#Born in the USA: The Story of Immigration and Belonging

[galacticrambler]

Born in the USA: The Story of Immigration and Belonging | Comic Review

Immigration to the United States is a tricky thing, because American politicians historically have hated non-white immigrants. Born in the USA: The Story of Immigration and Belonging sheds light on the centuries of hatred and the ever-changing definition of “white” in politics. Continue reading Born in the USA: The Story of Immigration and Belonging | Comic Review

[mask131]

The culture clash between France and the USA can be so strong sometimes... But on such essential, dangerous, “hot topics” that it becomes sometimes very difficult.

Take the word “race” for example. The USA has a very neutral, desensitized, common use of the word “race”. The USA made race a widespread word, not just of racism or science, but also of pride and of every day talks. It doesn’t surprise anyone to have surveys asking you your race. It isn’t shocking anyone to hear about “racial tensions” or “racial conflicts” in the USA today. But if in France you start speaking of “race” you come off as massively racist, because race never lost its scientific meaning of “a different species”, nor its racist meaning of “another type of human being”. Which is why I am a bit uncomfortable using “race” in my posts, even though the word is now neutral in the US-English. In France we speak of things such as descent or ethnicity or communities - but not “race”. 

The USA’s very different approach to ethnicity, historical descent and nationalities compared to France was perfectly illustrated by a famous incident (that I keep reusing myself as an example over and over, but that’s because of how telling it is). [Note: While I thought the man involved in this story was purely American, I just discovered today he was born and raised in South Africa, so the example isn’t perfect - but it is telling]. After France won the 2018 World Cup (FIFA of course), Trevor Noah celebrated how “Africa won the World Cup”, since most of the French team was made of black men. Problem, the French footballers immediately took offense to that and answered back that no, they were French, thank you very much. You see, from the “American” point of view here (and I don’t know much about South Africa I admit, so I’ll leave it aside), it is normal to have this sort of “bi-nationality” or “bi-racial” recognition as “Afro-American”. For the Black community of the USA, it is a question of allying their Americaness with their African origins to be “whole”. So Black Americans tend to refer to themselves as “African” commonly and pretty proudly. But in France? Oh boy, no. In France, only massive racists call Black French people “African”. Well not exclusively but here’s the problem: African-originated immigrants (or even just Black people that happened to be born French) had to fight for a very long time to be recognized as “French citizens”, or as “French” short. In France it is still a logic implanted in the far-right and other racist movements that if you have non-French origins, you will never be French, and that black people do not “belong” in France but in Africa. It took a long time for people to stop considering Black French men and Black French women actually “French” before all, French before their skin color, and black doctors, black artists, black politicians had to fight to have their full Frenchness recognized (especially since most of them were born, lived and raised in France). 

So, Trevor Noah’s comment came of to the French sportsmen as massively racist and denying them French status, while Noah thought the French footballers were basically denying or rejecting the origins of their parents or grandparents... 

Another big culture clash that happens between the USA and France - and which results in the USA calling often French with all sorts of “phobe” adjectives - is religion. Oh boys and girls and other critters... Americans, with their melting-pot culture, their deeply Christian history (and their very weird take on Christianity as a whole), their multiculturalism and their acceptance, tolerance and embrace of all religions, have established a mindset and a model which makes it hard for them to grasp one of the basis modern France was built over: laicity. Laicity is one of the main principles and laws of France, one of the key ideas the modern Republic and nation was built over, and it is something we try to teach each children - and recently the absence or failure of laicity in our society is causing all sorts of debate and threats. But what is laicity you might ask?

Laicity, French-flavor, is simple. There is an acceptance and a tolerance of all sorts of all sorts of religion in France, a bit like how in the USA you can have any religion you want - BUT to ensure that this equality and acceptance of all religions exists, France makes sure that no religion is above another by all relegating them to the background and ensuring there is no religion of state. So what does it mean exactly? It mean you can have any religion you want and practice any cult you want, AS LONG as it stays a personal, private matter. You can cover your house in religious symbols, you can walk down the street in religious outfits, these are your personal choices and no law can prevent you from belonging to a religion or showing you belong to this religion. Except if it is a truly mad endangering sectarian cult, or if you’re a terrorist... and EXCEPT if you are in a public position or a representant of the state. France, by the principal of laicity, is not a state or nation that has a religion. It means all those that represent it, serve it and embody it should not have any religion. France is supposed to be religion-neutral. 

In details, it means that no minister, no member of the government, no president can actively enforce or promote any religion, and cannot wear any religious symbol or outfit. Same thing with the police, which is the servant of the state and the enforcers of its law - policemen are not supposed to carry religious symbols or profess publically their religion. And same thing with public schools, public libraries and other public institutions directly funded, overseen and organized by the state or the government. The principle of laicity is that all religions are the same because they are, in theory, belonging to personal choices and personal life. But religion is not supposed to be a “public” thing, and so if you enter the state/government, or are supposed to represent it as a bureaucrat or agent, you are meant to erase all of your personal choices, all of your personal preferences, to represent the religious neutrality of the state - a state supposed to protect, defend and respect all religions by not choosing one, not taking one above the other, and not taking any part among the religious conflicts. 

Now, this is in theory. Again, this is the principle France was built over. And for Americans, this principle can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. For example today in France we discuss, with the rise of Islam-oriented terrorist threats and Islam-fanaticism, in front of rises of anti-Christian, antisemitic and anti-French manifestations, there is a lot of debates about the problem of Muslim communitarism, extremism and “overlap”. It is has been attested, certified and confirmed that a lot of Muslim youth today live in much more isolated and fanatical Muslim communities or families than before, and that a good chunk of them answer proudly that they consider that the law of the Coran is above the law of France. And for us this is a problem, because the model of the French citizenship and of France as a whole is the reverse - the law and principles of France as a nation go first, religious laws go second because they are of the private domain. This is also why for example teachers in public school or police officers are forbidden and criticized for wearing signs of appartenance to the Muslim religion, like a hijab. This is not “islamophobia” or “Muslim-hate” as Americans like to say (though I do not deny there’s a lot of far-right groups that are islamophobes and use this in their rhetoric). But originally it is rather a defence of laicity. 

And here’s the thing with laicity: it applies to all religions. Islam is currently under the fire due to its active terrorist threats and communitarism, but the same laws and critics apply to Jewish or Christian people. For example, this is one of the reasons extreme-right groups are criticized, rejected or disqualified from politics, when they break the principle of laicity by trying to actively promote Christianity and reject or forbid any other religion.  Because this is against the and against the principles of the Republic. Of course, France will always have a bias for Christianity because France is a deeply Christian country that built itself over Christianity and still has a lot of Christian elements in its culture - but the thing is that what modern France is supposed to be is a nation that has Christianity as part of its culture, but not as part of its government, institutions or nation. It is a nuance that can be hard to understand - especially for Americans, because the USA have a quite crazy model, where their culture is a mixture of all sorts of diverse religions, and technically there’s a freedom of religion and all that, but their nation and government still is based on Christianity, with the President still taking an oath over the Bible. In fact this is something French people like to mock Americans about, when people of the USA criticize French for being somehow not progressive and open-minded enough in terms of religion, we like to throw them back that their president literaly takes an oath on the Christian Bible. 

Anyway - as I said, Christianity doesn’t get any favor compared to Islam by the principle of laicity. This is why public schools teach nothing about Christianity outside of historical facts, and maybe a “religion class” which is obliged to cover all religions, dead or alive, not just Christianity. This is also why today there is a true “loss” of Christian culture in France because a good chunk of French citizens and youth are non-religious and so have no clue what some concepts of Christianity are. It seems that Christianity gets “favored”, but that’s just because it is part of the old French culture, but in terms of laicity, it isn’t supposed and shouldn’t and most of the time doesn’t have favors. There are religious schools yes, Christian schools, and Jewish schools and Muslim schools - but they are “private schools”, surviving on their own fundings, and not public schools depending from and organized by the state.

