Tag: Black Voices

In her series “Brown,” Erica Deeman photographs men of the African diaspora against a brown backdrop. The straightforward series addresses the omission of black men from the tradition of formal portraiture, revealing the simple power of a photographic depiction. 

The project came about while Deeman was mulling over the idea of expectations and the discriminatory frameworks that underlie our assumptions. “I am biracial,” Deeman told The Huffington Post as an example, “and I’ve found that the expectation is that my father is black and my mother is white, but it’s actually the other way around.”

The artist then began thinking about men of color and the ways that they have historically been pictured in front of the camera ― the ugly history of physiognomy, and the mugshot, came to mind. Deeman then wondered, if she created images depicting black men in a more dignified light, would they have the power to shatter expectations with no firm footing in reality?

Deeman, who is based in San Francisco, recruited strangers to serve as subjects for a series of portraits, the only requirements being that they were of the African diaspora and identified as male. Every man is depicted shirtless, from the shoulders up, staring slightly off-camera.

The repetitive formula alludes to the history of portraiture, specifically the stately renderings of patrons, nobility and the aristocratic elite that take up so much space on museum walls. “Men of color historically were not granted the opportunity to appear sympathetic in portraits,” Deeman said. “That was restricted to the bourgeois.”

The portraits also allude to the ways photography has been used to criminalize and oppress people of color. “I think photography is problematic because so many people see it as the truth,” Deeman explained. “It has made people buy into physiognomy and eugenics and all of that. I always joke that the photograph was the biggest lie that was ever made.”

Physiognomy is a pseudoscientific field that argues one’s character can be determined from his or her appearance, especially facial features. “It was used to justify racism,” Deeman said, “by elevating European features and criminalizing everyone else.” Mug shots, whose aesthetics turn human beings into indexable felons, offer another example of photography invading our subconscious presumptions. 

“The mug shot is this very stark presentation,” Deeman said. “Formulaic in its style. People are placed against a blue backdrop or white backdrop, the flash is always the same, everything is the same within the context of the image. I wanted to make something with a formula, but challenge that aesthetic.”

In lieu of a blue or white backdrop, for example, she opted for a coffee-colored hue, a color that nearly matches her own skin tone. “It’s about placing myself within the image,” she said. “The color represents me.”

Deeman’s work highlights the immense power of a simple ritual, a subject and photographer conspiring to create a portrait. For much of photography’s history, men of color were denied access to self-portraits that truly represented themselves as complex individuals. Deeman hopes to rupture this tradition. “We are together in this place, making this photograph,” she said. “In these photos, I’m saying: ‘This is how I think you should be seen, and this is how you should be seen.’”

The artist hopes her work can open up a broader narrative for men of color. She does not want to influence her audience’s perception of her subjects, but rather leave space for the viewer to construct complex hypotheses regarding these strangers’ personalities. Through the project, Deeman hopes people will examine their own expectations a bit more critically.

“With the administration that we have right now, there are extreme limits on everybody who is not seen as ‘traditionally American,’” Deeman said. “I think that this body of work can challenge some of the stereotypes that some people want to revert back to.”

“Erica Deeman: Brown” will be on view at Anthony Meier Fine Arts in San Francisco from March 24 until April 28.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

When photographer Akasha Rabut moved to New Orleans in 2010, she was taken by the city’s traditions ― the parades, especially. While photographing one, she noticed two women on motorcycles and decided to introduce herself. Their names were Tru and Love; immediately, Rabut was enamored. 

The pair invited her to a meeting for their all-women motorcycle crew, Caramel Curves, which took place in a member’s nail salon. Rabut took the women’s portraits, and has been doing so ever since.

“I love the feminism and femininity that these women bring to the masculine world of motorcycle clubs,” Rabut told The Huffington Post, taking care not to conflate the two terms.

Her shots of the crew include images of riders enveloped in billowy, hot-pink smoke. In some portraits, their camaraderie is clear as they laugh together wearing matching checkered jackets. In others, the pride they take in their pastime is on display as they pose on their bikes, showing off their high heels.

