Anja

Small grocery stores known as bodegas were once the cornerstones of New York City's Puerto Rican community. The industry has transitioned between ethnic groups, including now the Yemeni community.

(Image credit: Justo Martí/Courtesy of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies)

New Orleans-based Tank and the Bangas plays a mix of soul, hip-hop and jazz bright enough to illuminate even the dreariest of days.

These young men were in Milan for the @antoniomarrasofficial show all the way from Sardengna!

 

This photo reminds me of the exuberance of fashion in the 80s and also feels like that famous August Sander photo of the three farmers going into town on Saturday night.

The 17-minute short film depicts a day in the life of a Black teen that ends in a tragic encounter with police. It features music from Raphael Saadiq, Ty Dolla $ign, Mali Music and Elijah Blake—and it's available without a subscription.

Orion in the darkness, a pet video, immigration raids 101, women doing things, lots of good writing, advertising targets trans community, Amanda Knox?, a memorial to a marriage and so much more!

 

I can’t place my finger on exactly why this works so well but this look creates a mood and an atmosphere for the wearer.

 

The best I can say is he was dressed unlike anyone else I saw that day!

 

Bravo!

California Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) re-introduced a bill Monday that would protect undocumented immigrants charged with low-level drug offenses from deportation if they complete a pre-trial diversion program that includes counseling and rehabilitation.

The measure, which is strikingly similar to a bill vetoed by California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) in 2015, would allow undocumented immigrants with no prior violent offenses or convictions to enroll in a drug treatment program within five years of their arrest, allowing them to forgo entering a guilty plea. If the drug treatment program is completed, the drug-related charge would be removed from the person’s record.

Even minor drug offenses have lead to deportation for undocumented immigrants in California because of a discrepancy between state and federal law. In California, those with minor drug charges must first plead guilty before opting for treatment. Once treatment is completed, the charge is dropped by the state. However, all drug convictions stand under federal immigration law, leading to deportation proceedings for both undocumented people and those with green cards, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The bill comes as President Trump says he will have “zero tolerance for criminal aliens,” a segment of the population that was targeted under the Obama administration.

Under President Obama, there was an 87 percent increase in deportations of “convicted criminals” between fiscal years 2008 and 2013. This was largely due to the way the administration widened what constituted “criminal behavior.” As FactCheck.org explained, “the 87 percent increase in the deportation of ‘convicted criminals’ was driven almost exclusively by those with a traffic violation (up 191 percent) and individuals convicted of immigration offenses (up 167 percent).”

If the Trump administration keeps its promise to quickly deport 3 million undocumented immigrants, it will require a further expansion of what it means to be a “criminal,” going beyond the designations of the Obama administration.

Two senior officials in Trump’s transition team divulged in November that the president will seek to widen the net to include “migrants who have been charged but not convicted, suspected gang members and drug dealers, and people charged with such immigration violations as illegal reentry and overstaying visas, as well as lower-level misdemeanors,” according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The post California’s Undocumented Immigrants Could Get Protection Against Trump appeared first on Rewire.

After the presidential election saw a Donald Trump victory, 28-year-old Mexican-American poet Elisa Chavez found herself in a state of shock. Before November 8, the hateful words Trump used to win over conservatives filled her with anxiety. She worried about what a Trump Administration would mean for members of her family. For many around the country,[.....]

The post This Hilarious Poem Is a Fiery Clap Back to ‘Make America Great Again’ appeared first on Remezcla.

Trans activist, author, and civil liberties advocate Chelsea Manning, who is currently serving a thirty-five year prison sentence for disclosing classified documents to Wikileaks, may finally be granted reprieve.According to NBC News, President Obama has put Chelsea on his short list for possible commutation, and she may see a decision about her future as early as next Wednesday. Chelsea submitted a request to Obama last month asking that her sentence be reduced to the time she has already served, emphasizing the torturous conditions she has faced over the past six years as a trans woman subjected to an all-male prison. The request was accompanied by a petition on the White House website which gathered over a 100,000 signatures, obligating the White House to respond.

International human rights groups have spoken out overwhelmingly in her support, describing Chelsea as “oversentenced” and her prosecution as “aggressive” and “harsh.” The ACLU has fought hard for her cause. Chelsea’s petition was also accompanied by well known advocates, who have made clear that Chelsea was acting in order to inform the world of serious human rights abuses perpetrated by the United States.

