The Journey So Far...So Good

I sometimes reflect on my postings over the last 2-3 years. I re-started writing on my blog when I became unemployed 3 years ago. Being stuck in California, a brand new place with no friends and hardly any acquaintances, failing miserably at the job that enabled me to move here and kerplunking my way out of ever EVEN applying to law school led to some serious confidence issues. I was so blue that I wasn't even blue, I was black, I had a black emo soul (complete with side bangs and crappy music). Everything sucked and I had no idea how to build myself up. This is something I chronicle somewhat often on this blog, I do it because frankly, that's what made this blog really happen. Actually its what made everything that is happening in my life now happen.

My emo self can best be illustrated by Spongebob with a visually impairing haircut

I actually had to  a chance to reflect on this in front of a group of students just this week. This past Monday I was a guest lecturer for a Asian American Studies Class on South Asian Diaspora at UC Berkeley.  I presented on South Asian activism and was invited to do so be a fellow activist and professor who found my contact through the emails I sent as part of ASATA (the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action). There was a moment when she had me fill out a honorarium form, in case I could get paid for the presentation as a guest, which made me reflect back on when I worked at UC Berkeley and was the admin person processing the honorarium forms. Now I was filling one out myself, waiting for someone else to process it. Funny how things circle back around.

Okay, not really, but whatever

In this class I was to talk about my own story, on the inspiration behind my activist, how I became an activist, my struggles and triumphs, and all the work I've done.  I should have just given them this blog link and called it a day, but then I wouldn't have had the chance to blab on for 90 minutes straight. Hence the name of my blog would be moot.

Here are the awesome college students who got to hear me talk, and talk and talk =D

When I started to go over my activism, what it's done and what it has meant to me I realize that 90 minutes wasn't close to being enough time to go over it all. And just coz I can't stop talking ( well yea there's that) but also because I have done SO much. I am not saying that to brag. Actually it's a little scary, as I looked into the faces of these bright and shiny young people, I realized that they probably thought I was insane. I mean my activism has been all over the place. After I first became unemployed in 2010, my life was basically one huge journey of trying anything and everything my activist heart desired. Did I want to work on women's issues? How about the situation in Burma? What about Muslim Americans and civil rights? Or South Asian Women's poetry? Photojournalism? Blogging? Democratic Politics? Empowerment of the African Community? How about all of the above?!! No seriously, I did all of the above and more at the same time. That's a LOT, and frankly it's a bit nuts.

Good question Uncle Sam, good question...

But isn't that what you're supposed to be like in your 20's? Experimental? I guess instead of experimenting with drugs, or people, I experimented with activism. I was like an activism mad scientist. It was my 'thing', but I didn't know what issue was MY issue in particular. So I figured I would try them out, sort of like the guess and check method from grade school. Now that law school was out of the question, it was a whole new beginning with tons of possibilities and opportunities and I took all of them.

I spoke to the students about my work with the young Democrats, about getting involved for the first time in local politics by helping on a Oakland city council campaign and joining the board of the East Bay Young Democrats. I spoke about helping to co-found the Black Young Democrats of the East Bay, after naming and addressing the need for cultivating young black leadership in this area. I spoke about being a writer and performer for Yoni Ki Baat, the South Asian Vagina monologues for two years. YKB as it is known has spread throughout the country, but I have been honored to share the stage with and befriended the inspiring women who started it all here in the Bay Area. I spoke about my API organizing, my political blogging for Hyphen, my adventures at the DNC and how I eventually was able to serve on the leadership of NAPAWF. All of that is documented on this blog. I think that's so special. It's an open journal for the world to read, and one that I look to as my journey continues.

I have no idea

 All of this activism was part of my crazy process, but this crazy process was recently recognized as I was selected as part of something called the GOOD 100. I had no idea what this was, but apparently its a quartlerly magazine that outlines people and projects that have done good throughout the world.

Look Ma, I'm in a magazine!