“These women are comfortable riding their bikes in heels and love to emphasize that they can do anything a man can do, only better and in heels,” Rabut said. “I think they do a really good job at combating the stereotype that biking is a masculine hobby.”

The women of the Caramel Curves rock lipstick and dangly earrings, bauble-y bracelets and gelled hair. They’ve got tattoos and ripped up jeans, too, fusing aesthetics to send a message about blurred gender lines.

“They have just as much, if not more, passion than most men that ride,” Rabut said. “Riding bikes gives them a sense freedom and an outlet in the world. I hope that viewers, especially female viewers, feel empowered by these images.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2015. He won a Pulitzer Prize for “Hamilton: An American Musical” in 2016. He took home an Emmy for his work on the song “Bigger” for the 67th Tony Awards. He won Grammys for both the “In the Heights” and “Hamilton” soundtracks. And he’s been awarded a total of three Tonys for those two shows, as well.  

Now all Lin-Manuel Miranda has to do is take home the Oscar for Best Original Song at this year’s ceremony and he will MacPEGOT, an honor yet to be accomplished by any performer in the biz. 

When reminded of this remarkable feat during a recent phone conversation with The Huffington Post, Miranda ― who’s nominated for his song “How Far I’ll Go” from Disney’s “Moana” ― laughed and insisted, “That’s not a thing! That’s crazy.”

“Obviously, you can’t worry about that,” he continued. “I think the term EGOT was coined by someone who didn’t win any of the things, right? So I think once you start trying to win awards, you immediately stop winning them, that is my feeling about it [laughs]. But I’m really proud of my work. I’m really proud to be in this company. But I have no control over whether we win. I’m just excited to take my mom to the Oscars, since I watched it with her so many times.” 

Miranda is up against big Oscar contender “La La Land” and two of the film’s songs, “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars,” as well as “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from “Trolls” and “The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story.” 

“It’s the Mad Libs of a category,” Miranda said. “I’m lucky enough to be nominated for Tonys, and those are your peers ― they’re generally people you know and you go, ‘Oh my gosh, yay! Alan Menken is nominated again!’ Or whoever your co-nominee is. But to be in a category with Justin Timberlake and Sting is crazy. And I’ve known Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for many years, and I’m thrilled with their success. This is going to be a huge year for them between ‘La La Land’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ which is just cleaning up on Broadway.” 

Miranda has always been a huge fan of the Oscars and has taped the ceremony every year since “The Little Mermaid” ― the movie that made him want to be “in this game” ― won Best Score and Best Song in 1990. Although he says it’s a “real thrill” to be attending the award show, he’s very anxious to be in the room where it happens.

“I’ll be so nervous. Anything other than just sitting in the audience nervously will be hard for me,” he told HuffPost of the possibility of being a part of a performance of “How Far I’ll Go.” (It was confirmed on Thursday that Miranda will be singing a duet of the song with “Moana” star Auli’i Cravalho.) “I’m there for the party. I’m there to really just soak it all up. You grow up watching the Oscars so to actually be there, I’m really excited.” 

During the process of writing, staging and starring in his musical (have you heard of it?) “Hamilton,” Miranda also took on the job of songwriter for “Moana,” which follows a Polynesian princess who sails out on a daring mission with demigod Maui to fulfill her ancestors’ unfinished quest. Let’s just say it was a tough balancing act.

“Having an excuse to sort of shut out the world, which had gotten very loud in that year, to help create this young woman’s journey — I mean, it kind of saved my life.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda

“It was pretty surreal,” he said of working on both projects at once. “The ‘Moana’ team was pretty cool when I was still making changes to ‘Hamilton’ ― they kind of left me alone for that stretch of time. Then once we opened, it became a part of my routine. Honestly, [working on ‘Moana’] was one of the things that kept me sane during the ‘Hamilton’ phenomenon. Articles are being written and my heroes are showing up to see the show, but I knew I had music due every Tuesday and Thursday ― I’d have a Skype meeting with the creative team of ‘Moana’ ― so it forced me to clear up my day; it forced me to say no to parties and to say no to the things that you can get caught up in and forget why you are where you are.”

The 37-year-old spent two days a week writing music and lyrics for “Moana,” living “a bit of a monastic life” in between “Hamilton” performances in order to “sail around with Moana and Maui in my mind.”