The harshness of Chelsea’s sentence is well documented. A former State Department spokesperson alled her prosecution “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” Unnamed Army intelligence officers have confessed to NBC news that her sentence was excessive. Not only is Chelsea’s sentence unconstitutionally, unfairly, and unacceptably disproportionate to the crimes that she committed, but Chelsea has been tormented in prison, where she has been repeatedly placed in solitary confinement. Moreover, Chelsea faces another set of unique problems as a trans woman in an all-male prison at Fort Leavenworth. Chelsea has twice attempted to commit suicide in the six years she has spent there, after struggling tooth and nail for basic lifesaving medical care.

Chelsea’s imprisonment is a blemish on the record of a country that claims to stand for freedom of speech, democracy, and progressive values. Obama must use the last of his tenure to commute her sentence, especially since Chelsea may not survive the next four years of a fascist, authoritarian, right-wing Trump administration. As Chelsea’s attorney Chase Strangio has pointed out, doing so could strengthen Obama’s legacy of  “standing up for trans people’s rights,” and be a step towards correcting his administration’s failure in systemically mistreating her.

The world deserves a freed Chelsea Manning, with the force of all of her positivity, activism, and kindness, in times of fear, cruelty, and hatred. Chelsea, more than anything, deserves to finally have her “first chance to live my life outside the [United States Disciplinary Barracks] as the person I was born to be.” Chelsea’s aunt, Deborah Manning, has highlighted this opportunity as “the last hope” Chelsea could have for a while. It would be a fitting time now for a President who ran his campaign on the promise of hope, to deliver on that as one of his final acts in the Oval Office.

"I got my eye on you, p****-grabber!" Luther warned the incoming president.

Today, a man considered the hemisphere’s “longest-serving political prisoner” turns 74. With another birthday down, Oscar López Rivera has now spent nearly half his life incarcerated. In an Our Revolution video – posted the day before his birthday and Día de Reyes – Clarisa López Ramos (his daughter), Bernie Sanders, René Pérez, Rep. Luis Gutierrez,[.....]

The post Activists Keep Hope Alive for Oscar López Rivera’s Freedom During Obama’s Final Days in Office appeared first on Remezcla.

“Stories have the power to break through the walls that separate us into different ethnicities, different cultures, nationalities, races and religions. They hit us at the human level.”

"What ultimately makes Moonlight such a heartbreaking film to me is that despite these reflections and ways I am ever-present to myself, I'm not actually in the film. And yet, here is my masculinity – both what I am and what I strive to be – showcased in the most honest ways."

My heroines Jamilah Lemieux & Amber Phillips spoke with The Breakfast Club to talk about Black feminism and it is not to be missed.

How Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio is fighting back against their state’s dangerous abortion ban.

Thousands of civilians were able to leave Aleppo today, but thousands are still facing freezing temperatures as they wait to be evacuated. Reminder: here are a few things you can do.

File under depressing but not surprising: science proves that climate change aided in the rapid spread of Zika.

Feminists are protesting against an abortion ban in the Dominican Republic.

The true story of how Teen Vogue got woke.

Keenan Thompson, Leslie Jones and musical guest Chance the Rapper dropped bars in "Jingle Barack."

Tegan and Sara on your tiny desk, stand up for Standing Rock, sanctuary cities, pessimism, STEM women in the time of Trump, and so much more!

Watch the Facing Race 2016 final plenary and Rinku Sen’s closing remarks.

The Grease Bats react to the President-Elect.

Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.

From New York City to Los Angeles, Americas are expressing their displeasure with the election of Donald Trump.

Took a while, but the Netroots Nation 2016 Pundit Cup Champion finally gets an opportunity to flex her political punditry chops.  Best of all for my political junkie self, it's on Election Night!

It happens on my local ABC station, KTRK-TV, starting at 7 PM CST and running until 10 PM CST.

I'll be along with the anchors, guests and other bloggers commenting on local, state and national races.   I'll additionally be commenting on TBLGQ issues, and watching Jenifer Rene Pool's potentially historic Harris County Commissioners Court Precinct 3 race.

I'll also be part of the in studio bloggers panel helping ABC13 monitor the Election Night chatter with my 10.2K (and counting) Twitter followers.  This will be broadcast from the ABC13 studios.    i'll also be checking my Facebook page as well during the night.

My Twitter handle is of course TransGriot.  This is also the link to the ABC13 website for those of you who don't live in the Houston area but may wish to catch me doing my punditry    

If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. But for those who need a little help, we’ve got you covered!

I have loved actress Jenifer Lewis ever since she played Dean Dorothy Davenport on A Different World.

She has a message concerning tomorrow's election y'all need to hear



If you haven't handled your electoral business yet, please do so.  This election is too important for you to stay home.

"Femme in the Summer, Butch in the Winter: A Seasonal Fluidity."