tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86988722456484158412024-03-10T12:49:32.559-05:00JOOJOO AZAD | جوجو آزادPolitical fashion platform written by Iranian-American creative Hoda KatebiHoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-90772652846999520412019-12-18T01:10:00.001-06:002020-08-08T12:44:29.196-05:00Understanding Structural Anti-Shī‘ism in Sunnī Diaspora Spaces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Truthfully, it was not until rather recently that I really was able to understand the extent and prevalence of anti-Shia bias in the many spaces, relationships, and academic work I occupied and engaged in. <b>The microaggressions, exclusion, erasure, dismissive attitudes, or blatantly anti-Shia remarks were so normal, latent, casual, and consistent that I did not even realize the extent of the trauma and anxiety I was carrying as a result of it.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photographed by: <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mayajune/" target="_blank">Maya Mansour</a></u></span></td></tr>
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Growing up as the only visibly Muslim woman throughout my schooling in Oklahoma, USA my self-esteem was completely shattered and my identity and core values were constantly questioned by my peers--and soon, by myself as well. From a constant state of being a minority ostracized and ridiculed within a majority white and conservative suburb, <b>I had internalized a certain level of Islamophobia as a consequence. Islam was viewed to be at odds with a self-proclaimed “secular democracy” and everything I did was seen under a hyper-politicized lens.</b> For example, I did not know it was not “normal” to be called a terrorist on a near-daily basis or get physically assaulted at school for wearing hijab. The few lines of “Islamic history” we learned in class were drenched in violence and only worked to reinforce narratives of ostracization and othering.<b> It was only after I had moved to Chicago in 2012 for college that I was able to truly understand the extent of -- and work to unlearn -- the white supremacy and anti-Muslim bigotry I had internalized from being in spaces where it thrived unabashedly during the critical years of my identity formation.</b><br />
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<b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Similarly, the extent to which the predominantly-Sunni spaces I have spent significant time in were just as much perpetuating and enforcing a certain degree of prejudice about Shi’a Muslims that I was consequently internalizing and allowing to question the very fundamental aspects of who I am.</b><b style="background-color: white;"> </b>My renewed understanding of my Shia identity -- and the constant discomfort and tension I felt leading up to this point as a result of the spaces I was occupying and learning about Islam in -- was sparked only after the sudden end of a two year relationship with an Arab Sunni only months before our anticipated engagement.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photographed by: <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mayajune/" target="_blank">Maya Mansour</a></u></span></td></tr>
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While, admittedly, my parents were against our relationship in the beginning, arguing that Sunni-Shi’a relationships do not work when both parties are actively practicing their faith, I consistently pushed back, did the difficult work of having repeated conversations (and arguments) addressing their concerns and eventually won them over. While his parents seemed to be okay with everything in the beginning, I was eventually asked not to “bring up Saudi stuff,” not to “be super political” in conversation with them, and to even “pretend to be Sunni” to his extended family. Eventually, over the course of a phone call that lasted less than twenty minutes, he told me things can no longer move forward, citing again anti-Shia bias I had dispelled in prior conversations.<br />
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The end of the relationship in and of itself was less painful than the new <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">realization and recognition of the slow-building trauma of blatant and latent anti-Shi’ism I had internalized and normalized over the years, in spaces and places beyond our relationship. I was hurt and deeply confused as to how someone who claimed progressive values, open-mindedness about so many “taboo” topics within Islam, could so be so easily influenced by anti-Shi’a prejudice. </b>I began to realize that many of my friends were the same way. The conversations we had together about Sunni privilege and anti-Shi’a violence felt like explaining racism to a white man lacking self-awareness and unaccustomed to exclusion and violence in everyday spaces and institutions, or Islamophobes whose eyes and ears have been sealed shut to reality despite how many times they’re told the truth. It seemed unfathomable to many Sunni men that something that seemed so perfect and pure (i.e. Sunni Muslim spaces) could possibly be weaponized -- intentionally or not -- to make other Muslims (<u><a href="https://tif.ssrc.org/2019/11/25/body-chaudhry/" target="_blank">women</a></u>, Shi’a Muslims, non-Arabs, queers, and other minorities) deeply uncomfortable and systematically disenfranchised.<br />
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This experience was important, as it helped me develop language and new structural understandings of anti-Shiism, much like my move from Oklahoma to Chicago did to help me better understand structural anti-Muslim bias. Alongside the ongoing, intense, and structural nature of anti-Shi’ism across Africa, the Middle East (and in particular in the Gulf), and Asia, much of the power dynamics, funding, propaganda, and rhetoric of <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">anti-Shi’ism continues to dominate Muslim diasporic spaces in the West as well. Normalized anti-Shiism manifests (sometimes even unintentionally) into microaggressions in relationships, Muslim Student Associations (MSAs) and groups, mosques, and even (though less so) non-denominational ‘third spaces’ across the Muslim diaspora in systemic and consistent ways.</span></h4>
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But regardless of the intentions or situations that create and perpetuate anti-Shi’ism, <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">the result is ultimately always traumatic, harmful, and requires urgent redress. </b>Below are just a few beliefs, attitudes, political dynamics, and behaviors I have been able to understand in which structural Sunni normativity and anti-Shi’ism exists and thrives in Sunni Muslim spaces.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photographed by: </span><u style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mayajune/" target="_blank">Maya Mansour</a></u></td></tr>
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1. Speaking/operating from a Sunni perspective as though it is the “default” mode of Islam in books, lectures, third spaces, etc.</h3>
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Just as “whiteness” is the normal and default Google stock image, Sunnism typically remains the dominant and assumptive default of any space that has not been specifically defined otherwise. Muslim Student Associations, “third spaces,” and <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">even academic literature about/by Muslims consistently center Sunni schools of thought and doctrine, exclusively Sunni hadiths, and Sunni interpretations of historical events as factual and without noting the Shi’a approaches to the same, let alone the breadth and depth of other perspectives that exist in the tapestry of our tradition.</b><br />
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While Sunnis are the majority in most Muslim spaces, it’s important to note that numbers don’t guarantee the accuracy of a perspective or otherwise.<br />
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Not to mention that such an exclusion also erases the diversity of religious opinion that exists within the various branches of Sunni Islam as well, <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">effectively rendering Islam as a homogenous monolith -- an end product that many Muslims oftentimes criticize liberal and right-wing “pundits” for falling into.</span></div>
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2. Shi’ism is examined solely through a Sunni lens, and granted validity (or not) through a Sunni interpretation of Islam</h3>
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From my experiences navigating both Sunni and Shi’a spaces, I’ve noticed rituals and practices particular to each, that seem rooted in different understandings and frameworks of Islam. Of course I am not a theologian, but it seems apparent that Sunni tradition is rooted more in Sunna (as obvious as this may sound), though in contrast, <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">the Shi’i tradition carries an additional layer of emotive, oral practices that have been transmitted to us by the Ahlul Bayt.</span><br />
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In particular, the duas recited in Shi’a masjids tend to originate from members of the Ahlul Bayt that have been passed down through oral tradition. <u><a href="https://youtu.be/6caR2fGS6nU" target="_blank">Du’a Jawshan Kabir</a></u> for example, a long, devastatingly beautiful, and emotionally-captivating duaa containing 1000 names and attributes of Allah and recited regularly during Ramadan in Shia spaces, was written by Zayn al-Abidin (the 4th Imam in Twelver Shia tradition) and passed down through the Prophet’s family.<br />
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Additionally, the death of Imam Hussain at Karbala (whose sacrifice is remembered and commemorated during Muharram, a time when anti-Shi’a violence spikes globally) is a grave injustice within the heart of Islam’s history, and it is through this act of mourning that Shi’a Muslims remember and honor the ultimate sacrifice in the name of justice.<br />
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These two examples of emotive and oral practices establish a relationship to Islam and Islamic history that elicits and encourages mourning, and is centered in most Shi’a spaces. Therefore, it is very normal (and in fact encouraged) to cry in Shi’a masjids, and it can also serve as <u><a href="https://muharraminmanhattan.com/2016/10/16/yousuf_decolonial_majalis/" target="_blank">a decolonial practice that allows for communal healing</a></u> and reaffirmation to the pursuit of social justice.<br />
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Yet, Shi’as are constantly ridiculed and questioned for these practices that, from a strictly textual (non-Sufi) Sunni perspective, are seen to be superfluous and “overly emotional” -- a label not attributed to similar Sufi practices within Sunnism.* <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Despite lamentation and emotive practices prevalent in Sufi expressions of Sunnism, Sufi Muslims are generally understood to be a “valid” practice of Islam within most mainstream Sunni diaspora spaces -- an acceptability typically not afforded to Shi’as. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>* Of course, anti-Sufi violence also unfortunately exists widely in various Muslim-majority countries</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photographed by: </span><u style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mayajune/" target="_blank">Maya Mansour</a></u></div>
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3. Shi’a spaces are always perceived as political and politicized, whereas Sunni spaces have the privilege and presumption of apolitical innocence</h3>
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Within most Shi’a traditions, the Prophet (SAW) and his family are revered, celebrated, mourned, and centered in khutbas, programming, curricula, etc. <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">This is largely because, among other reasons, each member of the Ahlul Bayt carry legacies and stories that reflect and model the ideals of Islam on a fundamental level. </b>The unapologetic commitment to social justice, community, radical love, selflessness, pursuits of knowledge, and other virtues encouraged in the Qur’an and embodied in the stories of the Prophet (SAW) and Ahlul Bayt are incomparable. This creates a framing within Shi’a spaces that I have always deeply loved and appreciated because they keep me grounded. <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Their stories are also particularly important for Shi’a Muslims given the messages of justice they carry and the parallels that are able to be drawn to the current widespread anti-Muslim, anti-Black, (and anti-Shi’a!) persecution globally.</b><br />
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However, in anti-Shi’a discourse, such a framework is criticized as “too political,” calling the emphasis on figures like Imam ‘Ali, Imam Hassan, and Imam Hussein as “excessive” and even sometimes inaccurately assuming Shi’a Muslims place the Ahlul Bayt on the same (or even higher) platform as the Prophet (SAW). </div>
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Yet, the near-consistent exclusion of the stories of Imam Hassan, Imam Hussein, and the Ahlul Bayt from most Sunni spaces is just as political as Shia spaces’ focus on them, if not more: despite the fact that Sunni traditions do recognize the contributions of the Ahlul Bayt in theory, most Sunni spaces today consistently (and, I would argue, <u><a href="https://ballandalus.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/the-commemoration-of-the-martyrdom-of-al-husayn-b-ali-d-680-in-al-andalus/" target="_blank">deliberately and strategically</a></u>) exclude their stories from regular programming. </h4>
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Shiism is genuinely centered on the stories, practices, legal rulings, authority, and interpretations of text that arose from the Ahlul Bayt as a cornerstone of Shia practice, and<b> <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">therefore focus on the figures’ stories and lives -- and especially so in the face of such consistent erasure (and <u><a href="https://ballandalus.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/the-commemoration-of-the-martyrdom-of-al-husayn-b-ali-d-680-in-al-andalus/" target="_blank">historic censorship</a></u>) of their stories from mainstream Sunni spaces.</span></b><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"> </span>In fact, the names of the 12 Imams are even inscribed in the Grand Mosque in Mecca and older mosques across the Muslim world, and yet their presence in contemporary Sunni conversations, khutbas, dialogues, lectures, and curriculum is minimal if at all present.<br />
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4. Structural privilege in Sunni spaces creates an unbalanced power dynamic that leads to unequal investment in, and mutual understanding of, Shia Islam and other minority sects</h3>
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As we know, there are significantly fewer Shi’a spaces than Sunni spaces overall, so, chances are when a Shi’a Muslim--or other Muslim minority--needs to find a place to pray, break fast, or build community with, we often do so in Sunni spaces. In Chicago, the few “local” Shi’a masjids are all well over an hour of driving away from the city, whereas the nearest Sunni masjid (that allows women to pray--that is a whole separate conversation for another day) is usually always less than 15-20 minutes away from wherever you find yourself in the city. Alhamdulilah I’m definitely grateful for this blessing, but this also speaks to a deeper structural reality to consider: as there are not as many Shi’a (and other minority) spaces for us to pray and practice in, <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">we inevitably end up needing to attend Sunni spaces, and therefore must find validity in the ways in which Islam is practiced in these spaces. In order to pray in Sunni spaces and engage in Sunni practices and feel valid in doing so, we must consequently also do the work of finding validity and legitimacy in Sunni Islam as a whole--whereas Sunni Muslims are not placed in similar positions vis-à-vis Shia and other Muslim minority traditions.</b><br />
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<b>Shi’a Muslims oftentimes pray behind Sunni congregational leaders and alongside Sunni communities, listen to Sunni khutbas during Jummah, and sometimes even break fast earlier to conform to Sunni interpretation of “sunset” for the sake of “Islamic unity” and community. </b>Yet, unity and community cannot be created in one direction; a forced assimilation of the minority into the majority. <b>True community building is a collaborative space that creates space for, and values, different practices and interpretations of faith that all shares a root and center.</b></h4>
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>And yet, Sunni Muslims typically rarely, if ever, have to engage in the same sort of “inter-sectarian” work on a community or personal/individual level as Shi’a Muslims typically do on a consistent basis.</b></span> Rather, Shi’a Muslims and other Muslim minorities are constantly estranged, excluded, and not given a comfortable space to exist and practice within Islamic “non-denominational” yet Sunni-majority spaces.<br />
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5. Saying “we’re all just Muslim” and erasing Shia existence is seen as progressive and unifying and Shias identifying themselves as Shi’a is read as provocative and divisive.</h3>
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<b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Playing the “colorblind” game has never aided progress--let alone the conversations required to get us there.</b> Nearly every time I passively mention or allude to the fact that I am Shi’a on social media or in conversation, I am usually quickly met with a barrage of messages or hostile questions about why I feel the need to “make such a big deal” about being Shi’a, intrusive questions about my beliefs, or messages proudly proclaiming that they are so “post-sectarian” that “I didn’t even realize I was Sunni until last year.”<br />
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<i>That my dear friend @WallahBro69, is literally the definition of privilege.</i></div>
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A lack of understanding of differences between Sunnis, Shias, and other minorities does not make anyone any “better” a Muslim or more “sectarian blind,” but <b><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">r</span><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">ather simply reaffirms the structural privileges of not needing to understand why your faith is constantly questioned and critiqued in everyday, mainstream self-proclaimed “non-denominational” Muslim spaces.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photographed by: </span><u style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mayajune/" target="_blank">Maya Mansour</a></u></div>
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Just as there are various interpretations, practices, and schools of jurisprudence and thought within Sunni tradition, there are several varieties of Shias (including but not limited to Twelvers, Ismailis, Zaydis, etc) and other Muslim minorities (Ahmadis, etc). Just as Sunnis fall on all levels of the religious and theological spectrum, so do Shi’as and others. And just as homogenizing all Muslims under one banner is what Muslims frequently critique Islamophobes for doing, <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">asking minority Muslims to conform to uncompromising spaces and reductive labeling is not only unfair, but violent. Saying “we’re all Muslim” to avoid having difficult but desperately-needed conversations about intra-Muslim dissonance only rips the community further apart, and erases all of the beauty of the variety of ways that Muslims have forged a relationship to Allah and Islam.</b><br />
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If your extended (or immediate!) family would be opposed to you marrying someone who is Shi’a (or Black, working class, etc) that is only all the more reason to use the opportunity to challenge these toxic and harmful perspectives. <b><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">We need to be having conversations around racism, class, queerness, gender, and other forms of systemic violence--such as anti-Shiism--and hold our family accountable, not excuse them for their harmful beliefs</span> </b>and hide the Shi’as in your life away. These could be the same uncles that defend or justify when Shias are murdered, the same aunts who perpetuate anti-Blackness, and the same grandparents that enforce class or caste divisions. <b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">This is more important than labels; this is about combatting systemic oppression regardless of who it is against--and as a Shi’a, I would argue this is a duty in Islam for <i>all</i> Muslims.</b><br />
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A divided greater Muslim community is a vulnerable one: as if class, race, ethnicity, borders, language, sexuality, cultural baggage, “muslimness”, gender, and other divisions of identity within the Muslim community were not enough to keep us divided and conquered, sectarian divisions are oftentimes one of the major ways imperialists work to keep us fighting each other rather than our collective oppressors. <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">It is so vitally important to build together across a global ummah; to build collective power, resistance, and unity against greater systems of injustice in the face of a growing Islamophobic ‘War on Terror’, the rise of white supremacy and fascism globally, devastating capitalism and economic and racial injustice, and climate change.</span></h4>
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وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً وَلا تَفَرَّقُوا</h3>
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<i>This piece has been cross-published on <a href="https://www.amaliah.com/post/57582/hoda-katebi-on-sunni-privilege-anti-shia-prejudice-structures-academia" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Amaliah</a>, our favorite UK-based Muslim platform highlighting and uplifting the voices of Muslim women, unafraid to publish the "taboo" or difficult conversations needed in the Muslim community. </i><br />
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<i>P.S. Sorry friends had to turn off the comments here -- though you can probably assume why. 🐤</i><br />
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Chicago, IL, USA41.8781136 -87.62979819999998241.4995241 -88.275245199999986 42.256703099999996 -86.984351199999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-79872458373321332932019-10-11T06:00:00.000-05:002019-10-28T06:48:51.495-05:00BECAUSEWEVEREAD x STANDWITHKASHMIR: Emergency Read on Kashmir<br />
As of today, Friday October 11th, 2019, it has been exactly 68 days (and counting) since India revoked Article 370 (defining and formalizing its relationship to Kashmir) from its constitution, alarmingly accelerating an already-crippling military occupation of Kashmir.<br />
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That is 68 days (& counting) of a complete communication blackout of internet, phones, and other media. 68 days (& counting) where Kashmiris have been unable to hear from family/friends. 68 days (& counting) of thousands of additional Indian soldiers added to the already-present ~600,000 Indian troops administering a violent and merciless military occupation of the tiny region of Kashmir since the Indian partition in 1947.<br />
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<b><i>In light of this ongoing and accelerating military occupation, lack of media attention, and urgent calls for international solidarity, #BecauseWeveRead is honored to be partnering with Stand With Kashmir to host this 'Emergency Read' on Kashmir. </i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOVG5myIsl0h_xKbhqq36h0k0ej5VaO1nXMbIAJ_oy6BKTV9-dFpLIN8ORF80TLeE5EgwoGiijrNX4bq0L0Nl5WtKS0AQLQdcyHz15EW5T7ptSIWf8DCXz00Pfe3-crsSdn14W2mU6s8/s1600/kashmir+-+bwr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOVG5myIsl0h_xKbhqq36h0k0ej5VaO1nXMbIAJ_oy6BKTV9-dFpLIN8ORF80TLeE5EgwoGiijrNX4bq0L0Nl5WtKS0AQLQdcyHz15EW5T7ptSIWf8DCXz00Pfe3-crsSdn14W2mU6s8/s1600/kashmir+-+bwr.jpg" /></a></div>
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EMERGENCY READ ON KASHMIR:<br /><i>UNTIL MY FREEDOM HAS COME</i></h2>
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<i>Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada in Kashmir</i> is a composition of beautiful, painful, inspiring, and compelling essays written in various styles (poetry, short narrative, autobiographical, academic, etc) by Kashmiris in Kashmir and around the world. While this text was published in 2013 and is generally themed around the tumultuous 2010 uprisings in Kashmir, the voices and stories presented in its essays are both timeless and integral to contextualize and better understand the contemporary situation unfolding before our eyes. </div>
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We are excited to be collaborating with <a href="https://www.standwithkashmir.org/" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Stand With Kashmir</a> for this Emergency Read. #SWK is a Kashmiri diaspora-driven grassroots collective dedicated to building solidarity with the people of Kashmir in ending the occupation and supporting their right to self-determination. </div>
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BOOK</h4>
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+ <i>Until My Freedom Has Come: The New Intifada in Kashmir </i>(2013), Sanjay Kak, editor. </div>
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<b><i>Thank you to our amazing publishing partners, <u><a href="http://bit.ly/bwrkashmir" target="_blank">Haymarket Books</a></u>, for providing #BecauseWeveRead members with a FREE E-book (<u><a href="http://bit.ly/bwrkashmir" target="_blank">available here</a></u>) as well as <u><a href="http://bit.ly/bwrkashmir" target="_blank">a 30% off discount</a></u> for those wanting to purchase a hardcopy!</i></b></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES</h4>
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+ #StandWithKashmir <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/standwkashmir/" target="_blank">instagram</a></u>, <u><a href="https://twitter.com/standwkashmir/" target="_blank">twitter</a></u>, and <u><a href="https://www.standwithkashmir.org/" target="_blank">website</a></u> for regular updates on the current situation in Kashmir as well as ways to get involved and stand in solidarity with the people of Kashmir</div>
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+ The <a href="https://www.standwithkashmir.org/the-kashmir-syllabus" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Kashmir Syllabus</a> - an INCREDIBLE and incredibly detailed 14-week syllabus covering everything from general background and timelines to cultural production to women's organizing to borders and bodies and everything in-between, curated by Hafsa Kanjwal</div>
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+ <u><a href="https://player.fm/series/why-is-this-happening-with-chris-hayes/the-lockdown-of-kashmir-with-hafsa-kanjwal" target="_blank">"The Lockdown of Kashmir With Hafsa Kanjwal"</a></u> interview on <i>Why is this Happening </i>Podcast<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/05/indias-settler-colonial-project-kashmir-takes-disturbing-turn/" target="_blank">"India’s settler-colonial project in Kashmir takes a disturbing turn"</a></u>, - article by Hafsa Kanjwal in <i>The</i> <i>Washington Post</i></div>
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<i>+ </i><u><a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2019/8/8/kashmir" target="_blank">"Kashmir Under Siege: India Moves to Annex Territory, Heightening Tensions with Nuclear Rival Pakistan"</a></u> - interview with Sanjay Kak, Mirza Waheed, and Siddhartha Deb on Democracy Now</div>
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV95tdawYuU" target="_blank">Interview with Hafsa Kanjwal</a></u> on The Dean Obeidallah Show<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwsryTV_WnQ" target="_blank">Interview with Mohamad Junaid</a></u> on SABC<br />
+ <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/india-revokes-kashmir-special-status-latest-updates-190806134011673.html" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">"Kashmir under lockdown: All the latest updates"</a> - <i>Aljazeera </i><br />
+<i> </i><a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/08/05/india-kashmir-autonomy-status/" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">"India Moves to Strip Kashmir of Autonomy, Potentially Setting up Conflict in Disputed Territory"</a> - article by Murtaza Hussain in <i>The Intercept</i><br />
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+ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pvybxwOj5k" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">"State and Political Subjectivity in Kashmir"</a> - lecture and panel conversation with Hafsa Kanjwal & Mohamad Junaid </div>
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+ Kashmiri Dictionary <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/kashmiridictionary/" target="_blank">instagram page</a></u> </div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2uEsIiHuB0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Kashmiri Dictionary (@kashmiridictionary)</a> on <time datetime="2019-09-22T16:17:34+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Sep 22, 2019 at 9:17am PDT</time></div>
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+ <i><u><a href="https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15098.html" target="_blank">Everyday Occupations Experiencing Militarism in South Asia and the Middle East</a></u></i> (2013) - collection of essays edited by Kamala Visweswaran</div>
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+ <i><u><a href="https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15810.html" target="_blank">Resisting Occupation in Kashmir</a></u></i> (2018) - collection of essays edited by Haley Duschinski, Mona Bhan, Ather Zia, and Cynthia Mahmood</div>
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+ <u><a href="https://scroll.in/article/807015/they-want-us-to-write-in-blood-four-poems-on-kashmir" target="_blank">"They want us to write. In blood."</a></u> - poetry by Ather Zia</div>
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+ <u><a href="http://www.warscapes.com/poetry/last-call-audio-postcards-kashmir" target="_blank">"The Last Call: Audio Postcards from Kashmir"</a></u> - poetry by Uzma Falak</div>
+ <u><a href="http://www.wandemag.com/student-protests-photo-essay/">"Student Protests"</a></u> - photo essay by Faisal Khan<br />
<i>+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv-Bm6VbHS8" target="_blank">Here Still</a></u> </i>(2019) - film by Tara Dorabji and Jamie DeWolf<br />
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+ <i><u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJnwGEk1fzQ" target="_blank">Jashn-e Azadi: How We Celebrate Freedom</a></u> </i>(2007) - film by Sanjay Kak </div>
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+ <i><u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1rd6jaIRY" target="_blank">Kashmir - Inside A Friday Protest</a></u>,</i> Ep. 6<i> </i>(2016) - 30min short film<i> </i>by Sahil Ali & Avalok Langer </div>
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SOCIAL MEDIA</h4>
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+ Instagram: <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/BECAUSEWEVEREAD/" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u> & <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/standwkashmir/" target="_blank">@StandWKashmir</a></u></div>
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+ Twitter: <u><a href="https://twitter.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u> & <u><a href="https://twitter.com/standwkashmir/" target="_blank">@StandWKashmir</a></u></div>
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(We're giving away copies of <i>Until My Freedom Has Come</i> on social media, so be sure to follow us for a chance to win! Also, we love our reader posts! <b>Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead & #StandWithKashmir and tag us & Stand With Kashmir to join the conversation on social media</b>, and we might just repost you!)</div>
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LIVE, GLOBAL DISCUSSION</h4>
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<b>DATE: </b>Saturday, October 26th </div>
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<b>TIME: </b>10:00 AM, CST</div>
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<b>PLATFORM:</b> Youtube Live (<u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilGL-ivoBCA" target="_blank">linked here</a></u>, and embedded below)</div>
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<b>GUESTS: </b>Sanjay Kak, Hafsa Kanjwal, & Mohamad Junaid </div>
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<b>SANJAY KAK </b>is an independent documentary filmmaker and writer whose recent work includes the films <i>Red Ant Dream</i> (2013) about the persistence of the revolutionary ideal in India, <i>Jashn-e-Azadi </i>(How we celebrate freedom, 2007) about the idea of freedom in Kashmir, and <i>Words on Water</i> (2002) about the struggle against the Narmada dams in central India. In 2017 he curated, edited and published the critically acclaimed photobook, <i>Witness – Kashmir 1986-2016, 9 Photographers</i>, published independently under the imprint of Yaarbal books. He is the editor of the anthology <i>Until My Freedom Has Come – The New Intifada in Kashmir</i> (Penguin India 2011, Haymarket Books USA 2013). A self-taught filmmaker, he writes occasional political commentary, and reviews books that he is passionately engaged by. He has been active with the documentary cinema movement in India and the Cinema of Resistance project.</div>
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<b>HAFSA KANJWAL </b>is an assistant professor of South Asian history at Lafayette College. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in History and Women's Studies. Her research focuses on post-Partition state-building in Indian-occupied Kashmir. She has written and spoken on Kashmir for a variety of news outlets including The Washington Post, Al Jazeera English, and the BBC.</div>
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<b>MOHAMAD JUNAID </b>is an assistant professor of Anthropology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He specializes in political movements, militarization, space and place, memory studies, and visual anthropology, and his previous work analyzed youth activism, political subjectivity, & practices of state violence in Kashmir. Junaid is currently working on an ethnographic study of the visual economy of violence in South Asia.</div>
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CHAPTERS / DISCUSSION GROUPS </h4>
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Our amazing #BecauseWeveRead official chapter leads are listed below, along with their email addresses to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to get in touch letting them know you're interested in joining! (We also share all of their events on our social media!) </div>
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We're also excited that many of our chapters will also be collaborating with local Stand With Kashmir groups globally to lead discussions, support with community organizing efforts, and host public events in their cities!<br />
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<i>Don't see your city listed below and want to start your own #BecauseWeveRead chapter? Email us at bwr@joojooazad.com to learn more on how to get started! </i></div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.detroit@gmail.com" target="_blank">Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan</a></u>: Michael & Samantha </div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.brooklyn@gmail.com" target="_blank">NYC, New York</a></u>: Anisa <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"></u></div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.seattle@gmail.com" target="_blank">Seattle, Washington</a></u>: Alia & Imaan <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"></u></div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.vancouver@gmail.com" target="_blank">Vancouver, Canada</a></u>: Julia & Dyalla</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "poppins";"><u><a href="mailto:nairobi.bwr@gmail.com" target="_blank">Nairobi, Kenya</a></u>: Suhayl Omar</span><u style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: poppins;"></u><br />
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.mumbai@gmail.com" target="_blank">Bombay/Mumbai, India</a></u>: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Smriti <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"></u></span><br />
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.dubai@gmail.com" target="_blank">Dubai, UAE</a></u>: Reem & Noha <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"></u></div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.jakarta@gmail.com" target="_blank">Jakarta, Indonesia</a></u>: Annissa, Nana, & Intan </div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.karachi@gmail.com" target="_blank">Karachi, Pakistan</a></u>: Sheema & Amal<br />
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.lahore@gmail.com" target="_blank">Lahore, Pakistan</a></u>: Madiha</div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.tehran@gmail.com" target="_blank">Tehran, Iran</a></u>: Farid<br />
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<u><a href="mailto:Birmingham.bwr@gmail.com" target="_blank">Birmingham, England</a></u>: Milga & Georgia<br />
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.leeds@gmail.com" target="_blank">Leeds, England</a></u>: Aanika<br />
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<u><a href="mailto:London.bwr@gmail.com" target="_blank">London, England</a></u>: Alliyah & Maryam<br />
<u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="mailto:london.bwr@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></a></u><u><a href="mailto:bwr.vienna@gmail.com" target="_blank">Vienna, Austria:</a></u> Victoria & Natasha</div>
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<u><a href="mailto:bwr.auckland@gmail.com" target="_blank">Auckland, New Zealand</a></u>: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zainab </span><br />
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Jammu and Kashmir33.778175 76.57617140000002130.4052485 71.412597400000024 37.151101499999996 81.739745400000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-51442477730153333382019-02-03T10:25:00.000-06:002019-03-26T14:39:55.234-05:00#BECAUSEWEVEREAD FEB/MARCH: ARUNDHATI ROY ON EMPIRE & CORPORATE POWER<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Unless fiction becomes disobedient, it will become irrelevant."</blockquote>