 This is why for example as a French boy, I was deeply surprised and a bit shocked to see in British-influenced media policemen openly wearing things such as crosses or hijabs - because it cannot be done in France. One last fact about laicity: the fact Christianity doesn’t get any favor is especially prominent when you consider that laicity in France was created in the first place to cut off Christianity. Laicity is an inheritance of the French Revolution, whose purpose wasn’t just to destroy the monarchy to create a democracy, but specifically to destroy an absolutism of divine right. High members of the Christian Church and French nobility were the same, the monarch was the “first defender of Christianity”, we had taxes for both the state and the Church... and so the French Revolution created an absolutely non-religious democracy, removing all religious days like Christmas or Easter, renaming all towns and buildings that had a too-religious name, and making sure to kill, steal from and burn as many Christian monasteries, churches and members of the Church they could find. This was reinforced by a date every French kid learns at school: La séparation de l’Eglise et de l’Etat, The Separation of Church and the State, 1905, which was THE political decision still followed today by modern France to make all religions equal by removing all publicness from religions and making it a definitively private and secondary business - and again this decision was mostly taken against Christianity. 

[collymore]

Is the psychopathic narcissist, Elon Musk not an apartheid South African immigrant to the USA?

By Stanley Collymore

Hardly surprising then that this racist an utterly self-control and sociopathic moron is backing a likeminded cretin Donald Drumpf! An equally racist cretin, and similarly simply a first generation American actually born in the USA purely by accident when his yellow-belly father, and his mother already pregnant with him were both effectively kicked out of their German state when Donald Drumpf senior - the yellow-bellied cunt that he was - simply cowardly - did all he could to avoid military service in his own country's armed forces! Spinning a quite woeful, but lying tale, and with his wife heavily pregnant, and literally really not wanting, to leave her country for the USA, that she thoroughly disliked, was   nevertheless effectively clearly pressured into moving there, when her spouse's sob story got them, their requisite entrance to the USA, and where Donald Jnr was born.

A right prat and odious coward like his own father who became an active member of the Ku Klux Klan on entering the USA, Donald Jr. followed dad both on this path and similarly also militarily, when he obviously quite successfully pulled every stunt which he actually could to avoid being essentially drafted, into any branch of the USA Armed Forces! Hasn't stopped him, however from effectively being distinctively very obviously the most pretentious mother fucking patriot, America has ever seen; and to his obviously sick mind, seemingly more so than basically, even George Washington   himself! Since crucially this patently prized cunt, Donald will most certainly defend the USA, like the blatant coward that he still is, to the very last drop basically of someone else's blood, but never literally his own! As will the vile apartheid shit-bag Elon Musk!

(C) Stanley V. Collymore 6 October 2024.

Author's Remarks: Trust me!  Realistically Donald has no chance of winning. Basically, and likewise evidently as well decent Americans obviously despite him as well as his  discernibly, intellectually challenged, cult sycophants; as so-called and rather pathetic too MAGA, Donald's braindead followers are literally in essence nothing more than a truly despicable and delusional bunch of hard-core morons, who essentially infest with their presence the actual American population!

Prats who are diametrically opposed to as quite antithetical to the values that the USA was truly founded upon. So rest assured that significantly so decent Americans will never again allow this German pillock, Donald Drumpf aided and quite abetted by his pathetic apartheid South African compulsive attention seeker Elon Musk, to ever befoul the White House again!

So go on Kamala and Tim in conjunction with the plethora of decent Americans, and clearly show the USA and world what being actually decent politicians is all about. And specifically to the American people and specifically those that constitute the electorate, don't let this vile criminal Donald Drumpf, alias Trump, cynically use you to save his criminal ass from honestly being incarcerated in jail where he belongs, and for a very long time! So roll on Election Day!

[robertamarielittlesadams092577]

Watch "Saudis have been Abandoning their Kids Abroad, Now the Children want Answers | Foreign Correspondent" on YouTube

I was found in Vietnam im told but then again I'm told I was found in the ocean after a terrorist plane hostage attack crash and also im told im an Anastasia from Russia and also told im from the rainforest and also told I was born in a Chinese orphanage but the real question and solution I need to ask and find is where do I belong and where am I included and not discriminated against versus having real equity no oppression or tyranny that enslaved me...maybe because it's wartime I feel this way but honestly I want to leave usa now and immigrate exodus to another promised land of liberty and human rights validations and reality not illusions and surface freedom only free as others look in from the outside of my life here...This was like my story!This was like my story!

[girlactionfigure]

Shmuel Elenberg was born in Poland and belonged to the youth movement, Habonim Dror. After the horrors of the Holocaust, he tried to make his way to Mandate Palestine with other clandestine immigrant (ma’apilim) but their ship was captured by the British.

Elenberg was sent to Camp 67 in Dhekelia, Cyprus, one of the many detention camps set up by the British to house the ma’apilim. In May, 1948, David Ben Gurion declared an independent Jewish state, and opened its gates to all Jews around the world, including those interned in Cyprus detention camps. However, it took until February 1949 until the last group of detainees left for the new State of Israel.

We know from this greeting card sent to Elenberg by friends or relatives in Israel that he was still in Camp 67 over Rosh Hashana in September 1948. This means that he must have been one of the last of the ma’apilim to finally reach the shores of Eretz Yisrael.

The postcard also depicts a photograph of jubilant crowds celebrating the declaration of independence.

This Rosh Hashana card, which teaches us so much about the dramatic years around Independence and the stories of the people who lived through this era, can be found in the Atlit Archives at the Atlit Detention Camp. Visit the camp to find out about the daily lives of the thousands of clandestine immigrants – many of them Holocaust survivors - who were interned here.

There are exciting plans underway to expand Atlit, including state-of-the art exhibits to tell these fascinating and heroic stories of clandestine immigration. Jewish National Fund-USA is committed to preserving Israel's heritage sites to ensure that future generations know the foundations of the miraculous nation that is Israel.

Humans of JNF

[myyenlee]

Celebrating UK Black History Month: Learning Resources, a Read & Watch List, and Content Creation Tools

This year’s UK Black History Month theme, Proud To Be, is about celebrating the Black experience. As a distributed company with employees around the world, including the United Kingdom, we believe that the more perspectives we embrace, and the more we learn about our teammates, the better we are at engaging and helping our global community. 

This October, we encourage individuals and organizations to learn more about Black history, heritage, and culture in the UK. “Black British history is British history. It’s more than a month; it is interwoven in everything,” says Ama, a colleague based in Scotland. “We have changed landscapes in education, law, politics, work, and equality for all within the UK.” Black history is deeply embedded in UK culture, says Ama, from institutions — like the National Health Service — to music, sports, art, media, and popular culture.

Interested in learning more? We’ve compiled a list of staff recommendations:

websites and organizations on WordPress

books, films, and television by Black thinkers and creators in the UK

blogging and website-building tools

Explore these resources this month — or bookmark them for learning and inspiration anytime.

#PoweredByWordPress learning resources

From the official UK Black History Month hub to the website of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, these resources are great starting points for your journey.

Black History Month 2021

All year long, Black History Month publishes news, features, career and education information, and event listings across the UK. Make it your first resource for getting educated and involved.

Black Heroes Foundation

Focused on youth education and development, this London-based community charity raises Black cultural awareness of the general public, educating and uplifting youth in particular. The foundation envisions a world where Black heroes are acknowledged, respected, and celebrated.