“Having an excuse to sort of shut out the world, which had gotten very loud in that year, to help create this young woman’s journey ― I mean, it kind of saved my life,” Miranda admitted. 

Eventually, Miranda and co-composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’I headed to California for numerous off-site meetings, where they’d watch screenings of the film and have a real say in how the story was being told. 

“You’re not sitting with execs in a tower. You’re sitting with people who are making all the other movies in the studio’s pipeline. You’re getting notes from Jennifer Lee, the director of ‘Frozen,’ and from the people who make the things – your fellow artists,” Miranda said, explaining that there were many iterations of “How Far I’ll Go” before he landed on the ultimate version.

“This is not the story of a young woman who gets where she is in one week; this is the story of a young woman who loves where she is and loves her people and loves her island, and she hears this voice anyway. She hears this voice saying, ‘Go, go, go!’ So that’s when it really started to take shape. Once we embraced the complexity, the song really took off into its final form.”

The pressure to deliver a Disney hit ― reminiscent of “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid” or “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas” ― was palpable for Miranda, who soaked up every bit of information he could from “Frozen” songwriters Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. He wanted his lyrics to be conversational but still “elevated and beautiful.”

“[But] once you sit down at a piano, you have to forget about all of that,” he said. “You have to just put yourself in Moana’s shoes or Maui’s shoes […] and live inside their skin and talk to yourself to reveal the truth, and then you write it down. In that terms, it was just like writing ‘Hamilton’ or ‘In the Heights.’ You just have to act your way through it until it feels real.” 

And real it felt, as Miranda could possibly win an Oscar for his work on the beloved tune. (And, again, MacPEGOT.)

Despite all these goings-on in his life, Miranda hasn’t slowed down. Although his run as Alexander Hamilton on Broadway has ended, the actor is currently in rehearsals for “Mary Poppins Returns,” which he’s starring in alongside Emily Blunt.

“It’s a giant ‘effing musical,” he said. “I feel really comfortable because coming from the theater, I know it’s a luxury to have a lot of rehearsal, but you don’t always get that when you’re making a movie. So for me, it feels like a theater project that we’re getting to put on film. I keep joking like, ‘When do we start previews? I can’t wait!’ I am dancing harder than I have danced since ‘In the Heights,’ because I didn’t dance that much in ‘Hamilton,’ and so getting to do that has been really fun, exciting, liberating. It’s been really good.”

If (and we mean IF) Miranda doesn’t win the Oscar this time around, it’s pretty clear he’ll be in the running again soon enough. You know, because he’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

The Oscars air on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. on ABC. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

The majority of players invited on an all-expenses paid trip to Israel have pulled out after coming to the conclusion that the government was using them to promote a political agenda and improve its image abroad. 

Only five of the 11 players originally slated to attend the trip ended up going following revelations that the Israeli tourism minister hoped the players would become “ambassadors of goodwill for Israel.” Earlier this week, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett wrote in a statement published on Instagram  that he would not be “used” in such a way.

“I was not aware that my itinerary was being constructed by the Israeli government for the purposes of making me, in the words of a government official, an ‘influencer and opinion-former’ who would then be ‘an ambassador of goodwill,’” he wrote. 

“I will not be used in such a manner,” he added. “When I do go to Israel – and I do plan to go – it will be to see not only Israel but also the West Bank and Gaza so I can see how the Palestinians, who have called this land home for thousands of years, live their lives. I want to be a voice for the voiceless, and I cannot do that by going on this kind of trip to Israel.”

After Bennett announced he would not make the trip, his younger brother, New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett, also decided to bow out, as well as Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills and San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde, according to The Guardian. 

Former NFL linebacker Kirk Morrison and Denver Broncos running back Justin Forsett also didn’t make the trip, although Forsett apparently opted not to go weeks ago because his wife is expecting a child. 

In the lead-up to the trip, the Israeli minister for strategic affairs and public diplomacy said he hoped the players would help counter “negative and false characterizations of Israel.” Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin similarly said he hoped “after they have seen the unique tourist sites and the special atmosphere here, [the NFL players] will become ambassadors of goodwill for Israel.”