Arundhati Roy: a fiercely-articulate award-winning novelist, essayist, feared political activist, former actress and screenwriter, and both the topic of, and honored guest for, this unit of #BecauseWeveRead.<br />
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And we're quite thrilled.<br />
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Referred to in the New York Times as “India's most impassioned critic of globalization and American influence,”Arundhati Roy stands as one of the most influential writers in the world today. Her writing includes the award-winning <i>The God of Small Things, Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers, Capitalism: A Ghost Story, </i>and <i>The Ministry of Utmost Happiness</i>, among other fiction and non-fiction work. But beyond her writing, her work also extends into the streets: Roy is an outspoken activist, frequently working on and discussing issues related to India's illegal military occupation of Kashmir, anti-Zionism, political repression, caste and class, and a myriad of environmental and human rights issues -- many of which are discussed in <i>The End of Imagination</i>.<br />
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We love a principled, badass woman.<br />
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Her book <i>The End of Imagination </i>is a collection of Roy's essays that intertwine the beauty and flow of her fiction writing with her articulate and scathing political non-fiction writing. The result is a composition that is both a deeply emotional and wildly powerful deconstruction and analysis of empire, capitalism, and power.<br />
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As Haymarket Books, our official partner for this unit, comprehensively describes <i>The End of Imagination</i>:<br />
"This new collection begins with her pathbreaking book The Cost of Living, published soon after she won the Booker Prize for her novel The God of Small Things, in which she forcefully condemned India’s nuclear tests and its construction of enormous dam projects that continue to displace countless people from their homes and communities. <i>The</i> <i>End of Imagination</i> also includes her nonfiction works Power Politics, War Talk, Public Power in the Age of Empire, and An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire, which include her widely circulated and inspiring writings on the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the need to confront corporate power, and the hollowing out of democratic institutions globally."<br />
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FEBRUARY / MARCH<br />BOOK OF THE MONTH:</h2>
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<i>The End of Imagination, </i>Arundhati Roy</h2>
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BOOK</h4>
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+ <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2D73bQ7" target="_blank"><i>The End of Imagination</i> (2016), Arundhati Roy - Free Ebook here</a></u>, graciously provided by one of our all-time favorite radical publishers, Haymarket Books (based right here in Chicago)! <i>Thank you for all that you do to publish and support radical literature that challenges the status quo! </i></div>
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<u><a href="http://bit.ly/2G77aA3" target="_blank">Haymarket Books is also providing #BecauseWeveRead members 50% off a hardcopy of The End of Imagination! Grab this amazing discount here!</a></u></h4>
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<i><br /></i><i>(As always, please email us at bwr@joojooazad.com if you are not financially (or politically) able to purchase a book and cannot access the ebook linked above, and we can mail you a free copy while supplies last, courtesy of <b>Haymarket Books</b>!) </i></div>
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ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES</h4>
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27X8NFHxuFk" target="_blank">"Arundhati Roy on The End of Imagination"</a></u>, (video) interview on Democracy Now<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/17/arundhati-roy-interview-you-ask-the-questions-the-point-of-the-writer-is-to-be-unpopular" target="_blank">"Arundhati Roy: ‘The point of the writer is to be unpopular’"</a></u> Q&A with famous fans & readers, <i>The Guardian</i><br />
+ <i><u><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/953-the-end-of-imagination" target="_blank">Capitalism, A Ghost Story</a></u> </i>(2014), one of my favorite books by Arundhati Roy<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tkQyqLnFbk" target="_blank">"Capitalism: A Ghost Story - An Evening with Arundhati Roy and Siddhartha Deb"</a></u> (video), lecture at The New School<br />
+ <i><u><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/686-field-notes-on-democracy" target="_blank">Field Notes on Democracy</a></u> </i>(2015), Arundhati Roy<br />
+ <i><u><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1301-my-seditious-heart" target="_blank">My Seditious Heart</a></u> </i>(2019), Arundhati Roy<br />
+ <u><a href="https://lithub.com/what-is-the-morally-appropriate-language-in-which-to-think-and-write/?fbclid=IwAR1BuMmTTcvzmWdyS9B2GF1mWOJQg-vYYOT5FOC8em0NG5cfXl9saYRU3GE" target="_blank">"What is the Morally Appropriate Language in Which to Think and Write?"</a></u> essay by Arundhati Roy, <i>Literary Hub</i><br />
<i>+ <u><a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/11/01/arundhati-roy-on-walking-with-the-comrades/#more-22846" target="_blank">"</a></u></i><u><a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/11/01/arundhati-roy-on-walking-with-the-comrades/#more-22846" target="_blank">Arundhati Roy on 'Walking with the Comrades'"</a></u>, interview, <i>The Paris Review</i><br />
+ <u><a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/government-policy/me-too-urban-naxal-statement-by-arundhati-roy" target="_blank">"#MeTooUrbanNaxal: An Open Statement by Arundhati Roy"</a></u>, <i>Caravan Magazine</i><br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbHiMXKqdm0" target="_blank">"Arundhati Roy on the Rise of Fascism & Trump’s Embrace of India’s Robber Barons"</a></u> (video), Democracy Now interview<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kH6NBHqcdE" target="_blank">Full extended interview</a></u> with Arundhati Roy on Democracy Now (video)<br />
+ <u><a href="http://arundhati%20roy%20with%20anthony%20arnove%2C%20conversation/" target="_blank">"Arundhati Roy in conversation with Anthony Arnove"</a></u> (video)<br />
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SOCIAL MEDIA </h4>
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+ Instagram, <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u></div>
+ Twitter, <u><a href="http://www.twitter.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">Subscribe to our email updates!</a></u><br />
(We're giving away copies of <i>The End of Imagination</i> on Instagram, so be sure to follow us for a chance to win! Also, we love our reader posts! Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead and tag us to join the conversation on social media, and we might just repost you!)<br />
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LIVE, GLOBAL DISCUSSION</h4>
<b>DATE:</b> Sunday, April 7th<br />
<b>TIME:</b> 10:00 am CST / 8:30pm India Standard Time<br />
<b>PLATFORM: </b>Youtube Live (<u>linked here</u>, and embedded below)<br />
<b>GUEST: </b>Arundhati Roy<br />
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CHAPTERS / DISCUSSION GROUPS</h4>
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Our beautiful, fabulous #BecauseWeveRead official chapter leads are listed below, along with their email addresses and social media to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to follow them on social media, email them letting them know you're interested in joining, and/or keep this page bookmarked as we continue to update as information arises!</div>
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Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan: Samantha Rahmani / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.detroit@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Boston, Massachusetts: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Reza Mirsajadi & Joubin Khazaie / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.boston@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Edmonton, Canada: Shahroze / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.edmonton@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a></u><br />
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Montreal, Canada: Mona Ghassemi & Sarah Ben Amar / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.montreal@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://twitter.com/blue_mona" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1461377137317656/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Montreal Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Seattle, Washington: Anisa Jackson / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.seattle@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_anisa_jackson" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; font-size: small; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadSea" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Seattle Facebook Group</a></span></div>
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Vancouver, Canada: Julia Al-Kuwatli, Dyalla Popatia, Catherine Campos / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.vancouver@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a></u><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/335180650658286/" target="_blank">Vancouver Facebook Group</a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">AFRICA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";">Cairo, Egypt: Hana Ehab Hassanein & Shahd Sherief / <u><a href="mailto:h.e.hassanein@aucegypt.edu">email</a></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "poppins";">Cape Town, South Africa: Surekha Bhugeloo / </span><u style="font-family: poppins;"><a href="mailto:surekhabhugeloo@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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<span style="font-style: normal;">Mauritius, Mauritius: Soufia Bham / <a href="mailto:mauritius.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">ASIA</span></div>
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Bombay/Mumbai, India: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Smriti Sant & Anadita Bhalerao / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.bombay@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Delhi, India: Yusra Hasan / <u><a href="mailto:id_forgotten20@yahoo.in">email</a></u><br />
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Jakarta, Indonesia: Annissa Rosyidah & Nana Rosyidah & Intan Khasanah / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.jakarta@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Karachi, Pakistan: Sheema Khawar and Amal Hamid / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.karachi@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a></u><br />
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Lahore, Pakistan: Madiha Tallat / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.lahore@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/madiha.in.bookistan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a></div>
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Tehran, Iran: Farid / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.tehran@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Singapore, Singapore: Muneerah Razak / <a href="mailto:bwr.singapore@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">EUROPE</span></div>
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Barcelona, Spain: Diana Al-Rahmoun / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.barcelona@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a></u><br />
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Birmingham, England: Milga Abraham / <u><a href="mailto:Birmingham.bwr@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a></u><br />
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Leeds, England: Aanika / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.leeds@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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London, England: Alliyah Riaz & Maryam Abdullah / <u><a href="mailto:london.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
<u><a href="mailto:london.bwr@gmail.com"><br /></a></u>
Vienna, Italy: Victoria Kober / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.vienna@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a></u></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">OCEANIA</span><br />
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Auckland, New Zealand: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zainab / <a href="mailto:bwr.auckland@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span><br />
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="mailto:bwr.auckland@gmail.com"><u><br /></u></a></span>
Canberra, Australia: Karo Moret-Miranda / <u><a href="mailto:karo.moret@upf.edu" target="_blank">email</a></u></div>
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Happy reading!</div>
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Can't wait to read all of your thoughts as you're reading -- be sure to tag us & hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the club & conversation!</div>
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Want to sponsor this project? Help get books into more hands of communities in-need internationally? Donate to us via venmo (@hoda-katebi) or <a href="https://paypal.me/joojooazad">paypal</a> -- be sure to write #BecauseWeveRead in the memo so we can be sure to allocate toward this project!</div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Delhi, India28.7040592 77.1024901999999228.2581432 76.457043199999916 29.1499752 77.747937199999924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-78621735637534330932018-12-29T06:30:00.000-06:002019-06-02T18:45:23.152-05:00#BECAUSEWEVEREAD EMERGENCY READ: ON SUDANIn light of ongoing massive protests in Sudan, their lack of coverage in mainstream media outlets, and the dire need to contextualize these protest within Sudan's own particular political and historical contexts (which many non-Sudanese and non-African people seem to lack knowledge of), we're calling for a #BecauseWeveRead 'Emergency Read' for the month of January to help us better understand what is happening in Sudan right now, and how we can support as needed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzptkTkwRgVENG0NWItPeYFEQzAajFO3GrbLHytLOfRaIPHIzZQCbYIM_r2vfXiLujEHTf29wmcSs2UJR6as4bwzQ-VfqEGLhR2t8cQTi9sSIjl83sQZS4nm85r_XqJhfIvb4N_rYopk/s1600/%2523sudanuprisings-emergency-read-becauseweveread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="#becuaseWeveRead, #sudanrevolts, sudan protest, africa uprisings" border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzptkTkwRgVENG0NWItPeYFEQzAajFO3GrbLHytLOfRaIPHIzZQCbYIM_r2vfXiLujEHTf29wmcSs2UJR6as4bwzQ-VfqEGLhR2t8cQTi9sSIjl83sQZS4nm85r_XqJhfIvb4N_rYopk/s1600/%2523sudanuprisings-emergency-read-becauseweveread.jpg" title="Sudan Uprisings #BecauseWeveRead Emergency Read" /></a></div>
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EMERGENCY READ ON SUDAN: </h2>
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<i>AFRICA UPRISINGS</i></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">The first book of its kind to approach contemporary popular protests across Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda, and other African nations within a broader pan-African perspective, <i>Africa Uprisings </i>provides much-needed insight into the broader historical, political, social, economic, and post-colonial contexts motivating and inspiring these revolts across Africa. This imperative read is based on extensive interviews with activists, artists, community organizers, unemployed, trade union members, and others and delivers comprehensive analysis to e</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">xplore the questions: "</span><span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">What is driving this new wave of protest?" and "Is it the key to substantive political change?" </span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: normal;">BOOK</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"> </span></h4>
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<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">+ Africa Uprisings: Popular Protest and Political Change </i>(2015), Adam Branch and Zachariah Mampilly - <u><a href="http://bit.ly/bwrafricauprisings" target="_blank">PDF here for Chapters 1, 4, and 8</a></u>. Also <a href="https://www.zedbooks.net/shop/book/africa-uprising/" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">available for purchase via Zed Books</a> </div>
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* BWR note: for the sake of this Emergency Read (and with only one month to read this book), we recommend starting with Chapters 1 ("Protests and Possibilities"), 4 ("The Third Wave of African Protests") and 8 ("We are Fed Up! Sudan's Unfinished Uprisings") and reading the rest of the book as your capacity allows. </div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: normal;">ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES</span></h4>
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+ <u><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iQh-g6-9d4hKeTt0K9GwpQH0lHV7HEI7xlfPMdHnZr4/edit" target="_blank">#SudanSyllabus</a></u>, curated by <a href="https://twitter.com/idris_razan" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Razan Idris</a>, a brilliant 38-page syllabus filled with links, articles, and other resources for a holistic understanding of Sudan: everything from creative art history to religion to race & slavery to gender and family life!<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/12/28/recent-protests-in-sudan-are-much-more-than-bread-riots/?utm_term=.1ed356cae29b" target="_blank">"Recent protests in Sudan are much more than bread riots"</a></u>, essay in <i>The Washington Post </i>co-written by the author of <i>Africa Uprisings</i> (Zachariah Mampilly) and our discussant (Nisrin Elamin)<br />
+ <i>Civil Uprisings in Modern Sudan: The 'Khartoum Springs' of 1964 and 1985 </i>(2016) book, W. J. Berridge<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh5wSt-hfL0" target="_blank">"Alien Suite"</a></u> (poetry/video), the gorgeous poetry of Safia Elhillo (her full book of poetry is called <i>The January Children</i>, and available <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/January-Children-African-Poetry-Book/dp/0803295987" target="_blank">here</a></u>)<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0T-N3Hed98" target="_blank">"AfriqUPrising! Protest movements in Africa"</a></u>, (video) panel conversation, 2017<br />
+ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAeXPcgCEe4" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">"Zachariah Mampilly on Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change"</a>, (video) lecture by author, 2015<br />
+ <u><a href="http://pages.vassar.edu/mampilly/files/2013/11/Popular-Protests-in-Africa-2005-2014.xlsx" target="_blank">A list (with links & newspaper sources!)</a></u> of major popular protests across Africa, 2005-2014<br />
+ <u><a href="https://newbooksnetwork.com/zachariah-mampilly-and-adam-branch-africa-uprising-popular-protest-and-political-change-zed-press-2015/" target="_blank">Interview with author Zachariah Mampilly</a></u>, (podcast) New Books Network<br />
+ <u><a href="http://teakisi.com/30-sudanese-women-you-should-know/#sthash.WMyM3QW8.dpbs" target="_blank">"30 Sudanese Women You Should Know",</a></u> list on <i>Teakisi</i><br />
+ <u><a href="https://twitter.com/BSonblast" target="_blank">Twitter</a></u> & <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/BSonblast/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u> accounts of Sara E, and Twitter accounts @BSonBlast, @YousraElbagir, and @ikushkush<br />
+ Instagram account <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/sudan" target="_blank">@Sudan</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="https://africasacountry.com/2018/11/youth-revive-resistance-in-sudan" target="_blank">"Young People Lead the Resistance in Sudan"</a></u>, essay on <i>Africa is a Country </i>(Nov. 2018)<br />
+ "The Darfur War: Masculinity and the Construction of a Sudanese National Identity" chapter by Karin Willemse in the book <i>Darfur and the crisis of governance in Sudan</i><br />
<i>+ </i><u><a href="https://twitter.com/AlSudaniya" target="_blank">AlSudaniya Mentoring</a></u>, a female-led mentoring program based in Sudan<br />
+ <a href="https://suddinstitute.org/" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Sudd Institute,</a> an independent research and public po licy organization based in South Sudan<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Sudan/comments/a86v88/revolution_of_the_hungry%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B9_news_and/" target="_blank">"Revolution of the Hungry" Reddit thread</a></u> updated regularly with photos and reports!<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.dabangasudan.org/en" target="_blank">Radio Dabanga</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://www.sudantribune.com/" target="_blank">Sudan Tribune</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.lawtransform.no/publication/womens-rights-and-the-womens-movement-in-sudan-1952-2014-focus-and-strategies-for-adopting-legal-feminist-action/" target="_blank">"Womens Rights and the Women's Movement in Sudan"</a></u> (essay), Samina Al-Nagar<br />
+ <u><a href="http://www.agi.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/429/feminist_africa_journals/archive/02/features_-_reflections_on_the_sudanese_womengcos_movement_0.pdf" target="_blank">"Beyond the pan-Africanist agenda: Sudanese women’s movement, achievements and challenges"</a></u> (essay), Amira Osman<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/John-Garang-Vision-New-Sudan-ebook/dp/B003UHVYM8" target="_blank">"John Garang: And the Vision of New Sudan"</a></u> (book), Roba Gibia & ed, Jennifer South<br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Identity-Citizenship-Violence-Two-Sudans/dp/1137371781" target="_blank">"Identity, Citizenship, and Violence in Two Sudans: Reimagining a Common Future"</a></u> (book), Amir Idris<br />
+ <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sudan-Religion-Violence-Short-Histories/dp/1851683666" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">"Sudan: Race, Religion, and Violence (Short Histories)"</a> (book), Jok Madut Jok<br />
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SOCIAL MEDIA </h4>
<span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: left;">+ Instagram, </span><u style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Poppins; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: left;">+ Twitter, </span><u style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Poppins; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/becauseweveread" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: left;">+ </span><u style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Poppins; text-align: left;"><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Subscribe to our email updates!</a></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: left;">(</span><span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: left;">Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead and tag us to join the conversation on social media!)</span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">DISCUSSION GROUPS</span></h4>
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Because Emergency Reads are immediate responses to current affairs, most discussion group hosts may not be able to host a specific in-person discussion group for this topic in addition to the monthly discussion they are already hosting for the original book of the month (<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/10/becauseweveread-prisons-police-abolition-free-pdf.html" target="_blank">Our November/December unit is on Policing, Prisons, and Abolition</a></u></span>). Instead, please join us on Youtube live for our global discussion with everyone.<br />
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YOUTUBE LIVE DISCUSSION</h4>
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Don't worry about finishing the book in time for the discussion -- just read as much as you can and you're welcome to learn and discuss with us!</div>
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<b>DATE: </b><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Saturday, January 19th, 2019 </span><br />
<b>TIME:</b> <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">1</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">0:00 AM CST</span><br />
<b>PLATFORM:</b> Youtube Live (<a href="https://youtu.be/kZdcD2LlC40" target="_blank">linked here</a>, and embedded below) </div>
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<b>DISCUSSANT:</b> Nisrin Elamin</div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Nisrin Elamin (she/her/hers) is a Sudanese writer, activist and PhD candidate in Anthropology, based in the New York City area. She has over 15 years of experience working with community-based organizations as an educator, organizer and advocate. Most recently, she served as a Director of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project’s summer leadership and social justice program for young women and non-binary folks at City College. She also works part-time with the group African Communities Together, which organizes around immigrant, civil and workers’ rights in New York and in Washington DC. Her dissertation looks at the ways Saudi and Emirati ‘land grabs’ are reconfiguring social relations between landholding and landless communities in central Sudan. In preparation for her dissertation, Nisrin spent a year living in rural parts of the Gezira in central Sudan, working closely with agricultural workers, community organizers and Sufi religious leaders to examine the different political strategies and forms of resistance people are using to contest and negotiate state-driven land dispossession. She had to interrupt her dissertation research in January of 2017 and was one of the first people to be detained under the Trump administration’s Muslim ban, but has recently been able to return to Sudan to complete her research.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Happy reading, and looking forward to discussing with you soon! Be sure to tag us & hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the club & conversation!</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: poppins; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; text-align: center;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Want to sponsor/support this project and help get more books into more hands of communities in-need internationally? Donate to us via venmo (@hoda-katebi) or <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://paypal.me/joojooazad" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">paypal</a></u>-- be sure to write #BecauseWeveRead in the memo so we can be sure to allocate your donation toward this project accordingly!</i></i></span><br />
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Khartoum, Sudan15.5006544 32.55989939999994915.2558379 32.237175899999947 15.7454709 32.882622899999951tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-61011842284342144382018-10-26T09:00:00.000-05:002019-08-23T09:34:31.988-05:00#BecauseWeveRead Nov/Dec: Prisons, Police, and AbolitionPossibly one of the topics I get the most questions about: what does contemporary police and prison abolition look like, and is it truly feasible or just an ideal? Well, let's read.<br />
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<a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html"><i><u>New to #BecauseWe'veRead? This is how we work!</u></i><i><u></u></i></a></h3>
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What a deeply important topic to close out the year with. This #BecauseWeveRead unit on police, prisons, and abolition builds on <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/search/label/becauseweveread" target="_blank">our past units</a></u> on race, anti-Blackness, and capitalism and explores the relationship of these themes as they are connected to global policing and mass incarceration that is deeply interwoven into the political and economic system of the United States. The prison-police industry is so vast and interconnected with, and dependent upon, anti-Blackness, anti-Muslim racism, classism, white supremacy, capitalism, and the maintenance of global empire and control. Police are truly a shared violence globally, from Israel to India to London to the United States, police around the world share tips, weapons, violence, and a mutual root in upholding an oppressive status quo. While most of these texts focus on the United States, many policing tactics are shared widely--and therefore so is the opportunity for global resistance and solidarity.<br />
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We're reading the intro to the incredibly fundamental <i>The New Jim Crow</i>, a collection of essays and interviews on global policing, and of course a few chapters from Angela Davis' profound <i>Are Prisons Obsolete</i>? that focus on gender and imagining alternatives. In this unit, we're not just talking about systems and problems, but also encouraging a discussion about solutions. We're understanding and exploring the root of police and prisons to ask, and propose answers for, the questions: What are the relationships between the prison system, capitalism, race, and class? Can reforms fix this? What does justice look like? What does a world look like without police or prisons?<br />
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Be sure to take a look through the additional resources, as there is quite a list of amazing podcasts, videos, visualizations, and articles that really take the readings to the next level and provide incredible depth to the topics and questions at hand!<br />
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As mentioned on Instagram, due to popular demand, we are also moving to releasing a new book every two months (as opposed to every month) to give more time to everyone to read in time for the instagram live discussion and stay on-track (and for our international members to have their books delivered to them before the end of the month, hah)!<br />
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 <br />BOOKS OF THE MONTH:</h2>
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<i>POLICING THE PLANET</i><br /><i>THE NEW JIM CROW,</i> &<br /><i>ARE PRISONS OBSOLETE? </i></h2>
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BOOK</h4>
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+ <i>Policing the Planet</i> (2016), Jordan T. Camp & Christina Heatherton, editors - <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2qdti1I" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a></u></div>
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The PDF is graciously provided by the incredibly wonderful and wonderfully radical <u><a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2107-policing-the-planet?discount_code=PolicingthePlanetbookclub" target="_blank">Verso Books</a></u>, the largest independent, radical publishing house in the English-speaking world!<br />
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<u><a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2107-policing-the-planet?discount_code=PolicingthePlanetbookclub" target="_blank">Verso Books is also providing #BecauseWeveRead members 50% off <i>Policing the Planet</i>! Grab this amazing discount here!</a></u></h4>
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+ Introduction, <i>The New Jim Crow </i>(2010), Michelle Alexander - <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2RgSGPr" target="_blank">Introduction available here</a></u><br />
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+ Chapter 4 "How Gender Structures the Prison System" and Chapter 6 "Abolitionist Alternatives",<br />
<i>Are Prisons Obsolete</i>, Angela Davis (2003) - <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2yvsSZ9" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a></u><br />
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<i>(As always, please email us at editor@joojooazad.com if you are not financially (or politically) able to purchase a book and cannot read the PDF linked above, and we can mail you a free copy while supplies last!) </i><br />
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ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ <u><a href="https://www.earhustlesq.com/episodes/" target="_blank">Ear Hustle</a></u> (podcast), brings you the stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ <i><u><a href="https://www.missingdaddy.net/" target="_blank">Missing Daddy</a></u> (2018), </i>a children's book written by Mariame Kaba and illustrated by bria royal helping children cope with incarcerated parents</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ <u><a href="http://aworldwithoutpolice.org/" target="_blank">A World Without Police</a></u> study guide</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ Verso five book plan on <u><a href="https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/1560-verso-five-book-plan-political-policing" target="_blank">Political Policing</a></u></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ A <u><a href="http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/visualizations/" target="_blank">collection</a></u> of infographs, maps, and data visualization on prisons </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ The <u><a href="http://mariamekaba.com/publications/" target="_blank">writing</a></u> of abolitionist Mariame Kaba (<u><a href="https://twitter.com/prisonculture" target="_blank">@prisonculture</a></u> on twitter)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ <u><a href="https://radfag.com/2017/03/24/you-are-already-an-abolitionist/" target="_blank">"You are Already an Abolitionist"</a></u>, essay on <i>RadFag</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;"><i>+ </i><u><a href="https://radfag.com/2016/09/26/no-abolition-without-demilitarization-black-and-muslim-solidarity-for-ending-policing-worldwide/" target="_blank">"No Abolition Without Demilitarization: Black and Muslim Solidarity For Ending Policing Worldwide"</a></u>, essay on <i>RadFag</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>+ </i><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/challenging-gun-violence-means-challenging-militarism-globally.html" target="_blank">"You Cannot Challenge Gun Violence Without Challenging the Military"</a></u>, essay on <i>JooJoo Azad</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>+ </i><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/10/police-militarization-islamophobia.html" target="_blank">"4 Things You Need to Know About Police, Militarization, and Islamophobia"</a></u>, essay on <i>JooJoo Azad</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>+ </i></span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "poppins";"><u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB-LsYyMFWI" target="_blank">Angela Davis on Prison Abolition, the War on Drugs and Why Social Movements Shouldn't Wait on Obama</a></u> (video), <i>Democracy Now</i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "poppins";"><i>+ </i><u><a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1004442574147457031" target="_blank">#BelieversBailOut Twitter town hall</a></u> on the prison industrial complex, bail, and abolition from Muslim perspectives</span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "poppins";">+ <u><a href="http://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/download/2774/2704" target="_blank">"The Political Economy of Prison Labour: From Penal Welfarism to the Penal State"</a></u> journal article</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>+ The New Jim Crow</i> <u><a href="http://newjimcrow.com/study-guides" target="_blank">study guide</a></u></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ <u><a href="https://invisible.institute/" target="_blank">Invisible Institute</a></u>, a journalism and research-based company on the South Side of Chicago conducting research, developing databases, and managing projects related to policing in Chicago. Check out their databases, projects, and reports!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ </span><u style="font-family: poppins; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://youtu.be/4DdYi7nnC9Q" target="_blank">How to End the Police State</a></u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;"> (video) conversation hosted by Verso Books</span><br />
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SOCIAL MEDIA </h4>
+ Instagram, <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ Twitter, <u><a href="http://www.twitter.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">Subscribe to our email updates!</a></u><br />
(We're giving away copies of <i>Policing the Planet</i> on Instagram, so be sure to follow us for a chance to win! Also, we love our reader posts! Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead and tag us to join the conversation on social media, and we might just repost you!)<br />
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CHAPTERS / DISCUSSION GROUPS</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">Our beautiful, fabulous #BecauseWeveRead official chapter leads are listed below, along with their email addresses and social media to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to follow them on social media, email them letting them know you're interested in joining, and/or keep this page bookmarked as we continue to update as information arises! </span></div>
