Inspiration, Life Well-Lived
Video:
U.S.-Mexico Relations, Economic
Opportunity
“The US-Mexico border is one of the
most vibrant yet misunderstood regions in the world. Often portrayed as
troubled territory characterized by negative attributes such as violence and
disordered migration, the reality of this extensive geography is that it is
also a place of unparalleled cultural richness and business opportunities
created by the convergence of two nations, two languages, two cultures, and two
economies.
In mid-September, the Institute of
the Americas partnered with the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program to
convene a ground-breaking conversation called Innovation and Culture at the Border. This convening examined the creative dynamism of US-Mexico
border, with a focus on the impact of American Latinos in border economies, and
the opportunities that border regions represent for them. Along the border,
American Latinos — who are often bicultural, bilingual, and frequently binational
— are uniquely positioned to contribute to new approaches that create economic
opportunity and advance prosperity.
Examples of creativity and
entrepreneurial success are abundant in border cities along the nearly
2,000-mile US-Mexico border. However, such models are many times invisible,
actively ignored, or unacknowledged. To counter such invisibility and enrich
the narrative, Innovation and Culture at the Border brought together
individuals who work and live along the US–Mexico border (with a special focus
on CaliBaja) and who have intimate, practical knowledge of the challenges and
opportunities for innovation and creativity.”
Theatre, Social Justice
Dominique Morisseau
Humanizing the
struggles of the school-to-prison pipeline
Dominique Morisseau,
an award-winning playwright from Detroit, describes herself as an
artist-activist. She recently developed a three-play cycle called The Detroit
Projects, in which she highlights issues that have affected the city for
decades, such as racism, urban renewal, and economic inequality.
Morisseau’s newest
project, Pipeline, tackles the mass incarceration of Black men with
the story of a devoted inner-city public high school teacher who tries to save
her teenage son from the school-to-prison pipeline.
New research shows
that kids can start going down that path as early as preschool, where Black
children are 3.6 times more likely than White children to be suspended.
Morisseau, the
daughter of a teacher and a former teacher herself, developed a deep
understanding of the pipeline from her time living in urban cities like
Detroit, New York, and Chicago.
“This concerns me,”
Morisseau says. “And playwrights have the power to humanize social issues by
making people visualize human beings at the forefront of those issues. We can
spark emotions and make people feel these issues in their guts rather than
simply make them think about it in their brains.”
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Islam,
Community
Huff Post "Listen
to America" series:
“The Crescent Peace
Society’s “Meet a Muslim” events are one of a handful of similar initiatives
that have sprung up across the country since the election. One Muslim couple
started a “dinner with your
Muslim neighbor” project in Seattle, for instance, and a Muslim
veteran has been traveling the country with a sign reading “I’m Muslim and a
U.S. Marine, ask anything.”
When asked whether such
projects place undue responsibility on Muslims to have to humanize themselves
to non-Muslims, particularly in an environment of increased fear among the Muslim community, Latif
demurred.
“There’s a lot of
discussion in progressive circles on whose job it is to humanize people, and I
understand it’s off-putting to explain, ‘I’m just a human being just like you
are,’” he said. “But we’ve found in our work that waiting for other people to
do the work doesn’t get anything done. You have to take that first step and
hope that other people will join you.”
“If we don’t speak, then
other people write the narratives for us,” he added.
Amid a recent rise in
anti-Muslim hate groups nationwide ― and spate of hate
crimes in recent years in the Kansas City area ― Latif
recognizes the effect and reach of the group’s events are small. But even if
they touch only a few hundred people, he believes they still have value.
“There are so few Muslims
and so much said about them,” Latif said. “Even just meeting people who
[already] support us, they can say to their extended families: ‘I’ve met a
Muslim person and this is what I found out,’ so it’s a ripple that hopefully
reverberates further out.””
Women, Running for
Office, Campaigning
This advice, while geared toward women, can help men as well.
"Whether you're happy with
the political climate or hell-bent on change, one thing is clear: You are
underrepresented in government — and that void has far-reaching consequences,
no matter what side of the aisle you're on. Currently, 70 percent of our elected
officials are men, even though females make up more than half of the
population. What's holding us back? The crazy (and statistically unfounded)
notion that women can't win. Well, it's time to step up. Follow this ultimate
guide to running for office to get started."
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