El dia de nuestras madres في اليوم من أمهاتنا The Day of Our Mothers

El dia de nuestras madres في اليوم من أمهاتنا The Day of Our Mothers No Comments

Sun’s up, blue skies. Running out to pick up flowers on Mother’s Day and what else? But then I’m snagged by Frances’ essay that I start and can’t s stop (read the prior post from her here) http://chicagoistheworld.org/2012/05/when-mother%E2%80%99s-day-goes-awry/ It’s about being a mother on mother’s day and the day’s meaning for a mother. And that [...]

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Written by on May 13, 2012

When Mother’s Day Goes Awry

When Mother’s Day Goes Awry 1 Comment

Whenever one of our “traditions,” however defined, goes awry because of scheduling or illness or some crazy thing, I always try to redefine that tradition for the children and to give them the skills to create something else to hold onto. Now the children are learning to do it for themselves. Little Brother decided that he “had to” get me a doughnut for Mother’s Day. However, since he won’t be with me that day, he started walking the dog to the grocery store once or twice a week, every week for the past month, to get me (and him) an early doughnut for Mother’s Day. “I’m a big boy now.”

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Written by on May 13, 2012

A Summit of Africans here in Chicago

A Summit of Africans here in Chicago No Comments

Chicago’s Africans are no different than any other immigrants here. Soon after they arrive, they struggle to adjust. So they seek links with those from back home. And they set up organizations to ease the pain, to renew the bonds and to help start life anew. Again and again and again, this is the story [...]

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Written by on May 11, 2012

We are world, so let’s let NATO know that–also a workshop to help you cover the summit

We are world, so let's let NATO know that--also a workshop to help you cover the summit No Comments

We speak over 100 languages. We have more than 60 organizations that link us back to the places around the world where we come from. So when NATO’s hundreds of delegates and visitors gather here in the coming days before their summit on May 20-21, think how you can tell the story of your community [...]

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Written by on May 9, 2012

Choosing to defy “normal” versus excusing “unconscious racism”

Choosing to defy “normal” versus excusing “unconscious racism” 1 Comment

We all have biases and unconscious programming of various sorts, however, I am uncomfortable simply explaining it away, “I was raised that way.” That is too easy. Sure, there are lots of people raised by racists who then become racists themselves. However, there are also lots of people raised by racists (and sexists and homophobes and Republicans, etc.) who are not. What is it that makes some people choose a different path? We can be bigger than our programming.

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Written by on May 4, 2012

Speaking to the heart – why the ethnic news media exists

Speaking to the heart - why the ethnic news media exists No Comments

Rosa works in a meatpacking plant in the Back of the Yards. She gets $11 an hour. That’s after 18 years and on a tough job. When her company checked her social security number, it found out that it was not proper and she was let go. So were about 200 workers from the same [...]

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Written by on May 2, 2012

The sun is shining, the birds are singing—it’s National Poetry Month!

The sun is shining, the birds are singing—it’s National Poetry Month! No Comments

I stopped reading “The Best American Poetry” and found a book of Asian Pacific American poetry instead—which I understood, which made me laugh, which made me think, which did not offend. Then I started seeking out Asian Pacific American poetry and poets. Slowly, I realized that the problem was not me, the problem was finding poems that fit me.

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Written by on April 28, 2012

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