And I made their 100 people who are making a difference in the world for 2014. I was floored, i was shocked, they called me  a big mouth. it was all very fitting. I have to admit, it is pretty cool to be chosen along with a supermodel, the daughter of a president and other kickass people from all over the world. I feel like I am a bit underwhelming compared to these people but hey, I've got to learn to own it (it meaning being awesome without apologizing which honestly, can be so hard to do!).

NAPAWF Power Up Summit! We rock!

So the journey continues, the weeks before the GOOD 100 and my guest lecture saw me take part in my first NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum)'s Power up! summit as a board member, where we got promptly snowed out in the crazy non stop blizzards that the East Coast had to offer this year. I also was honored to join in the New American Leaders Project training for immigrant leaders who want to be in leadership positions, especially those that want to run for office.

Yay for being leaders, yay for being diverse yay for being diverse leaders! NALP's New Jersey training ya'll

Does this mean I'll run for office one day? What did I just say about the guess and check method? I'm still guessing I suppose, we'll see if any of it finally checks out one day....

And so it goes...

Life is  amazing! And super busy! I haven't posted in awhile, but that's because I've been pre-occupied with blogging up a storm as a Political Blogger at Hyphen magazine. I've been covering stories for over a year now, but have also been writing a bunch of guest blogs for other sites. So that's been taking up a lot of brain space.

Man, it's a jungle in there

Apparently though, some people actually read this thing, so I figure I'd better get up on putting on new content. There's always LOTS to talk about (especially when I'm involved). Also I got married in July, it was a grand Bangla-dorian (Bengali/Salvadoran) wedding and I should totally write about it...yea will get on that.


In the meanwhile, here is the link to my Hyphen posts:
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/nadia-hussain

Yea Hyphen is awesome

and I am cross-posting my latest post below. Have been working on immigration issues for years, and will be focusing more on the topic now that I am a new member of the national governing board of the National Asian Women's Political Forum (NAPAWF), which may have excited me more than my wedding ( I know what a loser, right?).

Yay NAPAWF Board pic in sunny Arizona!

So yea been covering immigration, especially regarding Comprehensive Immigration Reform lately. So please check out my articles,  only if you feel like it. If you don't feel like it, you can just click here and judge kittens.

For the rest of you, my latest article is below, it was cross listed to some pretty sweet blogs, such as Racialicious and Angry Asian Man (!)

My friend Greg in the Pride flag and self-scrawled T-shirt, and yes he is also awesome, as awesome as judging kittens....

Photo by Soyun Park/AAPI Immigration Table.  Photo by Soyun Park/API Immigration Table

Photo by Soyun Park/AAPI Immigration Table

Not Your Model Minority

by: S. Nadia Hussain

On October 8, Gregory Cendana, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) was arrested, along with two hundred other activists and eight members of Congress in our nation's capitol. In photos from that day, he is seen being led away in handcuffs with a pride flag tied around his neck like superhero cape and a handwritten t-shirt -- with the words “Not your Model Minority” scrawled on the front. Cendana is Asian American and his actions that day stood as a testament to the diverse communities that are impacted by the lack of immigration reform. 

Immigration is often framed as an issue impacting mostly Latino populations. According to the Pew Hispanic Center -- though the modern immigration wave from Latin America has made up 50% of US immigration, migration from Asia makes up a substantial 27%. Outside of Mexico, the leading countries of origin of immigrants are India, the Philippines and China.  Asians make up 13% of the US undocumented population. The US Office of Homeland security estimates that as of 2009, the largest undocumented Asian populations are 270,000 immigrants from the Philippines, 200,000 from India, 200,000 from Korea and 120,000 from China.

The stereotype of Asians as the model minority makes invisible the stories of the individuals and families behind these numbers. While immigration reform stalls within legislative chambers, activists and community members have come out in droves to highlight its impact on their communities. The October 8^th action was part of a coordinated campaign around immigration reform launched by eight national AAPI organizations.

It was also the third immigration action taken within the last six months in D.C. There was the protest less than a month ago, where roughly 200 women protested and over 100 were arrested as part of as mass demonstration. Before that, there was an organized protest on August 1, where over 46 labor leaders, immigrant advocates, environmental activists, people of faith, and DREAMers blocked the street in front of Capitol Hill while 300 allies and four members of Congress cheered  them on.