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Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan: Samantha Rahmani / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.detroit@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Boston, Massachusetts: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Reza Mirsajadi & Joubin Khazaie / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.boston@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Brooklyn, NYC: Sana Altaf / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.brooklyn@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Cincinnati, Ohio: Sara Zandvakili / <u><a href="mailto:cincinnati.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadCincy/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Cincinnati Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Chicago, Illinois: Samantha Rose / <u><a href="mailto:chicago.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Houston, Texas: Laila Khalili / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.houston@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Los Angeles, California: Alexis Wong & Ashley May / <u><a href="mailto:losangeles.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/217585562342343/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Los Angeles/Orange County Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Minneapolis, Minnesota: Binta Kanteh / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.minneapolis@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Montreal, Canada: Mona Ghassemi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.montreal@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://twitter.com/blue_mona" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1461377137317656/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Montreal Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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San Francisco Bay/Oakland, California: Allison Chan / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.BayArea@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/llisonchan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a><br />
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Seattle, Washington: Anisa Jackson / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.seattle@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_anisa_jackson" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadSea" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Seattle Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Toronto, Canada: Yeldah Yousfi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.toronto@gmail.com">email</a></u> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.bibliophile/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">intsagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/YeldahYousfi" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
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Ottawa, Canada: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zaynab / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.ottawa@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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San Diego, California: Noor / <a href="mailto:SanDiego.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a><br />
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Washington D.C., USA: Hana Manadath & Jada Olsen / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.washingtondc@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Auckland, New Zealand: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zainab Baba / <a href="mailto:bwr.auckland@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span></div>
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LIVE, MONTHLY DISCUSSION: TBA</h4>
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Check back soon as we finalize details for our youtube live discussion at the end of December! </div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-20402298670727034832018-09-05T14:37:00.005-05:002020-08-09T00:52:00.324-05:00From Nike’s Kaepernick to McCain Eulogies: Revolution-Washing and How Compromise Crumbles Our Movements <h4 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">-- Arundhati Roy, Capitalism: A Ghost Story (coming soon to a <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/search/label/becauseweveread" target="_blank">radical, international book club near you</a></u>!) </span></span></div>
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Nike <u><a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2018/09/04/colin-kaepernick-nike-ad-controversy-nr-vpx.cnn" target="_blank">just signed</a></u> former NFL star Colin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. This is major.<br />
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Kaepernick, who hasn’t played a game since 2016, the year he kneeled during the national anthem for the simple yet somehow controversial demand that Black Lives Matter, will now be affiliated with the brand that is the official outfitter of the industry that cancelled him. This is a strategic political statement--one that cannot be ignored by the NFL and their racists Kaepernick is actually currently in a lawsuit against. <br />
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But, unfortunately, like all political statements, Nike’s endorsement may do little more than remain symbolic, vacuous, and destructive when swallowed. <br />
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Here is where things get tricky (to say the least): <br />
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First, we have the paradox that Nike continues to be the official brand of the NFL while simultaneously endorsing Kaepernick. Much like every single weapons manufacturer ever who fund boths sides of every war, this is truly an ingenious way to continue to reel in profits from both sides. Except, unlike weapons contractors who prefer to launch their ad campaigns in the barely-standing back-doors of formerly colonized nations with celebrity endorsements from U.S. politicians, Nike needs to be a bit more public to be successful. <br />
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Of course Nike knew far-right lunatics would <u><a href="https://twitter.com/nomasnomasno/status/1037136012806430720" target="_blank">burn and cut up their Nike gear</a></u> (oh how truly dreadful!) and attempt a boycott. You don’t need a major marketing and strategy team to have known that was going to happen (or even have to do much more than take off the words “Merry Christmas” from your Starbucks cups or simply exist as a woman of color to set the right-wing ablaze). But, Nike also understands the mass support that Kaepernick has, especially across the political left. Do you truly think that a brand would endorse someone who is controversial for symbolic value at the sacrifice of their profits? The answer is in a tweet that has already conveniently went viral: <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo (above): Chanel 2015 Fashion Show / Image Source: Getty / Pascal Le Segretain</span></div>
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Details on Kaepernick and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nike?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nike</a>:<br />
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- It’s wide endorsement. He’s going to have his own branded line. Shoes, shirts, jerseys, etc. There will be Kaepernick apparel.<br />
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- Contract is a “star” deal on par with a top end <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a> player. Millions per year. Star deals also include royalties.</div>
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesRobinson/status/1036741136294064128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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You endorse a controversial “hero” such as Kaepernick, and immediately appear as if you’re “taking a stance”. Meanwhile, Kaepernick supporters watch, in mass, as far right-wing idiots burn their Nike paraphernalia (and of course sometimes their feet in the process but that’s okay because it’s not like they use them stand for anything of value anyway). So how do you respond? You make sure that sh*t sells out. You have to make sure the now poor and vulnerable Nike is not scared from their former fans burning Nike logos over this decision. You have to make sure Nike knows this was a good decision. You have to show those racists, through nothing but your consumption, that you are a Kaepernick fan. So you purchase their Kaepernick gear, <i>en mass. </i></div>
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Thus, purchasing Nike has now become a political statement, as significant as voting; they’ve created a certain polarizing environment in which we feel that Nike, rather than <u><a href="https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/0dc1df18a31bc33ee01453f8bcfb805f92b6ac45" target="_blank">actual</a></u> <u><a href="http://www.drumnyc.org/donate/" target="_blank">community</a></u> <u><a href="http://www.assatasdaughters.org/supportus/" target="_blank">organizations</a></u> working to further civil rights, needs our support, praise, money, and visibility. </div>
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Speaking of things that need our support, praise, money, and visibility, this 30th anniversary campaign also comes just months after Nike <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/news/companies/nike-nfl-gear-contract/index.html">signed</a> an 8-year contract with the NFL, which some are speculating to be worth billions. And even further, the last time the #BoycottNike hashtag was trending was when Nike announced their annual “Law Enforcement Appreciation Sale” in the midst of hightented domestic police shootings of Black people.</div>
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So, in Kaepernick’s lawsuit against the NFL, Nike is not only funding both sides of the war, but also the institutions at the very core of the suit: those that create, fuel, and enforce violence, both domestically and abroad. Meanwhile, Americans’ favorite past-time, selective amnesia, allows it all to go down like a spoonful of sugar to medicine. Nike is the Mary Poppins to our woes, except less fun and mostly just deceptive. </div>
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Oh but there’s more. (There is always more) </div>
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There is another moment in the process of supply and demand that is always conveniently erased and preferably ignored, as exhibited by a fun, excited, little individual conveniently named @leastracist: </div>
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that's probably why ur still single 💅🏾 <a href="https://t.co/RWrxnESG6D">https://t.co/RWrxnESG6D</a></div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/1036795621557116930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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When Nike sales shoot as high as Kaepernick’s basketball (totally kidding) due to their intentional media buzz causing fans to buy much more than what they normally would to compensate and outdo the feeble attempts at a right-wing boycott, the demand for these products rises, and the burden of which is transferred to their sweatshops, US-based incarcerated slavery camps (prisons), and the producers of their raw material. <b>Yes, <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/07/ethical-fast-fashion-gender-based-violence-in-factories.html" target="_blank">sweatshops</a></u> and <u><a href="http://glitch.news/2017-03-01-left-leaning-microsoft-and-nike-both-rely-on-prison-labor-camps-to-produce-high-profit-products.html" target="_blank">prison slave labor</a></u> will be producing Nike’s new collection with Kaepernick. People of color domestically and globally will be exploited and violence against them justified in the name of civil rights. </b></div>
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Of course, the fact that Nike’s endorsement of Kaepernick is nothing more than a marketing strategy is not a new or novel argument, nor does it take groundbreaking investigative research to uncover. </div>
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But what is particularly frightening is that this is not simply a marketing strategy. It is much more powerful, and much more destructive than that. It is part of a larger, decades-long movement of brands, corporations (and their philanthropic shields), and even some progressive politicians revolution-washing our movements until there is nothing left but logos and slogans as empty as our pockets and foresight. </h4>
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It’s like green-washing (in which environmentally destructive fast-fashion brands paint themselves as “sustainable” or “ethical” by creating one-off conscious collections) but for our movements, reducing our systematic approaches for change to pacification with representation, and movement building to celebrity endorsements. </div>
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<b>Revolution-washing is an incredibly effective and destructive tactic, encouraging us to further silo and divide our issues, become increasingly America-centric and exclude those beyond our borders from our consciousness and solidarity, normalize compromises that strip the very essence of our values to the tastelessness of white people’s “seasoned” cooking, and justify the exploitation of those who are not “in our backyard”. Essentially, as more and more corporations and brands attempt to “buy” their way into the “resistance”, the faster our movements compromise and crumble. </b></div>
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Revolution-washing is externally not asking the larger questions of “who is ultimately profiting”, “at whose expense”, and “what are the larger, more complex parts of this issue”, and internally preparing your self for a slide down the steepest, most slippery slope called compromising. And your values are strapping in for the ride. </h4>
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Because the thing is, once we start allowing our values to become increasingly nothing more than a set of compromises in one avenue (such as fashion), this will ultimately become a trend that spreads to different avenues in our lives faster than gossip travels in Iranian dinner parties. </div>
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And according to the Iranian khalehs (aunts) on the Whatsapp group chat, this wasn’t a great week for liberals. </div>
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Another major moment of a massive values-slip in the left this week were progressive politicians’ somehow collective eulogies of war criminal John McCain. </div>
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John McCain’s legacy represents an unparalleled example of human decency and American service.<br />
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As an intern, I learned a lot about the power of humanity in government through his deep friendship with Sen. Kennedy.<br />
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He meant so much, to so many. My prayers are with his family. <a href="https://t.co/iu28V3snDm">https://t.co/iu28V3snDm</a></div>
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1033538876370046977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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John McCain is a hero, one of the most respected senators and a friend. The hopes and prayers of the nation are with him and his family.</div>
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Today, people are grieving for the loss of a great statesman. I extend my deepest condolences to those that he loved, and those that loved him in return. Our nation parts with him in pain. <a href="https://t.co/ZeklgQw1Zo">https://t.co/ZeklgQw1Zo</a></div>
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1033737325656846336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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From Bernie Sanders to Ocasio, progressive politicians have “gotten high on their own supply” of America’s potent selective amnesia drug, re-writing John McCain’s legacy as one of “sacrifice” and “heroism” giving respect and honor to a genocidal war criminal responsible for taking the lives of 100s of thousands and demanding the carnage of millions more. </div>
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This was a clear instance of a values-slip, at a time when it was not needed nor can be afforded. </div>
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Just another reminder that politicians can't be trusted to stand on stated values. Please explain yourselves to your Iranian, Afghan, Iraqi, Vietnam, Libyan, Palestinian, etc constituents. I hope the 100s of thousands of lives McCain was responsible for taking can rest in peace.</div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/1033782638421598208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The scary thing is, selling-out or losing yourself is a gradual, typically incremental process that starts with a series of negotiations of values. We begin with slow, conscious justifications for why it would be okay for us to accept that money, say this thing, buy the swoosh, and ultimately end in a place where we have nothing but hollowed-out words that to us still seem to be the same from the outside. </h4>
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Most people don’t make the decision to lose themselves and what they stand for. It happens naturally when compromises reshape and redefine our values, platforms, and movements. </div>
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If you claim to support Muslims you cannot be pro-war, or memorialize war criminals responsible for mass Muslim deaths. If you endorse a movement for Black lives you cannot simultaneously exploit Black (non-American) lives abroad and Black incarcerated lives domestically while also profit off of feigned support for both the plaintiff and defendant in a civil rights lawsuit. </div>
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I currently have a lot of respect for Kaepernick and I hope this decision was not easy for him. I am happy that Kaepernick is getting a major check cut to him, as someone who has donated millions and is actively engaged in important, activist work. But unfortunately, knowing that Kaepernick endorses Nike is also opening the floodgates for other left-leaning celebrities and activists who might otherwise have heeded <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W13YqV29LHgl84c48DRyOVQGENhC1WZo/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><u>Nike garment workers’ calls for solidarity</u>,</a> to now also sign on to endorsements and campaigns with Nike, which normalizes garment worker exploitation and deeply undercuts the power of their organizing and demands. </div>
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The same goes for our politicians. Calling yourself a progressive or liberal (such as Obama) and administering <u><a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-01-17/obamas-covert-drone-war-in-numbers-ten-times-more-strikes-than-bush" target="_blank">the most drone strikes</a></u> and <u><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2017/01/barack-obama-deporter-chief-170113105930345.html" target="_blank">deporting more people</a></u> than anyone else before you, sets a similar rubric of what is acceptable and will remain unchallenged. Knowing you can get elected on a progressive platform and then or say, <u><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ocasio-cortez-slams-israeli-occupation-walks-it-back-i-am-not-expert-1029386" target="_blank">go back</a></u> on your calls for justice in Palestine or memorialize a sexist, racist, murderer (no, I’m not talking about Trump), normalizes war criminal eulogization in progressive spaces. </div>
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This type of compromising (both on their end on their stated values and on our end for not holding them accountable for it) across industries inevitably leads to a complete reduction, destruction, and redefinition of our movements for tangible, systemic, liberation-based change. </h4>
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After all, if you lose your values, what are you even fighting for? </div>
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So now what? </h2>
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Representation is important. Brands taking a stance is important. Progressive politicians should be voted for. Ethical brands are desperately important and currently one of our only few alternatives. But none of this will save us. </div>
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Liberation will not come through a series of compromises within industries that rely on those very systems of oppression to function. Liberation comes from unapologetic, unequivocal, uncompromising values that poses a very threat to those institutions of oppression -- ones that cannot be made from within the system. </div>
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We cannot allow ourselves to continually allow symbolic efforts to become enough, or even more important than or in place of, tangible change. </h4>
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I’m not asking for perfection. <b>I’m asking that we work to continually shift our own understandings of the role of brands--be it a representative or Nike--in acting as the sit-in for our own actual organizing and work, and look at the larger system in which they are a part of producing and reproducing. </b></div>
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I’m also asking that those with influence -- from brands to representatives to the people they sign -- can and should be held to a higher standard. I’m not asking for call-out culture, but accountability. If you claim to support me, people who look like me, and the movements I’m a part of, I have a right to question to what extent. At whose expense. We have a RIGHT and obligation to demand better and more, especially for what is attempted to be done in our name. </div>
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These are not complex, difficult demands. Why do we feel like asking a billion dollar brand to increase worker wages and improve factory conditions (barely even reducing profits) is out of the question? If a politicians whose base is majority Muslim eulogizes someone responsible for their families’ deaths why is it unheard of to hold them accountable? Why have we allowed ourselves to set the bar so dreadfully low? </div>
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As movement organizers, people of values and morality, people who stand for something: we need to set the bar, be intentional about who we’re including in our fight for justice, and frame the conversation before it is set and defined for us, before we are revolution-washed of our goals, ambitions, and hope. Otherwise, our wins will always be negotiations at other oppressed groups’ costs. And that’s not how we’re gonna get free. </h4>
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At the end, seeing the left cover themselves and their social media headers in brand nike because of the Kaepernick endorsement is much like watching progressive politicians memorialize a war criminal: it’s reductive, equivocating, and another compromise closer to a total loss of values. </div>
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<i>Just (don’t) do it. </i></div>
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<(')</div>
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</script>Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-33646203524513648332018-09-03T07:00:00.000-05:002018-10-18T17:03:48.663-05:00#BECAUSEWEVEREAD SEPTEMBER: THE SHOCK DOCTRINEAccording to our Instagram poll asking what topic everyone was most interested in reading about next, capitalism stole the show. As it tends to.<br />
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<a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html"><i><u>New to #BecauseWe'veRead? This is how we work!</u></i><i><u></u></i></a></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFI7phGJhcBWtVOBHh_3c_0q7og1-N5w8c39jhyphenhyphenUkat5E9m35FcW-MyUpYk0jkqfYIWp9cdDaTmtUctmJHITKlWUCPw_kfZL_6fvoZu5-LgfplDadvbhXa_tgai0wpEcMdPDRLA-hyHXk/s1600/naomi-klein-shock-doctrine-becauseweveread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFI7phGJhcBWtVOBHh_3c_0q7og1-N5w8c39jhyphenhyphenUkat5E9m35FcW-MyUpYk0jkqfYIWp9cdDaTmtUctmJHITKlWUCPw_kfZL_6fvoZu5-LgfplDadvbhXa_tgai0wpEcMdPDRLA-hyHXk/s1600/naomi-klein-shock-doctrine-becauseweveread.jpg" /></a></div>
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Back from our first break month (where our chapters worked on some amazing projects, from <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BmwMxKJhpJA">a prison book drive in Boston in solidarity with the national prison strike</a></u> to <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BmPCktehMOK/">a sold-out panel and spoken word performances in London</a></u>!) and we're ready to dive right back into a major, fundamental, shocking read: none other than <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> by the brilliant Naomi Klein! Hailed as "the most important book on economics in the 21st century" and one of the "very few books that really help us understand the present", <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> explores some of the major moments from recent history, from the 1973 US coup in Chile that brought Pinochet to power to the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union to the 2003 invasion and military occupation of Iraq, to illustrate how the intentional creation of major crises ("shock therapy") is crafted and manipulated to push neo-liberal economic policies that now dominate the world. I.e. why capitalism sucks and how it came to rule.<br />
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This book is especially important and especially important now, as it A) helps us re-frame and re-understand the world as it is today and continues to be shaped with Trump and Trump-like politicians becoming ever-powerful, and B) brings back to life several key instrumental moments in recent history that we have started to conveniently wash away, forget about, and sanitize (*cough* John McCain is and always will be a war criminal and no amount of candy his war criminal colleague Bush passes to Michelle Obama will change that *cough*). Still yet, the US military occupation of Iraq is very much still ongoing and New Orleans has still not yet recovered from Katrina -- episodes which, through Klein's lens in <i>The Shock Doctrine</i>, we can learn so much about the role of intentional, global neo-liberal policies in shaping the world, and through it, re-understand recent history and contemporary global issues.<br />
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SEPTEMBER 2018 BOOK OF THE MONTH:<br />NAOMI KLEIN, <i>THE SHOCK DOCTRINE</i> (2007)</h2>
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BOOK</h4>
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+ <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> (2007), Naomi Klein - <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UeVlMEH-9_6EtiDRmbv9OPq0A2UXDFj3/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a></u></div>
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<i>(It's a bit longer than our usual reads, but read as much as you can and we'll discuss at the end of the month!) </i><br />
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Translated to various international languages for purchase, <u><a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/the-book/editions">here</a></u><br />
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<i>(As always, please email us at editor@joojooazad.com if you are not financially (or politically) able to purchase a book and cannot read the PDF linked above, and we can mail you a free copy while supplies last!) </i><br />
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ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ Additional resources, primary documents, and related articles on <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> on the book's <u><a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/resources" target="_blank">website</a></u></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ <u><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot">"</a></u></span><span style="font-family: "poppins";"><u><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot">Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems"</a></u>, essay by George Monbiot in the Guardian</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "poppins";">+ <u><a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/06/13/video-how-to-resist-trumps-shock-doctrine/" target="_blank">"How to Resist Trump's Shock Doctrine"</a></u>, a video providing an overview of a 5-step plan of resistance by Naomi Klein on the Intercept </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ </span><span style="font-family: "poppins"; font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><u><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1235-the-battle-for-paradise">The Battle for Paradise</a></u></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;"> (2018), Naomi Klein</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">+ Naomi Klein's writing (in English & Portuguese) <u><a href="https://theintercept.com/staff/naomi-klein/">for the Intercept</a></u></span><br />
+ <u><a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_klein_how_shocking_events_can_spark_positive_change">"How shocking events can spark positive change"</a></u>, Naomi Klein's Ted Talk<br />
+ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Dvt2EqXF4" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">"The Economic Hitman"</a>, a 3 minute youtube clip on the relationships between corporations, global economic policies, and the military industrial complex<br />
+ Naomi Klein on capitalism and the climate, Ideas at the House <u><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iJPt3w7xkO2i3HUc8TDBr?si=7lY6buDpRGejWYtmiFk3lw" target="_blank">podcast</a></u></div>
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<i>* please note that the Winterbottom documentary The Shock Doctrine has been <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/not-in-my-name-klein-disowns-winterbottom-adaptation-1778386.html">disowned</a> by Naomi Klein and therefore would not be a sufficient additional resource or alternative to the book* </i></div>
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SOCIAL MEDIA </h4>
+ Instagram, <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ Twitter, <u><a href="http://www.twitter.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">Subscribe to our email updates!</a></u><br />
(We're giving away copies of <i>The Shock Doctrine</i> on Instagram, so be sure to follow us for a chance to win! Also, we love our reader posts! Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the conversation on social media, and we might just repost you!)<br />
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CHAPTERS / DISCUSSION GROUPS</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;">Our beautiful, fabulous #BecauseWeveRead official chapter leads are listed below, along with their email addresses and social media to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to follow them on social media, email them letting them know you're interested in joining, and/or keep this page bookmarked as we continue to update as information arises! </span></div>
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Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan: Samantha Rahmani / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.detroit@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Boston, Massachusetts: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Reza Mirsajadi & Joubin Khazaie / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.boston@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Brooklyn, NYC: Sana Altaf / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.brooklyn@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Cincinnati, Ohio: Sara Zandvakili / <u><a href="mailto:cincinnati.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadCincy/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Cincinnati Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Chicago, Illinois: Samantha Rose / <u><a href="mailto:chicago.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Houston, Texas: Laila Khalili / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.houston@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Los Angeles, California: Alexis Wong & Ashley May / <u><a href="mailto:losangeles.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/217585562342343/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Los Angeles/Orange County Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Minneapolis, Minnesota: Binta Kanteh / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.minneapolis@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Montreal, Canada: Mona Ghassemi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.montreal@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://twitter.com/blue_mona" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a></div>
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San Francisco Bay/Oakland, California: Allison Chan / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.BayArea@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/llisonchan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a><br />
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Seattle, Washington: Anisa Jackson / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.seattle@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_anisa_jackson" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadSea" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Seattle Facebook Group</span></a></div>
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Toronto, Canada: Yeldah Yousfi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.toronto@gmail.com">email</a></u> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.bibliophile/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">intsagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/YeldahYousfi" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
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Ottawa, Canada: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zaynab / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.ottawa@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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San Diego, California: Noor / <a href="mailto:SanDiego.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a><br />
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Washington D.C., USA: Hana Manadath & Jada Olsen / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.washingtondc@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";">Cairo, Egypt: Hana Ehab Hassanein & Shahd Sherief / <u><a href="mailto:h.e.hassanein@aucegypt.edu">email</a></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";">Cape Town, South Africa: Surekha Bhugeloo / </span><u style="font-family: poppins;"><a href="mailto:surekhabhugeloo@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Lagos, Nigeria: Hulaimah Kolawole / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.lagos@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hullybaby/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a></div>
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Nairobi, Kenya: Suhayl Omar & Powell Arimi / <a href="mailto:nairobi.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal;">Mauritius, Mauritius: Soufia Bham / <a href="mailto:mauritius.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span></div>
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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Anisa Alkunshalie / <u><a href="mailto:abudhabi.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Bombay, India: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Smriti Sant & Anadita Bhalerao / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.bombay@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Delhi, India: Yusra Hasan / <u><a href="mailto:id_forgotten20@yahoo.in">email</a></u><br />
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Istanbul, Turkey: Zineb Sadok & Hiba Abdennabi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.istanbul@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="http://www.instagram.com/93_hiba" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a></div>
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Jakarta, Indonesia: Annissa Rosyidah & Nana Rosyidah & Intan Khasanah / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.jakarta@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Lahore, Pakistan: Madiha Tallat / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.lahore@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/madiha.in.bookistan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a></div>
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Tehran, Iran: Maryam Rashidi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.tehran@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Singapore, Singapore: Muneerah Razak / <a href="mailto:bwr.singapore@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a><br />
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Leeds, England: Halima Nawaz / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.leeds@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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London, England: Alliyah Riaz & Maryam Abdullah / <u><a href="mailto:london.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Newcastle, England: Amy Cass / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.newcastle@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Auckland, New Zealand: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zainab Baba / <a href="mailto:bwr.auckland@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span><br />
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i>Sydney, Australia: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Miriam Mubayyid / <a href="mailto:bwr.sydney@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span></div>
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LIVE, MONTHLY DISCUSSION</h4>
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DATE: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Sunday, September 30th</span></div>
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TIME: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">10:00 AM CST</span></div>
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PLATFORM: <b>Youtube Live, embedded below (or follow <a href="http://bit.ly/bwrnaomiklein" target="_blank">this link</a>)</b></div>
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DISCUSSANT: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">NAOMI KLEIN</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "poppins";"><u><a href="https://twitter.com/NaomiAKlein" target="_blank">NAOMI KLEIN</a></u> is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the international bestsellers (including <i>This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate</i>, <i>The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,</i> and <i>No Logo</i>), and most recently became the </span></span><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "poppins";">inaugural Gloria Steinem Chair for Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University. </span></span><span style="font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px;">In November 2016 she was awarded Australia’s prestigious Sydney Peace Prize, for, according to the prize jury, “exposing the structural causes and responsibility for the climate crisis, for inspiring us to stand up locally, nationally and internationally to demand a new agenda for sharing the planet that respects human rights and equality, and for reminding us of the power of authentic democracy to achieve transformative change and justice.” Klein is a member of the board of directors for climate-action group 350.org. In 2015, she was invited to speak at the Vatican to help launch Pope Francis’s historic encyclical on ecology, Laudato si’. In 2017, Klein became Senior Correspondent for The Intercept. She is also a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute and contributor to the Nation Magazine. Recent articles have also appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, the London Review of Books and Le Monde. She has multiple honourary degrees and in 2014 received the International Studies Association’s IPE Outstanding Activist-Scholar award. </span></div>