News of the all-expenses paid vacation led activists, including Angela Davis, Alice Walker and John Carlos, to publish an open letter on The Nation last week asking the players to reconsider attending. “These trips bringing celebrities to Israel are part of a larger ‘Brand Israel’ campaign to help the Israeli government normalize and whitewash its ongoing denial of Palestinian rights,” they wrote. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited with U.S. President Donald Trump this week to discuss the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Last December, East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland wrote a letter pleading with then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to grant his city, which is facing a lead contamination crisis, an emergency declaration to allow it to address the problem.

Pence said no, suggesting the $200,000 in assistance the state had already offered to help the city relocate affected families and administer free lead testing would suffice.

Pence’s successor, fellow Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, disagreed. Last week, in one of his first executive orders in office, he issued a declaration of disaster emergency that paved the way for additional state and potentially federal assistance for the struggling city and tasked Copeland with providing a written assessment of what resources the city will need to help its residents by March 5.

Deborah Chizewer, a law fellow at Northwestern University’s Environmental Advocacy Clinic who has been assisting East Chicago residents affected by the toxic, lead-contaminated soil, said Holcomb’s action was a welcome change from Pence’s response to the crisis.

“I was obviously very disappointed that Pence didn’t give this situation the requisite level of attention,” Chizewer told The Huffington Post. “I don’t think the state has done enough, but I was very pleased to see that Holcomb recognized the urgency in East Chicago that remains.”

The situation in East Chicago dates back at least to 1972, when the West Calumet housing complex was built on the site of a former lead refinery.

Concerns about lead in the soil in the area began around 1991, when the state first began testing East Chicago children for lead exposure. It wasn’t until 2009 that a 322-acre area, including the complex, was declared a Superfund site. Testing of the area’s soil first confirmed to residents last year that it was contaminated with both lead and arsenic. 

Cleanup of lead-contaminated homes in the predominantly low-income, minority-populated city began last summer. Section 8 housing vouchers for residents affected by the city’s plan to demolish the complex were distributed shortly thereafter, but many residents have struggled to find alternative housing using those vouchers. According to CBS Chicago, some 157 families of 332 living in the complex have yet to relocate as of this month.

The city’s lead crisis was the subject of a longform HuffPost video, titled “Dear Mike Pence,” released last December.

In the piece, East Chicago residents living inside the Superfund site’s three impacted zones express frustration that it took health officials so long to make them aware of the dangers of lead in their community.

One East Chicago resident, Mauro Jimenez, described to video producer Matthew Perkins how the EPA visited his family’s house about six years earlier.

“They came here and took samples out of my yard,” Jimenez told Perkins. “They never did say for what. They never sent it to me. They sent it to me this year, giving me the numbers of lead and arsenic too. Why did they hold that information from us?”

Jimenez, along with his wife Sara, is a homeowner essentially trapped in the affected area, unable to sell his home due to the lead.

“In good conscience, because they had small children, I couldn’t even sell them the house because we’re all contaminated here,” Sara told Perkins.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said no blood lead level in children should be considered safe. Exposure to lead has been linked with developmental delays, learning difficulties and other problems.

Since the HuffPost piece was filmed, advocates for the residents say the situation has gotten more serious. The Environmental Protection Agency discovered elevated lead levels in the drinking water of 40 percent of area homes that were recently tested. The EPA advised residents to use water filters.

That’s also the advice that Marc Edwards, a whistleblower in the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, offered for residents of the Indiana city. Edwards told HuffPost the city should also recommend that residents living in homes with lead pipes switch to bottled water, implement lead-corrosion control strategies and remind children to wash their hands to reduce their exposure to lead dust and soil.

A city spokesman did not respond to a request for information concerning the city’s action plan on lead. An Indiana Department of Environmental Management pointed only to the text of last week’s emergency declaration in response to a request for additional comment. 

For her part, Chizewer hopes the state may move to provide water filters to residents to help them reduce their exposure to lead, a problem she admits will not be an easy or cheap fix.

The ongoing crisis in Flint, to which some have likened East Chicago’s troubles, is evidence, she says, of just that.