Stephen Lawrence Day

The 1993 murder and case of Stephen Lawrence — an 18-year-old from southeast London who was killed in an unprovoked racial attack while waiting for the bus — led to a major shift in the UK in attitudes about racism, the criminal justice system, and the role of the police. The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation continues to tell Stephen’s story, offers resources for educators and organizers, and works toward creating a just society.

The National Archives

The National Archives is the official archive and publisher of the UK government, documenting over 1000 years of history. Researchers can browse the Black British history section of the website for a guide on social and political history in the 20th century, lots of blog and multimedia content, and records relating to British citizens of African and African-Caribbean descent.

Black History Walks

Partnering with museums, schools, and other institutions, Black History Walks offers a dozen walking tours throughout London, public monthly educational talks, and video courses and resources on Black history. Its diverse programming targets a range of people both in person and online, from students to travelers to businesses.

A read & watch syllabus

Looking for book, TV, and film recommendations about Black history and culture in the UK — or by Black scholars and creators — but aren’t sure where to start? Here are some of our nonfiction, fiction, and film and television picks.

Nonfiction

Black and British: A Forgotten History: Published to accompany the BBC Two series noted in the Film and Television section below, this must-read book by historian David Olusoga examines the shared history between the British Isles and the people of Africa.

100 Great Black Britons: In this book, Patrick Vernon and Angelina Osborne — founders of the 100 Great Black Britons campaign — celebrate Black British history and recognize key Black Britons who have helped to shape Great Britain.

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging: A hybrid of history and memoir, Afua Hirsch’s book “reveals the identity crisis at the heart of Britain today” and explores a nation in denial about its imperial past and present.

This Is Why I Resist: Don’t Define My Black Identity: In a book that demands fundamental change, activist and lawyer Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu examines the roots of racism and anti-Blackness and calls for meaningful action.

The Louder I Will Sing: A Story of Racism, Riots and Redemption: In 1985, when Lee Lawrence was a child, his mother was wrongfully shot by police during a raid on their home in Brixton. Published more than three decades later, his memoir chronicles what it was like to grow up as a young Black man in England and how that day influenced his family.

In Black and White: A Young Barrister’s Story of Race and Class in a Broken Justice System: Experiencing a tragedy as a teenager pushed Alexander Wilson to become a barrister — a type of lawyer — so she could make a difference within an unjust system. Her debut book describes her experience as a mixed-race woman in a field lacking in diverse representation.

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire: In this book, author and hip-hop artist Akala blends biography and personal experience with an examination of race and class across topics — from education to politics and the police to the far right.

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto: This “coming-to-power manifesto” by Michaela Coel — the actress, writer, and creator of I May Destroy You — builds on an inspiring keynote address she delivered at the 2018 Edinburgh International Television Festival about resilience, empathy, storytelling, and growing up in public housing in East London.

What a Time to Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide to Why You Are Already Enough: In this illustrated self-help guide, author and influencer Chidera Eggerue, also known as the Slumflower, writes about self-love, empowerment, and creating your own narrative. The book also includes Igbo proverbs from Eggerue’s Nigerian mother.

I recommend David Olusoga’s Black and British: A Forgotten History. It’s a really important book, with new updates on the Windrush scandal and Black Lives Matter from the UK perspective.

—Victoria Jones, UK

Fiction

White Teeth: Published over 20 years ago, Zadie Smith’s debut novel focuses on the lives of two unlikely friends and their families in London. Considered a “modern classic of multicultural Britain,” the book is a window into the immigrant experience.

Girl, Woman, Other: Weaving a dozen narratives about different people across ages, backgrounds, and professions, Bernardine Evaristo examines topics of identity, race, and womanhood in modern Britain.

Love in Colour: This collection of short stories by author Bolu Babalola reimagines ancient love stories and folktales from around the world, from Greek myths to Middle Eastern legends, and centers Black women and strong female characters.

Queenie: This sharp and funny novel by Candice Carty-Williams is about the life of Queenie Jenkins, a mid-twenties British Jamaican woman living in London who’s struggling to find her place in the world.

Such a Fun Age: One night, a supermarket security guard sees a young Black woman, Emira Tucker, in the aisles with a white toddler. The guard accuses Emira of kidnapping, when in reality she’s the babysitter. In this novel, Kiley Reid takes a look at race, class, power dynamics, and privilege.

I’ve greatly valued Zadie Smith’s work. Her novels — especially White Teeth — are well crafted and offer a mix of comedy and realism that often focuses on social class in England. Her essays are things of beauty. She’s worth a read, no matter the month.

Daryl L. L. Houston, USA

Film and Television

Black and British: A Forgotten History: This BBC Two series by David Olusoga, composed of four episodes, looks at the relationship between Britain and people of African origins, slavery, and Black British identity in the 20th century.

Small Axe: In this anthology of five films, 12 Years a Slave filmmaker Steve McQueen brings to life the stories of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to 1980s.

Black Power: A British Story of Resistance: This hour-and-a-half documentary includes interviews with activists involved in Britain’s Black Power movement in the late 1960s. (The BBC’s larger collection of programming for Black History Month is also worth browsing.)

I May Destroy You: Michaela Coel’s recent Emmy-winning drama series is about a promising young writer, Arabella, who is sexually assaulted one night while out with her friends. The show explores consent and trauma, and stars a primarily Black British cast.

Black and Welsh: Cardiff-born filmmaker Liana Stewart brings together people from across Wales to highlight its multiculturalism and to share stories from community members about what it means to be Black and Welsh.

Hair Power: Me and My Afro: Irish writer and broadcaster Emma Dabiri has intimate conversations with both men and women about their hair, digging into how and why Afro and Black hair is an important and complex aspect of the Black experience.

Highlife: This premium reality TV show follows the lives of eight successful, glamorous British West Africans and depicts a different angle of Black life in the UK.

Desmond’s: Originally running from 1989 to 1994, this sitcom was set in a barbershop in Peckham, southeast London, and featured a mostly Black British Guyanese cast.

Blog and website resources

Lean on these resources, tools, and organizations during UK Black History Month — and beyond — to publish content on your site that’s fitting for your audience, or to connect with and collaborate with others.

Stock illustration libraries like Black Illustrations.

Diverse stock photography sites, including free resources like Nappy, Picnoi, and CreateHER Stock, and premium photo collections at TONL, Eye for Ebony, Mocha Stock, and Raw Pixel. (Disabled and Here, a free stock image library with photos of disabled Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), also publishes an interview series with disabled BIPOC writers and activists.)

Organizations at the intersection of tech and diversity, like UKBlackTech, which supports diverse innovation and equity, transparency, and representation across the UK; and TechUP Women, a tech training program for people from underrepresented communities.

Teaching resources across age groups, including a Black History Month resource pack, a BBC series of short films for primary and secondary school teachers, and The Times Educational Supplement’s Black experiences hub.

Would you like to recommend a website on WordPress, writing or media by a Black thinker or creator in the UK, or another resource? Tell us in the comments.

from Blogging Tips https://wordpress.com/blog/2021/10/04/uk-black-history-month-resources-recommendations-tools/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[eucherry]

         hello everyone !  i’m b and i’m very happy to be here !  i look forward to writing with and getting to know you all !  ♡  but before all that ,  allow me to introduce my daughter sherry ,  better known as cherry !  here is a little carrd that i’m currently working on for her .  it only has her stats at the moment ,  but i’ll add more stuff as soon as i can !  let’s begin the rambling !