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Happy reading (and viewing)!<br />
Can't wait to read all of your thoughts as you're reading -- be sure to tag us & hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the club & conversation!<br />
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-12848893203280128492018-08-04T14:15:00.002-05:002018-08-09T19:27:57.686-05:00#BecauseWeveRead August: Call for Writing!We're on to our 5th month of #BecauseWeveRead! This month we're excited to introduce a new addition to #BecauseWeveRead: Break Months! Break Months are a month after every few months of reading dedicated to intentionally reflecting on and engaging with the issues, topics, and ideas presented in the past months' readings, whether through writing, art, and/or supporting community organizing campaigns! (...or just catching up if you happened to miss a month...or all four). After all, what is reading and learning without action?<br />
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<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">New to #BecauseWe'veRead?</a></u></i></h3>
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<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Here are our intentions & goals, and how we work!</a></u></i></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lDGZ3FVxsYwZwMbCkp9FRUVSY7zgSLzf94mMhiMGz3oiAX892NTJjJuvliM8y35f8aWfX9Ms7xrJgZGC9iJy9dUZmyRXKsO3DGqRyFMnegDHydxv12vIvvf-pWhqXl3rQgzCrdVbbb4/s1600/becausewewrite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lDGZ3FVxsYwZwMbCkp9FRUVSY7zgSLzf94mMhiMGz3oiAX892NTJjJuvliM8y35f8aWfX9Ms7xrJgZGC9iJy9dUZmyRXKsO3DGqRyFMnegDHydxv12vIvvf-pWhqXl3rQgzCrdVbbb4/s1600/becausewewrite.jpg" /></a></div>
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For August, our first Break Month, we're excited to announce our #BecauseWeWrite campaign and contest! This is an open call for writing, reflections, reviews, poetry, and other creative writing pieces on any of the books and films (<u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/search/label/becauseweveread" target="_blank">complete list here</a></u>) we've read/watched so far and topics they cover (anti-Blackness, Orientalism, internalized racism/white supremacy, self-love/hate, police/prisons, Black history, liberation, decolonization, empire, etc).<br />
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We encourage you to publish your writing, share on social media with the hashtags #BecauseWeveRead and #BecauseWeWrite, and engage with others' pieces! This campaign and contest is open to everyone internationally, and in any and all languages that you might feel most comfortable writing in! Don't feel comfortable sharing publicly? You can email your piece to us at editor@joojooazad.com and we can share your submission on our social media anonymously!<br />
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To up the ante a little, we're also offering prizes to the top three pieces produced as part of this campaign, as well as publishing them right here on JooJoo Azad at the start of next month!<br />
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While this campaign is open internationally and your writing can be posted/published anywhere on the internet (your own blog, Medium, Instagram, etc), <b>the only requirement to be considered for the contest is to email us your piece and/or a link to your piece at editor@joojooazad.com with the subject line: #BecauseWeWrite</b> (that way we can also contact you via that email address if you win)! There are no minimum/maximum word count, language, formatting rules. If you don't want to participate in the contest, it is not required to send us your writing, although we'd still love to read it and share on our social media, too!<br />
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AUGUST 2018 BREAK MONTH: #BECAUSEWEWRITE</h2>
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CAMPAIGN DETAILS</h4>
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<b>What: </b>Writing reflections on <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/search/label/becauseweveread" target="_blank">#BecauseWeveRead readings</a></u><br />
<b>Where: </b>Anywhere! <u><a href="https://medium.com/" target="_blank">Medium</a></u> is a great resource for easy online publishing, but also feel free to publish on any platform: on your own blog, your own social media, or even just email privately to us!<br />
<b>Rules</b>: Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead and #BecauseWeWrite, and <u><b><a href="mailto:editor@joojooazad.com">email us</a></b></u> a link to your post with the subject line: #BecauseWeWrite by the end of the month of August!<br />
<b>Prize</b>: Top three submissions will be published on JooJoo Azad, along with a small gift mailed to you!<br />
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LOCAL CHAPTERS</h4>
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Each #BecauseWeveRead Chapter (we have 30 chapters and counting!) is planning an event or discussion in August around the themes from the past #BecauseWeveRead books (from a panel discussion at Rich Mix in London, to live art shows in Detroit!), and we're so excited! Be sure to follow our Instagram page/stories to stay updated with all of the dates, or contact your nearest chapter host to find out what's happening in your neighborhood!<br />
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Our chapter leads will also be doing Instagram takeovers of our <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u> account this month too, so even if you can't make it out in-person, you can still tune in virtually!<br />
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Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan: Samantha Rahmani / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.detroit@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Boston, Massachusetts: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Reza Mirsajadi & Joubin Khazaie / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.boston@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Brooklyn, NYC: Sana Altaf / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.brooklyn@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Cincinnati, Ohio: Sara Zandvakili / <u><a href="mailto:cincinnati.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadCincy/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Cincinnati Facebook Group</a></div>
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Chicago, Illinois: Samantha Rose / <u><a href="mailto:chicago.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Houston, Texas: Laila Khalili / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.houston@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Los Angeles, California: Alexis Wong & Ashley May / <u><a href="mailto:losangeles.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/217585562342343/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Los Angeles/Orange County Facebook Group</a></div>
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Minneapolis, Minnesota: Binta Kanteh / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.minneapolis@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Montreal, Canada: Mona Ghassemi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.montreal@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://twitter.com/blue_mona" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1461377137317656/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Montreal Facebook Group</a></div>
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San Francisco Bay/Oakland, California: Allison Chan / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.BayArea@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/llisonchan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a><br />
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Seattle, Washington: Anisa Jackson / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.seattle@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_anisa_jackson" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadSea" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">Seattle Facebook Group</a></div>
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Toronto, Canada: Yeldah Yousfi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.toronto@gmail.com">email</a></u> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.bibliophile/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">intsagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/YeldahYousfi" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">twitter</a><br />
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Ottawa, Canada: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zaynab / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.ottawa@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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San Diego, California: Noor / <a href="mailto:SanDiego.bwr@gmail.com">email</a><br />
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Washington D.C., USA: Hana Manadath & Jada Olsen / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.washingtondc@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">AFRICA</span></div>
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Lagos, Nigeria: Hulaimah Kolawole / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.lagos@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hullybaby/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a><br />
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Nairobi, Kenya: Suhayl Omar & Powell Arimi / <a href="mailto:nairobi.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a><br />
<span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: normal;">Mauritius, Mauritius: Soufia Bham / <a href="mailto:mauritius.bwr@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">ASIA</span></div>
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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Anisa Alkunshalie / <u><a href="mailto:abudhabi.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Bombay, India: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Smirit Sant & Anadita Bhalerao / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.bombay@gmail.com">email</a></u></span></div>
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Istanbul, Turkey: Zineb Sadok & Hiba Abdennabi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.istanbul@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="http://www.instagram.com/93_hiba" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a></div>
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Jakarta, Indonesia: Annissa Rosyidah & Nana Rosyidah & Intan Khasanah / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.jakarta@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Lahore, Pakistan: Madiha Tallat / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.lahore@gmail.com">email</a></u>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/madiha.in.bookistan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out 0s;" target="_blank">instagram</a></div>
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Tehran, Iran: Maryam Rashidi / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.tehran@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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Singapore, Singapore: Muneerah Razak / <a href="mailto:bwr.singapore@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">EUROPE</span></div>
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Leeds, England: Halima Nawaz / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.leeds@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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London, England: Alliyah Riaz & Maryam Abdullah / <u><a href="mailto:london.bwr@gmail.com">email</a></u></div>
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Newcastle, England: Amy Cass / <u><a href="mailto:bwr.newcastle@gmail.com">email</a></u><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">OCEANIA</span><br />
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Auckland, New Zealand: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zainab Baba / <a href="mailto:bwr.auckland@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span><br />
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i>Sydney, Australia: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Miriam Mubayyid / <a href="mailto:bwr.sydney@gmail.com"><u>email</u></a></span><br />
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<h4>
Q&A + WRITING TIPS!</h4>
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Q&A SESSION: I'll be on Instagram live TOMORROW at 12pm CST on <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u> to answer any questions and go over Break Month details, so if you have any lingering questions, please join us!</div>
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WRITING TIPS: We're so excited to be speaking with writer, author, editor, and community organizer <a href="https://twitter.com/HalfAtlanta" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Devyn Springer</a> next Saturday, August 11th on <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">Instagram live</a></u> at 11am CST to give writing tips & suggestions to anyone wanting to join the campaign but is insecure in their writing! Mark your calendars!<br />
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September we'll jump back into reading! In the meantime, we can't wait to read all of your reflections! </div>
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#BecauseWeveRead #BecauseWeWrite</div>
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<br />Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-53024727003525799382018-07-05T08:51:00.002-05:002020-08-09T00:53:46.151-05:00All Fast-Fashion Requires Systemic Gender-Based Violence: Conscious Collections are Fake News<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivk0vQNMPvl0GybWlEHPVGWzQptVdGgC6MlZ5AXTcWdaAaxSX_dY6dbD7a9mmFNhkkXXG0BUh7lrt_0BJNOcenVPcwRy8cntRf9xCDChEgsaKPSLChpJKGb9Fj8bYgcJfM7WdMGbziu3k/s1600/gender-based-violence-fast-fashion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="980" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivk0vQNMPvl0GybWlEHPVGWzQptVdGgC6MlZ5AXTcWdaAaxSX_dY6dbD7a9mmFNhkkXXG0BUh7lrt_0BJNOcenVPcwRy8cntRf9xCDChEgsaKPSLChpJKGb9Fj8bYgcJfM7WdMGbziu3k/s1600/gender-based-violence-fast-fashion.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>"It hurts us to be paid so little. I have to do this and they sell one piece of clothing for more than I get paid in a month. We cannot eat nutritious food. We don't have a good life, we live in pain for the rest of our life and die in pain.”</i></blockquote>
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-- Sakamma, a 42 year old garment worker in GAP’s factory in India and mother of two</div>
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(photo: garment worker strike in Bangladesh met with police violence / libcom)</div>
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Between conscious collections, in-store recycling programs, and campaign spreads of more raised fists than you’ll see at the average protest, the fashion industry has delved into the deep end of the latest trend: sustainability and political awareness -- or at least, the appearance of such. Sexy catch phrases such as “organic cotton”, “sustainable development“, and of course the beloved “on sale now” plaster nearly every major fast-fashion label, fusing the seemingly compatible concepts of ethical production standards with the fast-fashion model of production. <br />
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We’re able to clear our conscience with conscious collections and recycle our worries into feelings of optimistic do-goodness. After all, we’re all becoming <u><a href="https://www.gap.com/browse/info.do?cid=1008049&mdts=true" target="_blank">“one stitch closer”</a></u> to supporting and empowering women of color in impoverished nations globally thanks to fast-fashion labels’ self-proclaimed commitment to sustainability and ethical production.<br />
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*cue kumbaya music while birds chirp softly in the background* </div>
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Not so fast.</div>
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UNDERSTANDING FAST-FASHION</h3>
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Despite fast-fashion prevalence and domination of the industry, this particular manufacturing model developed just recently (in the late 1990s and early 2000s) as a form of producing clothing from the runway to a mass market, quickly and inexpensively. <b>It depends on both the continual creation of desire for consumption within the minds of consumers and the Quick Response Manufacturing model of production. <a href="https://qrm.engr.wisc.edu/index.php/what-is-qrm">Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM)</a> centralizes timeliness as the central and highest priority in the production process in order to create the mass output and scale of profits needed to remain competitive within the Western capitalist system. </b><br />
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For example, H&M, the second largest retailer internationally after Inditex (which owns Zara), has been <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/h-m-accused-of-burning-12-tonnes-of-new-unsold-clothing-per-year/2017101726341">accused</a> of incinerating 12 tonnes of new and unused clothing every year, is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/business/hm-clothes-stock-sales.html">currently</a> sitting on over $4.3 billion of unsold inventory, and actively produces between 550 and 600 million garments annually. They simultaneously have one of the most aggressively-marketed <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/06/how-hm-erases-war-crimes-in-israel-marketing-campaign.html" target="_blank">greenwashing</a></u> campaigns of fast-fashion brands. </div>
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This central focus on time and low production costs to produce countless new styles every week (currently the fast-fashion industry has to work to meet their 52 “micro-seasons” annually) are directly reproduced in every aspect of fast-fashion supply chains and creates the very environments that necessitate violence on the production floor. </h4>
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Therefore, this seeming harmonious blend of fast-fashion and ethical production is not only deceptive marketing, but inherently and wholly incompatible. In the midst of all the smiling faces of brown Muslim women at sewing machines excited and ready to sew another pair of ripped jeans in Bangladesh,<b> <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/gap/" target="_blank">three</a></u> <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/handm/" target="_blank">new</a></u> <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/walmart-report/" target="_blank">reports</a></u> published by <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/" target="_blank">Global Labor Justice</a></u> and <u><a href="https://asia.floorwage.org/" target="_blank">Asia Floor Wage Alliance</a></u>, describing severe gender-based abuse in some of the largest fast-fashion labels’ supply chains, indicates a deep and systematic incongruity between what brands are saying and what is actually happening.</b> The abuse was documented between January and May of this year in <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/handm/" target="_blank">H&M</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/gap/" target="_blank">GAP</a></u>, and <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/walmart-report/" target="_blank">Walmart</a></u> factories across Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka and reveals the horrifying working conditions women of color are subjected to on the job, <i>daily</i>. </div>
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GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE INSIDE THE FACTORIES</h3>
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The reports, developed by an international coalition of human rights organizations, unions, and other labor organizations active on the ground including Global Labor Justice, Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), CENTRAL Cambodia, Sedane Labour Resource Center (LIPS) Indonesia, and Society for Labour and Development (SLD) India, detail sexual violence and verbal abuse against female garment workers on top of their already oppressive sweatshop working conditions.<br />
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<b>Pulling hair, hitting breasts, firing pregnant women, threats of sexual violence and non-renewal of work contracts are just some of the forms of difficult-to-read gender-based violence documented in the report that frame the daily realities of female garment workers</b> across South and Southeast Asia:<br />
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<i>“...my batch supervisor came up behind me as I was working on the sewing machine, yelling “you are not meeting your target production.” He pulled me out of the chair and I fell on the floor. He hit me, including on my breasts. He pulled me up and then pushed me to the floor again. He kicked me.”</i></blockquote>
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This is just one of the abusive experiences reported by Radhika, a widow, single mother, and garment worker in one of H&M’s major supplier factories in India. Unfortunately, such harrowing reports of gender-based violence and economic exploitation are not unique to H&M, GAP, and Walmart, nor are they the simple result of mismanagement, or careless top-down inspection. <b>These experiences sit at the intersections of particularities of class, gender, and race: the abuse female garment workers face is no isolated accident. Garment factories exist in nations of color due to the legacies of colonialism, and are systematically dependent on exploitation and gender-based abuse to function within the fast-fashion model of production. </b></div>
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Table: <a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GBV-HM-May-2018.pdf">H&M report</a>, Global Labor Justice / Tweets: via our <a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1014263365076705282">Twitter town hall</a></div>
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To sell clothes so cheap, turn over new styles fast, and deliver such high profits, <a href="https://twitter.com/hm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Gap?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Gap</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/Walmart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Walmart</a> suppliers rely on a business model that utilizes the discrimination and exploitation of women garment workers as a cost saving measure. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndFastFashionGBV?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndFastFashionGBV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TimesUp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TimesUp</a></div>
— ICAR (@theICAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/theICAR/status/1014195630598770689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Violence in <a href="https://twitter.com/Gap?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Gap</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Walmart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Walmart</a> garment supply chains is rooted in the structure of the industry: impossible production targets, women in high stress, low wage, temporary work drives industrial discipline practices. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeTo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MeTo</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UsToo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UsToo</a> - these are not isolated cases <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndFastFashionGBV?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndFastFashionGBV</a> <a href="https://t.co/WFD81sRaok">https://t.co/WFD81sRaok</a></div>
— shikha silliman bhattacharjee (@shikhaphone) <a href="https://twitter.com/shikhaphone/status/1014205406573355008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Furthermore, according to the GLJ <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/GBV-HM-May-2018.pdf" target="_blank">report</a></u>, “Examples of physical abuse reported by workers interviewed for this study include slapping workers and throwing heavy bundles of papers and clothes at workers, especially during high stress production times. <b>Workers reported that physical discipline practices spiked after second tier management came out of meetings with senior management driving production targets.” </b><br />
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Much like Radhika’s experiences quoted above, the findings from the reports clearly indicate that these impossible time and production demands that fast-fashion places on factories are one of the major causes for factory violence. </h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo: Walmart supply chain demands on garment workers</span></td></tr>
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GLJ’s report also uncovers<b> gendered hiring practices across fast-fashion supply chains</b>: women workers are overwhelmingly dominant (up to 95% of the garment workforce in many of the South and South East Asian countries investigated in their reports) yet “rarely” hold any positions of power within management. This results in women becoming especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and violence that are enabled from such gendered power structures. One example of this is illustrated in an interview conducted with a female garment worker in H&M’s factory in Sri Lanka:<br />
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<i>“When girls scold machine operators for touching them or grabbing them, they take revenge. Sometimes they give them machines that don’t function properly. Then they don’t come and repair it for a long time. After that, supervisors scold us for not meeting the target.”</i></blockquote>
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<b>Women are not only routinely threatened or mocked for not working fast enough to meet the demands placed on them by fast-fashion brands, but are also punished for reporting the sexual violence that is cited as justification for not meeting quotas, oftentimes being fired and blacklisted from all factory jobs. </b>One garment worker notes that factory supervisors have even hired informants to ensure the women do not talk with anyone outside of the factory. Even more so, local press that document or report on the factory conditions are often retaliated against as well.<br />
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<b>Furthermore, such time sensitivity and high production demands also violate garment workers’ general rights and liberties, beyond the vulnerabilities of gender-based violence:</b> Muslim garment workers in Indonesia are unable to take prayer breaks, as they will not be able to meet production targets otherwise; in Cambodia overtime is forced and normalized (leading to “mass fainting” from exhaustion on particularly hot days); and job insecurity is widespread across all factories by imposing short term contracts with compensation far below living wages.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: "Woman shot dead and several injured in protest by garment workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia" / South China Morning Post</span></div>
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CAN BRANDS DO BETTER?</h3>
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Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, H&M, GAP, and others are putting up a seemingly noble front: <u><a href="http://sustainability.hm.com/content/dam/hm/about/documents/en/CSR/2017%20Sustainability%20report/HM_group_SustainabilityReport_2017_FullReport_en.pdf" target="_blank">H&M’s 2017 Sustainability Report</a></u> claims transparent supply chains, minimum wages, and codes of conduct for all formal subcontractors. So how does this all fit together? Buzz words such as “creating jobs”, “investment in developing countries,” or, as proudly <u><a href="http://about.hm.com/en/sustainability/sustainable-fashion/working-conditions.html">declared</a></u> on H&M’s website, “Everyone should be treated with respect and the suppliers should offer their workers fair wages and good working conditions” seem to set the scene for progress. Indeed, workers should have fair wages and good working conditions. But such deceptive terms and phrases do not do much else than ease consumers’ conscience who fall for their branding tricks. <br />
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Oftentimes, such deceptive greenwashing, accelerated by H&M’s “Conscious Collections” or Zara’s “Join Life” collection, leave consumers assuming that, in the off chance that they learn about such violent factory conditions, such conditions are simply the result of either flexible local laws or independent factories, rather than intentional corporate decisions. Because, at least they’re trying, right? H&M especially prides itself on its corporate sustainability and is oftentimes one of the first brands to conduct independent investigations of their supply chains when sweatshop conditions are publicized. Shouldn’t we support the brands that are attempting to do better? <br />
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<b>Actually, the majority of the violations reported in H&M, GAP, and Walmart factories also violate international and local labor laws--this is not simply an unfortunate "third world" situation that fast-fashion corporations are taking advantage of; rather, factories’ pressures that lead to violence are a direct result of the production processes and demands inherent to fast-fashion. </b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Moreover, fast-fashion corporations most definitely have the means and resources to do better. In the first three months of 2018, Inditex (parent company to Zara, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius, and </span><u style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.inditex.com/en/about-us/our-brands/zara">other</a></u><span style="font-family: inherit;"> fast-fashion labels) </span><u style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.inditex.com/en/article?articleId=588064&title=Inditex+Group%E2%80%99s+net+sales+climb+2%25+to+%E2%82%AC5.7+billion+in+the+first+three+months+of+2018+fiscal+year">witnessed</a></u><span style="font-family: inherit;"> a record-breaking $6.6 billion in revenue, with CEO Amancio Ortega’s personal net worth currently sitting at $73.9 billion (making him one of the top 10 richest people in the world). Supply chains are left intentionally opaque to distance themselves from responsibility, and use phrases like "should be treated with respect" or “independent investigations”, which are as meaningless as Trump’s white house iftars.</span><br />
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Regardless of how a brand frames its “corporate responsibility” policies, the bottom line still stands: all fast-fashion is deeply and wholly dependent upon violent working conditions due to their production needs. Sweatshops, economic exploitation, and gender-based abuse of garment workers are not a reformable by-product of fast-fashion; they are a systemic, inevitable, and necessary component central to fast-fashion’s model of production, at almost every level of the supply chain. </h4>
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Therefore, top-down approaches to change factory conditions (such as working with or supporting brands that appear to be more sustainable or conscious) are ultimately futile and have historically failed. <b>The only way H&M, GAP, Walmart, Zara, Forever21, and other fast-fashion brands can truly systematically end the abuse and gender-based violence that frames their supply chains is to minimize their production quotas (i.e. no longer work within production timelines that fill the demands of 52 faux seasons), allow unionization and collective bargaining, and pay living wages, among other proposals outlined in the GLJ reports. </b><br />
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<b>In the specific cases of H&M, GAP, and Walmart, in light of the Global Labor Justice report they need to immediately meet with the leadership of women of Asia Floor Wage Alliance to pilot programs to end gender based violence in their supplier factories.</b><br />
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Rather than supporting fast-fashion brands that are putting on the best “green” front, which would be marginally noticeable and only encourage more campaigns that use sexy words that carry no value, it is absolutely integral that we support and follow the leadership of garment workers organizing globally for their human rights. Sweatshops are “in”, and as long as we don’t end fast-fashion, they’re not going anywhere.<br />
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To those who are now thinking about your consumption of fast-fashion and, much like the high schooler who, after I finished a presentation on the production chain of fast-fashion for his class are wondering if you now are “a bad person,” I leave you with this: all fashion is political, complex, and more than just a t-shirt on a clothing rack. Beyond an individual decision of what clothes you chose to adorn your body with, we need to redefine our relationship to consumption and understand the complexities of the particular political and economic contexts that create and maintain the capacity for such forms of exploitative labor. <b>Your individual consumption is not unimportant, but for us to truly be able to transform the fashion industry and the violence that plagues it, we must support the organizations investigating and reporting factory abuse and pushing for policy change, the on-the-ground organizing and unionizing led by garment workers, and movements challenging militarization and occupation globally. </b><br />
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Especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement in the West bringing attention to the normalization of sexual violence in Hollywood and other workplaces, we’re left asking ourselves how exclusive such movements are, and whose sexual violence we’re allowing ourselves to ignore or justify. </h4>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This piece is part of a global campaign aimed at pressuring H&M and GAP to meet with their garment workers to pilot programs to immediately end gender based violence in their supplier factories. Learn more about the campaign on <u><a href="https://www.globallaborjustice.org/" target="_blank">Global Labor Justices' website</a></u> or reading through <u><a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1014263365076705282" target="_blank">our twitter town hall</a></u>, in collaboration with various unions, human rights groups, and others working to challenge gender-based violence in the fast-fashion industry. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><(')</span></div>
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</script>Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-78981141517358244192018-07-02T10:39:00.001-05:002018-07-28T09:12:23.170-05:00#BECAUSEWEVEREAD JULY: ON ORIENTALISMBetween Muslim Bans, nations around the world closing borders to increasing numbers of Muslim (and other) refugees, and millions of dollars being poured into Islamophobic propaganda campaigns internationally, to say that there is anything short of a global crisis of systemic anti-Muslim racism would be a dreadful understatement.<br />
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So, let's learn about it.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" target="_blank">New to #BecauseWe'veRead?</a></u></i></h3>
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<i><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" target="_blank">Here are our intentions & goals, and how we work!</a></u></i></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2z8pyqfvbkK_cBmIJav-UIFHqYczZg4fFM4YQZWKaCm2_2YdWBbUkmIX5hy_3wtrIMyc1Ccuku0A-QU1aTXdwVx0JwOHK_b4-MVNmeWlB9WG3sBo5y0T0kfVOgnBx1sXuNwTYAgF-no/s1600/becauseweveread-orientalism-july2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2z8pyqfvbkK_cBmIJav-UIFHqYczZg4fFM4YQZWKaCm2_2YdWBbUkmIX5hy_3wtrIMyc1Ccuku0A-QU1aTXdwVx0JwOHK_b4-MVNmeWlB9WG3sBo5y0T0kfVOgnBx1sXuNwTYAgF-no/s1600/becauseweveread-orientalism-july2018.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
On to month three of #BecauseWeveRead, the last month in our 3 month "unit" on colonialism! Starting with Assata Shakur's autobiography introducing us to concepts on internalized colonialism and racialized hierarchies (among countless others) that were then expanded on and theorized in Fanon's <i>Black Skin White Masks</i> and the film <i>Battle of Algiers</i>, we're taking a step back now and looking at colonialism on an international level, and how such colonial conceptions of self are constructed systematically.<br />
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And to do so, there is no one quite like the brilliant Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, (i.e my first true love) and his development of Orientalism and postcolonial studies to explore for July.<br />
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While <i>Orientalism</i> is quite the classic, I would argue that the introduction would be more than sufficient for understanding the concepts central to his theory, that are only laboriously elaborated on in the remainder of the book. Alternatively, <i>Covering Islam</i> takes these concepts and applies them to media representations of Muslims and Islam, beyond the "Muslims are always depicted as terrorists and that's not cool" line. Also, keep in mind that <i>Covering Islam</i> was written before September 11th 2001, the date that most Americans would (incorrectly) ascribe to the start of Islamophobic bias against Muslims in America. Said's theories remain not only unfortunately incredibly relevant, but are also highly applicable in other international contexts, outside of the United States. In these texts, Said's development of the concept of Orientalism -- the "imperialism of the pen," as he pens it, is incredibly rich, powerful, and integral to any understanding of colonialism.<br />
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JULY 2018 BOOK OF THE MONTH:<br />EDWARD SAID, COVERING ISLAM (1997) + ORIENTALISM (1979)</h2>