Yet in light of the Government shutdown, many are afraid that immigration efforts will be stalled indefinitely. “Have our congressional leaders forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants?” Cendana asks. “America is a nation of values, founded on the idea that all men and women are created equal. How we treat new immigrants reflects our commitment to the values that define America and how we define American.”

These words and actions haven’t escaped the attention of the President. The day after reaching a deal to re-open the government, President Obama vowed to pursue a House vote on immigration reform: “The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do” said the President, “and it’s sitting there waiting for the House to pass it....But let’s not leave this problem to keep festering...This can and should get done by the end of this year.” 

The ongoing pressure from these communities may help ensure that the President delivers on this resolve and that Congress realizes that the immigration issue won’t disappear -- shutdown or no shutdown. Activists

On October 8, Gregory Cendana, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) was arrested, along with two hundred other activists and eight members of Congress in our nation's capitol. In photos from that day, he is seen being led away in handcuffs with a pride flag tied around his neck like superhero cape and a handwritten t-shirt -- with the words “Not your Model Minority” scrawled on the front. Cendana is Asian American and his actions that day stood as a testament to the diverse communities that are impacted by the lack of immigration reform. 
Immigration is often framed as an issue impacting mostly Latino populations. According to the Pew Hispanic Center -- though the modern immigration wave from Latin America has made up 50% of US immigration, migration from Asia makes up a substantial 27%. Outside of Mexico, the leading countries of origin of immigrants are India, the Philippines and China.  Asians make up 13% of the US undocumented population. The US Office of Homeland security estimates that as of 2009, the largest undocumented Asian populations are 270,000 immigrants from the Philippines, 200,000 from India, 200,000 from Korea and 120,000 from China.
The stereotype of Asians as the model minority makes invisible the stories of the individuals and families behind these numbers. While immigration reform stalls within legislative chambers, activists and community members have come out in droves to highlight its impact on their communities. The October 8^th action was part of a coordinated campaign around immigration reform launched by eight national AAPI organizations.
It was also the third immigration action taken within the last six months in D.C. There was the protest less than a month ago, where roughly 200 women protested and over 100 were arrested as part of as mass demonstration. Before that, there was an organized protest on August 1, where over 46 labor leaders, immigrant advocates, environmental activists, people of faith, and DREAMers blocked the street in front of Capitol Hill while 300 allies and four members of Congress cheered  them on.
Yet in light of the Government shutdown, many are afraid that immigration efforts will be stalled indefinitely. “Have our congressional leaders forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants?” Cendana asks. “America is a nation of values, founded on the idea that all men and women are created equal. How we treat new immigrants reflects our commitment to the values that define America and how we define American.”
These words and actions haven’t escaped the attention of the President. The day after reaching a deal to re-open the government, President Obama vowed to pursue a House vote on immigration reform: “The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do” said the President, “and it’s sitting there waiting for the House to pass it....But let’s not leave this problem to keep festering...This can and should get done by the end of this year.” 
The ongoing pressure from these communities may help ensure that the President delivers on this resolve and that Congress realizes that the immigration issue won’t disappear -- shutdown or no shutdown. Activists and officials like the ones who protested and were arrested last week will be there to ensure that it doesn’t.
- See more at: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2013/10/not-your-model-minority-asian-americans-and-immigration-fight#sthash.xiHI8VTH.dpuf