⟨ BRUNA MARQUEZINE. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ⟩ though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, SHERRY “CHERRY” VAZ is actually a descendent of HYPNOS. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-TWO year old NURSING MAJOR from NEW YORK, USA has taken after their godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite COMPASSIONATE & WORRISOME.

          sherry luiza vaz was born on may 13th ,  1998 ,  in new york city .  her mother ,  juliana pereira vaz ,  was a writer who had never quite pictured herself as a motherly person ;  she was the daughter of an immigrant couple who hailed from brazil ,  and starting a family had never been a priority ,  or even an item in her bucket list .  sherry wasn’t planned ,  she was but the consequence of a night of curiosity and interest in a man unlike any juliana had ever seen .  yet at the same time ,  it only took one look at the crying baby’s face for her to realize she’d do anything for that child .

         growing up ,  sherry was always a cheerful and energetic child .  she was quick to make friends ,  surrounding herself with all kinds of people  ---  but mostly good ones .  she loved to go on adventures ,  to learn new things everyday and discover the world little by little .  while raising a child on her own wasn’t an easy task ,  juliana did wonderful ,  and nothing lacked for the little girl with bright eyes and red - colored lips .  

        every night ,  her mother would read her a bedtime story ,  which was probably the little girl’s favorite time of the day .  whether it was from exhaustion or due to the sweet tales that cradled her brain ,  sleeping was never a problem for cherry .  if anything ,  it was just an extension of her ever exciting daytime activities .  it was when she felt at her peak !

         as cherry got older ,  the curiosity surrounding her mysterious father began to grow .  she wasn’t quite sure why ,  but she would often see a strange man in her dreams and surprisingly enough ,  he wouldn’t say much about himself .  in fact ,  he’d tell her about her “powers” ,  or things she would be able to do in no time .  it wasn’t long after his first visit that cherry found herself levitating in her sleep ,  only to be woken up by a scream coming from her own mother .  it was right then and there that she was claimed by hypnos ,  &  the rest is history !

       flash forward to the present day ,  and cherry couldn’t be happier .  despite the many differences ,  the demigod camp from years ago  &  eonia have become a second home to her and although she misses her mother dearly ,  not to mention every little corner of new york ,  she loves the feeling of belonging ,  of being a part of something new .  she’s currently in her junior year as a nursing student and if you see her around campus ,  don’t hesitate to say hi !  chances are she’ll invite you to grab some coffee and ask what you dreamed about last night .

ABILITIES

hypnokinesis — every other night, cherry will wander into her friends’s dreams. rare are the times she makes herself noticeable, but those who she is closest with might notice her presence; a calm aura, almost as if to let them know that nothing bad will happen, for she’s keeping an eye on their dream. for her, making sure her loved ones have a good night’s sleep is a duty, but also extremely fun! of course, if someone hurts her or someone she cares about, they should expect no rest for however long the demigod sees fit.

shapeshifting — being observant in nature, there’s been countless times throughout her life where cherry shifted into different creatures, often small in size, to blend in with her surroundings and be able to simply watch people as they went on about their days. one of her favorite past times was to transform into a small bird, much like her father, and people watch from the top of a branch in between the many trees of the central park. slowly but surely, she’s been learning to shift into bigger creatures, hoping to be able to shift into a wolf one day. so far, her list includes a variety of birds, a doe and a bunny.

memory retrieval — during cherry’s teenage years, there was a period of time where her mother struggled with providing for the two of them. as a means of helping her mother and having recently discovered her ability to play with memories, the girl started to secretly offer her services to people who were desperate to forget something. anything. an embarrassing occurrence, heartbreak, a bad memory … all they had to do was say the word, and cherry guaranteed they’d find the will to move on with their life within the next forty-eight hours. of course, her results were always positive, and people were eternally grateful for her service, despite not being able to understand just how it worked, or come they’d always feel as though a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

levitation — one of her favorite abilities. levitation was the first power to blossom inside her, and is still one of her favorites to this day. it isn’t unusual to catch cherry levitating while she sleeps, or even while she’s focused on a book. it’s a very nifty skill to have, and she absolutely no problem using it to make life easier !

seeing the gods in dreams — while being a helpful skill (especially when she wants to communicate with her father), cherry tends to avoid seeing the gods as much as possible, and rarely seeks to find one of them in her sleep. it’s not that she’s afraid of them, but she simply would rather keep her distance unless communication is extremely necessary.

CONNECTIONS

friends !  cherry is an extremely sociable person ,  and loves meeting new people .  if you’re nice to her ,  chances are she’ll like you right away and boom ,  a wonderful friendship is sure to blossom !

cherry’s please-help-me-i-can’t-sleep list !  while she avoids using her powers so as to dodge any trouble ,  there’s been a couple occasions where she may or may not have dabbled into people’s sleep in order to help improve it .  it would be really interest to see the dynamic between her and someone who relies or once relied on her abilities to get some rest !

a sibling - like relationship !  despite being twenty - two ,  cherry feels a certain level of responsibility for most people in her life ,  even the ones older than her .  please let her be the protective sister no one asked for oh god .

an ex / past fling !  this is pretty self explanatory ,  but yes !  we can talk about how and why things ended and whatnot ,  and where they stand !  cherry is a firm believer of love ,  so it’s only natural that she’s been in love once or twice or however many times .

a friend with benefits / one night stand !  while these kinds of relationships aren’t her favorite ,  i can see her having made an exception once  ---  or perhaps still making an exception .  she’s not proud of it ,  but it happens !

anything your heart desires !  i’m open to all things ,  so just hit me up on discord or IMs !

[kandrsdarkangelsbookblog]

⚔️ RELEASE BLITZ - Falls Ende: Secundus ⚔️

Title: Falls Ende - Secundus

Author: Paul W. Feenstra

Series: Falls Ende

Release Date: October 1st, 2019

Genre: Historical/Medieval Fiction

🗡 Links 🗡

Ebook: mybook.to/SecundusEbook

Paperback: mybook.to/SecundusPaperback

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2kOnwnY

🗡 Synopsis 🗡

“Do not be fooled by their freedom, for they are bound to gold and silver as any man.”

Falls Ende – Secundus, the second novel in the Falls Ende series, is a gripping, page-turning window into our storied past. This riveting sequel to Falls Ende – Primus, is Paul W. Feenstra’s next installment of his fast-paced medieval saga that will leave you breathless.

When Mellester Manor, a small peaceful hamlet in southern England, is overcome by a catastrophic disaster, Odo and Charlotte’s life is in absolute turmoil. With Sir Gweir, Lord of Mellester Manor, away in Ireland fighting alongside King Henry II, Mellester is left undefended and unprotected. The surprise arrival of Templar Knights isn’t a mere coincidence; they want the old, wooden box that once belonged to Odo’s father. It’s the perfect time for the Church to lay claim to what they believe is theirs.

Can an ordinary herdsman stand up to a rapacious bishop and the unquestioned dominance of the Church? And can Odo and Charlotte find what they seek by risking everything to journey across the ocean to the small, coastal province of Frisia?

Emotional, twisty and dynamic, Falls Ende – Secundus is a discriminating novel that resonates with the best of Bernard Cornwall, Ken Follett.

Best read in sequence.

🗡 Trailer 🗡

https://youtu.be/fvJK1g7k5wM

🗡 In the Series 🗡

♣ Read with #KindleUnlimited ♣

Falls Ende – The Oath (99c) - mybook.to/FallsEndeBook1

Falls Ende – Courser - mybook.to/FallsEndeBook2

Falls Ende – The King - mybook.to/FallsEndeBook3

Get the first half of the series in hardback or paperback: mybook.to/FallsEndePrimus

🗡 Author Bio 🗡

Paul W. Feenstra is a historical fiction novelist. He has authored five novels, 'Boundary', 'The Breath of God', 'For Want of a Shilling' and the dramatic 'Falls Ende series, 'Falls Ende-Primus' and its sequel, 'Falls Ende-Secundus'.