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BOOK + AUDIO</h4>
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+ <i>Covering Islam</i> (1997), Edward Said - <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N4PxHzm7o3Z2-X_SEf8pjplvTzPTq9jc/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a></u></div>
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+ Introduction, <i>Orientalism</i> (1979), Edward Said - <u><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sz0ACZYhHQDqmoGDV9lIeLWyQeRexNvU/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Introduction available here</a></u></div>
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+ <i>The Pen & the Sword</i> podcast interviews (2015) with Edward Said - <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/6E0YNRduwqeXvJnI8T4yeP" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">on Spotify here</a> (also available <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeiUz1UDLzQ&list=OLAK5uy_kBggl-A0cfVIIWMePRcMKRNLx0TbKussE" target="_blank">on Youtube here</a></u> for countries in which Spotify does not work)</div>
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<i>(As always, please email us at editor@joojooazad.com if you are not financially (or politically) able to purchase a book and cannot read the PDF linked above, and we can mail you a free copy while supplies last!) </i><br />
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ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ "<u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QYrAqrpshw" target="_blank">Framed</a></u>" - a 2 minute video by AlJazeera introducing the concept of "Orientalism" </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ </span><i style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><u><a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/1fEVGTKgYqBwaEnsBhoWNo" target="_blank">Origins of Terror</a></u> </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">podcast interviews (2014) with Edward Said </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ </span><u style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2vFJE93LTI" target="_blank">'Shades of Anger'</a></u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> spoken word poetry by Canadian-Palestinian artist </span><u style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://twitter.com/rafeefziadah?lang=en" target="_blank">Rafeef Ziadah</a></u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ </span><u style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=676fB7ExZys" target="_blank">Video interview with Edward Said</a></u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> (2012)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins"; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">+ <u><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/islam-through-western-eyes/" target="_blank">"Islam Through Western Eyes"</a></u> (1998) long-form essay by Edward Said summarizing concepts in </span></span><i style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Covering Islam</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ </i><span style="font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><u><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/aug/02/alqaida.highereducation" target="_blank">"A Window on the World"</a></u> (2003) an article by Edward Said in the <i>Guardian </i>explaining Western academics' role in justifying the US military occupation of Iraq through a creation of the "Arab mind" </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ </span><u style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/clash-ignorance/" target="_blank">"The Clash of Ignorance"</a></u><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> (2001) an article by Edward Said in </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">The Nation</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> destroying the "clash of civilizations" argument pitting Islam and the West as fundamentally opposite and incompatible </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">+ </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Question-Palestine-Edward-W-Said-ebook/dp/B0138OGOYU" target="_blank">The Question of Palestine</a></u></i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"> (2015), available on Amazon </span></div>
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SOCIAL MEDIA </h4>
+ Instagram, <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ Twitter, <u><a href="http://www.twitter.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@BecauseWeveRead</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">Subscribe to our email updates!</a></u><br />
(We're giving away copies of <i>Covering Islam</i> on Instagram, so be sure to follow us for a chance to win! Also, we love our reader posts! Use the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the conversation on social media, and we might just repost you!)<br />
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CHAPTERS / DISCUSSION GROUPS</h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "poppins"; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Our beautiful, fabulous #BecauseWeveRead official chapter leads are listed below, along with their email addresses and social media to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to follow them on social media, email them letting them know you're interested in joining, and/or keep this page bookmarked as we continue to update as information arises! </span></div>
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Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan: Samantha Rahmani (<a href="mailto:rahmanis@umich.edu" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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Boston, Massachusetts: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Reza Mirsajadi & Joubin Khazaie (<a href="mailto:rmirsajadi@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</span></div>
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Brooklyn, NYC: Sana Altaf (<a href="mailto:sana.altaf9@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)<br />
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Cincinnati, Ohio: Sara Zandvakili (<a href="mailto:zandvasj@mail.uc.edu" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadCincy/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">Cincinnati Facebook Group</a></div>
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Houston, Texas: Laila Khalili (<a href="mailto:lailarkhalili@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><span id="goog_1940588110" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span>email<span id="goog_1940588111" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></a>)</div>
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Los Angeles, California: Joubin Khazaie (<a href="mailto:khazaiejoubin@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><span id="goog_1940588124" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span>email<span id="goog_1940588125" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_wherejoubin/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/wherejoubin" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">twitter</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/217585562342343/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">Los Angeles/Orange County Facebook Group</a></div>
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Minneapolis, Minneapolis: Binta Kantah (<a href="mailto:bkanteh13@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)<br />
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Montreal, Canada: Mona Ghassemi (<a href="mailto:monagz@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/blue_mona" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">twitter</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1461377137317656/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">Montreal Facebook Group</a></div>
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San Francisco Bay/Oakland, California: Allison Chan (<a href="mailto:allisonchany@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/llisonchan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">instagram</a>)<br />
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Seattle, Washington: Anisa Jackson (<a href="mailto:jacksonanisam@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_anisa_jackson" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">twitter</a>)<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadSea" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">Seattle Facebook Group</a></div>
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Toronto, Canada: Yeldah Yousfi (<a href="mailto:beautiful.bibliophile18@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.bibliophile/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">intsagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/YeldahYousfi" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">twitter</a>)<br />
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Ottawa, Canada: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Zaynab (<a href="mailto:zalwa081@uottawa.ca" target="_blank">email</a>)</span></div>
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San Diego, California: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">AFRICA</span></div>
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Cape Town, South Africa: <i>upcoming</i><br />
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Nairobi, Kenya:<i style="font-style: normal;"> upcoming</i></div>
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Nigeria (no cities, as this is a national Whatsapp group): Hulaimah Kolawole (<a href="mailto:pinkhullybaby@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hullybaby/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">instagram</a>)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">ASIA</span></div>
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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Anisa Alkunshalie (<a href="mailto:alkos3@hotmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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Bombay, India: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Smirit Sant & Anadita Bhalerao (<a href="mailto:santreads@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</span></div>
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Istanbul, Turkey: Zineb Sadok & Hiba Abdennabi (<a href="mailto:zineb.sadok@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="http://www.instagram.com/93_hiba" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">instagram</a>)</div>
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Jakarta, Indonesia: Annissa Rosyidah & Nana Rosyidah & Intan Khasanah (<a href="mailto:intankhasanah25@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)<br />
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Lahore, Pakistan: Madiha Tallat (<a href="mailto:madiha.tallat@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/madiha.in.bookistan/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">instagram</a>)</div>
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Tehran, Iran: Mohammad Javad Hamzeloo (<a href="mailto:shooroon@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">EUROPE</span></div>
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Leeds, England: Halima Nawaz (<a href="mailto:halimanawaz.hn@gmail.com" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>)<br />
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London, England: Alliyah Riaz & Maryam Abdullah (<a href="mailto:alliyahriaz@yahoo.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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Newcastle, England: Amy Cass (<a href="mailto:amyjade5s@hotmail.co.uk" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">email</a>)<br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">OCEANIA</span><br />
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Auckland, New Zealand: <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">upcoming</i><br />
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i>Melbourne, Australia: <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">upcoming</i></div>
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LIVE, MONTHLY DISCUSSION -- SAVE THE DATE: </span></h4>
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DATE: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Sunday, July 29th </span></div>
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TIME: <b>10:00 AM CST</b></div>
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PLATFORM: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;">Instagram live, <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">@becauseweveread</a></u></span></div>
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DISCUSSANT: <b>DR. HATEM BAZIAN</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "poppins";"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><u><b><a href="http://www.hatembazian.com/" target="_blank">Hatem Bazian</a></b></u> is a co-founder and Professor of Islamic Law and Theology at Zaytuna College, the 1st Accredited Muslim Liberal Arts College in the United States. In addition, Prof. Bazian is a lecturer in the Departments of Near Eastern and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Bazian between 2002-2007, also served as an adjunct professor of law at Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He teaches courses on Islamic Law and Society, Islam in America: Communities and Institutions, De-Constructing Islamophobia and Othering of Islam, Religious Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies. In addition to Berkeley, Prof. Bazian served as a visiting Professor in Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California 2001-2007 and adviser to the Religion, Politics and Globalization Center at UC Berkeley. In Spring 2009, Prof. Bazian founded at Berkeley the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the Center for Race and Gender, a research unit dedicated to the systematic study of Othering Islam and Muslims. Prof. Bazian in Spring 2012 launched the Islamophobia Studies Journal, which is published bi-annually through a collaborative effort between the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project of the Center for Race and Gender at the University of California at Berkeley, the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative for the School of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University; the Center for Islamic Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia, and Zaytuna College. In addition to academic work, Dr, Bazian is a weekly columnist for the Turkish Daily Sabah Newspaper and Turkey Agenda online magazine. Dr. Bazian is founder and national Chair of American Muslims for Palestine, board member of the Islamic Scholarship Fund, Muslim Legal Fund of America, President of Dollar for Deen Charity, and Chair of Northern California Islamic Council.</span></span><br />
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Happy reading (and viewing)! Can't wait to read all of your thoughts as you're reading -- be sure to tag us & hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the club & conversation! </div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Palestine31.952162 35.23315400000001330.226547500000002 32.651367000000015 33.6777765 37.814941000000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-62678324802364132262018-06-25T09:40:00.000-05:002018-06-25T09:40:45.125-05:00NOW HIRING: PROJECT ASSISTANT INTERNSHIPSo excited to announce the opening of our Chicago-based <a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/p/project-assistant.html" target="_blank">Project Assistant Internship position</a>! Want to be working on a political fashion blog, producing an ethical clothing line, working to organize a Chicago-based sewing co-operative of refugee women, spending time with someone who is perpetually craving ice cream (that's me), AND making money? Read on.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/p/project-assistant.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgLWRuu8VLKhEjCaToVBFQFZi3Fp_0Pz0RUf-tWa5MZc22th6kp4fAxdxLlmtfdvLNwuj9Z0MqCJuxB_Wpf21lty98yuft54jgFhnrFYkOBVutq82ffB8mRm1Y6ypkbTyqd4S4-zzT08/s1600/apps+open.jpg" /></a><br />
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This internship requires a minimum 20 hours per week for 6 months and is paid a stipend. As the Project Assistant will be working directly with the refugee sewing co-operative, <b>all applicants must be located in Chicago for the duration of this internship</b> -- absolutely no exceptions!<br />
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The JooJoo Azad internship is designed to support AMEMSA (African/Middle Eastern/Muslim/South Asian) women/femmes who are building their empires -- in entrepreneurship, journalism, media, and personal creative projects--and work with them in developing and furthering their networks, connections, portfolio, writing, community organizing, and leadership. <i>We cannot rely on our oppressors to tell our stories. We must document our own narratives. </i><br />
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<b>Creative, activist-minded AMEMSA women/femmes who are ready to take sh*t down--online and offline--are encouraged to apply! </b></h3>
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<i>Note that you do not have to be a USA citizen to apply!</i><br />
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<u>Application deadline is July 9, 2018</u> and interviews will take place the following week. The position will begin July 2018 2018 and interns are expected to work a minimum of 20 hours a week for 6 months, and will be paid with a stipend. Complete application details and instructions can be found via the link below<br />
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<span style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></span><u><b><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/p/project-assistant.html" target="_blank">POSITION DETAILS + APPLICATION INFORMATION</a></b></u></h4>
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Happy applying, and can't wait to read your apps! </div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com1Chicago, IL, USA41.8781136 -87.62979819999998241.4995241 -88.275245199999986 42.256703099999996 -86.984351199999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-80268105887003118302018-05-15T14:14:00.001-05:002019-08-23T09:34:32.042-05:00#BECAUSEWEVEREAD Emergency Reading: On GazaIn light of the Gaza massacre yesterday, the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the Great Return marches, and the ongoing Israeli apartheid regime and military occupation of Palestine, we are calling a #BecauseWeveRead 'Emergency Reading' to respond to the overwhelming request by our members to understand what is happening right now in occupied Palestine, and what can be done.<br />
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<b><i><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" target="_blank">New to #BecauseWeveRead? Here are our intentions & goals!</a></u></i></b></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL-8k2uRjxO-HdEV_biQYv4D7EU-664-eFahcaH8g8GEmYH-33320P3EOSa_siBNlQu6jXfxjoKpp2-A_Ko4NXmFwEl7TpZnr-O5xRwN_x5ve6r6aK_IHIGAeEtKvUIOEq918vrajddU/s1600/omar-barghouti-bds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCL-8k2uRjxO-HdEV_biQYv4D7EU-664-eFahcaH8g8GEmYH-33320P3EOSa_siBNlQu6jXfxjoKpp2-A_Ko4NXmFwEl7TpZnr-O5xRwN_x5ve6r6aK_IHIGAeEtKvUIOEq918vrajddU/s1600/omar-barghouti-bds.jpg" /></a></div>
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EMERGENCY READING ON GAZA: </h2>
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<i>BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS, THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS</i> </h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
BY OMAR BARGHOUTI</h2>
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Omar Barghouti is the co-founder of the Palestinian Civil Society's Boycott Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid Israel. This book lays out the foundation of this non-violent strategy as inspired by the BDS movement against the apartheid regime in South Africa as a concrete course of action for Palestinians and Palestine solidarity organizers to push toward Palestinian liberation.<br />
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This book is a vital read for anyone who wants to understand the current situation in Palestine and wants a road-map for how to support Palestinians in fighting for their freedom, beyond a retweet or hashtag.<br />
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<b>BOOK: </b></h4>
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<i>+ Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights</i> (2011), Omar Barghouti - <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/361-boycott-divestment-sanctions?discount_code=BDS" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a> thanks to our friends at Haymarket Books! Available free online only until May 22nd!</div>
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<b>ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:</b></h4>
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+ <u><a href="https://reblaw.yale.edu/sites/default/files/black-palestinian_solidarity_in_the_ferguson-gaza_era.pdf" target="_blank">"Black-Palestinian Solidarity in the Ferguson-Gaza Era"</a></u> Kristian Davis Bailey, American Studies Association<br />
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+ <i>Gaza in Context</i> (film) - <a href="http://www.gazaincontext.com/" target="_blank">available here</a><br />
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+ The incredible Noura Erakat's brilliant interview on CBSN:<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FlfFuCaqeCY?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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+ <i><a href="http://justworldbooks.com/books-by-title/baddawi-2/" target="_blank">Baddawi</a> </i>(graphic novel)<i>, </i>Leila Abdelraazaq<br />
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+ <i><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/747-before-the-next-bomb-drops" target="_blank">Before the Next Bomb Drops: Rising up from Brooklyn to Palestine</a></i> (poetry), Remi Kanazi<br />
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+ <i><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/780-freedom-is-a-constant-struggle" target="_blank">Freedom is a Constant Struggle</a></i> (collection of essays, interviews, etc), Angela Davis<br />
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+ <i><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/792-uncivil-rites" target="_blank">Uncivil Rites: Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom</a>, </i>Steven Salaita<br />
(70% off at Haymarket Books using <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/71-70-off-haymarket-books-on-palestine" target="_blank">this link</a>)<br />
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+ <i><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/738-shell-shocked" target="_blank">Shell Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel's Gaza Assault</a></i>, Mohammed Omer<br />
(70% off at Haymarket Books using <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/71-70-off-haymarket-books-on-palestine" target="_blank">this link</a>)<br />
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+ <i><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/742-apartheid-israel" target="_blank">Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy</a></i>, ed. Sean Jacobs & Jon Soske</div>
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(70% off at Haymarket Books using <a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/71-70-off-haymarket-books-on-palestine" target="_blank">this link</a>)</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">DISCUSSION GROUPS:</span></h4>
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Because Emergency Readings are immediate responses to current affairs, most discussion group hosts may not be able to host a specific in-person discussion group for this topic in addition to the monthly discussion they are already hosting for the original book of the month (<u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/05/becauseweveread-book-club-may-2018.html" target="_blank">which for the month of May, can be found here</a></u>). Instead, please join us on Instagram live for our discussion with everyone.<br />
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LIVE DISCUSSION:</h4>
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Don't worry about finishing the book in time for the discussion -- just read as much as you can and you're welcome to learn and discuss with us!<br />
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DATE: <b>Saturday, May 26th </b><br />
TIME: <b>11:00 AM CST</b><br />
PLATFORM: <b>Instagram live, <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread/" target="_blank">@becauseweveread</a></u></b><br />
DISCUSSANT: <b><u><a href="https://lalaleila.com/" target="_blank">Leila Abdelrazaq</a></u></b><br />
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Leila is a Detroit-based Palestinian author and artist. Her debut graphic novel, Baddawi (Just World Books 2015) was shortlisted for the 2015 Palestine Book Awards and has been translated into three languages. She is also the author and Illustrator of The Opening (Tosh Fesh, 2017) as well as a number of zines and short comics. Her creative work primarily explores issues related to diaspora, refugees, history, memory, and borders. Leila has been involved in organizing in various capacities since 2011, and integrates art making into her organizing work. She is also the founder of <a href="http://bigmouthcomix.com/" target="_blank">Bigmouth Press & Comix</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4vfNOqdOHjnp5KBoGv87Wegb_FsldwMdk_y2yOwyC9OYCey8xSgDqhX-KLuut6Svm88uUronJwIrXiNvgmVaOzcO5eWqc0zSylfb5cKke_XXg3JZZ0T-kMeQ_qI05SHU9wIozow9wAQ/s1600/leila+insta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4vfNOqdOHjnp5KBoGv87Wegb_FsldwMdk_y2yOwyC9OYCey8xSgDqhX-KLuut6Svm88uUronJwIrXiNvgmVaOzcO5eWqc0zSylfb5cKke_XXg3JZZ0T-kMeQ_qI05SHU9wIozow9wAQ/s1600/leila+insta.jpg" /></a></div>
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Happy reading, and looking forward to discussing with you soon! Be sure to tag us & hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the club & conversation! </div>
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<br />Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Gaza Strip31.3546763 34.30882550000001230.921021800000002 33.663378500000015 31.7883308 34.954272500000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-68383933779184872232018-05-03T11:49:00.000-05:002018-06-25T15:56:14.485-05:00#BECAUSEWEVEREAD BOOK CLUB: MAY 2018 *Update: Because of our Emergency Reading on Gaza, Ramadan, and Eid, our May reading will be extending to June as well!*<br />
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Thank you to everyone who made the first month of #BecauseWeveRead such a beautiful success! Within our first month of launching this radical, international book club, we shipped countless books around the world from Madagascar to Pakistan to the United Kingdom, have built a beautiful community on <u><b><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b></u> and <u><b><a href="http://www.twitter.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></u>, collaborated with local activists and readers to host in-person discussion meet-ups in 4 continents and over 10 cities around the world, and had a really beautiful and insightful conversation on Instagram live last weekend with organizer, writer, & educator <u><b><a href="http://www.benjihart.com/" target="_blank">Benji Hart</a></b></u>!<br />
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We'll be sharing a summary of Assata Shakur's autobiography as it was discussed over Instagram live, additional related readings, and a video of our conversation next week, so stay tuned for the summary! In the meantime, let's get started on book 2!<br />
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<i><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" target="_blank">New to #BecauseWeveRead? Here are our intentions & goals!</a></u></i></h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EjBqfn6Nc3agVL97uIOC7dFnmy61zauyrY6LmQFcuZ4QAPsNIHZyXkm0_mcbZJE4HzOO7fu3QsY0IBvJGpTClJd1tVd_FrPPkIVmfrxuowdXVBCpliCCtMeoRKVW4wt5vF84k7uFqX8/s1600/may+2018+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EjBqfn6Nc3agVL97uIOC7dFnmy61zauyrY6LmQFcuZ4QAPsNIHZyXkm0_mcbZJE4HzOO7fu3QsY0IBvJGpTClJd1tVd_FrPPkIVmfrxuowdXVBCpliCCtMeoRKVW4wt5vF84k7uFqX8/s1600/may+2018+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
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MAY 2018 BOOK OF THE MONTH: </h2>
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<i>BLACK SKIN WHITE MASKS</i>, FRANTZ FANON </h2>
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+ <i>BATTLE OF ALGIERS</i> (FILM)</h2>
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This month we're mixing things up: Fanon's lesser-known <i>Black Skin White Masks</i> is a more accessible, shorter read than the infamous <i>Wretched of the Earth </i>(also a great text), and because it's so short (roughly 200 pages depending on the publisher) we're giving you a bit of time to catch up on Assata Shakur if needed AND watch a film to supplement the reading. Because we're cool like that and there are more ways to learn than just from books.<br />
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You cannot talk about colonization as it's manifested in the individual today without talking about Fanon. Despite being born nearly a century ago, Fanon's work continues to be deeply influential in both academic spaces and liberation movements, from Palestine to South Africa. Certainly an integral foundational read for any radical book club. Born in the then-French colony of Martinique and educated as psychiatrist in France, Fanon published <i>Black Skin White Masks</i> as his first book (after it was rejected as a dissertation for his doctoral program) exploring anti-Blackness, identity, and internalized colonialism, among other themes.<br />
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The 1966 film <i>Battle of Algiers </i>documents a particular set of moments from the Algerian resistance movement against their French colonizers, focusing particularly on the years 1954-1957 at the height of the resistance, and was banned in France when first released (can we commit to hosting an in-person meetup in France this month?). This incredibly powerful film is not only entangled in many of the same concepts that is grappled with in <i>Black Skin White Masks</i>, but Fanon himself was a member of the Algerian National Liberation Front, and was deeply inspired by, and inspired, the liberation movement. It was filmed on location with only a single "professional" actor (the rest of the cast are local non-actors), and indigenous Algerian drumming and music can be heard throughout the film. A resistance movie at its finest.<br />
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The additional suggested reading is a contemporary complement of the themes present in both <i>Black Skin White Masks </i>and the <i>Battle of Algiers</i> film: identity, anti-Blackness, colorism, internalized colonialism, resistance, and self-love. Sociologist, professor, and breath-taking poet <u><b><a href="https://twitter.com/eveewing" target="_blank">Dr. Eve Ewing</a></b></u> published <i>Electric Arches</i>, an Afro-futurist (a genre she so eloquently self-described in a recent lecture as "the somehow radical idea that Black people exist in the future") book of poetry which lives in the legacy of Audre Lord and other emotionally-captivating brilliant Black, feminist, liberation poets. </div>
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<b>BOOK + FILM: </b></h4>
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<i>+ Black Skin White Masks</i> (1952), Frantz Fanon - <b><u><a href="https://monoskop.org/images/a/a5/Fanon_Frantz_Black_Skin_White_Masks_1986.pdf" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a></u></b></div>
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<i>(if you need a physical copy and are financially unable to purchase a copy please email me and we can mail you a book as supplies last) (if you would like to sponsor a book/books you can do so via paypal <u><a href="https://www.paypal.me/joojooazad" target="_blank">here</a></u> or venmo: @hoda-katebi, but be sure to include a note about the bookclub so we can be sure to allocate funds accordingly!) </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>+ Battle of Algiers</i>, 1966 film (director: Gillo Pontecorvo) - <u><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_N2wyq7fCE" target="_blank">Full film available here</a></b></u></div>
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<b>ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READS:</b></h4>
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+ <i>Electric Arches</i>, Dr. Eve Ewing, <u><b><a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1129-electric-arches" target="_blank">available on Haymarket Books</a></b></u><br />
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<b>DISCUSSION GROUPS:</b></h4>
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Official partners/discussion leads are listed below, along with their email addresses and social media to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to follow them on social media, email them letting them know you're interested in joining, and/or keep this page bookmarked as we continue to update as information arises! </div>
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<i><b>If you'd like to collaborate to host an in-person meetup in your city, please drop me a line at hoda@joojooazad.com with the subject line: #BecauseWeveRead Local Meetup (City Name), including any connections you have to youth groups, universities, student groups, organizing collectives, and community centers! </b></i><br />
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<b>NORTH AMERICA</b></div>
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Ann Arbor/Detroit, Michigan: Samantha Rahmani (<a href="mailto:rahmanis@umich.edu" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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Boston, Massachusetts: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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Cincinnati, Ohio: Sara Zandvakili (<a href="mailto:zandvasj@mail.uc.edu" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadCincy/" target="_blank">Cincinnati Facebook Group</a></div>
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Columbus, Ohio: <i>upcoming</i><br />
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Houston, Texas: Laila Khalili (<a href="mailto:lailarkhalili@gmail.com"><span id="goog_1940588110"></span>email<span id="goog_1940588111"></span></a>)</div>
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Los Angeles, California: Joubin Khazaie (<a href="mailto:khazaiejoubin@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span id="goog_1940588124"></span>email<span id="goog_1940588125"></span></a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_wherejoubin/" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/wherejoubin" target="_blank">twitter</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/217585562342343/" target="_blank">Los Angeles/Orange County Facebook Group</a></div>
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Montreal, Canada: Mona Ghassemi (<a href="mailto:monagz@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/blue_mona" target="_blank">twitter</a>)</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1461377137317656/" target="_blank">Montreal Facebook Group</a></div>
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Sacramento, California: karen kaur dhillon (<a href="mailto:dhillonkaren145@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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San Francisco Bay/Oakland, California: Allison Chan (<a href="mailto:allisonchany@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/llisonchan/" target="_blank">instagram</a>)<br />
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Seattle, Washington: Anisa Jackson (<a href="mailto:jacksonanisam@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" target="_blank">instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/_anisa_jackson" target="_blank">twitter</a>)<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BecauseWeveReadSea" target="_blank">Seattle Facebook Group</a></div>
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Toronto, Canada: Yeldah Yousfi (<a href="mailto:beautiful.bibliophile18@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.bibliophile/" target="_blank">intsagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/YeldahYousfi" target="_blank">twitter</a>)<br />
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Ottawa, Canada: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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Washington D.C., USA: Wided Khadraoui (<a href="mailto:wided.khadraoui@gmail.com"><span id="goog_1940588148"></span>email<span id="goog_1940588149"></span></a>)</div>
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<b>AFRICA</b></div>
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Nigeria (no cities, as this is a national Whatsapp group): Hulaimah Kolawole (<a href="mailto:pinkhullybaby@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/hullybaby/" target="_blank">instagram</a>)</div>
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Cape Town, South Africa: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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<b>ASIA</b></div>
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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Anisa Alkunshalie (<a href="mailto:alkos3@hotmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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Bombay, India: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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Istanbul, Turkey: Zineb Sadok & Hiba Abdennabi (<a href="mailto:zineb.sadok@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="http://www.instagram.com/93_hiba" target="_blank">instagram</a>)</div>
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Lahore, Pakistan: Madiha Tallat (<a href="mailto:madiha.tallat@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/madiha.in.bookistan/" target="_blank">instagram</a>)</div>
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Singapore: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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Tehran, Iran: Mohammad Javad Hamzeloo (<a href="mailto:shooroon@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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<b>EUROPE</b></div>
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Leeds, England: Halima Nawaz (<a href="mailto:halimanawaz.hn@gmail.com" target="_blank">email</a>)</div>
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Newcastle, England: Amy Cass (<a href="mailto:amyjade5s@hotmail.co.uk" target="_blank">email</a>)<br />