“It can’t be fixed overnight,” Chizewer said. “This is a cleanup of hundreds of properties. It’s going to take years, but I hope there is a concerted effort to clean the properties up as quickly as possible.”

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Joseph Erbentraut covers promising innovations and challenges in the areas of food, water, agriculture and our climate. Follow Erbentraut on Twitter at @robojojo. Tips? Email joseph.erbentraut@huffingtonpost.com.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

A 2-year-old boy and 26-year-old man are dead and a pregnant woman is injured after a gunman opened fire on their car in the Lawndale area of Chicago on Tuesday, according to The Chicago Tribune. The woman was filming the trio on Facebook Live when the shooting occurred.

The video begins with the woman singing and dancing with the man in the car. A child, whom police identified as Lavontay White Jr., can be seen in the back seat. 

After a minute and a half, gunfire can be heard as the woman screams.

The screen goes dark after the woman runs out of the car and into a house, apparently looking for help. She can be heard yelling, “Call 911! They killed him,” apparently referring to the car’s other passenger. She then tells people in the house, “I have a bullet in my stomach!”

The full video, which is graphic, has been removed from Facebook but can still be found on YouTube.

Both Lavontay and the older male passenger, whom police have not publicly identified, were shot in the head, the Tribune reports. 

Eddie T. Johnson, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, said during a press conference following the shooting that the adult male victim was a documented gang member who died of his injuries, adding that the attack appeared to be targeted. Paramedics revived the child for some time, but he was later pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

The woman, who is in her 20s, and her fetus are expected to survive.

“This has just got to stop somewhere,” Johnson told news reporters after the shooting. “Our children shouldn’t have to keep paying the price for our inability to hold repeat gun offenders accountable for their actions,” as well as first-time gun offenders, he added. 

Johnson said he was confident CPD would find the suspect in Tuesday’s shooting, citing “promising leads” and video of the shooting.

The woman told police that she, the man and the child were driving through an alley behind AC Delco Auto Electronics shop when a car blocked them and a gunman exited the vehicle and opened fire, according to police.

Photos of the crime scene show a dark red Oldsmobile Alero with bullet holes near a fence in an alley.

Lavontay is one of three children who have died from a shooting in Chicago over a four-day period.

Takiya Holmes, an 11-year-old girl who was hit in the head by a stray bullet intended for a rival drug dealer on Saturday evening, died on Tuesday of her injuries. Kamari Gentry-Bowers, 12, was also hit with a bullet at a Chicago playground on Saturday night.

She died Wednesday at Stroger Hospital after four days on life support, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Shootings in Chicago have reached a two-decade high, with 4,000 shooting victims and 762 homicides last year, according to the Washington Post.

On Valentine’s Day alone, 12 people were shot in Chicago’s south and west sides, the Chicago Sun Times reports. Five people were killed that day, including 2-year-old Lavontay.

One day before Tuesday’s shootings, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seeking federal aid to combat the violence in the city.

“One victim of one shooting is one too many,” Emanuel said in a statement following Tuesday’s deaths. “But when innocent children are caught in the crossfire of gun violence … our consciences are shaken and our hearts are broken.”

The mayor said Tuesday’s shootings “must be a turning point for our city” and called for “meaningful gun control and sentencing legislation” to keep guns away from criminals and “keep repeat offenders off our streets.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Residents in at least seven states have reported finding Valentine’s Day-themed Ku Klux Klan recruitment literature in their neighborhoods in recent days, triggering concerned calls to local law enforcement and fears about a potential rise in the hate group’s activity.

The pamphlets, tucked into plastic sandwich bags weighted with rice or rocks, include racist and anti-gay slogans inside hearts and contact information for the North Carolina-based Loyal White Knights of the KKK, once among the largest Klan offshoots.

The campaigns, known as “lit drops,” are stirring controversy in communities in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Virginia.

Local police have mounted investigations in some jurisdictions, and officials have said they don’t believe the culprits were targeting specific families. No arrests have been reported. Authorities say it’s unlikely they’ll be able to press charges against the people responsible, since the fliers are constitutionally protected political speech.