On October 8, Gregory Cendana, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) was arrested, along with two hundred other activists and eight members of Congress in our nation's capitol. In photos from that day, he is seen being led away in handcuffs with a pride flag tied around his neck like superhero cape and a handwritten t-shirt -- with the words “Not your Model Minority” scrawled on the front. Cendana is Asian American and his actions that day stood as a testament to the diverse communities that are impacted by the lack of immigration reform. 
Immigration is often framed as an issue impacting mostly Latino populations. According to the Pew Hispanic Center -- though the modern immigration wave from Latin America has made up 50% of US immigration, migration from Asia makes up a substantial 27%. Outside of Mexico, the leading countries of origin of immigrants are India, the Philippines and China.  Asians make up 13% of the US undocumented population. The US Office of Homeland security estimates that as of 2009, the largest undocumented Asian populations are 270,000 immigrants from the Philippines, 200,000 from India, 200,000 from Korea and 120,000 from China.
The stereotype of Asians as the model minority makes invisible the stories of the individuals and families behind these numbers. While immigration reform stalls within legislative chambers, activists and community members have come out in droves to highlight its impact on their communities. The October 8^th action was part of a coordinated campaign around immigration reform launched by eight national AAPI organizations.
It was also the third immigration action taken within the last six months in D.C. There was the protest less than a month ago, where roughly 200 women protested and over 100 were arrested as part of as mass demonstration. Before that, there was an organized protest on August 1, where over 46 labor leaders, immigrant advocates, environmental activists, people of faith, and DREAMers blocked the street in front of Capitol Hill while 300 allies and four members of Congress cheered  them on.
Yet in light of the Government shutdown, many are afraid that immigration efforts will be stalled indefinitely. “Have our congressional leaders forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants?” Cendana asks. “America is a nation of values, founded on the idea that all men and women are created equal. How we treat new immigrants reflects our commitment to the values that define America and how we define American.”
These words and actions haven’t escaped the attention of the President. The day after reaching a deal to re-open the government, President Obama vowed to pursue a House vote on immigration reform: “The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do” said the President, “and it’s sitting there waiting for the House to pass it....But let’s not leave this problem to keep festering...This can and should get done by the end of this year.” 
The ongoing pressure from these communities may help ensure that the President delivers on this resolve and that Congress realizes that the immigration issue won’t disappear -- shutdown or no shutdown. Activists and officials like the ones who protested and were arrested last week will be there to ensure that it doesn’t.
- See more at: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2013/10/not-your-model-minority-asian-americans-and-immigration-fight#sthash.xiHI8VTH.dpuf

On October 8, Gregory Cendana, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) was arrested, along with two hundred other activists and eight members of Congress in our nation's capitol. In photos from that day, he is seen being led away in handcuffs with a pride flag tied around his neck like superhero cape and a handwritten t-shirt -- with the words “Not your Model Minority” scrawled on the front. Cendana is Asian American and his actions that day stood as a testament to the diverse communities that are impacted by the lack of immigration reform. 
Immigration is often framed as an issue impacting mostly Latino populations. According to the Pew Hispanic Center -- though the modern immigration wave from Latin America has made up 50% of US immigration, migration from Asia makes up a substantial 27%. Outside of Mexico, the leading countries of origin of immigrants are India, the Philippines and China.  Asians make up 13% of the US undocumented population. The US Office of Homeland security estimates that as of 2009, the largest undocumented Asian populations are 270,000 immigrants from the Philippines, 200,000 from India, 200,000 from Korea and 120,000 from China.
The stereotype of Asians as the model minority makes invisible the stories of the individuals and families behind these numbers. While immigration reform stalls within legislative chambers, activists and community members have come out in droves to highlight its impact on their communities. The October 8^th action was part of a coordinated campaign around immigration reform launched by eight national AAPI organizations.
It was also the third immigration action taken within the last six months in D.C. There was the protest less than a month ago, where roughly 200 women protested and over 100 were arrested as part of as mass demonstration. Before that, there was an organized protest on August 1, where over 46 labor leaders, immigrant advocates, environmental activists, people of faith, and DREAMers blocked the street in front of Capitol Hill while 300 allies and four members of Congress cheered  them on.
Yet in light of the Government shutdown, many are afraid that immigration efforts will be stalled indefinitely. “Have our congressional leaders forgotten that this is a nation of immigrants?” Cendana asks. “America is a nation of values, founded on the idea that all men and women are created equal. How we treat new immigrants reflects our commitment to the values that define America and how we define American.”
These words and actions haven’t escaped the attention of the President. The day after reaching a deal to re-open the government, President Obama vowed to pursue a House vote on immigration reform: “The majority of Americans think this is the right thing to do” said the President, “and it’s sitting there waiting for the House to pass it....But let’s not leave this problem to keep festering...This can and should get done by the end of this year.” 
The ongoing pressure from these communities may help ensure that the President delivers on this resolve and that Congress realizes that the immigration issue won’t disappear -- shutdown or no shutdown. Activists and officials like the ones who protested and were arrested last week will be there to ensure that it doesn’t.
- See more at: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2013/10/not-your-model-minority-asian-americans-and-immigration-fight#sthash.xiHI8VTH.dpuf