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<b>OCEANIA</b><br />
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Auckland, New Zealand: <i>upcoming</i><br />
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Melbourne, Australia: <i>upcoming</i></div>
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LIVE, MONTHLY DISCUSSION:</h4>
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DATE: <b>Saturday, June 30th </b><br />
TIME: <b>10:00 AM CST</b><br />
PLATFORM: <b>Instagram live, <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">@becauseweveread</a></u></b><br />
DISCUSSANT: Dr. Shiera S. Malik<br />
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Shiera S. Malik is an associate professor in the Department of International Studies at DePaul University in Chicago. She teaches and writes on themes of coloniality, politics, and theory. Her research is guided by an interest in the intersection of politics of knowledge and lived experience. Her work is published in the Review of International Studies, African Identities, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Irish Studies of International Affairs, Critical Studies on Security, African and Black Diaspora amongst other journals and edited volumes. She is co-editor (with Isaac Kamola) of Politics of African Anticolonial Archive.<br />
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Happy reading (and viewing)! Can't wait to read all of your thoughts as you're reading -- be sure to tag us & hashtag #BecauseWeveRead to join the club & conversation! </div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-35353088870796199922018-04-27T07:00:00.001-05:002020-08-09T00:55:16.535-05:00You Cannot Challenge Gun Violence Without Challenging the Military<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRlXKHfEokb2p0OfKxB9x3DeEwVGtka3Cfit47vUyAnwDxqypCwcRgM90hK9O3aHJrkk0CgdD6XfopVvv5z6sTySQfu0_Z7fr2X5mspjhU7vBm6CH-NpPvFo9tou8WqzQ3RiYl6a8pMY/s1600/veterans-for-gun-reform-march-for-our-lives.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Veterans for Gun Reform, March for Our Lives, gun reform, march for our lives protests" border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRlXKHfEokb2p0OfKxB9x3DeEwVGtka3Cfit47vUyAnwDxqypCwcRgM90hK9O3aHJrkk0CgdD6XfopVvv5z6sTySQfu0_Z7fr2X5mspjhU7vBm6CH-NpPvFo9tou8WqzQ3RiYl6a8pMY/s1600/veterans-for-gun-reform-march-for-our-lives.png" title="March for Our Lives Veterans" /></a></div>
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One of the headlining endorsers of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/marchforourlives?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ehashtag">#MarchForOurLives</a> held last month in Washington, D.C. was the organization <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/03/25/veterans-join-march-our-lives-push-gun-reform.html">Veterans for Gun Reform</a>. The group <a href="https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/veterans-for-gun-reform/">released a video</a> that played during the flagship march, featuring 16 veterans who had served in wars from Vietnam to Iraq. They spoke to their personal experience using the M-16—the military-grade counterpart to the commercially-available AR-15 used in the Parkland shooting—and the meaninglessness of differentiating between the two.<br />
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Throughout the video, veterans comment on their experiences with the AR-15:<br />
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“There is no reason...why anyone other than military and law enforcement should have an assault weapon like this.”</blockquote>
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“High powered, rapid-fire assault rifles like the AR-15 are meant for one thing...That’s not something I want in my country.”</blockquote>
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Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, the video’s director and a veteran himself, <a href="https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/veterans-for-gun-reform/">says</a> in reference to the availability of the AR-15:<br />
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"It's like taking a soldier off the battlefield with a machine gun and bringing it into the civilian world."</blockquote>
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSwEq8Pym8k?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">cover photo: screenshot from Veterans for Gun Reform PSA, above</span></i></div>
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<b>The rhetoric of the video draws a familiar line between the acceptable use of gun violence on the foreign “battlefield” and its unacceptable use in the domestic “civilian world.” Yet, the persistence of this imagined dichotomy derails the very message many of the march’s young leaders were beginning to raise: Any real challenge to gun violence in the U.S. requires questioning the very culture of militarism that makes it possible—and the U.S.’ role in proliferating it globally.</b></h4>
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The Israeli military came under <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/03/israel-gaza-killings-unlawful-calculated">international scrutiny</a> in late March when snipers shot live ammunition into crowds of Palestinians participating in the <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2018/4/5/gazas-great-return-march-is-just-the-beginning">Great Return March</a> within the Gaza Strip. In the first day alone, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/gaza-protest-latest-updates-180406092506561.html">more than</a> 750 were injured, and at least 18 were killed--including youth, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/palestinian-journalist-in-vest-marked-press-shot-dead-by-israeli-troops-in-gaza/2018/04/07/ac57b524-3a30-11e8-8fd2-49fe3c675a89_story.html?utm_term=.651d8244e161&noredirect=on">journalists</a> wearing clearly-designated press vests. Videos showed unarmed protesters murdered as they prayed, as they ran, at times being shot down <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/04/10/gaza-protests-palestine-israel-sniper-video/">to cheers from the soldiers</a>. Days later, the U.S. blocked a vote by the U.N. attempting to launch an investigation into the Israeli military’s claim that the shootings were part of a “precision strike." Two additional protesters <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/two-gaza-protesters-die-their-wounds" target="_blank">died from their wounds</a> earlier this week.<br />
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There are deep ties between Israeli militarism in occupied Palestine and gun violence in the United States. From the U.S.’ multi-billion dollar fiscal sponsorship of the Israeli army, to the weapons tested on Palestinian protesters before they are sold to the U.S. military, transitioned into local police departments, and eventually made available on the civilian market, the way military, police, and interpersonal gun violence are connected internationally is exemplified by the relationships that bind the United States and Israel.<br />
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A prime example of this are the tactical trainings <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/15/police-israel-cops-training-adl-human-rights-abuses-dc-washington/">offered</a> by the Israel Defense Forces to police departments across the U.S., passing on the very strategies used to brutally suppress Palestinian protesters to law enforcement and private security forces internationally. The St. Louis police department participated in these trainings in 2011—one of the many reasons <b>the state’s response to protests in Ferguson after Mike Brown’s murder <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/ferguson-gaza_n_5679923.html">looked so similar</a> to scenes from occupied Gaza. Indeed, military ties between the U.S. and Israel also lay bare the deep interconnectedness of the fight for Black lives with Palestinian liberation.</b></div>
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Many Black organizers <a href="https://www.theroot.com/why-it-hurts-when-the-world-loves-everyone-but-us-1823253675">expressed dismay</a> at how the country rallied to support Parkland youth in ways it has never supported the victims of police shootings. One of the primary demands of The Movement for Black Lives has been ending the militarization of local police departments—a phenomenon the Veterans For Gun Reform video perpetuates rather than criticizes.</div>
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<b>Yet, as many pointed out, the difference between #MarchForOurLives and #BlackLivesMatter isn’t merely the skin color of lead organizers, nor their access to resources and the ears of celebrities. It is equally that the former calls for state intervention to stop interpersonal violence, while the latter implicates the state as a primary culprit for interpersonal violence. While one demands gun violence be restricted to “the battlefield,” the other acts from the knowledge that “the battlefield” exists wherever there are Black people, Muslim people, border-crossers, and those resisting the inherent violence of militarism.</b></h4>
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Where is the line between “the civilian world” and “the battlefield?” Were protesters killed in Gaza, and the <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2018/4/9/apartheid_rogue_terrorist_state_glenn_greenwald">thousands of Palestinian children</a> who have been murdered by the Israeli military, acceptable victims of gun violence? If automatic weapons weren’t meant to take the lives of young people attending school in Parkland, were they meant to take the lives of young people attending schools in Baltimore, Kabul, Brooklyn, Waziristan?<br />
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Deeply disturbing news that child killed yesterday was yet another student at UNRWA school - two others were killed previously. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Children?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Children</a> should never be targets! <a href="https://t.co/uFapQwjQ3t">https://t.co/uFapQwjQ3t</a></div>
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Only days before #MarchForOurLives stormed Washington, hundreds of protesters blocked traffic and interrupted a King’s basketball game in Sacramento, CA, protesting the death of Stephon Clark at the hands of police. While they had no permits, had raised no money, and had no celebrity endorsements, they insisted their message was just as crucial as the one lifted up by Parkland students. They insisted that being shot in your grandmother’s backyard is as unconscionable as being shot in your classroom, or being shot during prayer, no matter the qualifications of the individual pulling the trigger.</div>
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<b><br />The same weapons that killed young people in Parkland are killing young people in Damascus, in Chicago, in Baghdad. And just as there is no meaningful difference between an M-16 and an AR-15, no meaningful difference between “the military” and “law enforcement,” there is no meaningful difference between “the battlefield” and “the civilian world.” The distinction merely delineates the communities the state deems deserving of gun violence, and the populations on which it condones the testing of deadly weaponry for the sake of private profit.</b></h4>
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Instances of gun violence are connected through the governments, weapons manufacturers, and systems of dominance that make them possible. To truly challenge gun violence, our conversations about the international reach of militarism must be connected, too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAohA5l3vST9TYIK5GJXbmUbnm8NbmCXuqKMzgqbwkC9Pf8FKgsga1sRIEJOqTV649-6gLvKmGGbBL_mhAHp4MbHcKhrXnQc4tw9QO_-zJQ_m4yzWzlVmkOVRzmHxKBG-q_lQhVOot9M/s1600/Benji-Hart-Rad-Fag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Rad Fag, Chicago abolition" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZAohA5l3vST9TYIK5GJXbmUbnm8NbmCXuqKMzgqbwkC9Pf8FKgsga1sRIEJOqTV649-6gLvKmGGbBL_mhAHp4MbHcKhrXnQc4tw9QO_-zJQ_m4yzWzlVmkOVRzmHxKBG-q_lQhVOot9M/s320/Benji-Hart-Rad-Fag.jpg" title="Benji Hart" width="320" /></a></div>
This essay was written in collaboration with the inspirational, talented, visionary writer and dear friend <u><b><a href="https://benjihart.com/" target="_blank">Benji Hart</a></b></u> of <a href="https://radfag.com/" target="_blank"><i><u><b>Radical Faggot</b></u></i>.</a> Benji is a Black, queer, femme artist and educator currently living in Chicago. They have essays featured in the anthologies Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief (2017) and Taking Sides: Radical Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism (2015), both from AK Press. Their writing has also been published at Black Youth Project, Truthout, Salon Magazine, and other feminist and abolitionist media.<br />
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They are the recipient of the Rauschenberg Residency (2018), Chicago Women and Femmes to Celebrate (2016), and the 3Arts Award in the Teaching Arts (2015).</div>
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<b style="background-color: #ea9999;">P.S. We're also honored to have Benji as our official <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/04/a-radical-reading-club-becauseweveread.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">#BecauseWe'veRead</span></a></u> discussant! Tune in to <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread/" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">Instagram</span></a></u> live at 11am CST Sunday, April 29th to join the conversation as we discuss Assata Shakur's autobiography! </b></h4>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-76767197181474379112018-04-10T06:00:00.000-05:002018-04-11T11:41:41.281-05:00WE'RE HIRING! Marketing Editor Internship OpeningWe're excited to open applications for our 6-month Marketing Editor Internship!<br />
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Want to be working on a political fashion blog, producing an ethical clothing line, working to organize a Chicago-based sewing co-operative of refugee women, helping to manage a radical, international book club, building a network and collaborating with Muslim creatives and creatives of color internationally, spending time with someone who is perpetually craving ice cream (that's me), AND making money? Read on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVYlZSXSkIXmoApDiHdCC8ChBpefmMOoiUQHpja8G3gakr52qTwmbCWLe7yAoZUpaGFtP-g0oHKvyUmi0q_6ilLLpEBIPWAZpqmfcWPazxIAUTG2J1WQEX3_jKUQkGaQmeiAzXLdnCVg/s1600/apps+open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVYlZSXSkIXmoApDiHdCC8ChBpefmMOoiUQHpja8G3gakr52qTwmbCWLe7yAoZUpaGFtP-g0oHKvyUmi0q_6ilLLpEBIPWAZpqmfcWPazxIAUTG2J1WQEX3_jKUQkGaQmeiAzXLdnCVg/s1600/apps+open.jpg" /></a></div>
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The JooJoo Azad internship is designed to support AMEMSA (African/Middle Eastern/Muslim/South Asian) women/femmes who are building their empires -- in entrepreneurship, journalism, media, and personal creative projects--and work with them in developing and furthering their networks, connections, portfolio, writing, community organizing, and leadership. <i>We cannot rely on our oppressors to tell our stories. We must document our own narratives. </i></div>
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<i>Note that you do not have to be a USA citizen (or located in the USA) to apply! </i></h4>
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<i>This position is open to be completed remotely, internationally!</i></h4>
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<u>Application deadline is April 30th</u> and interviews will take place the following week. The position will begin May 2018 and interns are expected to work a minimum of 20 hours a week for 6 months, and will receive a stipend commensurate with experience. Complete application details and instructions can be found via the link below.<br />
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<span style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><br /></span><u><b><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/p/announcing-our-5th-6th-joojoo-azad.html" target="_blank">POSITION DETAILS + APPLICATION INFORMATION</a></b></u></h4>
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Happy applying, and can't wait to read your apps! </div>
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<i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: poppins, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.4px; line-height: 19.8px; text-align: justify;">Background photo used for graphics taken by <u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="http://www.newshatavakolian.com/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Newsha Tavakolian</a></u></i></div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-63317995082657961362018-04-05T13:03:00.002-05:002018-04-27T21:42:07.436-05:00A Radical Reading Club, #BecauseWeveRead<h3>
<i>“No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.”</i> </h3>
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<i>-- Assata Shakur</i></div>
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A fitting start to a radical book club, no?</div>
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This is by far the fastest I've ever had to put a project together: in response to <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2018/02/you-do-not-sound-american-live.html" target="_blank">my interview with WGN</a></u> going viral, the line that made the <u><a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/963172758564823040" target="_blank">memes</a></u>, <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg1aXNjh71i/?taken-by=hodakatebi" target="_blank">cross-stitches</a></u>, and hashtags was the response to being accused of not "sound[ing] like an American"-- "that's because I've read."</div>
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Since then, DMs, emails, and all lines of communication have been flooded with a singular ask: so, what do you read? Which of course, is a fair question. What wouldn't have been fair though, was if I just responded with a list of dense, complicated, and inaccessible books that I had the privilege of reading and discussing with friends, in classrooms, and community organizing spaces. Reading <i>Orientalism</i> by Edward Said, for example, would have been so much more difficult and dreadful had I been sitting in my room by myself with only a pint of ice cream to keep me company. </div>
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So, I decided to up the game. Rather than just publishing a reading list, I wanted to help guide the conversation, serve as a resource for conversation and critical thinking, and have conversations that would make the books easier to understand and more engaging with people from varied perspectives from around the world. </div>
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<b>And so it was decided: JooJoo Azad was to host an virtual, radical reading club: <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread/" target="_blank">#BecauseWeveRead</a></u></b></div>
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After a week of community polls from name suggestions to bookstore collaborations to platform hosting and ending with a quick 24-hour fundraiser on Instagram, I'm so excited to launch this project in collaboration with, and with support from, so many of you around the world. (What I've done to deserve such a beautiful community online and offline I will never know)! </div>
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So here's what's happening -- </div>
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INTENTIONS & GOALS</h2>
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1. To raise our collective awareness and understanding of politics, race, gender, religion, culture, history, colonialism, class etc, in ways that disrupt normative narratives </div>
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2. To uplift and celebrate stories of those whose identities are marginalized and whose voices are traditionally systematically silenced </div>
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3. To make us all think differently about ourselves and the world, from a viewpoint that will not be taught in your classes; some of us will realize we are in chains and others that they are holding them</div>
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LOGISTICS</h2>
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1. ANNOUNCEMENT | <b>The first week of every month, we will announce on JooJoo Azad, our <a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">Insiders List</a>, and on social media the book that we will be collectively reading.</b> The post will be accompanied by complementary information and resources, such as articles, films, excerpts, databases, etc that will enrich the reading, but also allow people who don't like reading (or don't have the capacity or ability to read a particular level of English) or have already read the book to still engage in the conversation. </div>
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2. ACCESSIBILITY | <b>When the book is announced we will also be hosting a giveaway on social media for several copies of the book, send copies to community organizations with financial need, and also save copies for those who request a free copy due to financial need.</b> We will also try our best to work with publishers to share a digital version of the book to make the book as accessible as possible, and collaborate with book publishers and bookstores around the world to provide discounts on each month's book (starting next month). Because there is nothing radical about a book club that is inaccessible. </div>
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3. LOGISTICS | <b>At the end of each month, we will have a discussion on Instagram live with a different guest, and invite you to join the conversation! </b>We decided on Instagram live as it was voted for by you all, but also because Instagram has a rad feature that allows followers to 'request to join' the conversation, so that we can literally have a discussion with you all no matter your location. Oh, technology. </div>
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4. IN-PERSON DISCUSSION GROUPS | In addition to the Instagram live session at the end of the month, we want to encourage you and your friends to meet-up and discuss the book together! Smaller conversations can be more engaging and helpful in ways a larger discussion may not be.<b> So, to help facilitate this, we're teaming up with friends in cities across the world to host discussion groups or events every month related to the theme of the book! </b>A full list of the locations (as we continue to rapidly expand!) can be found each time the book is announced at the start of the month, and updated accordingly. </div>
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5. FUN LITTLE BONUS | Speaking of smaller discussion groups, in order to get more people hype and sharing what they've learned, every month <b>we encourage you to take a photo with your book of the month, tag <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread/" target="_blank">@becauseweveread</a></u> and use our hashtag #becauseweveread and include a favorite quote, something you learned, or anything else you'd like to share or are thinking about. We'll pick 5 of our favorites and invite you to join a "micro online discussion" </b>with the guest discussant/expert over Google Hangouts a few days before our monthly live session. (we'll also re-post them on <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread/" target="_blank">our rad instagram page</a></u>, which you need to follow along!)</div>
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Yeah, I'm excited. </div>
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APRIL 2018 BOOK OF THE MONTH: <i>ASSATA SHAKUR: AUTOBIOGRAPHY</i></h2>
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There stands a $2,000,000 award for the bounty of Assata Shakur, who is currently on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list and residing in Cuba under political asylum. As she writes: </div>
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"My name is Assata (“she who struggles”) Shakur (“the thankful one”), and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government’s policy towards people of color. I am an ex political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the 1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black liberation movement, the student rights movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black Panther Party had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. Because the Black Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black people, J. Edgar Hoover called it “greatest threat to the internal security of the country” and vowed to destroy it and its leaders and activists.” </div>
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Her beautifully-written autobiography highlights intersections of race, gender, class, and others as they have been used by the state against poor Black Americans, are now also used against different identity groups (such as Muslims). But also, such intersections and modes of violence are common in communities and states internationally. </div>
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On a personal note, Assata Shakur's autobiography made me fall back in love with reading. Choosing this book as the inaugural book for #BecauseI'veRead was the most natural decision for me, given the immense power of her words, story, and experiences for my personal and political development as well as my re-commitment to the written word as a source of my growth. </div>
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<b>BOOK: </b></h4>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>Assata: An Autobiography, </i>Assata Shakur (foreward by Angela Davis)</div>
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(The edition with Angela Davis' foreward was published in 2001 by Lawrence Hill Books, but there are other, earlier editions available as well) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u><a href="http://libcom.org/files/assataauto.pdf" target="_blank">Full PDF available here</a></u></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
(also available as an audio book for purchase on Amazon or <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmmJQqf3uj0&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">for free on Youtube</a></u>)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>(if you need a physical copy and are financially unable to purchase a copy please email me and we can mail you a book as supplies last) (if you would like to sponsor a book/books you can do so via paypal <u><a href="https://www.paypal.me/joojooazad" target="_blank">here</a></u> or venmo: @hoda-katebi, but be sure to include a note about the bookclub so we can be sure to allocate funds accordingly!) </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<b>ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:</b></h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
+ <u><a href="https://assatateachin.com/resources/" target="_blank">This website</a></u> is filled with resources, information, and curriculum about Assata Shakur and her case with the U.S. Government. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
+ Assata Shakur's <u><a href="https://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/an-open-letter-from-assata/" target="_blank">open letter from Cuba</a></u></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
+ <i><u><a href="http://www.handsoffassata.net/" target="_blank">Eyes Of The Rainbow</a></u></i>, the documentary film about Assata Shakur's life</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
+ <u><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/05/20135712155495678.html" target="_blank">"Are We All Muslim Now? Assata Shakur and the Terrordome"</a></u> (Aljazeera)<br />
<br />
+ The Lit Review Podcast, <u><a href="http://www.thelitreview.org/episode-31.html" target="_blank">episode 31</a></u> with youth from Chicago-based grassroots collective Assata's Daughters</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<b>DISCUSSION GROUPS:</b></h4>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
Official partners/discussion leads are listed below, along with their email addresses in case you need to get in touch! They will be releasing the date for their meetup and additional information as the month progresses, so be sure to follow them on social meda, email them letting them know you're interested in joining, and/or keeping this page bookmarked as we keep this page updated with information as it arises! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><b>If you'd like to collaborate to host an in-person meetup in your city, please drop me a line at hoda@joojooazad.com with the subject line: #BecauseWeveRead Local Meetup, including any connections you have to youth groups, universities, student groups, organizing collectives, and community centers! </b></i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<u>ABU DHABI, UAE</u><br />
Discussion lead: Anisa Alkunshalie<br />
<b><u><a href="mailto:anisaalkos@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></u></b><br />
<br />
<u>BOMBAY, INDIA</u><br />
[upcoming]<br />
<br />
<u>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA</u><br />
[upcoming]<br />
<br />
<u>CINCINNATI, OHIO, USA</u><br />
Discussion lead: Sara Zandvakili<br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:zandvasj@mail.uc.edu" target="_blank">Email</a></b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:zandvasj@mail.uc.edu" target="_blank"><br /></a></b></u>
<u><a href="mailto:zandvasj@mail.uc.edu" target="_blank">DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA</a></u><br />
<a href="mailto:zandvasj@mail.uc.edu" target="_blank"><u>[</u>upcoming]</a><br />
<br />
<u>HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA</u><br />
Discussion lead: Laila Khalili<br />
<b><u><a href="mailto:lailarkhalili@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></u></b><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>ISTANBUL, TURKEY</u><br />
Discussion leads: Zineb Sadok & Hiba Abdennabi<br />
<b><u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/93_hiba" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u></b> / <b><u><a href="mailto:benabdennabi.hiba@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></u></b><br />
<br />
<u>LAHORE, PAKISTAN</u></div>
<div>
Discussion lead: Madiha Tallat<br />
<b><u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/madiha.in.bookistan/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u> / <a href="mailto:madiha.tallat@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></b><br />
<b><a href="mailto:madiha.tallat@gmail.com" target="_blank"><br /></a></b>
<u>LEEDS, ENGLAND</u><br />
[upcoming]<br />
<br />
<u>LONDON, ENGLAND</u><br />
<a href="mailto:khazaiejoubin@gmail.com" target="_blank"><u>[upcoming]</u></a><br />
<a href="mailto:khazaiejoubin@gmail.com" target="_blank"><u><br /></u></a>
<u>LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA</u><br />
Discussion lead: Joubin Khazaie<br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:khazaiejoubin@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:khazaiejoubin@gmail.com" target="_blank"><br /></a></b></u>
<u>MONTREAL, CANADA</u><br />
Discussion lead: Mona Ghassemi<br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:monagz@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></b></u><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>NIGERIA</u> (Whatsapp Group)<br />
<div>
Discussion lead: Hulaimah Kolawole<br />
<u><b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/hullybaby/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b></u> /<b> <u><a href="mailto:pinkhullybaby@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></u></b></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<u>SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, USA</u><br />
Discussion lead: karen kaur dhillon<br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:dhillonkaren145@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></b></u><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA</u></div>
<div>
Discussion lead: Anisa Jackson<br />
<b><u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/anisa.jackson/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u></b> / <u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="mailto:jacksonanisam@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></u><br />
<u><br /></u>
<u>TEHRAN, IRAN</u><br />
<div>
[upcoming]</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<u>TORONTO, CANADA</u></div>
<div>
Discussion lead: Yeldah Yousfi</div>
<div>
<u><b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/beautiful.bibliophile" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b></u> / <u><b><a href="mailto:beautiful.bibliophile18@gmail.com" target="_blank">Email</a></b></u><br />
<u><b><a href="mailto:beautiful.bibliophile18@gmail.com" target="_blank"><br /></a></b></u>
<u>WASHINGTON D.C., USA</u><br />
[upcoming]</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h4>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
<br /></div>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
LIVE, MONTHLY DISCUSSION:</h4>
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<br /></div>
<div>
We're excited to introduce this month's discussant, which will happen later in the month! In the meantime, mark your calendars for <b>Sunday, April 29th</b> at 11:00am CST for our group conversation on <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread" target="_blank">Instagram Live</a></u> (the conversation will also be saved and uploaded at the bottom of this post for those who won't be able to make it)!<br />
<br />
DISCUSSANT: BENJI HART<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: Karla, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<br /><u><a href="https://benjihart.com/" target="_blank">Benji Hart</a></u> is a Black, queer, femme artist and educator currently living in Chicago. They are the writer behind the blog <a href="https://radfag.com/">Radical Faggot</a>, and have essays featured in the anthologies <a href="https://www.akpress.org/rebellious-mourning.html">Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief</a> (2017) and <a href="https://www.akpress.org/takingsides.html">Taking Sides: Radical Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism</a> (2015), both from AK Press. Their writing has also been published at Black Youth Project, Truthout, Salon Magazine, and other feminist and abolitionist media.<br /><br />Certified as an elementary educator, their teaching philosophy is grounded in popular education, and relies on art to inspire direct action. They have taught voguing to trans and queer youth at Black & Pink’s National Convening, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Broadway Youth Center, and have led workshops on subjects ranging from trans liberation to prison abolition for Assata’s Daughters, For the People Artists Collective, and at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. They also facilitate meetings and circles for grassroots collectives, focused on organizational development and community healing.<br /><br />Their original one-person piece Dancer As Insurgent—which explores the street dance style of vogue as a form of radical resistance—has been performed for the <a href="http://artviewer.org/elements-of-vogue-a-case-study-in-radical-performance-at-ca2m-centro-de-arte-dos-de-mayo/">Elements of Vogue</a> exhibit opening at CA2M (2017), INCITE!‘s conference Color of Violence 4 (2015), and the Jane Adams Hull House (2015). Their poetry and spoken word have been featured at showcases and venues around Chicago, most recently as a part of Forward Together‘s <a href="https://www.tdor.co/limits-language">Trans Day of Resilience</a> (2017). They are currently drafting a second performance piece—World After This One—examining the myriad ways Black art forms rely on the tools of the present to imagine liberated futures.<br /><br />They are the recipient of the <a href="https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/newsfeed/meet-artists-rauschenberg-residency-30">Rauschenberg Residency</a> (2018), Chicago Women and Femmes to Celebrate (2016), and the <a href="https://3arts.org/artist/benji-hart/">3Arts Award in the Teaching Arts</a> (2015).</div>
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--</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
We have a month -- let's do this! <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/becauseweveread/" target="_blank">#BecauseWeveRead</a></u></div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-67029997091509095052018-03-20T15:08:00.001-05:002018-03-20T15:08:32.373-05:00New (Persian) Year, New Updates! Happy Persian New Years and start of spring, coming at you straight from <u><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19751370" target="_blank">Tehrangeles</a></u>, California, the location of the largest Iranian diasporic community in the world!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1_tjK7hbPqm-gA4UVs5UcNY4gDP9vmWJ6zrOJfoD5AaB2LEFQAgVI6zBMuphvcF_IQlnl4vB3-Ao9Yib3jj_ofpea709tP-EPzqsMOtBHR-PaAooLBUJTYf-T0hFB5kesgXRWVemGow/s1600/iranian-nowruz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1461" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1_tjK7hbPqm-gA4UVs5UcNY4gDP9vmWJ6zrOJfoD5AaB2LEFQAgVI6zBMuphvcF_IQlnl4vB3-Ao9Yib3jj_ofpea709tP-EPzqsMOtBHR-PaAooLBUJTYf-T0hFB5kesgXRWVemGow/s1600/iranian-nowruz.jpg" /></a></div>
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Last week I was on Instagram Live giving updates and doing a quick Q&A on projects we're working on behind the scenes, but I've been getting consistent messages asking for a written update for those who missed the live session (or who are not on Instagram) so I'll share that all below.<br />
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<i>(psst, did you know subscribers to the <u><b><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">JooJoo Azad Insiders List</a></b></u> actually get these updates regularly, monthly, as well as access to other behind the scenes details and first looks at projects and opportunities? Just saying, ;) ) </i><br />
<br />
<b>Nowruz, or "New Day" is one of my favorite holidays that marks the new year and start of spring across the Persian world! You can peep <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/persian-new-year-giveaway-tehran-streetstyle-book.html" target="_blank">last year's post</a></u> to learn more about what the tradition entails for Iranians, (or tune into my snapchat / Instagram stories today)! </b><br />
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In the meantime, let's hit you with these updates:<br />
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<h4>
<b>Radical Reading Club</b></h4>
<i>This virtual, international reading club is a new project launching in response to community demand, aimed at raising our awareness and understanding of</i><i> politics, history, race, gender, religion, culture, colonialism, etc in ways that disrupt normative narratives. </i><br />
