001. Since then, people have conveniently used this incident to justify all oppression and racial profiling on. Dan Ariely, the author of The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty, states that the more you repeat something to yourself, no matter how untruthful, after a while, it becomes the truth for you. This is the case with legalized Islamaphobia and the War on Terror. Americans were quick to jump to conclusions and make connections between Muslims and Terror. Even if some people initially disagreed, enough time has now passed to make it the absolute truth in our society. Not enough people in power speak up about this because for the general American population, it is their truth that Muslims were born to create fear and terror in our society.

Ariely, Dan. The (honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone—especially Ourselves. New York, N.Y.: Harper, 2012.

Islamophobia: Rationally Justified?

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

This photo, found on Densho Blog, shows three protestors warning the public to not repeat history. Too many times, we have found ourselves in the same patterns of fear, discrimination, and racial bias. It seems as if that it is the only thing this country excels in. No matter how how educated people get, they still cave into the fear that the media feeds them about people who look different than them. The concentration camps that Japanese Americans were forced to go through should never have happened, and yet the same fear and disgust towards them has been carried over to present day with the discussion around undocumented immigrants and Muslims.  This photo is depressing because there seems to be no end to this vicious cycle.

“Never Again” Event Livestream

 

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Zahabiya Nuruddin.

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

This photo was taken by Sedat Pakay in Istanbul, Turkey in 1965 of James Baldwin trying hookah. Just as with Malcolm X in Mecca, Baldwin gained many new perspectives during his time abroad. Both leaders were able to remove themselves from the toxic events that were occurring in America and immerse themselves in a different culture. They found that they did not have to constantly speak up about their race and fight for their rights every second of the day, as they were forced to do in America. Instead, they felt accepted for the most part and found solace in different countries. For Baldwin in particular, he was quoted to say “I can’t breathe. I have to look from outside,” according to drama critic Zeynep Oral. Turkey was an escape for Baldwin, and although he was starting to gain a lot of popularity as an American writer, he is now almost unknown in Turkey. According to Kareem Fahim, this is because of the political turmoil that Turkey has undergone over the years. Any traces of Baldwin has been removed, and it as almost as if he was never there. This is unfortunate because of the impact that Baldwin made and how unafraid he was to speak out against injustice. It leads one to think about how many other influential leaders must have made an impact throughout the years but somehow slipped past our gaze as the years go on.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/james-baldwin-lived-in-turkey-on-and-off-for-a-decade-a-look-at-what-remains-of-his-istanbul/2017/02/26/fb94fa44-ee13-11e6-a100-fdaaf400369a_story.html?utm_term=.4e65e43ce71c

https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2011.20.6?destination=explore/collection/search%3Fpage%3D1%26edan_q%3D%252A%253A%252A%26edan_local%3D1%26edan_fq%255B0%255D%3Dp.edanmdm.indexedstructured.name%253A%2522Baldwin%252C%2520James%2522

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

This photo depicts Elijah Muhammad discussing something with Malcolm X. Elijah Muhammad was instrumental in getting Malcolm X involved in the Nation of Islam, and in the earlier years, Malcolm X looked up to Elijah Muhammad and considered him to be a powerful leader. When JFK was assassinated, however, Malcolm X said in a speech that the “Chickens have come home to roost.” Some people interpreted this as Malcolm X approving the assassination of JFK, when in reality, that is not what he meant. Elijah Muhammad then suspended Malcolm as spokesman. It is ironic how Elijah Muhammad takes action on this and preaches certain values when in reality he had “immoral sexual relations with his secretaries,” as stated in the article “Honorable Elijah Muhammad- Was He Behind the Assassination of Malcolm X?” by Rodrigo P. Honorato. Malcolm X quickly learned that Elijah Muhammad was only a shadow of the man he thought he knew. With this, his faith and devotion to the Nation of Islam began to falter and he started to see clearer about what he needed to do.

The photo is from this website: https://englishblackfriday.com/2015/06/08/elijah-muhammad-leader-malcomx/

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[Zahabiya Nuruddin]

This cartoon, Stop the Cycle Reform the System, published on December 28th, 2014, displays how prevalent the problem of Alabama’s overpopulated state prisons is. As stated in the article “Stop the Cycle,” the revolving door metaphor is used to signify how inmates walk out of prison to return right back where they started. They aren’t offered the necessary resources they need to succeed in society, so they fall into the same traps that got them into prison in the first place. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be remedied by increasing treatment programs and to prevent prison expansion. This is a current civil rights issue because we are trapping people into a certain lifestyle and not offering them a hand out. We need to acknowledge that this is our current reality and that we have too many people behind bars who would love to contribute to society in a positive way but simply do not have the right tools and help to achieve it.

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