Government Meets Grassroots

Yay! now where are the jobs? Answer you politicians!

I have always been a big proponent of grassroots work leading to systematic change in policy.  Unfortunately, these two aspects do not intersect often enough; with there being a major disconnect between what takes place in congressional meetings and what is actually occuring on the ground, in our neighborhoods and communities.

Congresspeople on stage

Recently however, I have been attending meetings and open houses where members of the Obama administration and members of Congress have directly came out to hear the stories and issues that are occurring everyday in our communities. I am aware that these efforts may be related to re-election purposes, but regardless I think that listening to the concerns of communities is a step in a direction towards positive systemic change.

Congressman Mike Honda!

Last week I attended a Speakout for Good Jobs event, which was a townhall type meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Raul Grijalva and Congressman Mike Honda (my favorite congressman!). The event was held in a massive church/worship space where members of the community lined up to speak about their grievances and concerns regarding employment, or more accurately, unemployment.

woman fighting for the rights of the disabled

And there were LOTS of grievances.
I didn't speak, though I have a lot to say from my personal experience about unemployment, but it was a valuable experience for me to attend something like this. I never attended a open house with congress members and I honestly wish that there could be more of these events. The people with the most concerns and the greatest need for help are most often the ones who are being silenced. These events allow members of the community to speak up, but is it enough?

Activist, community leader and best friend, Nwe Oo

I also attended another event last Thursday, where a collection of leaders from the local Burmese community  met with Daphne Kwok, Chair of President Barack Obama's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, in downtown Oakland (to read additional info about the event, read this great article written by Oakland Digital, our gracious hosts). Many of the community leaders were refugees or were speaking on behalf of the Burmese refugee community in Oakland. Again, much of the rhetoric dealt with lack of jobs for refugees, the economy and problematic budget cuts that dealt serious blows to the well beings of high need individuals and families. The meeting was packed, with community members spilling onto the sidewalk outside the room. Different leaders took turns to
speak. Tluang Salai, a refugee from the Chin ethnic community and an advocate with the non-profit organization Catholic Charities relayed the problems faced by the Chin people of Burma, especially since the numbers of Chin that will be resettled in Oakland will go up drastically in the coming months (stay tuned for my upcoming interview on Salai and the Chin community on my other blog Us Ordinary People). Nwe Oo, a Rakhine refugee and Burmese community activist thanked Daphne for her time to listen to the needs and concerns of the community, especially due to the lack of attention that Burmese cultural groups usually receive.

Burmese community in Oakland

The most poignant part of this event was the unity shown by the different Burmese groups that attended the event. Burma is a country with a very complex and fragmented history, full of political strife and military oppression. Though the diverse minority groups within the country have all faced severe repression from the government, there are considerable differences within different ethnic groups. This event brought everyone in one room, with the common goal of improving the lives of their people, and in this instance they were all sharing their stories and concerns together.

It is promising to see government affiliated representatives directly meet with the people who are directly affected by policy changes, but obviously that is far from enough. What remains to be seen is WHAT will happen with this information. Will it lead to policy change? Will the suffering of working class and lower class men and women be addressed?
The forces shaping policy know the issues, they have heard it from the mouth of the people in our communities. But knowing is not enough, the proof is in action and in fighting for the rights of these communities; fighting against big businesses and corporations that are swimming in assistance money that has not trickled down to our communities.

Community members with Daphne Kwok

Knowledge is power, but action is the tool for change. It is time to use these tools to help the people who need it the most.