“Again, we don’t take lightly the offense and anxiety this may cause residents,” Tamara Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, told the Raleigh News & Observer after residents reported finding the fliers outside their homes. “Unfortunately, it would be very challenging to criminally charge or cite the distributor if they’re ever identified.”

The Loyal White Knights of the KKK is active in more than 20 states, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that tracks hate groups and hate crimes. A recent SPLC report found that various Klan groups had distributed white supremacist fliers 117 times in 26 states last year, with the Loyal White Knights responsible for more of the leafleting campaigns than any other KKK organization.

This particular method of recruitment suggests KKK groups are struggling for relevance and cash, said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC.

“This is not a sign of strength, and in a way, it’s a sign of weakness, because when you think about what’s involved in leafleting, it’s a high-impact and extremely low-effort way of getting attention,” Potok told The Huffington Post. “I’m not saying that they’re not committed racists, but on some level it’s a scam to make money.” 

In recent years, the Loyal White Knights of the KKK has attempted to rebrand itself by shedding historic images of lynchings and cross-burnings. The organization now sees itself as a “non-violent pro-white civil rights movement,” as Will Quigg, grand dragon of the group’s California chapter, told Vice News in 2015.

But in an interview this week with WNYT, an NBC affiliate in New York, Quigg did little to hide the racial animus that still motivates him and his fellow klansmen.

“The last eight years with [former President Barack] Obama as president, he has been doing nothing for the white Christian person,” said Quigg. “He’s been helping the Negroes.”

The latest KKK recruitment drive comes amid reports of growing hate group activity over the past year, a trend many believe has been fueled partly by President Donald Trump and his embrace of white nationalists and the alt-right.

Former KKK leader David Duke gave Trump a passionate endorsement last year, and then-candidate Trump was initially slow to disavow Duke’s support. KKK groups also engaged in an impromptu get-out-the-vote effort ahead of November’s election, encouraging people to cast ballots for Trump.

Quigg once revealed himself to be a Trump fan, though he told media outlets last year that he was supporting Democrat Hillary Clinton in an apparent effort to drum up bad press for her.

When WNYT asked Quigg for his thoughts on Trump this week, he said he wouldn’t call the president “an ally,” but admitted he agreed with “some of [Trump’s] ideals.”

Although some hate groups may be flourishing in the age of Trump, the Loyal White Knights of the KKK has been unraveling recently. The North Carolina chapter of the Loyal White Knights had planned to hold a “victory parade” for Trump in December, but was forced to scale back the event when two of its leaders were arrested for stabbing a fellow klansman. The men now face felony charges that could destabilize the organization.

“My guess would be that the Loyal White Knights will fall apart in the coming months,” said Potok.

Although KKK activity understandably commands attention and concern, Potok said the rise of other, less conspicuous white supremacist groups presents a more serious threat.

“These are groups that eschew the Klan robes and the Swastika armbands in favor of suits and ties, and try very hard to look like they’re actually serious intellectuals considering serious matters,” said Potok. “Klan groups in many ways are the weakest sector of the radical right, the most dysfunctional, the worst-led, and the groups having the very least inkling of political power.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Restaurant owners across the country are hoping the way to the nation’s conscience is through its stomach as they prepare to close their businesses in solidarity with immigrants on Thursday.

The restaurateurs are doing their part to support the grassroots movement dubbed “A Day Without Immigrants,” which asks immigrants not to go to work, open their businesses or buy any products for a full day on Feb. 16. The goal is to impress on President Donald Trump the importance of immigration.

“I’m happy about it,” said Benjamin Miller, co-owner of El Compadre and South Philly Barbacoa restaurants in Philadelphia. “[I’m] glad to see that chefs are stepping up and taking agency and using their power to advocate for people who are more vulnerable. The most we as chefs risk are fines, but these people risk losing their families. They have a lot more to lose.”

Miller’s wife and business partner, Cristina Martinez, is especially invested in the cause because she is an undocumented immigrant currently unable to apply for a green card, despite being married to a U.S. citizen. The couple will close El Compadre on Thursday. (Their other restaurant opens only on weekends.)

