Featured Post: ideas

The Digital CultureSHIFT: Moving from Scale to Power to Achieve Racial Justice

Racial justice thought leaders spoke at this year's Netroots Nation on race, technology, media activism, and building our movements on and offline. Read the full transcript from the keynote panel.

  • A Pakistani American mother and daughter smile at the camera. Both have long black hair and are wearing short-sleeved shirts.

    FIXING IMMIGRATION BACKLOGS TO REUNITE FAMILIES

    ideas • Mar 21, 2013 • By Meeran Mahmud

    Under our current immigration system, immigrants can wait years -- even decades -- to be reunited with loved ones overseas due to visa limits and massive backlogs. 18MR partner Asian Pacific American Legal Center's (APALC) Meeran Mahmud shares her family's story. Sign our #18millionhearts immigration reform petition to show your support and affirm the importance of family-based immigration to the vitality of our American communities. Read More

  • A photograph of Sen. Mazie Hirono, wearing a blue suit on a yellow background. The text reads: '...as we're focused on employment-based immigration, we should not get tunnel vision and forget the human element of immigration. Of course I am talking about the need to expand the opportunities for families to be reunited and kept together. And this should include LGBT families. Family based immigration is essential to ensure the continued vitality of the American economy. In fact, the success of immigrants in this country is often the story of the success of immigrants with their families. I speak from personal experience being an immigrant myself.' - Senator Mazie Hirono

    THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC VALUE OF FAMILY VISAS

    ideas • Mar 19, 2013 • By Karthick Ramakrishnan

    With siblings and adult children with spouses potentially on the chopping block for family-based visas, there is an urgent need for decision makers to recognize how family-based immigrants conrtibute just as much to a vibrant and successful economy as hi-skilled immigrants. Karthick Ramakrishnan, director of the National Asian American Survey, points to studies showing that family-based immigrants strengthen communities through their labor, entrepreneurship, help with child care, and more. Read More

  • A fake award certificate shows Gavin McInnes's goofy face superimposed with a shining crown. The award is titled 'Lifetime Achievement Award: Hipster Racism.'

    AND THE HIPSTER RACISM AWARD GOES TO...GAVIN MCINNES!

    culture • Mar 18, 2013 • By Cayden Mak

    18MillionRising.org commends 'writer' and 'comedian' Gavin McInnes for his insightful 'Tackling Asian Privilege' article -- by awarding him our Leftime Achievement Award in Hipster Racism. Join us in congratulating Gavin! Read More

  • A mother and daughter hug and smile at the camera. The daughter wears a coral tank top. The mother wears a light yellow collared shirt. They both wear conference lanyards.

    MEET MY IMMIGRANT MOM

    communities • Mar 12, 2013 • By Cynthia Brothers

    Help tell the story of immigrant women through photos of people you love. If you have an immigrant mom (or have friends who do), you can submit a picture and description about your mom, where she lives, and something special you'd like to share about her to the 'Meet My Immigrant Mom' tumblr. Read More

  • A banner featuring five images of AAPIs. From left to right: three generations of a family of five stands outside, hugging; three sisters in saris smile at the camera; two AAPI brides smile tenderly at each other at their wedding; three generations of a family of six attend their daughter's college graduation; a Sikh American man in a turban carrying the American flag. The text reads: '#18millionhearts for fair and just immigration reform. Sign the petition. Join the campaign.

    18 Million Hearts: AAPIs for Immigration Reform

    communities • Feb 27, 2013 • By Cynthia Brothers

    The time has come for immigration reform. Today, 18MR and The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice launched the 18 Million Hearts campaign to lift up the voices of AAPIs in the national discussion. Stand with us and tell decision makers you want fair and just immigration reform! Read More

  • A caution road sign reads 'MENTAL HEALTH.'

    Gun Control & Mental Health: Initial Responses from AAPI Community Advocates

    ideas • Feb 19, 2013 • By Alice Wong

    18MR blog contributor and disability activist Alice Wong speaks to advocates on AAPI mental health about the (often misleading) links between mental health and gun violence, and the mental health needs specific to the AAPI community. Read More

  • A carved plaque commemortating Angel Island reads: In 1910, the Immigration Station was moved from the San Francisco waterfront to Angel Island. Like Ellis Island in New York, Angel Island offered an isolated location that could be tightly controlled. Unlike Ellis Island, Angel Island came to symbolize discrimination and exclusion instead of welcome. As the primary point of entry on the west coast, this facility enforced the Chinese Exclusion Act and subsequent federal laws that restricted the immigration of 'undesirable' groups.

    THE “WHOLE ENCHILADA” BLUEPRINT LEAVES SOMETHING TO BE DESIRED

    ideas • Feb 13, 2013 • By Justin Valas

    A couple weeks out from the Senate and President Obama releasing their immigrations plans, Japanese American organizer Justin Valas weights in on the two proposals, and where they could fall short on their principles for humane reform. Read More

  • Two Asian American men, Dante Basco and Kevin Wu aka KevJumba, stand next to each other with the beach as a backdrop. Kevin is wearing a blue polo with a camera around his neck doing a shaka sign. Dante is wearing a hat and a white blouse. He is standing next to Kevin while giving him a side-eye.

    Dante Basco & KevJumba 'Hang Loose'

    culture • Feb 5, 2013 • By Dante Basco

    Actor and producer Dante Basco sounds off in this 18MR exclusive about his new comedy 'Hang Loose' co-starring KevJumba -- which is directed by, produced by, and starring Asian Americans. As founder and executive producer of Kinetic Films, Basco's goal is to generate more visbility for Asian Americans in media, beyond mainstream cliches. Read More

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