<br />
13 days of celebrations to mark the start of spring and new life means 13 days of community input leading up to the launch of the Radical Reading Club at the end of Nowruz! Follow along on <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bghe-_QAUBn/?taken-by=hodakatebi" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u> or <u><a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/975880193398120448" target="_blank">Twitter</a></u> to get involved in making this book club happen according to what you'd like to see! We'll be launching at the end of the month with a major giveaway of the first book of the month! We're also collaborating with libraries/universities, influencers, and others internationally to host in-person meetups so stay tuned for the launch (and be sure to subscribe to the <u><a href="http://eepurl.com/cmjD_n" target="_blank">Insiders List</a></u> to make sure you're with us when we launch!)<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<h4>
<b>Refugee Sewing Co-Operative</b></h4>
<i>Complete with childcare, translation, pro-bono legal and social services, and weekly classes and programming, the Refugee Women's Sewing Co-Operative is about to change the game for independent fashion designers nationally. And the lives of a team of refugees and recent immigrants from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I'm so excited. We've secured a location (which will be released soon!), childcare, pro-bono legal services, translators, and could not be more excited. (Did I mention that I'm really excited?)<br />
<br />
Currently, we're working with community organizations to setup meetings with refugee and immigrant women interested in joining the team -- we're hoping to finalize the membership by the end of April! We're also starting outreach to designers to build potential client bases (if you're a fashion designer / managing production for a clothing line / manage a design incubator and are interested in working with us, <u><a href="mailto:hoda@joojooazad.com" target="_blank">please get in touch</a></u>!)<br />
<br />
We'll also be launching our website and fundraiser by the end of the month as well, so keep those eyes peeled!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<h4>
<b>JooJoo Journal</b></h4>
<i>The JooJoo Journal is the community-written, multi-lingual companion to JooJoo Azad serving as a platform to publish and share the voices and work of subaltern, marginalized, and diasporic people of color around the world. The JooJoo Journal will be home to the intersections of spiritually-centered radical politics, provocative art, organizing, and collaboration.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Toronto & NYC we're coming for you! We'll be hosting pop-up fundraising events showcasing local artists and creatives while I'm on speaking tour (see below)! If you're in town, keep you calendars open!<br />
<br />
We're starting outlining the details for our first major project, and will also be launching our online crowd-sourced fundraiser and Patreon in April as well! In the meantime, if you'd like to donate to support this work paying radical creatives internationally to create content, <u><a href="https://www.paypal.me/joojooazad" target="_blank">our lines are open</a></u>!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<h4>
<b>Spring Speaking Tour</b></h4>
<div>
Ayy I'm back on the road! Excited as always for the opportunity to meet so many of you in-person and discuss everything from fashion to the War on Terror to Tehran Streetstyle (and how they're more related than you might guess)! Below are a list of my upcoming public events -- can't wait to see you! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strike>+ March 8: panel conversation, International Women's Day, Global Encounters (virtual)</strike></span><br />
<strike><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ March 8: panel conversation, International Women's Day, DePaul University, Chicago</span></strike><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ March 24: keynote, <u><a href="https://www.facebook.com/loyolawomensday/photos/a.1548160385469268.1073741829.1543782905907016/2052659071686061/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">Women's Day Conference</a></u>, Loyola University, Chicago</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ March 26: panel conversation, <u><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/561771224188692" target="_blank">"Using Muslimahs to Sell Stuff: Panel on Hijab Commercialization"</a></u>, University of Toronto</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">+ March 27: JooJoo Journal fundraising party, details TBA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ April 7: keynote</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, <u><a href="https://envisioningliberation.weebly.com/keynote-speaker.html" target="_blank">Envisioning Liberation Conference</a></u>, Skidmore College, New York</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">+ April 14: panel conversation, iHeartHalal festival, Chicago Navy Pier</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ April 16: workshop, Northern Illinois University College of Law</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">+ April 21: lecture & workshop, Creating Justice Symposium, Chicago</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ April 24: workshop/lecture, University of Wisconsin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">+ April 26: workshop/lecture, Morton College, Illinois</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(<u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/p/press.html" target="_blank">full list here</a></u>)</span><br />
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P.S. I'm giving away signed copies of my Tehran Streetstyle book on Instagram right now in honor of Nowruz -- don't miss out!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; text-align: justify;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tehran Streetstyle </i>is the first-ever collection of modern (mostly underground and illegal) fashion photography from the streets of Tehran, Iran!</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"> This book challenged Western Orientalist misrepresentations of Iran as well as domestic Iranian dress code regulations! I've photographed designs and streetwear from the top underground fashion designers and the young people who are setting the bar in fashion and design in Iran! You can </span><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/01/tehran-streetstyle-project-of-identity.html" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;">read more on <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tehran Streetstyle</i> here</u>,</a><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"> or </span><u style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/10/politics-tehran-streetstyle-interview-npr.html" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">listen to my interview about it on NPR, here</a></u><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Los Angeles, CA, USA34.0522342 -118.243684933.2099567 -119.5345784 34.8945117 -116.95279140000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-44422443895640586962018-03-08T09:17:00.000-06:002018-03-09T22:35:14.276-06:00On International Working Women's Day, Please Understand ComplexityWhat do Hilary Clinton, Google, L'Oreal, Wonder Woman, and <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/ethical-muslim-owned-alternatives-to-nike-pro-hijab.html" target="_blank">Nike</a></u> all have in common? They are all fairly successful at convincing mass audiences that they are inclusive and support women despite actively causing violence against women from particular racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, and religious identities whose voices are <u><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/40261-from-drone-strikes-to-moab-the-strategically-silenced" target="_blank">systematically silenced</a></u>: those who are not white, not American, working-class, trans, and Muslim.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibppOq-nzeOx9wk0NTOty41KPMZtme8dC4HiEGwTUjF5-lcbNgrSv8r95fq5nKPzOUehDlv07WwhKKF4yJdh8bQsrrwRwiRbVZ2pQy53k8-3TpEiwjEphwozDBi8LkzjaN4HVQQtVUPm0/s1600/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="600" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibppOq-nzeOx9wk0NTOty41KPMZtme8dC4HiEGwTUjF5-lcbNgrSv8r95fq5nKPzOUehDlv07WwhKKF4yJdh8bQsrrwRwiRbVZ2pQy53k8-3TpEiwjEphwozDBi8LkzjaN4HVQQtVUPm0/s640/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25283%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Illustration: <u><a href="https://stephaniemcmillan.org/international-womens-day/" target="_blank">Stephanie McMillan</a></u></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
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<br />
Two days ago, on March 6th, Google <u><a href="http://people.com/human-interest/international-womens-day-google-encourages-ladies-to-share-stories/" target="_blank">announced</a></u> its campaign for International Women's Day "encouraging ladies across the world to share their stories" while <i>The Intercept </i><u><a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/03/06/google-is-quietly-providing-ai-technology-for-drone-strike-targeting-project/" target="_blank">announced</a></u> that "Google is quietly providing AI technology for drone strikes targeting project." Quietly, indeed.<br />
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<div>
While Google is receiving praise from media outlets for collaborating with artists to celebrate and uplift women's voices "from Japan to Pakistan," they are simultaneously supporting U.S. military efforts to drone strike women, mothers, grandmothers, and girls. Truly, a feminist icon.<br />
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<h4>
But, we permit them to get away with it, as we do with others every single day. We tend to continuously allow negotiations in our feminism or support of women: we forgive multi-billion dollar exploitative corporations as fast as they can put a headscarf on a model or imperialism as fast as it can put on a pink pantsuit. </h4>
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But of course, these exclusions are intentionally meant to be so: if we questioned how everyone--from the (most likely) child picking the cotton in Burkina Faso to the mothers in Bangladesh sewing it all together in stuffed factories--were getting paid behind every $5 t-shirt we saw at Forever21, we no longer would have the "luxury" of cheap clothing. And God forbid we can't hit the sale rack and impulsively buy in the name of self-care. </div>
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So, we're taught to not think beyond "our borders", shut up, and just buy the damn thing. It's easier to not think about the complexity: it takes less time, it sounds nice, and ultimately, it is not in our favor after all? </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfswCVTmicpJ4QsjN6ojYsE2x4nqJ2XEyukWGf8GVpUo3mU0nYGfS3jNkzSRfWCV2GEwC50p63RqJcT9W6wGZczbOM7ZWclpuQDgi4iwGswefPRQGdux6VXUXCZQaOSKjqdRvObRw9xdI/s1600/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfswCVTmicpJ4QsjN6ojYsE2x4nqJ2XEyukWGf8GVpUo3mU0nYGfS3jNkzSRfWCV2GEwC50p63RqJcT9W6wGZczbOM7ZWclpuQDgi4iwGswefPRQGdux6VXUXCZQaOSKjqdRvObRw9xdI/s640/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Illustration: </span><u style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://stephaniemcmillan.org/international-womens-day/" target="_blank">Stephanie McMillan</a></u> </td></tr>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Intersectional feminism--a holistic understanding of women's rights that includes space for women from aforementioned identity groups whose realities challenge our privilege--comes right down to your own body and the conscious (and unconscious) choices you're making every day as you decide what to wear. Or whose surface-level narrative you might be buying into (and therefore paralyzing you from doing something about it). </span></h4>
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It's not easy, because it if it was then we would already be out of this mess. It is an intentional set of decisions we must make, every single day, as we choose where we buy our clothes, what we are and are not using our platforms for, how we choose to love or not love ourselves and our communities, and the extent we choose to engage with or not engage with the realities of privilege and violence we find ourselves in. </div>
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<u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html" target="_blank">As written previously on JooJoo Azad</a></u>, it is increasingly important to see past surface-level inclusion, ask important questions, love our communities over corporations, and understand the complexity of narratives designed to sail smoothly down our throats. </div>
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On International Working Women's Day, <br />let's make this a commitment. </h3>
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I'm sharing the quick speech I gave one year ago today at the International Working Women's Day rally in Chicago, adapted a little to read better as a standalone piece, as it remains unfortunately relevant. I've been getting a lot of messages recently from people asking for support in articulating the politics of JooJoo Azad in speeches they're giving at protests and rallies, so I hope this can be of help. I'll also be uplifting women I love across my social media today, as well as <u><a href="http://www.drumnyc.org/" target="_blank">DRUM's (Desis Rising Up and Moving)</a></u>'s "Working-Class SHEroes" campaign, for those following along. I encourage people who are able to, to donate to their important work. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiNuiOHPg9aLUdPUJtLmOrd_woJ-FCuPtANkErAtiBB_mKsDNqzjTig5zwwBn8vdj3WRLjVbCNfxrY6gfSqCcu-T8-A4Sjf0oiOB8lA_pToljeffx9X8bAmOUHv7GXrgJgrh4OQZ-74Q/s1600/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="600" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfiNuiOHPg9aLUdPUJtLmOrd_woJ-FCuPtANkErAtiBB_mKsDNqzjTig5zwwBn8vdj3WRLjVbCNfxrY6gfSqCcu-T8-A4Sjf0oiOB8lA_pToljeffx9X8bAmOUHv7GXrgJgrh4OQZ-74Q/s640/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25284%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Illustration: <u style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://stephaniemcmillan.org/international-womens-day/" target="_blank">Stephanie McMillan</a></u></td></tr>
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<i>March 08, 2017: </i></div>
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Today we are at a time of exacerbated anti-Muslim racism that has only been increasing throughout my lifetime.<br />
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So as our mosques continue to get burned, our people continue to be banned, harassed by police, killed by white supremacists, stalked by DHS, as I continue to get called a terrorist and spat on as I read my book on the red line, let me set the record straight on the multiple layers of anti-Muslim racism that is prevalent in society that you might not have noticed.<br />
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First, Stop draping your american flags over our Hijabs to make us American enough for your solidarity.<br />
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Stop infantilizing us in your bystander intervention comics, stop localizing international politics, and stop flattening our identities as Muslim women into a single hijab.<br />
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So here is what you should know.<br />
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Know that anti-Muslim racism existed long before Trump.<br />
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Know that “counterterrorism” or “national security” are only code words for anti-Muslim policies. Know that Obama administered more drone strikes than any other president before him and is largely responsible for creating many of the refugees who Trump is now banning.<br />
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Know that if Hilllary Clinton would have become president, one of the only things that would have changed is that many of you would not be standing here today, in protest.<br />
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Know that hyper-militarization of police is largely fueled by anti-Muslim racism. And know that the police are only here to serve and protect upperclass white people, and that you cannot be pro-Muslim and support the police. Know that if you are Muslim you must not say but demand that Black lives matter not only because the first Muslims in this country were Black slaves, but because our community is also Black, and our individual liberation is wholly dependent on each other.<br />
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Know that Israel is an apartheid state that spends millions creating and perpetuating anti-Muslim propaganda. That Israel trains American police. That you cannot be pro-Israel and support Muslims.<br />
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Let me repeat: You cannot be pro-Israel and support Muslims<br />
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You cannot be pro-war and support Muslims<br />
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You cannot be pro-drone strikes and support Muslims</div>
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You cannot remain silent or ignorant about the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Burma and support Muslims<br />
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You cannot be transphobic or pretend that this land was not stolen and call yourself an immigrant and support Muslims.<br />
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Why? Because we, as Muslims, should and will refuse to be complicit in support that marginalizes or causes direct violence and injustice to our own or others. That does nothing to move us forward. But also, if you look deeper, you see the roots of all of these systems of violence are one and the same. </div>
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And know that with all of this, if you cannot, therefore, support Muslims, you cannot call yourself a feminist either.<br />
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And no, I will not, under any circumstances, compromise any of this. I will not excuse you if you are a zionist. I will not smile at you if you are “wearing a hijab for a day.” I will not join your movement if you forget Americans are privileged at the expense of people of color around the world.<br />
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Let us not compromise our values, our identities, our histories, our spiritualites to have one extra person show up at our rallies, for one extra person in my march who refuses to accept the complexity of my identity, my family trauma and displacement, and my oppression.<br />
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And finally, at a time where violence against our communities is becoming increasingly normalized, let us not forget to show up for our people. We must love our people--those who are truly here with us-- we must show up for, support, build with, and love, deeply, intentionally and intensely. Because The movement forward will be rooted in radical love. It will be uncompromising in our values.<br />
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So I thank you all who came out today to celebrate and resist.<br />
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And I encourage you to come out tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after. And for Black lives. and for indigenous people and for trans people. And for working class people. And for Palestinians. And for Muslims.<br />
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Because we will not remain silent when the trump regime makes trans people feel unsafe to use the bathroom. We will not remain silent when they expand military and police and ICE raids. Or when our mosques are burned and synagogues vandalized. <br />
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And we should not remain silent <u><a href="http://blackyouthproject.com/tag/laquan-mcdonald/" target="_blank">after 16 shots</a></u>. Because we are stronger when we are together. Because we are powerful when we are together. Because we will win when we are together. Because love trumps hate...and Trump.<br />
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So thank you for being united. Thank you for coming together Muslim and non-Muslim, from different sects and backgrounds and languages and abilities and genders and ages. Thank you for refusing to remain silent. In honor of working class women around the world, let's actively work to complicate our world views, internationalize local politics, and take shit down together, with a holistic understanding of what that will look like. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZltpxA69zeDP_w8-BpXkn9qlG0YnnVLt5XsGbjwK6QMWkaqzQRdjAtzMfd-q8tedsmBwlEoEDbCLAhNdp3QEYbI5-QJC6YVfgbWmUm8b3FElH5Qp9pSWTqXKVN_WXseNa6g92keQ4DM/s1600/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="600" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioZltpxA69zeDP_w8-BpXkn9qlG0YnnVLt5XsGbjwK6QMWkaqzQRdjAtzMfd-q8tedsmBwlEoEDbCLAhNdp3QEYbI5-QJC6YVfgbWmUm8b3FElH5Qp9pSWTqXKVN_WXseNa6g92keQ4DM/s640/International-Working-Womens-Day+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Illustration: <u style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://stephaniemcmillan.org/international-womens-day/" target="_blank">Stephanie McMillan</a></u></td></tr>
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* Edit March 8, 10:50am CST -- I incorrectly used feminism and womanism interchangeably, and have updated the piece accordingly. (<u><a href="http://www.goldwomyn.com/blog-1/the-womanist-reader" target="_blank">more on "womanism" and why it's different from feminism here</a></u>)</div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-36219646079556039532018-02-10T06:00:00.003-06:002020-11-13T22:59:18.118-06:00"You Do Not Sound American": A Live Interview on WGN-TV<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxiOBdqhOfv94xg18-V0y_c9wKviq7RVkUwc-qNpAO1gHu3n4HV4h16pmXwVQeqmGvis77KfubPbC6vCluqfWFQ4cHgOh0mC-Srrsk4TVrFeTOvl3dCpgfqK-UlCc-urRmeyol3huRl0/s1600/hoda-katebi-interview-wgn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxiOBdqhOfv94xg18-V0y_c9wKviq7RVkUwc-qNpAO1gHu3n4HV4h16pmXwVQeqmGvis77KfubPbC6vCluqfWFQ4cHgOh0mC-Srrsk4TVrFeTOvl3dCpgfqK-UlCc-urRmeyol3huRl0/s1600/hoda-katebi-interview-wgn.png" /></a></div>
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*This piece has been updated as of February 14, 2018*<br />
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I was on WGN for a live interview last week, and was asked to speak about my work and my book, but when I gave answers the hosts didn't like, their questions (and comments) started to get hostile, literally telling me I "don't sound American." They gave me 5 minutes on-air. I'm going to give myself this short article instead. Here are a few quick thoughts about this interview (which they also did not publish online, or give us access to the clip), as I feel it serves as a good example for a bit of commentary that can be applied to so many conversations happening now, and relevant to the work that is happening here on JooJoo Azad.<br />
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- Watch the interview below or <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNwzxPpRVoA" target="_blank">on Youtube here</a></u> - </div>
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<i>"Do you think, you would like to see Iran go back to that before women were wearing hijabs?"</i></h3>
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This question is assuming that there was, in fact, a time in recent Iranian history where women were wearing miniskirts and not hijabs as if there were no Muslim people in Iran before the revolution or that everyone is wearing black now and all sense of personal expression has been stripped from them. So wearing a black chador is not "expressing yourself"? Is expression of self through the body truly only limited to dressing in Western fashion?<br />
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For more elaboration on my response, a dear friend Alex Shams wrote a brilliant piece: <u><a href="https://ajammc.com/2017/09/06/weaponization-nostalgia-afghan-miniskirts/" target="_blank">"The Weaponization of Nostalgia, How Afghan Miniskirts Became the Latest Salvo in the War on Terror"</a></u>, discussing how this exact dichotomous framework of seeing women's bodies in the middle east (mini skirts as freedom and liberation and hijabs as repression and lack of rights) is established as justification for keeping troops on the ground in Afghanistan. Fashion is powerful, but it's not a gauge of a state's morality or progress based on how it frames women's bodies.<br />
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<i>"Let's talk about nuclear weapons" </i></h3>
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So hindsight is always 20/20, and I honestly should have just stopped him right there and questioned why he thought it was okay to make this ridiculous comment and pose it as a question (I think I was too excited to answer the question than question his premises). Nothing to do with what we are talking about and yet, I'm forced to take up a role as an expert on all things related to Iranian politics -- a position I know other POC/Muslims have found themselves in if they have ever been the token Muslim on a panel or interviewed about their work. The title they gave me on the show was "fashion blogger," yet here I am being asked about nuclear weapons. Would they ever bring on a white chef to their show and then ask him about Brexit or his thoughts on the rise of white supremacy?<br />
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<i>"You don't sound American"</i></h3>
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Clearly, this is not the interview they expected. Identifying me as an Iranian-American, just moments before they wanted me to swiftly and unquestionably denounce Iran and then am immediately called out for not blindly pledging to the USA. Of course, both countries deserve their questioning, but the double standards is mind-blowing. Not to mention that what, then, must an American "sound like"? Are they saying that Americans must not question their government, must see the world in black & white, and chose simplicity over nuanced understandings? In that case, you all are doing it right.<br />
But furthermore, what an incredibly loaded statement to say to a visibly Muslim woman on live TV, pushing every stereotype of "other", "foreign", and "incompatible with America" that Muslims are so systematically characterized as--and therefore used as justification to commit violence against, both here and abroad. If a white person said the same things as I did I guarantee you their "American-ness" would not have been questioned.<br />
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This is so deeply related to my piece <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/01/keep-your-american-flags-off-my-hijab.html" target="_blank">"Please Take Your American Flags Off My Hijab"</a></u> I published around this time last year, where I write:<br />
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<i>"Know that Muslims are tired of having to "prove" they are American. But also, know that one does not need to be American to deserve respect, humanity, dignity, equality, rights, and freedom from hate and bigotry. An over-emphasis on being American as a prerequisite of deserving respect is harmful for immigrants and refugees. Especially under the new administration that already has plans of "extreme vetting" to prove American-ness. This is only pushing their agenda further." </i></blockquote>
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This is also why I work with the medium of fashion/art -- images and image production (such as the American Flag Hijab) are not just abstract, harmless "expressions" but truly are so deeply connected to our understandings of ourselves and others.<br />
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I could go on, but I think these three points in particular work to highlight the absurdity of this interview the best. Thank you Heba & Nausheen for literally buying this interview from a third party so I could share and dissect it. Also shout-out to whatever editing/lighting that was done to make my skin look a few shades darker.<br />
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<b>Update February 13, 2018:</b> Wow, thank you for blowing me away with love and support for this piece/interview, I truly appreciate it! But, I have seen a lot of viscous comments toward the two anchors interviewing me. I do not condone this, as I feel their comments were out of ignorance rather than malicious intent (well, mostly). Of course, this doesn't excuse what happened, but calling people b*tches is sexist and unnecessary, I find.</div>
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Also, mom, I've made it -- I'm officially a meme: </div>
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<b>Update February 14, 2018, 10:15am CST: </b></div>
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Few updates: 1/ First, I can't thank you all enough for your love & support, it's so refreshing & appreciated! I hope we continue to support Muslim women & women of color who challenge state violence/bias, whether that is laughing through an interview or demanding <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreeAhedTamimi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FreeAhedTamimi</a></div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/963814709127467008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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2/ WGN just called and Robin, the female anchor, sincerely apologized. (I also didn't realize so many of you called in! Like I said, ya'll on top of this -- thank *you* for making this happen and refusing to normalize this)! I accepted, and proposed a few ways to fix this --</div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/963815773922832385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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3/ One proposal I suggested of course, is for WGN to publish a reading list I put together & do an on-air interview where we discuss what happened for their audience, what went wrong, and then to talk about Fanon, Assata Shakur, Edward Said, etc, & American imperialism 😇</div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/963817143354748928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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4/ They're going to get back to me on this idea, but in the meantime if you have any further ideas let me know hehe ;) The apology was important, but it's also important to be able to use this moment as a teaching tool, and prevent it from happening again. Let's raise the bar.</div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/963817869296521216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*p.s. quick note that I edited a few seconds of this for clarity* </span></i><br />
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</script>Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Chicago, IL, USA41.8781136 -87.62979819999998241.4995241 -88.275245199999986 42.256703099999996 -86.984351199999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-63862416797480423022017-10-17T08:30:00.001-05:002020-08-09T00:58:02.062-05:00Making Racists Uncomfortable, One Outfit at a Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cYE_a8bT5Gi4EX4Dn3cPjZNe1T19bVCYRfWaXRwciPMcWftiHhYxKdGf2dqoPh7qNrfajVgPMLfGZME8xuQQWAvxBoOOGlF5fiyFqSVHRtEogGNR4M4VsDEKFl5Zd9Z0B5MqSbY829s/s1600/hoda-katebi-muslim-ban-fashion-protest.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="muslim fashion, muslim fashion blog, fashion activism, slow factory, political fashion, hijab" border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cYE_a8bT5Gi4EX4Dn3cPjZNe1T19bVCYRfWaXRwciPMcWftiHhYxKdGf2dqoPh7qNrfajVgPMLfGZME8xuQQWAvxBoOOGlF5fiyFqSVHRtEogGNR4M4VsDEKFl5Zd9Z0B5MqSbY829s/s1600/hoda-katebi-muslim-ban-fashion-protest.png" title="Muslim Ban Fashion Editorial" /></a></div>
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Black head-to-toe minus the loud, blockish letters that yell "DEMILITARIZE" in white across my chest, right below the folds of my black Hijab -- the outfit of choice for this Iranian Muslim living in <strike>Trump's</strike> USA, on her way to the airport. Of course, a look like this would demand an extra hour to proceed through TSA's 'random check' and extensive search, the intrusive pat downs, and forehead and hand swipes to check for explosive residue while I stand, smirking and causing discomfort.<br />
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Growing up, I was embarrassed to walk with my Pakistani friends who wore their traditional clothes in public spaces. Dressed in gorgeous sparkling embroidery laced onto endless fabric and wrapped in rich tones that seemed to radiate light, downtown Oklahoma City did not deserve such beautiful art -- or seem to notice anything else.<br />
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And so, walking loosely alongside them, I held a staring contest with the concrete, careful not to catch the uncomfortable stares of onlookers sharing judgmental whispers and demeaning looks of disgust with their partners. It was of course, ultimately a useless pursuit, as always: I wore a Hijab and despite trying my best to wear what Abercrombie & Fitch told me to, I was visually guilty by association -- guilty of not assimilating, guilty of deserving to feel like an outsider, guilty of compelling others to frown and stare.<br />
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So I just kept quiet, painfully absorbing the sideways glances I felt pierce my body regardless of whether or not I unlocked my gaze from the concrete and looked up to confirm that we were, in fact, being uncomfortably stared at. Again.<br />
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<h4>
When I first started wearing the Hijab in sixth grade, I learned that you didn't have to necessarily physically <i>see</i> the person who is sending you looks of disgust; you just have to allow yourself to feel it. </h4>
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<i>"Why do you try to make people uncomfortable, intentionally?"</i><br />
I was asked, again, as she pointed to my shirt. I looked down and smiled -- a grotesque illustration of a pig wearing a police hat was plastered across my torso. The rhetorical question came just after a walk together through Wall Street in downtown NYC, where the sea of mostly White people in suits and abnormally tight ties continually parted in front of us as we walked, complete with broad frowns and bewildered eyes fixated on my shirt, careful not to catch my glance--or walk too close. My friend was clearly not as amused as I was.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo: @kasmos.kariblak t-shirt, photographed by Hushidar Mortezaie, Los Angeles<br />Above: 'BANNED' Scarf: Slow Factory / Photo: Driely Carter / MUA: Grace Ahn / Stylist: Solange Franklin, NYC </span></td></tr>
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Aside from being a great way to gauge the politics of my surrounding environment, my anti-police shirt, designed by a young Black artist from the Southside of Chicago, never fails to demand the reaction of everyone whose eyes are unwillingly drawn toward it. The provocative image demands people's gazes -- whether or not they'd like to notice it.<br />
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It was not the first time I was asked, by friends, family, and strangers across the internet -- why do you wear provocative clothes that make people stare at you? Are you intentionally wearing clothes that make people uncomfortable?<br />
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The answer is less simple than you might think.<br />
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Dressed in black, patterns, or Abercrombie & Fitch head-to-toe (don't worry I don't do the latter anymore -- that was designated for teenage angst Hoda years only) -- all will get my hijab-wearing, Middle Eastern self the same result: endless, uncomfortable staring. It's a reality I've lived with for over ten years, regardless of where I am in the USA.<br />
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Constant stares of disgust were more difficult to deal with for me when I was younger than now, but a decade of people telling you with their body language that you're a scary outsider -- or object of fantasy and fetish -- is not insignificant. Sometimes it's more than just a look: sometimes it's a middle finger while mouthing 'terrorist' or even physical violence. In concert with the exponential rise of hate crimes against Muslims and Muslim-perceived people -- especially since Trump took office -- street interactions are more intense than what others might feel is just "a simple glare."<br />
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So, for me, wearing provocative clothing as a Muslim is a way of taking up visual space, signaling that I'm over their fear-mongering games and liberals' depictions of helpless, <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/05/fashion-to-war-orientalism-spark-notes.html" target="_blank">Orientalized</a></u> Muslim Hijabi women in <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/11/allyship-post-trump-5-things-to-remember.html" target="_blank">bystander intervention how-tos</a></u>, and personal failed assimilation attempts.<br />
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<h4>
<b>But more importantly, wearing provocative clothing -- complete with my Hijab -- allows me to reclaim my agency in an public transaction of non-verbal communication I would have otherwise been subjected to without consent.</b></h4>
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And an interaction that I get to politicize further based on what message my clothing is expressing, be it "DEMILITARIZE" in all caps while being patted down by armed and nervous TSA agents or <a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/10/police-militarization-islamophobia.html" target="_blank">getting arrested by far too many SWAT and police officers</a>, or a drawing of a pig in a police hat while I walk through white and upperclass neighborhoods (you know, the only people law enforcement in this country actually "serve and protect").<br />
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A post shared by HODA KATEBI | هدی کاتبی (@hodakatebi) on <time datetime="2017-09-19T17:50:44+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Sep 19, 2017 at 10:50am PDT</time></div>
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<h3>
<b>So after a decade of non consensual glares, I am demanding my agency. I am commanding stares. I am being stared at because I intentionally am asking for them to do so; it is at my will, not theirs. </b></h3>