It’s no surprise that restaurateurs are taking a stand against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has led to an uptick in raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities. An estimated 1.2 million undocumented immigrants work in food preparation and serving jobs in the United States, according to 2012 Pew Research Center data.

Some high-profile names in the restaurant business have signed on to the effort, including Spanish-born chef José Andrés, who was sued by Trump after he pulled out of plans to open a restaurant in the new Trump hotel in Washington, D.C. Andrés announced on Twitter that he will be closing all five of his D.C. area restaurants on Thursday in solidarity.

The Blue Ribbon restaurant group has also vowed to close seven of its restaurants in New York City.

“This is not a casual decision,” Blue Ribbon partner Eric Bromberg told Eater New York, adding that closing their doors will definitely impact their bottomline. “But there are times in life when money isn’t the most important thing.”

Two other notable chefs with Philadelphia locations, Stephen Starr and Ecuadorian-American Jose Garces, have not said they will shut down for the day, but they are promising not to fire or otherwise punish any employee who decides to participate in “A Day Without Immigrants.” 

“We recognize the immigrant community is an essential part of the hospitality industry. … We support the right for hospitality industry employees to have their voices heard,” Garces said in a statement to HuffPost. “We are in close communication with any employees who plan to participate Thursday and doing our best to mitigate against any potential impact to our guests’ experience. We will not take any adverse action with any employee who chooses to participate.”

Any decision not to open even for a day is particularly difficult for those who own small businesses. Melissa Silva-Diaz, CEO and owner of the El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul, Minnesota, decided to close her family-owned eatery on Thursday after hearing about the day of protest from customers and workers.

“We had employees and a couple of customers send us the image of ‘Un Día Sin Inmigrantes,’” Silva-Diaz, whose parents are from Aguascalientes, Mexico, said on Wednesday. “I began to ask around and I asked employees, and some said they were planning on not working. That triggered a conversation. We had a meeting yesterday. We had a healthy discussion about it. I asked each individually what they wanted to do. I reached out to other businesses. Everyone was talking about it. Then we took a vote and unanimously we decided to do it.”

She acknowledged that many of her customers aren’t happy about the decision. But she said, “That’s what we want to do, to bring people awareness and get them talking.”

Juan Ramirez, manager of Taquerias Los Jaliscienses in Austin, Texas, understands firsthand the struggles that many undocumented immigrants face. The 54-year-old worked in the fields harvesting potatoes and wheat when he arrived from Mexico decades ago and gained legal status after the Reagan administration granted a major amnesty in 1986.

“I feel we are nothing without immigrants,” Ramirez said. “We are all in the same boat. Why not row together to move forward?”

Ramirez said that his Austin restaurant will be closed on Thursday and that he supports his employees 100 percent. He also noted that many workers were concerned about having enough money to pay their bills, yet they were willing to make the sacrifice.

While mobilizing around immigrants is nothing new, Miller noted, the Trump administration’s immigration directives have lit a fire under the community.

“This is part of a movement that has a long history,” the Philly restaurant owner said. “I feel like this subject is not just about Trump. There were plenty of deportations under Obama. … This political climate is mobilizing more people.”

Miller also hopes consumers will do their part to ensure that “A Day Without Immigrants” makes a strong statement. 

“As a patron tomorrow, don’t go to restaurants,” Miller said, addressing all Americans. “Don’t spend money in restaurants. If you go to a restaurant and it’s closed, don’t go to another one. Stay home tomorrow. Cook for yourself. Show solidarity with immigrants. Restaurants not participating, they will feel the impact that immigrants make every day.”

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

An Asian family in Oakdale, Minnesota was on the receiving end of an extreme act of hatred. 

The Xiongs, who are of Hmong descent, found the racial slur “chinks” spray painted across their garage on Sunday, the Oakdale Police Department confirmed. 

While the incident has been written up as criminal damage to property, it’s currently under investigation, police Capt. Karin LaTour told the Huffington Post. However, there are no suspects at this time. 

“We don’t have words to describe how we feel,” Linda Xiong, who lives with her siblings and parents in the house, told WCCO of the incident. 