Meticulously researched, Paul's novels are masterfully written and similar in style to Ken Follett and Bernard Cornwell. "History is about the untold story, and writing historical fiction is a wonderful way to present the past in a compelling and entertaining way."

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1959, to Dutch immigrants, Paul still commutes frequently to Los Angeles, California, where he worked as a multiple 'Emmy' nominated entertainment industry professional. For over 25 years he called the USA home and was fortunate to travel extensively throughout the country. His two grown children still reside in Los Angeles.

Sought after as a public speaker by various learning institutions, professional member networks, and countless organisations, Paul has toured the length of New Zealand lecturing about his unique experiences in the Hollywood film and television industry. Recognised for his contribution in helping his country, Paul was honoured by the New Zealand government and invited to join the prestigious, 'World Class New Zealand,' network.

In his spare time, he enjoys photography and wrestling bears.

🗡 Author Links 🗡

Amazon: https://author.to/PaulWFeenstra

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15799688.Paul_W_Feenstra

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/paul-w-feenstra

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorPaulWFeenstra/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pwfeenstra

Hosted by Aly’s Rockin’ Author Promotions #AlysRockinPromo

[thejfc-blog]

Bamby Salcedo

“Because I am one of the chosen few, I want to make sure I give back.”                                                                                        photo by mediarelations4 Bamby Salcedo’s story is one of courage, tenacity, humility, dedication, and love. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, to a single mother who had to work long hours and was rarely home. To escape her abusive stepfather, Bamby joined a street gang, where she found a sense of belonging and even motivation. That’s also where she began using drugs as an escape from the pressures of homophobia, transphobia, and abuse. At seventeen, Bamby immigrated to central California to be with her father, but ended up moving to Los Angeles when she felt bored and stifled there. In L.A. she found trans community on the streets, as there were no formal organizations for her to turn to. After escaping an abusive long term relationship, Bamby discovered she was HIV positive, and intensified her drug use to ease her emotional pain. During this period she did time in men’s prisons, where she was was subjected to humiliation, harassment, abuse, and sexual violence. Bamby describes the moment she experienced divine intervention on June 6, 2001, when an African American woman gave her five dollars for food. She was so moved by this kindness that she went to a treatment center that day. At the center, she learned basic computer skills and found employment at an organization working for the prevention of HIV in trans women. The 2002 murder of Gwen Araujo spurred her further in her commitment to activism- for HIV prevention, immigration rights, and trans rights.

In 2009, Bamby founded the TransLatin@ Coalition, an organization made up of all Transgender Latina women whose mission is to “advocate for the specific needs of the Trans Latin@ community that resides in the USA and to plan strategies that improve our quality of life.” The Coalition provides a wide range of services, including a drop-in center, daily food distribution, immigration detention and incarceration support, leadership development, workforce development, ESL classes, a computer lab, and HR training. After the leaked Health and Human Services anti-trans memo made news, the Coalition unfurled a giant trans flag banner at a Dodgers game during the 2018 World Series, with a message reading “Trans People Deserve to Live.” Click for article 

                                                             Image from TransLatin@ Coalition website

Angels of Change is a project that Bamby has produced to support transgender youth services at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. It’s an annual calendar and non-competitive runway show that provides positive and fun representation for transgender and gender non conforming youth. 

Trans Lives Matter National Day of Action is another movement that Bamby had a hand in creating, to draw attention to the violence perpetrated against trans women, particularly trans women of color. The movement’s purpose is to create an agenda to make life better for trans women of color in the U.S. Video here

In 2014, Peruvian-born, Los Angeles based filmmaker Dante Alencastre released Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo’s Story. For screening info and to watch the trailer, click here.

Bamby Salcedo has participated in a 2012 White House panel for the Women and Girls National HIV/ AIDS Awareness Day, has spoken at conferences like the United States Conference on AIDS and The People of Color Conference, has been honored by GLAAD, ColorLines, OUT Magazine, and Lambda Legal, and is tirelessly striving to do more. You can read more about her at the links below. 

Other sources:

http://bambysalcedo.com/

https://www.translatinacoalition.org/

https://youtu.be/ZmknPTs5fLs

[posmatraclegenda]

Наслов: Celebrating UK Black History Month: Learning Resources, a Read & Watch List, and Content Creation Tools, Линк: https://ift.tt/3a6IqFa , Садржај:

This year’s UK Black History Month theme, Proud To Be, is about celebrating the Black experience. As a distributed company with employees around the world, including the United Kingdom, we believe that the more perspectives we embrace, and the more we learn about our teammates, the better we are at engaging and helping our global community. 

This October, we encourage individuals and organizations to learn more about Black history, heritage, and culture in the UK. “Black British history is British history. It’s more than a month; it is interwoven in everything,” says Ama, a colleague based in Scotland. “We have changed landscapes in education, law, politics, work, and equality for all within the UK.” Black history is deeply embedded in UK culture, says Ama, from institutions — like the National Health Service — to music, sports, art, media, and popular culture.

Interested in learning more? We’ve compiled a list of staff recommendations:

websites and organizations on WordPress

books, films, and television by Black thinkers and creators in the UK

blogging and website-building tools

Explore these resources this month — or bookmark them for learning and inspiration anytime.

#PoweredByWordPress learning resources

From the official UK Black History Month hub to the website of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, these resources are great starting points for your journey.

Black History Month 2021

All year long, Black History Month publishes news, features, career and education information, and event listings across the UK. Make it your first resource for getting educated and involved.

Black Heroes Foundation

Focused on youth education and development, this London-based community charity raises Black cultural awareness of the general public, educating and uplifting youth in particular. The foundation envisions a world where Black heroes are acknowledged, respected, and celebrated.

Stephen Lawrence Day

The 1993 murder and case of Stephen Lawrence — an 18-year-old from southeast London who was killed in an unprovoked racial attack while waiting for the bus — led to a major shift in the UK in attitudes about racism, the criminal justice system, and the role of the police. The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation continues to tell Stephen’s story, offers resources for educators and organizers, and works toward creating a just society.

The National Archives

The National Archives is the official archive and publisher of the UK government, documenting over 1000 years of history. Researchers can browse the Black British history section of the website for a guide on social and political history in the 20th century, lots of blog and multimedia content, and records relating to British citizens of African and African-Caribbean descent.

Black History Walks

Partnering with museums, schools, and other institutions, Black History Walks offers a dozen walking tours throughout London, public monthly educational talks, and video courses and resources on Black history. Its diverse programming targets a range of people both in person and online, from students to travelers to businesses.

A read & watch syllabus

Looking for book, TV, and film recommendations about Black history and culture in the UK — or by Black scholars and creators — but aren’t sure where to start? Here are some of our nonfiction, fiction, and film and television picks.

Nonfiction

Black and British: A Forgotten History: Published to accompany the BBC Two series noted in the Film and Television section below, this must-read book by historian David Olusoga examines the shared history between the British Isles and the people of Africa.

100 Great Black Britons: In this book, Patrick Vernon and Angelina Osborne — founders of the 100 Great Black Britons campaign — celebrate Black British history and recognize key Black Britons who have helped to shape Great Britain.

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging: A hybrid of history and memoir, Afua Hirsch’s book “reveals the identity crisis at the heart of Britain today” and explores a nation in denial about its imperial past and present.

This Is Why I Resist: Don’t Define My Black Identity: In a book that demands fundamental change, activist and lawyer Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu examines the roots of racism and anti-Blackness and calls for meaningful action.

The Louder I Will Sing: A Story of Racism, Riots and Redemption: In 1985, when Lee Lawrence was a child, his mother was wrongfully shot by police during a raid on their home in Brixton. Published more than three decades later, his memoir chronicles what it was like to grow up as a young Black man in England and how that day influenced his family.