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Rather than being inevitably receiving something I do not want, why not request that it is given to me? It's a powerful move.<br />
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Even more so, in Muslim spaces, wearing politically-charged clothing as a Hijab-wearing Muslim woman also enables me to use a visually-expressed identity (Hijab) that is typically valued in the community to work to normalize another possibly less-accepted politic/identity (being fiercely anti-war, anti-militarization, etc). There is something about seeing intersectional and anti-Imperialist politics shared openly and unafraid in Muslim spaces that is refreshing, and I feel needed in this particular moment of political scare and silencing tactics and repressive federal, anti-Muslim policies.<br />
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And no, this is not just a swap of tables; doing onto others what has been done to me. There is no privilege, power, or billion dollar industries of white-washing and forceful assimilation behind my message. There is not a history of people wearing pig-and-police-hat shirts who have committed violence against you, your place of worship, and your homeland. I am commanding your attention through my clothing, not making you feel as if you are alien and must shed your culture to blend into mine and <i>earn </i>comfort in public spaces.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: normal;">Actually, if a shirt that is asking your country to end their violent military expansion abroad makes you uncomfortable, then maybe it's more important for you to go figure out why that is?</i></h4>
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My clothing intentionally make people with shitty politics uncomfortable, because they are forced to remember their privilege and recall the violent histories and violent present they are responsible for. I am able to take advantage of the fears of racists, white supremacists, and anti-Muslim bigots and use it against them. I've happily learned there are few things more terrifying to a bigot than a confident Muslim woman dressed in all black.</b><br />
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If teen angst Hoda just knew -- or my many Muslim and POC friends today who still are working through navigating feelings of foreignness in their own skin -- no amount of eyebrow plucking, arm shaving (or for me, failed attempts at doing so), hair straightening, or how well we've visually "assimilated," we will never be white--nor should we aspire to be. The most you will ever be is an "exception" to the rule, or "the one who made it" (in their eyes, not ours). You play the game of good Muslim - bad Muslim and no one wins.<br />
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So, own your space, your culture, your streets, your comfort. Don't ask or wait for it by trying to dress or play the part. </i></h4>
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Before I end, let me quickly add: be sure that this piece is *not* sponsored by Dior's $700 'We Should All Be Feminists' t-shirt. <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html" target="_blank">Corporate 'revolution-washing'</a></u> is not my source of liberation -- nor should it be yours. I am not advising everyone to go out and buy sloganed clothing and feel as if they're changing the world.<br />
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Rather, <b>be unafraid in reclaiming interactions that you might feel as if do not belong to you. Take up space where it is not given to you, demand what is rightfully yours, and understand that if causing 'discomfort' permits you your agency at the expense of 'whiteness' or racists, so be it.</b></h3>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-41483860512478320532017-09-04T04:30:00.001-05:002020-08-09T00:59:56.042-05:00Field Testing: The New MATTER Ethical DressFriends at MATTER Prints have asked me to spend a day in a piece from their new ethical dress collection, and of course their <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2ewendc" target="_blank">Simple Shirt Dress in Falcon Footprint</a></u> was an instant choice -- and the perfect compliment to a Sunday of errands and running around the city.<br />
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Sundays are typically designated for de-stressing, self-care, and catching up on all of the procrastination from the past week. For me, that translates into early mornings, wearing some of my most comfortable, hassle-free, and convertible pieces, committing to minimal (or no) social events or meetings, and a lot of ice cream breaks. Typically, I like to start my Sundays at 6:00am right after Fajr, or morning prayer, (I’m a morning person, if you can’t already tell) but today I let myself go back to sleep.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugZBNrQ1xx_ANbk6a31pDh8MxH2sASaxiEVJLzBVTqv05NuJKW9mE7kcdF-l-dnXKvwUzXZvKKZu_oUwWKuhisJzHhg8wBUbc-z3OJ_wefDd_WlCUD7jsKCyeVgzuEgNRt5rcrhTkMko/s1600/hoda-katebi-ethical-fashion-matter+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugZBNrQ1xx_ANbk6a31pDh8MxH2sASaxiEVJLzBVTqv05NuJKW9mE7kcdF-l-dnXKvwUzXZvKKZu_oUwWKuhisJzHhg8wBUbc-z3OJ_wefDd_WlCUD7jsKCyeVgzuEgNRt5rcrhTkMko/s1600/hoda-katebi-ethical-fashion-matter+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>9am | </b> Morning bike ride. I’ve been trying to limit my caffeine intake, so I’m trying to start my day with an alternative source of energy: biking. I especially love biking alongside the lake, and finding a nice cool place to eat a snack and read.<br />
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<b>10am |</b> Reading. As a writer and community organizer, it’s important to be constantly learning and growing. I’m currently reading a book about Claudia Jones, a Black Trinidadian revolutionary feminist and journalist during the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. I love reading outdoors, and oftentimes change locations multiple times to find that spot that’s just right and not too loud.<br />
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<b>12pm | </b>Meetings. Whoops. I might have accidentally committed to a meeting or two. The first is a quick fitting for an upcoming shoot I’m collaborating on with a local, ethical brand and the second is a meeting for a group I organize with. I want to look semi-presentable, so I’m just going to swap out my hijab, my jeans for leggings, and convert my MATTER piece from a loose and casual cardigan to a dress, and belt it.<br />
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Let’s drive. (I dance a lot with my hands in my car while I drive and blast Persian music)<br />
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<b>4pm |</b> Ice Cream Break. Where has the day gone? I need ice cream. stat.<br />
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<b>4:30pm |</b> Work. One thing I love about being a political fashion blogger is that a lot of my work can be done online, remotely… and from an ice cream shop. This is what dreams are made of. Pulling out my laptop, hoping for wifi, and let the emails begin. I’ll probably be here until it gets dark, and then will head home to have dinner with my roommate on the couch in our pajamas. I won’t go to sleep for another several hours after dinner, because this girl doesn’t stop! I’m working on a number of exciting projects and collaborations, so, sleep can wait 😉<br />
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<b>1am | </b>Lights out!<br />
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<i>Thank you to MATTER Prints for sponsoring this post and continuing to make JooJoo Azad possible. Show them some love by hitting up their <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2vDgzdJ" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u> or peeping their <u><a href="https://shop.matterprints.com/collections/the-shirt-dress" target="_blank">new collection of ethically-produced dresses</a></u>! </i><br />
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</script>Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Chicago, IL, USA41.8781136 -87.62979819999998241.4995241 -88.275245199999986 42.256703099999996 -86.984351199999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-48791030691289087222017-06-29T05:00:00.001-05:002020-08-09T01:01:01.870-05:00How H&M is Erasing War Crimes in Their Latest Marketing CampaignAndy Torres (and her blog Style Scrapbook) was the second blog(ger) I ever found, and first I read religiously. I remember spending hours on end going through years of her blog's archives, soaking up her content, ideas, personality, and style. Her move to Amsterdam with nothing but aspirations was inspiring, and her style was relatable (of course, a few months later I would discover my first Muslim fashion blog, as a pleasant surprise to little Hoda growing up in Oklahoma without other Muslim friends).<br />
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Two years after finding Andy's blog for the first time, much time spent naturally reflecting on my experiences growing up as Muslim hijab-wearing girl in the south, several frustrations with bloggers I followed and their collaborations with unethical brands, and many encouraging friends later, I decided to start my own editorial space and JooJoo Azad was born.<br />
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All this to say I owe Andy a lot when it comes to filling a sartorial void in little 17-year-old Hoda's life. But her seemingly-innocent latest collaboration with H&M works to erase war crimes and human rights violations in more ways than one. Let me explain.<br />
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<h3>
Greenwashing: A Problematic Fast-Fashion Branding Trick </h3>
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H&M is not a new name to the JooJoo Azad Boycott list -- or human rights violations. <b>Their over-stuffed factories in Cambodia (in which thousands of garment workers faint on the job annually due to <u><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1851851/hm-in-factory-horror-as-workers-endure-outrageous-sweatshop-conditions-making-clothes-which-include-beyonces-own-line/" target="_blank">poor working conditions and extensive hours on end</a></u>) are nothing less of sweatshops. </b>Four years after signing the Bangladesh safety accords after the horrible 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse, <u><a href="https://cleanclothes.org/news/2016/05/02/three-years-after-signing-bangladesh-accord-h-m-factories-still-not-safe" target="_blank">H&M's factories remain unsafe.</a></u><br />
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And yet, despite all this, somehow H&M is consistently able to paint themselves as progressive in their industry and dedicated to making a difference, with a focus on being 'conscious' or 'sustainable' fast-fashion. How? By creating collections labeled just that. <b>The H&M 'conscious' collection prides itself on using materials and production methods that are better for the environment and mindfully sourced:</b> organic cotton, recycled wool, and organic silk are just a few of the sexy/trendy buzzwords that make me think less of a fast-fashion clothing line and more of the gluten-free non-gmo vegan detox gentrifying cafe joints I made fun of on Snapchat while in Berkeley, CA.<br />
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Of course, while H&M's efforts at exploring and experimenting with sustainable fabrics and materials is commendable, my applause is (very) short.<br />
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Oxymorons of 'ethical' fast-fashion aside, H&M's conscious collections--which they are currently in their 6th year of producing--constitute <b>'greenwashing': an attempt to use self-proclaimed environmental sustainability to wash (or attempt to hide) the human rights abuses that the rest of their clothing is complicit in.</b><br />
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<i>Because logically, if H&M has constructed an entirely separate 'sustainability' collection, what are they then implying about how the rest of their clothing is made?</i></h4>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Garment workers organizing with 'Labour Behind the Label,' demanding better wages and safety conditions / Photo: Labour Behind the Label</span></i></div>
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By creating a (very small) collection centered on sustainability, H&M is able to use this line to market themselves as 'green,' 'ethical,' and incomparable to other fast-fashion brands. <b>They are able to take away the focus of their human rights violations of mass deforestation and use of sweatshop labor-like conditions by diverting attention toward a marketing tool: a 'conscious' collection made with organic products.</b><br />
(yet somehow you can still buy a $5 'conscious' t-shirt, which definitely raises my thick Middle Eastern <strike>unibrow</strike> eyebrows)<br />
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<i>Greenwashing is a strategic marketing/branding tool for fast-fashion companies: you are able to divert attention from the violence of your brand and market yourself as what you are not: ethical, sustainable, and conscious. </i></h4>
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(Today, while greenwashing is still a practice that is alive and well, <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html" target="_blank">'revolution-washing'</a></u> (help me think of a more creative name pls) is quickly becoming the latest iteration of this problematic practice. And fast-fashion brands (including H&M) <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/ethical-muslim-owned-alternatives-to-nike-pro-hijab.html" target="_blank">love using hijab-wearing models to do it</a></u>.)<br />
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Not Just for Fast-Fashion Brands</h3>
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The fun part about writing a political fashion blog is that everything is related: this practice isn't just designated to the fashion industry.<br />
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Israel, similar to H&M and other fast-fashion brands, is also great at washing things -- that and running an apartheid regime set on ethno/religious-supremacy. Except after washing, Israel's laundry comes out pink.<br />
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<b>Among other types of 'washing,' Israel is most notable for <i>'pinkwashing</i>': think greenwashing, except with all things queer/LGBTQI+.</b> And, especially relevant to discuss right now given it's pride month, and you might have seen a few of <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2ske5iV" target="_blank">these pinkwashing flags</a></u> at your parades/marches.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIChsJh-tGCl3oAKofr4qPZZtE_H24thrbdCJp0u81wTw5X8qFEiociPz70L88hOawkGwqFHB4d7HBz8ex5HhuNUYNvfxhfxIqNltPViwHhxZ_MA8Y5cahZLfelyRSqD6vllFC6mu89E/s1600/israeli-pinkwashing-pride+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRIChsJh-tGCl3oAKofr4qPZZtE_H24thrbdCJp0u81wTw5X8qFEiociPz70L88hOawkGwqFHB4d7HBz8ex5HhuNUYNvfxhfxIqNltPViwHhxZ_MA8Y5cahZLfelyRSqD6vllFC6mu89E/s1600/israeli-pinkwashing-pride+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a><br />
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Israel tries to brand itself as the "queer haven of the Middle East," and uses anti-Muslim and harmful portrayals of Muslim countries' relationships with LGBTQ issues in order to brand themselves as a safe sanctuary. The truth is, queer and trans Muslims very much do exist in the Middle East, and <u><a href="https://ajammc.com/2013/05/11/queer-and-trans-subjects-in-iranian-cinema-between-representation-agency-and-orientalist-fantasies/" target="_blank">their complex experiences</a></u> cannot be so easily simplified into good or bad.<br />
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But even more so, similar to fast-fashion brands' 'revolution-washing' (using hijab-wearing models for surface-level inclusion yet exploiting Muslim garment workers) or 'greenwashing,' <b>Israel's pinkwashing and claims of inclusion is just as surface-level: Israel's military occupation of Palestine does not exempt queer Palestinians, they continue to <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2014/09/blackmails-palestinian-informants/" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">blackmail gay Palestinians into becoming informants</a>, and <u><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/world/middleeast/man-attacks-gay-pride-marchers-in-jerusalem-for-second-time-police-say.html" target="_blank">queer people continue to be stabbed and killed in gay-pride protests in Jerusalem</a>.</u></b><br />
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Simply put, it's a strategic marketing tool for brands and regimes alike.<br />
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So, given a shared history of attempting to distract from their human rights violations using various 'washes,' H&M and Israel's come-together* for a travel campaign collaboration with the acclaimed blogger Andy Torres is just another spin in the old washing machine.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BV0JN90FQsB/" style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">My campaign with @hm is finally out!!! Head over to their account to explore Tel Aviv with me! 🌊 // Ya salió mi nueva campaña para H&M!!! Chequen su cuenta para que puedan explorar Tel Aviv conmigo. #hm #ad</a></div>
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A post shared by ANDY TORRES (@stylescrapbook) on <time datetime="2017-06-26T19:36:35+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 26, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT</time></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*While it is not confirmed that this was an intentional collaboration between H&M and the State of Israel (although such a collaboration would not be unprecedented), the fact of the matter still stands: H&M is complicit of whitewashing Israel's apartheid regime through this campaign. They are violating an international call of solidarity by Palestinians for the international community -- one that countless musicians, academics, scholars, and creative/cultural makers have <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfMM0AZ9eWA" target="_blank">signed on to</a></u> -- and work to normalize what is far from normal: an apartheid state centered on ethno/religious supremacy. </span></i><br />
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In <u><a href="http://www2.hm.com/en_ie/life/culture/travel/andy-torres-takes-tel-aviv.html" target="_blank">their collaboration</a></u>, Andy explored Tel Aviv, "the city that’s always down to party" wearing H&M head-to-toe. The editorial describes Israel as the "Land of Milk and Honey" -- an idiom generally understood to mean a land of richness where all is well and people are happy, but also a reference to the Old Testament (yes I've read it) and its descriptions of 'The promised land,' which is a religious root of some Jewish people's claim to Palestinian land. Under political Zionist ideology, Israel is a God-given land to Jewish people, and that means uprooting/destroying the indigenous Palestinian population in order to create a Jewish majority in 'the promised land' (and evidently, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/04/israel-50-years-occupation-abuses" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">violating international human rights for fifty years</a> in the process) </div>
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<i>In short, H&M's latest collaboration with Andy Torres works to portray a violent apartheid state as the world's next best travel destination.</i></h4>
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<b>Just as H&M tries to get away with branding itself as a 'green' fast-fashion brand, Israel also tries to brand itself as feminist, progressive, home of sexy soldiers, a safe-haven for LGBTQI+ people, and now with H&M's support, a top tourist destination.</b> Never mind that many of the stops on Andy's travel were built atop the destruction of Palestinian homes and villages -- she wants to party and look cute doing it wearing H&M's $7 off-the-shoulder blouse!</div>
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Dance the night away, Andy!<br />
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And yet, just as you cannot be apolitical as a white person doing an advertisement campaign in South Africa during apartheid (given power structures that are built for white colonists at the expense of the indigenous Black population), this trip to Israel cannot be played off as apolitical.<br />
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">There is nothing apolitical about a fashion editorial story that works to wash out (whether intentionally or not) war crimes and make normal what is not: Israeli apartheid. </span></i></h4>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The infamous Israeli Apartheid wall, heavily militarized and controlled by Israel, continuously ever-expanding into Palestinian land. / Photo: South Africa BDS Committee</span></i></div>
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Of course, for avid readers of JooJoo Azad (I see you!), you know I'm always of the argument that <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/12/on-political-value-of-fashion.html" target="_blank">all fashion is wholly political</a></u>, period. So, this campaign acts as a further hyper-politicization of an already powerful form of visual communication.<br />
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And this isn't the first time H&M's love affair with Israel is being <u><a href="https://bdsmovement.net/news/hm-whitewashing-israels-colonization-jerusalem-bds-national-committee-calls-boycotting-hm" target="_blank">called out</a></u> by international human rights activists: in 2010 the company decided to open a flagship store in Tel Aviv and 6 other major stores on stolen and illegal land, including in the 'Malha Mall' in Jerusalem:<br />
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<i>"Malha is one of the Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed during the 1948 Nakba and whose original Palestinian inhabitants are refugees denied their UN-sanctioned right to return to their lands. Israel, to this day, continues its policies of ethnic cleaning in Jerusalem by evicting Palestinians from their homes and replacing them with Jewish colonial settlers and by constructing tens of thousands of housing units for those settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory. All Israeli colonies are regarded as war crimes under the Fourth Geneva Convention."</i><br />
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Not only is H&M complicit in erasing Israeli international war crimes, but they are actively building upon illegally-attained land and working to re-shape the brand of Israel to what it is not. S<b>o, whether through greenwashing sustainability or whitewashing war crimes and international human rights violations, H&M's spot on the JooJoo Azad <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/p/boycott-list.html" target="_blank">Boycott List</a></u> has been rightfully earned. </b><br />
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<h2>
<span style="background-color: yellow;">Join us for an 'Instagram Live' discussion on this piece July 2nd at 11am CST! </span></h2>
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In order to make JooJoo Azad more accessible & engaging, I'm hosting an Instagram Live conversation as a complement for each piece as a time/space where you can agree, disagree, ask questions, and join in on the conversation...in real-time!<br />
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<b>Instagram: <u><a href="http://bit.ly/1NqrJ6R" target="_blank">@hodakatebi</a></u></b></div>
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For the conversation on this piece, I'm excited to be joined by my good friend <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2skgsSL" target="_blank">Leila Abdelrazaq</a></u>, Palestinian graphic novelist, & community organizer. You can read more of her work, which has been featured and on display internationally, <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2s4gFFy" target="_blank">here</a></u>.<br />
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See you soon ;)</div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-31460739007950753482017-06-13T04:30:00.001-05:002020-08-09T01:01:48.220-05:00The Haitian-Designed Ethical Menswear Label You Need to MeetThis casual-cool varsity brand sits at the perfect intersection of ethical production, an aesthetic rooted in the local but flirting with the international, dedication to craftsmanship, and a vibe that will instantly amp your cool.<br />
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<b>Meet the Haitian-owned & designed label & staple of Brooklyn, NYC: <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2s4JLp8" target="_blank">The Brooklyn Circus.</a></u></b></h4>
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Bonus points for anyone who spots the blue paint on my pants from when I decided to make the well-thought-out decision of wearing nice pants to go paint protest banners.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RMK-SZ5vsR4fdftCXF1Jp9mQ6KLr_Nd8-xdvB4V0e9crZXgOrWdBKU1W_NdgFeUPzQ5X9kC8sS4afYr2MsrrAC_CW4Kc_ApPXenNsyc4HCxRdXOA4DbgYtnP4wcnp5WbofICgBvMPcQ/s1600/hoda-katebi-brooklyn-circus-lookbook+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ethical menswear, ethical fashion, brooklyn circus, nyc brands," border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RMK-SZ5vsR4fdftCXF1Jp9mQ6KLr_Nd8-xdvB4V0e9crZXgOrWdBKU1W_NdgFeUPzQ5X9kC8sS4afYr2MsrrAC_CW4Kc_ApPXenNsyc4HCxRdXOA4DbgYtnP4wcnp5WbofICgBvMPcQ/s1600/hoda-katebi-brooklyn-circus-lookbook+%25283%2529.jpg" title="Brooklyn Circus Lookbook" /></a></div>
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Jacket + tshirt: <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2s4JLp8" target="_blank">The Brooklyn Circus</a></u> / Photography: <a href="http://bit.ly/2svFq0S" style="text-decoration-line: underline;" target="_blank">Sutthaya</a><br />
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Also, my favorite thing about gender is that it's not real so menswear really just means "slightly oversized." Which basically means ideal comfort levels and off-the-shoulder jackets (the latter of which are more aesthetically pleasing than practical, but #details). But, Father's Day <i>is</i> around the corner (as is Eid, the celebration after a month-long of fasting during Ramadan!) so if you're the type of person to express love through consumption and consumerism, well, let's just say you know what's on my wishlist.<br />
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And can we just talk about this editorial photography for a second? This girl knows her angles! Sutthaya is easily one of my favorite photographers in New York and I can't wait to go back to NYC to make more magic with her. If you haven't peeped her work, <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2svFq0S" target="_blank">you should</a></u>. And of course much love to Nicole and the cuties at Brooklyn Circus -- I loved meeting and working with you!<br />
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Finally, I'm so excited to introduce you all to the new Summer/Fall 2017 JooJoo Azad Intern! She'll be taking over the <u><a href="http://www.instagram.com/hodakatebi" target="_blank">Instagram</a></u> stories this week to introduce herself and her beautiful work so keep your eyes peeled! (And show her some love)!<br />
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And no, this was not a sponsored post -- just an appreciation post. Because we need more ethical brands owned & designed by people of color with sharp aesthetic. I hope you enjoyed this editorial brought to you by immigrants or daughters of immigrants.<br />
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<i>Pssst. If you're a Muslim in Chicago & want to join us this Sunday for a cute iftaar + training on resisting anti-Muslim racism, <u><a href="http://bit.ly/2th1FEg" target="_blank">you should</a></u>. </i></div>
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<i>- Share if you like immigrants too -</i></div>
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com1Brooklyn, NY, USA40.6781784 -73.944157940.4854094 -74.266881399999988 40.8709474 -73.6214344tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-37583999383923452012017-05-29T04:30:00.001-05:002020-08-09T01:03:56.379-05:00FROM FASHION TO WAR: BREAKING DOWN ORIENTALISMOrientalism: the normalized (& highly problematic) framework through which the West observes, writes about, and examines the East -- specifically, the Middle East/North Africa/South Asia and Islam. And, a concept that has probably been mentioned on JooJoo Azad more than my love of saffron ice cream (that is saying a lot).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;">'BANNED' Scarf: Slow Factory / Photo: Driely Carter / MUA: Grace Ahn / Stylist: Solange Franklin | More from this shoot soon, stay tuned!</span></td></tr>
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References to food aside (especially given it's day 3 of Ramadan, a time for Muslims of abstention from food, drink (yes, even water), smoking, sex, etc -- points of pleasure, essentially, from dawn to dusk for 30 days, so I'm clearly doing a bad job of distracting myself), Orientalism is a concept that is integral for being able to de-code media & academic portrayals of Muslims, the West's obsession with the Hijab, and the work of both to justify and accelerate anti-Muslim racism domestically (surveillance, refugee bans, etc) and internationally (war, drone strikes, etc). Central to a lot of my writing and work here on JooJoo Azad but never fully broken down or explained -- until now!<br />
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<b><i>Why is Orientalism such an important concept to understand on a fashion blog?</i></b> </h4>
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Modern-day Orientalism manifests right now in <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html" target="_blank">fashion</a></u> & art more than anything else, everywhere from right-wing and conservative to leftist and liberal spaces. Especially in this particular political moment in which the hijab has become a hyper-politicized symbol and continued point of conversation and heated debate, it is all the more important to know how such markers of visual representation (this thing we call 'fashion') can also be weaponized, or rendered violent.<br />
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<i style="text-decoration-line: underline;"><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/12/on-political-value-of-fashion.html" target="_blank">Fashion is inherently political.</a></u></i> Take the recent Trump visit to Saudi Arabia as a more recent example, where the obsession with how Melania and Ivanka Trump were dressed only became a topic of conversation when traveling to a Middle Eastern country. A conversation though, that played directly into an Orientalist framework: creating a (false) binary between liberation and oppression; lightness and darkness (as the Washington Post describes it--see below); and the West and the East -- just based on the wearing -- or not -- of a headscarf. (But God forbid we talk about the fact that Trump's visit to Saudi was not, in fact, a fashion statement but rather to sign a <u><a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-05-25/senators-target-trumps-proposed-110b-weapons-deal-with-saudi-arabia" target="_blank">$100 billion arms deal</a></u> that will only escalate regional violence, specifically <u><a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/10/27/famine-looms-in-yemen-as-u-s-backed-saudi-bombing-intentionally-targets-food-production/" target="_blank">US-backed Saudi drone strikes in famine-torn Yemen</a></u>.) Fashion here now serves as both a form of anti-Muslim violence and strategic political distraction.<br />
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Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost">@washingtonpost</a> for winning the most trash piece on the Trump-Saudi visit <a href="https://t.co/dHoPnc15mc">pic.twitter.com/dHoPnc15mc</a></div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/867546366276509696">May 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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@ mainstream media where is your incessant obsession with whether or not Melania wears a head covering as revolutionary or not, now? <a href="https://t.co/QoekzWpvtd">https://t.co/QoekzWpvtd</a></div>
— Hoda Katebi (@hodakatebi) <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakatebi/status/867324923584405504">May 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
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"Liberation," "freedom," etc are used incredibly loosely, minimizing the act of being free or oppressed simply down to how a woman dresses. Which is incredibly problematic. Freedom is in the choice, not in any particular way of dressing. Hence, always returning to this concept of Orientalism -- how this simplification of liberation and freedom are linked simply to fashion choices (as opposed to, for example education or not being drone-striked) -- and then how that is used to justify military occupation.<br />
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<b>So, fashion as justification for war. </b><br />
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I got to sit down with two good friends who run a rad podcast called <u><a href="http://www.thelitreview.org/" target="_blank">The Lit Review</a></u> to break down this book & concept -- along with all of the big words that come with it.<br />
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<i>A few of the major concepts discussed in this conversation, as I use them:</i><br />
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+ <b>Orientalism </b>| A lens or framework of looking at the 'Orient' or the East, particularly Islam, without the East's voice present; an imperialism of academia that creates simplistic dichotomies between progress and backwardness, freedom and repression, liberation and oppression.<br />
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+ <b>Hegemony</b> | Full and complete power, authority, and domination.<br />
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+ <b>Imperialism </b>| Hegemony of one country over another, backed by a military with economic, social, and cultural implications.<br />
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+ <b>Linear Time </b>| The concept that one country can be 'ahead' of another country; one country is modern and another still needs to 'catch up,' or that there is a series of steps that one country must take to become a 'modern' country. This is false because as we exist all currently in the modern time -- we are all modern people. There is no state that is 'backwards' or behind, but they might be better at hiding structural issues better. Time is cyclical; history repeats itself.<br />
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+ <b>Gendered | </b>The East is also portrayed in gendered terms; specifically, as a highly sexualized female that needs to be saved, penetrated, and destroyed. Imperialism, is, after all, a product of patriarchy.<br />
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+ <b>The 'Voiceless'</b> | "There is not such thing as the voiceless, there is only the deliberately silenced or the preferably unheard" -Arundhati Roy. Easterners are described with a lack of agency, in need of saving or unable to consciously make their own decisions.<br />
Side note: nothing bothers me more than the overly-used phrase "I am a voice for the voiceless" -- no, you're just using your privilege to speak over others. Rather, use your platform to uplift and share their voices rather than speaking over and for them.<br />
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+ <b>Homogenization </b>| The Middle East/Islam is described as all the same, unchanging, without diversity. But the narratives, displacement, and experiences of a Syrian family is not the same as family from Iran or Iraq or Sudan. There is incredible complexity, diversity, and history within a region and religion that is always flattened and rendered all the same.<br />
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Hope this is helpful! As always, feel free to reach out/drop a line with your thoughts.<br />
And for those of you who are fasting, Ramadan Kareem!<br />
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We have a few exciting video collaboration projects coming up so stay tuned ;)<br />
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<b>Related writing:</b><br />
<b>+ </b><u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2016/06/feminism-orientalism-asra-nomani-and-hijab.html" target="_blank">Feminism, Orientalism, Asra Nomani, and the Hjiab</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/40261-from-drone-strikes-to-moab-the-strategically-silenced" target="_blank">From Drone Strikes to MOAB: The Strategically Silenced</a></u><br />
+ <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/03/if-you-use-our-faces-maybe-stop-killing-our-people.html" target="_blank">If You Use Our Faces Maybe Stop Killing Our People?</a></u><br />
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</script>Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8698872245648415841.post-53595957945875912192017-05-16T04:00:00.000-05:002017-05-16T04:00:12.172-05:00Anti-Muslim Racism & Whitewashing Hollywood - TNT's American Race (Video)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Friday I had the honor of flying out to Los Angeles--aka my new favorite city in the USA--to speak on a panel covering everything from anti-Muslim racism to whitewashing Hollywood to the American flag Hijab (which you all know <u><a href="http://www.joojooazad.com/2017/01/keep-your-american-flags-off-my-hijab.html" target="_blank">I loathe</a></u>), for TNT's new television show called <i>American Race</i>.<br />
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The conversation took place over Facebook Live and I decided that being flown halfway across the country to speak on a Facebook Live panel was probably the most millennial thing I've ever done. (Except maybe drop my phone on my face when I'm in bed, trying to text).<br />
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Embarrassing reveals about my bad texting habits aside, you can watch the conversation below (or, if it doesn't work, you can watch <u><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AmericanRaceTNT/videos/1466869576705616/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a></u>).<br />
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Thank you again to Kyle, TNT, and the whole crew for making this trip happen and inviting me to share my words on this panel!<br />
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Hoda Katebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010214146196642383noreply@blogger.com0Los Angeles, CA,34.0522342 -118.243684933.2054037 -119.5400714 34.899064700000004 -116.94729840000001