She explained to the outlet that a newspaper delivery person had woken the family up early that day to alert them of the offensive graffiti. According to a police report, the spray painting had taken place in the early morning hours, shortly after another car in the area had been vandalized. 

The family was shocked by the incident as they’d just moved to the area and were excited to live in a larger home. 

“We just moved in two months ago [and] haven’t done anything wrong to anyone,” family member TL Xiong wrote on Facebook.

“We all have to acknowledge that racism has been going on [for] more than hundreds of years before our grandparents, parents and now including my very own generation.”

He later called on people to recognize the role that racism played in the incident.   

“We all have to acknowledge that racism has been going on [for] more than hundreds of years before our grandparents, parents and now including my very own generation.” 

Luckily, the family has been flooded with messages of support. Some people have even offered to donate funds to help cover the costs of the damage, which the family has declined, another Facebook post from TL indicated. The Xiongs’ neighbors visited them on the day of the incident, leaving the family touched by their compassion. 

“They came and they knocked on our door and said they were very sorry. And our neighbor, his name is Pat, he was helping us,” Linda told WCCO. “He was already cleaning our garage.”

Hate crimes directed at the Asian community have been on the rise ― particularly since the election cycle kicked off. And the problem is widespread nationwide. In 2015, Los Angeles saw an uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes, with the majority targeting people of Chinese descent. Nonprofit AAAJ-Los Angeles said it suspects it’s a result of Trump painting China as the “foreign enemy,” while on the campaign trail. 

And another report by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) revealed that acts of hate targeting South Asians have risen to post-9/11 levels. An especially large spike in hate violence and xenophobic rhetoric has been observed in the American South. 

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Museums around the country have responded in big and small ways to President Donald Trump’s highly contested travel ban, which bars immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations and indefinitely blocks Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. 

The Davis Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts is just the latest.

On Wednesday, the museum announced that it will be de-installing or shrouding all artwork by immigrants, as well as any art given to the museum by immigrants.

The decision to remove the work is meant “to highlight the invaluable contributions that immigrants from all over the world have made on our society and culture,” the museum wrote in a press statement. Echoing the American Association of Museum Director’s statement on Trump’s executive order, the Davis Museum describes the deinstallation ― dubbed “Art-Less” ― as a “protest” that will take place from Thursday, Feb. 16, until Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Davis Museum will be taking down or hiding 120 works of art in total, including paintings, bronze and wood sculptures and ceremonial masks from European, American, African, contemporary and modern collections. The initiative will amount to a censoring of 20 percent of the objects on view in the Museum’s permanent collections galleries. The impact of “Art-Less” on the African galleries will be particularly stark ― nearly 80 percent of the galleries’ objects were donated by the Klejman family, who immigrated to the U.S. from Poland after World War II.

“Every permanent collections gallery will be affected by the subtraction of works created by or given to the Museum by an immigrant to the United States,” Claire Whitner, assistant director of curatorial affairs and senior curator of collections, explained in the statement.

The museum will note the removal or obfuscation of works with labels that read “made by an immigrant” or “given by an immigrant.” (Work that cannot be removed will also be draped in black cloth.) In fact, the Davis encourages other “sympathetic institutions” to download the labels in an effort to broaden the “Art-Less” initiative. 

One of the “subtracted” works will be a recognizable portrait of George Washington that was painted by the Swedish-born artist Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller. Wertmüller immigrated to the U.S. in the 1790s. His oil painting was given to the Davis Museum by the Munn family, who also emigrated from Sweden after World War II. 

The decision to remove work from its collection might seem counterproductive to some, but the Davis Museum seems to believe that the temporary absence of art will highlight how reliant art museums are on immigrants artists and benefactors. 

The “Art-Less” protest comes after the Museum of Modern Art’s decision to hang more art by artists from Muslim-majority nations on its walls. MoMA’s Chief Curator of Drawings and Prints Christophe Cherix described the endeavor as a “clear reaction” to Trump’s travel ban that was meant to express “solidarity with artists from different countries.”

The Museum of the City of New York has similarly taken action, staging an exhibition called “Muslim in New York” that pays tribute to the legacy of Muslim life in the city’s five boroughs.

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Source: HuffPost Black Voices