Young activist Rinku Sen on race, immigration, activism.

http://arc.org/content/view/44/43/

Rinku started her organizing career as a student activist at Brown University, fighting race, gender and class discrimination on campuses. She received a B.A. in Women's Studies in 1988 and an M.S. in Journalism at Columbia University in 2005. A native of India, Rinku grew up in the northeastern factory towns, and learned to speak English in a two-room schoolhouse. She can often be found with a pair of knitting needles in her hands.

Comments

[Kay Dennison]

She really is an amazing young lady!!! And from my work with immigrants, I know that she make really good sense in her observations!!!!

[Hattie]

I was an ESL teacher for years, so I have seen a lot. There were so many different groups, often in conflict with the dominant society as well with each other. Most difficult was mixed classes of Mexicans, Vietnamese, and Russians. A real culture clash.

[Brandon]

Somewhat off-topic, but Arizona is a focal point in the immigration battle.

Tension between Jan Brewer and Obama:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/jan-brewer-obama_n_1232367.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D130282

[Hattie]

Should be interesting to take in the social atmosphere in Phoenix. I will also be spending time with a selection of high tech types, who might have some valuable insights.
What gripes me about all this is that my grandmother's forebears were Mexicans who were incorporated into the U.S. when California was taken over. California and the Southwest were land grabs in the imperialist push of this country, just like Hawaii, and now those crackers want to give Mexicans a hard time. Grr.