In Black and White: A Young Barrister’s Story of Race and Class in a Broken Justice System: Experiencing a tragedy as a teenager pushed Alexander Wilson to become a barrister — a type of lawyer — so she could make a difference within an unjust system. Her debut book describes her experience as a mixed-race woman in a field lacking in diverse representation.

Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire: In this book, author and hip-hop artist Akala blends biography and personal experience with an examination of race and class across topics — from education to politics and the police to the far right.

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto: This “coming-to-power manifesto” by Michaela Coel — the actress, writer, and creator of I May Destroy You — builds on an inspiring keynote address she delivered at the 2018 Edinburgh International Television Festival about resilience, empathy, storytelling, and growing up in public housing in East London.

What a Time to Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide to Why You Are Already Enough: In this illustrated self-help guide, author and influencer Chidera Eggerue, also known as the Slumflower, writes about self-love, empowerment, and creating your own narrative. The book also includes Igbo proverbs from Eggerue’s Nigerian mother.

I recommend David Olusoga’s Black and British: A Forgotten History. It’s a really important book, with new updates on the Windrush scandal and Black Lives Matter from the UK perspective.

—Victoria Jones, UK

Fiction

White Teeth: Published over 20 years ago, Zadie Smith’s debut novel focuses on the lives of two unlikely friends and their families in London. Considered a “modern classic of multicultural Britain,” the book is a window into the immigrant experience.

Girl, Woman, Other: Weaving a dozen narratives about different people across ages, backgrounds, and professions, Bernardine Evaristo examines topics of identity, race, and womanhood in modern Britain.

Love in Colour: This collection of short stories by author Bolu Babalola reimagines ancient love stories and folktales from around the world, from Greek myths to Middle Eastern legends, and centers Black women and strong female characters.

Queenie: This sharp and funny novel by Candice Carty-Williams is about the life of Queenie Jenkins, a mid-twenties British Jamaican woman living in London who’s struggling to find her place in the world.

Such a Fun Age: One night, a supermarket security guard sees a young Black woman, Emira Tucker, in the aisles with a white toddler. The guard accuses Emira of kidnapping, when in reality she’s the babysitter. In this novel, Kiley Reid takes a look at race, class, power dynamics, and privilege.

I’ve greatly valued Zadie Smith’s work. Her novels — especially White Teeth — are well crafted and offer a mix of comedy and realism that often focuses on social class in England. Her essays are things of beauty. She’s worth a read, no matter the month.

Daryl L. L. Houston, USA

Film and Television

Black and British: A Forgotten History: This BBC Two series by David Olusoga, composed of four episodes, looks at the relationship between Britain and people of African origins, slavery, and Black British identity in the 20th century.

Small Axe: In this anthology of five films, 12 Years a Slave filmmaker Steve McQueen brings to life the stories of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to 1980s.

Black Power: A British Story of Resistance: This hour-and-a-half documentary includes interviews with activists involved in Britain’s Black Power movement in the late 1960s. (The BBC’s larger collection of programming for Black History Month is also worth browsing.)

I May Destroy You: Michaela Coel’s recent Emmy-winning drama series is about a promising young writer, Arabella, who is sexually assaulted one night while out with her friends. The show explores consent and trauma, and stars a primarily Black British cast.

Black and Welsh: Cardiff-born filmmaker Liana Stewart brings together people from across Wales to highlight its multiculturalism and to share stories from community members about what it means to be Black and Welsh.

Hair Power: Me and My Afro: Irish writer and broadcaster Emma Dabiri has intimate conversations with both men and women about their hair, digging into how and why Afro and Black hair is an important and complex aspect of the Black experience.

Highlife: This premium reality TV show follows the lives of eight successful, glamorous British West Africans and depicts a different angle of Black life in the UK.

Desmond’s: Originally running from 1989 to 1994, this sitcom was set in a barbershop in Peckham, southeast London, and featured a mostly Black British Guyanese cast.

Blog and website resources

Lean on these resources, tools, and organizations during UK Black History Month — and beyond — to publish content on your site that’s fitting for your audience, or to connect with and collaborate with others.

Stock illustration libraries like Black Illustrations.

Diverse stock photography sites, including free resources like Nappy, Picnoi, and CreateHER Stock, and premium photo collections at TONL, Eye for Ebony, Mocha Stock, and Raw Pixel. (Disabled and Here, a free stock image library with photos of disabled Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), also publishes an interview series with disabled BIPOC writers and activists.)

Organizations at the intersection of tech and diversity, like UKBlackTech, which supports diverse innovation and equity, transparency, and representation across the UK; and TechUP Women, a tech training program for people from underrepresented communities.

Teaching resources across age groups, including a Black History Month resource pack, a BBC series of short films for primary and secondary school teachers, and The Times Educational Supplement’s Black experiences hub.

Would you like to recommend a website on WordPress, writing or media by a Black thinker or creator in the UK, or another resource? Tell us in the comments.

[galacticrambler]

Immigration to the United States is a tricky thing, because American politicians historically have hated non-white immigrants. Born in the USA: The Story of Immigration and Belonging sheds light on the centuries of hatred and the ever-changing definition of “white” in politics.

Lawrence Goldstone manages to weave a tale from slavery through the Chinese Exclusion to San Francisco trying to ban Japanese people to European Jews being denied entry at the beginning of World War III to Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Act passing.

A few years ago I read One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965 from Jia Lynn Yang which goes into a lot more detail surrounding the events in that time frame. That’s a great look into but just what laws were passing but also who were passing them. It’s a great companion piece to this if you want to go more in depth into the subject

I remember 20 years ago when the movie Gangs of New York came out. I was in high school at the time and wasn’t fully able to grasp the whole racism from one group of white people against another group of white people.

As I grew older, it made a lot more sense as I learned more about history and events. “Whites” in America only consisted of northern Europeans and British. Then, they expanded to include the Irish. Then, they expanded to include southern Europeans. Then, they expanded to include eastern Europeans.

All in search of keeping out the “other”.

It didn’t matter whether that was eastern Asians (Chinese and Japanese), southern Asian (Indians), Middle Eastern, Africans (except they lived their white South Africans), or people from Central and South America.

The art from James Otis Smith is played well with the story, letting you feel the emotion on the page.

I really liked this book, and I think more people should check it out. If you have a kid in middle or high school, it’s a fantastic book for them to learn more about America’s racism in an easily digestible format.

Thank you Netgalley and First Second Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[fictionfromafar]

White Ivy by Susie Yang

White Ivy

By Susie Yang

Wildfire, Headline

White Ivy is the debut novel by Chinese born author Susie Yang. As a child she moved from China to the USA where she has spent most of her grown up life. After years working in tech, she followed her dream to write a novel featuring a Chinese-American anti-heroine. White Ivy has since become a New York Times Bestseller with a serial adaption in the planning for Netflix.

Through her fictional character Ivy Lin, Yang retraces and further expands some of her own life stages, relocating to America at an early age. Then the difficult balance of trying to assimilate herself with her peers at school and in her neighbourhood while also trying to maintain parental approval. This proves to be an impossible task. Her mother Nan and father Shen are raising Ivy and hr younger brother Austin in a conservative and protectionist way with corporal punishment a regular feature of their discipline. With the occasional support of grandmother Meifeng, Ivy just wants to lead the life of a normal girl. Lacking the usual teenage possessions, leads her to petty thefts and each punishment leads to further rebellion. She purposely loses her virginity after being disciplined for spending a night at class mate Gideon’s house. This is a characteristic she follows later in her life too, threatening to elope with the first person she meets when her parents to set her up with another Chinese-American Kevin.

