At long last, a blatant right-wing lawsuit against Mexican American Studies in Tucson, Ariz. has been thrown out of court. Its primary targets were teachers Sean Arce and José González, who organized a dedicated defense against the racist Tucson school district. They need help raising $8,200 in unpaid legal fees. Donations can be mailed to… Read more »
immigrant rights
Freedom Socialist movie review — Bless Me, Ultima: a Chicano boy’s profound coming of age
The movie Bless me, Ultima is based on a novel by Rudolfo Anaya published in 1972. Anaya is one of the founders of contemporary Chicano literature, and his book is on many school reading lists, especially for Chicano studies. It is the first novel shedding a light on the Chicano experience to make it into… Read more »
Mothers honored with action in Seattle
In Seattle over 200 people celebrate Mother’s Day with balloons, facepaint and a message. Rally demands included publicly funded childcare for poor and working families, expanded social services, ending the deportation of immigrants, stopping domestic violence and freeing abuse survivor Marissa Alexander.
Obama unmasked: The president of dashed hopes
The president helped end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that locked LGBT military service members in the closet. During his 2012 campaign, he reduced deportations of undocumented youth who came to the U.S. as children. But, with few other exceptions, his actions have served the wealthy elite and expanded the attacks on working people… Read more »
De vuelta al bracero — La muerte de la Izquierda chicana
A continuación se encuentra una importante contribución del Dr. Rodolfo Acuña al debate sobre las políticas migratorias. Académico, activistah y prolífico autor, Acuña es profesor emérito de la California State University en Northridge. Jefe fundador de la facultad de Estudios Chicanos/as de la CSUN, ha trabajado con educadores, estudiantes y miembros comunitarios en el continuo… Read more »
Back to bracero: The death of the Chicano Left
What follows is an important contribution to the immigration policy debate written in March 2013 by Dr. Rodolfo Acuña. A scholar, activist, and prolific author, Acuña is a professor emeritus at California State University at Northridge. The founding chair of CSUN’s Chicano/a Studies department, he has worked with educators, students, and community members in the… Read more »
Freedom Socialist Letters to the editor
STOP DEPORTATIONS Palestinian American feminist targeted Rasmea Odeh is a 66-year-old Palestinian American woman, well known and admired for organizing literacy and domestic violence prevention programs for the Arab community in the Chicago area. On the morning of Oct. 22, 2013, Department of Homeland Security agents dragged her from her home — for “immigration fraud.”… Read more »
Freedom Socialist editorial — Without a country: Haitian-Dominicans
In the Dominican Republic (DR), Haitian immigrants and their children have labored on sugarcane plantations for generations, working for low pay in appalling conditions. In September 2013, the country’s highest court rewarded them for their service to the economy by stripping a quarter million of them of their citizenship. The court found that children of… Read more »
Dateline Australia: Military-style operation launched against refugees
In 2010, Ranjini, a Tamil mother fleeing genocide in Sri Lanka, won refugee status in Australia and settled in Melbourne. Two years later, she and her two young boys were abruptly placed in detention by immigration authorities. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had deemed her a security risk. The spy agency gives no reasons… Read more »
Freedom Socialist Book Review: We Need New Names, by NoViolet Bulawayo
We Need New Names, by NoViolet Bulawayo, is much more than a coming of age story. It’s a tale of savage colonialism, of local tyrants and unremitting droughts and rains, of the shattering pain of having to leave because all things are falling apart. It’s the story of one girl’s unique trajectory that shares common… Read more »