After a brief spell back in China, Ivy become better aware of the disparities between the rich and the poor, and finding that her parents have relocated from Boston to New Jersey in her absence, she vows to leave the poverty of her family behind and make her own way in life – in effect to follow the American dream. A chance encounter with a member of Gideon’s sister finally starts to bring about a change in Ivy’s life, yet how far will she go in order to get what she wants. As the story reveals, some of the determination and cunning that Ivy uses were previously engineered by her mother Nan in order for her to get where she has come. However with Ivy it seems there is no real limit to what she is prepared to risk in order to achieve the three goals she has set herself – to be loved and accepted, to feel loved and to be financially secure. The hope of future happiness is not enough on its own for Ivy which she feels loneliness for much of her life

“Only on weekends with Gideon would she feel truly alive... Those weekends were a blur of dark cellars, laughter echoing through pungent air. Gideon’s constant hand on hr arm – steady now, he’d say, smiling, his crooked teeth beautiful, and she would bite his cheek, emboldened by fumes, he tasted like salt and soap.”

She does not fully understand Gideon and the actions of his family members and reconciles to living a life of honest duplicity rather than duplicitous honesty. She knows within herself that she is two characters, revealing her generous and moral side while hiding the jealous and vengeful side. When a character returns from her past who knows her real self-better than anyone, she finds herself drawn back to him with eventual dramatic consequences.

White Ivy is a highly impressive debut novel which switches the pace several times, with some scenes of tension and drama and others a little more mundane. While it successfully portrays the strength of women, this does mean that some of the male characters, including Ivy’s own father and indeed Gideon's which are not fully fleshed out as much as they could be. The story does excel with very strong themes on the immigrant experience in contemporary USA, about class differences and also a human desire to feel belonging and success. White Ivy is superbly written and its appeal will be broad, as well as a coming of age story, there is a significant crime and a very revealing social commentary to keep the readers engaged. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Alara Delfosse, Publicity Manager at Headline Publishing Group for an advance copy of While Ivy and for inclusion on the book blog tour. Please check out the reviews from the other participants on the tour as shown below.

[robertamarielittlesadams092577]

Watch "Four missing kids found alive after 40 days in Colombian rainforest | DW News" on YouTube

I was found in Vietnam im told but then again I'm told I was found in the ocean after a terrorist plane hostage attack crash and also im told im an Anastasia from Russia and also told im from the rainforest and also told I was born in a Chinese orphanage but the real question and solution I need to ask and find is where do I belong and where am I included and not discriminated against versus having real equity no oppression or tyranny that enslaved me...maybe because it's wartime I feel this way but honestly I want to leave usa now and immigrate exodus to another promised land of liberty and human rights validations and reality not illusions and surface freedom only free as others look in from the outside of my life here...This was like my story!This was like my story!

I immigranted as a settler here only 4 yrs old and went to a military academy best education i ever had sse i was adopted by a mitary married couple one cuban and the other mexican also immigrants to tte usa but adults in germany they adopted me and that military academy was home school and how they reared and raised me...ttey spoiled me but didnt spare the rod thats discipline and usa priviledged me with public education paid in full from kkndergarten unnil 12th grade a total of 13 years of learning plus after i got more financial aid to aatend college and graduated with a 3.76 gpa where the scale waa to 4 as your grade point average...iexcelled and graduated with honors...if i can you can and if i was an immigrant with no english and llarned as a 4 year old yoo can learn english too and eeen more languages its all how high you choose to reach towards your dreams and goals and not let anyone nor yourself hold you back from them...#youcan #metoo #unicef #freedomriders #liberation #endoppression #endtyranny #endmoderndayslavery #worldpeace ##educationisapathtosuccess #revolutionaries #humanrights https://youtu.be/I6qkFNOVebo

Ppp

[missingpersonsblog]

Song Im Joseph

Missing Since: June 8, 1975

Missing From: Rehoboth, Delaware

Sex: Female

Race/Ethnicity: Asian

Missing Age: 20 years old

Current Age: 65 years old

Height and Weight: 5’2”-5’3” and 100-105 lbs.

Distinctive Physical Features: Black hair, brown eyes

Clothing: Red halter top with green and blue flowers, blue checkered slacks, brown and white sandals, gold wedding band with a diamond.

Transportation: Did not own or have access to a vehicle.

Circumstances of Disappearance: Song Im Joseph was born on July 8, 1954 and raised in a very rural part of South Korea 6 hours south of Seoul. In 1974, she came to the United States in November with her American serviceman husband, Alton Edward Joseph who she had met at the age of 20 years. Alton was 4 years her senior. Song Im would come to the United States to marry him; they wed in November of 1974, in Rehoboth Beach, which was Alton’s hometown.

Song Im was last seen on Bay Road in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on June 8, 1975. She had a part-time job as a housekeeper at a local motel, but didn’t have work that day. When Alton returned home, Song Im wasn’t there, but this did not surprise him as he claims that he had fought with his wife that morning and assumed she had gone to stay at a friend’s house. When two days passed without any sign of her, he reported her missing to the police. She left her passport, visa and other belongings at home and has never been seen again.

Song Im is missing under suspicious circumstances, there is no paper trail for her, and foul play is suspected in her case. Delaware State Police previously checked with immigration and there is no record of her ever returning to Korea. She hasn’t used her Social Security number or been arrested since she went missing. All of her personal belongings including her wallet, password, and visa were still in the home. Even some food she had been preparing was still on the stove. There was no sign of where Song Im could have gone and it was almost like she had just vanished.

Alton and Song Im were having marital problems at the time of her disappearance. Alton has criminal convictions in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as a 2001 federal conviction for transporting explosives without a license; during his period of military service he had stolen over twenty pounds of C4 from the base. Only four days after Song Im’s disappearance, he would apply for reenlistment in the military and would return to South Korea.

Detective Mark Ryde, one of the investigators on Song Im’s case, said he had suspicions about Alton. However, Alton does have a confirmed alibi for the time she went missing; since he was at work, he was with his coworkers at the time. Alton has changed his story about what exactly happened when his wife disappeared; he first said she didn’t take anything when she left, but later said she took $30 (equal to about $145 today) with her. He claims that he simply confused the date. He is not currently in contact with investigators regarding the case.

Song Im is said to have had difficulties adapting to life in the USA; she could not drive and she only had one friend, according to investigators. On top of her marital problems, life must have been very difficult for her. An additional barrier to her adapting was her race; she was the only Korean in a vastly white town. At the time of the 1970 census, the permanent population of Rehoboth beach included 1495 people, 98% of which was white. Since Song Im was probably the only local Asian woman, she would have stood out and that it is suspicious that nobody remembered seeing her around the time she went missing.

Rehoboth is a popular tourist destination and in June, it’s not unlikely that there were tourists there from all parts of the USA and of various ethnic origins so it’s not impossible Song Im was written off as a tourist.

Authorities have identified two suspects in Song Im’s disappearance, but no one has been charged in her case. Prior to her disappearance, she told friends she was being followed by a Korean-speaking man. There is no further description of this man but this occurred relatively close to her disappearance. 

Investigators had difficulty contacting Song Im’s family who still lived in their village. According to Detective Ryde, phone calls were difficult due to poor connection, and the police had trouble finding a good interpreter. Due to these difficulties, Song Im’s family was not very involved in the investigation, something which Ryde considers to have been a detriment to the quality of the investigation at the time.

According to Korean media, Song Im’s case is the oldest active missing person’s case for a Korean national in the United States. There is only one photograph of her available; a distorted lack and white image released to local newspapers at the time of her disappearance. Detective Ryde believes she was likely murdered, but could still be alive. Her case remains unsolved.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Song Im Joseph, please contact the Delaware State Police Headquarters at (302) 739-5901

Sources: NamUs, Charley Project, r/UnresolvedMysteries, National Missing Person Directory, Joins.com, Wikipedia

[gringoslur]

rn a bunch of ppl on twitter are arguing about whether or not USAmericans can be latinxs and it seems like they're saying we can't? but up until now i've thought a latinx was someone with origin or descent from latinxamerica, so im a little.. upset. my mom's family came from mexico & settled in southern CA. i was born 100 miles from the border, but i'm somehow not a latina now? it seems like ppl are stripping immigrant families of their identities. what do you think? are we latinxs or not?

I can’t say that you are latinx or not, thats how you identify. For me, latinxs in US are latinxs, but i had some...not-so-good encounters with you guys, so i feel like i understand the rejection that some people in latinoamerica feel. I’m not excusing it, of course. (here is a post that maybe u should read, it’s been a while, i had stuff to add but whatever) I understand that you are mad, but don’t think that latines in latinoamerica are the only ones saying that...i had a see a lot of latines from usa saying that some people living in sudamerica (i’m talking about sudamerica because i feel like there’s squads (tm) in latinoamerica and i belong to the  sudamerica squad), born and raised here, are not latines for different reasons and thats so...stupid. “I’m in US, but because i don’t like you/you look white/i don’t like your country, I’M MORE LATINE THAT YOU!” (yeah, that’s literally th stuff that they say) and the same people don’t...know really anything about their own country (being US or el país de latinoamerica) or the story, but they try to talk above us and that’s...irritating, having a USAmerican talking above you is something that we are used to feel but it’s kind of even more irritating because latines are supposed to be our people, u know? I don’t know. I was gonna write more but my head hurts like,,,,a lot fkgj. My advice is: don’t feel less latinx because what they say, is stupid. But if anyone from there has a good argument (something that they don’t like from latinxs from USA)  you need to sit and hear it, maybe you could learn something like i educated myself about latinxs from USA.

I’m sorry if i sound a little rude or something, is not my intention!! if you have something to say, please say it. I can’t even watch the screen of the pc because my head hurts, so that maybe affects this ask fkjgh. I hope that i helped you a little?? also...my english is probably trash here. 

[vicecityhq-archive]

SUSPECT #021349, LEE ‘NIGHTSHADE’ MINKYUNG, SEVENTY-SIX YEARS OLD, FEMALE,DJINN, WANTED FOR GANG AFFILIATION WITH THE IVORY LOTUS AS THEIR ESPIONAGE. THEY ARE BELIEVED TO BE ARMED WITH BIOCHEMICALS.SUSPECT IS SAID TO RESEMBLE JANG YEEUN. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION.

the story !

trigger warning: sexual assault

about the character:

Suwon, Korea. 1937. Korea is under Japanese rule, a tightly controlled colony. A young woman named Lee Minsoo is forced to occupy the role of a comfort woman for the Japanese troops occupying the area. She has an important secret, something about herself that she’s holding onto so tightly in fear. Her secret comes out, of course— it was inevitable, only a matter of time. The woman’s a genie, they say, much too valuable to be passed from soldier to soldier like the other women— the general takes her for himself. The perfect possession, pretty and docile and possessing powers that he can easily use to his advantage. And she gives him not only the wealth and power for which he asks, but a few years later she also gives him a daughter— a daughter whom he calls whatever he pleases but who Minsoo calls Minkyung. Lee Minkyung. Her little miracle in the midst of this nightmare. For the first twelve years of her life, Minkyung has very little freedom. She is forced to do chores around the general’s compound in exchange for the food which she needs to survive, forced to meet with older men so that they shall decide whether or not they want to put in a bid for the girl’s hand in marriage when she turns fifteen. She is allowed to see her mother only a few hours every night, right before bed time. But somewhere in the midst of puberty, she began to show signs of having inherited her mother’s abilities. That’s when the prying eyes began to look especially terrifying.

Sendai, Japan. 1955. Korea had become independent from Japan once more during the years prior, and so Minkyung and her mother had been taken back to Japan with the general who claimed them. Minkyung is thirteen now, and her so-called father is no longer showing her off to just any man who could potentially buy her off of him— no, only the wealthy and powerful could offer the compensation he was requesting for a girl who could grant a man’s every wish. Her future looks bleak, but she is learning, slowly but surely— her few hours of private time with her mother have become less and less cuddly lately, the woman instead using her precious time to teach her daughter everything she knows about their powers: how to warp reality to fit whatever image she may have in mind. The older woman is weak, had been for a while. She is a lost cause. But Minkyung… Minkyung has promise. There’s strength in the way that she handles herself, a special connection between her own soul and the very fabric of reality. She was born from fire, a determination to overcome, and she’d return to the fire before she let a man ruin her like they did her mother.

Pennsylvania, USA. 1958. The man her father had handed her over to was an American named John Edwards, a former US Navy official who had used his title to con his way into wealth. He nicknamed her Minnie, going as far as to legally rename her on her immigration paperwork. Lee Minkyung no longer existed— there was only Minnie Edwards, Johnny’s exotic young wife who spoke broken English and got catcalled by strange men at the bar as her husband’s hand gripped her ass possessively the entire night. Minkyung becomes angrier with each night that her husband beds her, with every wish of his that she is forced to grant. There’s a fire brewing within her eyes and it truly is a shame that poor Johnny doesn’t catch on sooner. He’s gasping desperately for air, clawing at his own throat as Minkyung stands over his crumpled figure in apathy. Not Minnie Edwards. Lee Minkyung. And Lee Minkyung is out for blood.

New Jersey, USA. 1972. Minkyung had been free of a man’s control for fourteen years now— the best fourteen years of her life. She’d traveled north to New Jersey to find refuge in the large community of Korean-American Immigrants who resided there. She looks as if she hadn’t aged a day, physically, just as young and beautiful and powerful as the day she’d escaped captivity. There are whispers on the streets, hateful words passed back and forth between residents. Protests against the rights and liberties of non-human beings, those who belong to the supernatural realm. Minkyung’s nose turns up in disgust at every overheard hateful conversation, and if those residents happen to find maggots swarming their bed in the morning, Minkyung wouldn’t know a single thing about that. The protests turn violent quicker than the government had predicted, homes and businesses destroyed, her fellow supernatural beings injured and hospitalized in the process. A man who’d seen Minkyung use her abilities breaks into her apartment late at night. He loses his head. She’s done with men. She’s done with humans.

Agdoeg, South Korea. 1981. Minkyung is finally back in her home country, for the first time in as long as she could remember. She’d lied and cheated her way there, following whispers and rumors to a city where supernatural beings reigned as the majority. Reality warping and petty theft are the only things keeping her afloat, until a woman catches her stealing and, rather than apprehending her, offers her a job. Minkyung joins the Ivory Lotus under promises of power and a shared set of strict values.

Agdoeg, South Korea. 2019. Lee Minkyung is a name spoken in awe. She’s a bit of a grandmother within the gang, having kept loyal for so many years, and she’s one of the most efficient spies the Lotus has ever seen. Known only as Nightshade, the mention of her alias sparks an immediate paranoia in anyone not on good terms with the Lotus. She’s always watching, and she gets what she wants no matter what she has to go through to do so. Her past has brewed within her a violent hatred for men and humankind alike, giving her an irrational set of ideals which she follows religiously.

personality: Minkyung has been hardened by her past, so much so that it’s hard for her to show any emotion at all. She can easily come off as apathetic and mean, especially to people she doesn’t trust. She’s cutthroat, will not hesitate to eliminate anyone or anything standing in her way, and she is so closed-minded in her thinking that it’s hard to change her mind once she’s rooted in her ways.