The Diversity Projekt
Empowerment for All People of Color
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Archive of "ChangeBloggers" Category
NaBloWriMo Day 2: And the Journey Begins…
Here goes trying to eat healthy on a synced budget! I went shopping on Sunday and spent $32.01, therefore I have $7.99 left to spend this week on food. I didn’t come up with this experiment until the commute home, so I had to do quite a bit of math. Not sure if I am going to do the financial break down per meal every day, but thought this was interesting. I have felt satisfied every day so far and my clothes feel looser. So far so good!
Breakfast – $0.81
- 1 cup special K serial ($0.47)
- 1 cup 1% milk ($0.19)
- black tea ($0.10)*
- splenda ($0.05)*
- creamer (work provides)
Lunch -$1.18
- hummus ($0.25)*
- crackers ($0.31)
- salsa ($0.50)
- chamomile tea($0.10)*
- splenda ($0.05)*
Dinner -$1.63
- 2 eggs ($0.36)
- 1/8 cup red onion ($0.16)
- 1/8 cup red pepper ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp parmasan ($0.10)
- 3.2 oz turkey kielbasa ($0.75)
Snacks -$0.63
- Special K strawberry granola bar ($0.42)*
- Green Apple ($0.21)
Total cost of food: $4.25
I definitely need to incorporate more fruit into my meals and I don’t drink nearly enough water.
NaBloWriMo Day 1: 30 Day Experiment on Healthy Eating on a Tight Budget
Ok…yeah, a bit late but I am doubling up today!!
I have struggled with my weight as long as I can remember. I nurtured my love affair with food from an early age. Although moving around (dad was/is military) has helped me to adapt to changes, it also turned me into an introvert in many ways. Food became my security blanket. It surely was a constant in my life.
I’ve tried every diet – Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, LA Weight Loss, not eating, liquid diets, Dr. Adkins,…you name it. I have always felt the most balanced and happy on Weight Watchers. I joined the Weight Watchers track again last Friday.
On my first weigh in I lost 13.4lbs.
On my second weigh in I lost 1.2lbs.
On my third weigh in I lost 1.3lbs.
While I the WW platform seems to work for me, the meetings don’t. My weekly schedule is just too erratic. I would never be able to commit to the same meeting each week. So, I am going with the online option.
I am keeping it really simple – cutting out sugars and take out, switching to whole grain and drinking more water, and most importantly focusing on moving more.
I have been wrestling with how I am going to document this journey. A weight loss journal is rather BLAH! So, while contemplating the greater implications of my struggles to lose weight it came to me. I have read dozens of articles (and had even more conversations) about the cost burden of eating healthy. It can be cheaper to eat junk than maintain a health, balanced diet.
So, as part of my NaBloWriMo committment, I am going to explore how feasable it is to eat healthy on a strict budget. I usually spend $50-75 a week on groceries. For the next month I am going to spend $40 a week on groceries.
So the question is – how am I going to measure success? I know that I can shop within this budget constraint, but the question is, can I do so while feeling fulfilled? So, here are the variables:
- within $40 a week
- enjoyment
- filling
- variety
- balanced meals
- items from current pantry stock I will calculate cost and *them in order to distinguish between newly purchased item
So….here we go!
Check out ‘Blended Nation’ – Support Swirl!
Please save the date and come to the November 12th event in NYC! Swirl’s founder and executive director, Jen Chau, is featured in the book (Blended Nation) and she will be on a panel with the authors for a talk and book signing.
ALSO FYI – no matter where you are, between November 10th and 12th, we are having a “Swirl Bookfair” with Barnes and Noble. This means that on those days, if you log onto www.barnesandnoble.com/mybookfair, buy books and use a code (10043867), part of the proceeds go to Swirl!
Hope to see you at the NYC event if you are in town!
New York City
Thursday, November 12
Barnes & Noble Booksellers (TriBeCa)
97 Warren St (b/w Greenwich & West St)
7:00pm
(Talk and signing)Unfortunately I will be unable to make it, but I AM purchasing a copy of the book! Please do the same! Your support enables Swirl to continue to offer special events and advocacy for diversity in American society.
Building Alliances, One Millenial at a Time
Today I would like to announce the launch of NonProfit Millenial Bloggers Alliance, a consortium of next generation leaders in the non profit world doing good for social change. I have participated in several consortium and working groups over the last decade. Some have been great and others not so much! This one is truly special! I was really excited when Alison Jones of Entry Level Living asked me to be a part of this new initiative. To be in the company of my peers, several of them colleagues, is quite amazing.
- Alison Jones, Entry Level Living, @ajlovesya
- Rosetta Thurman, Perspectives from the Pipeline, @rosettathurman
- James Elbaor, From the Desk of Jason Elbaor, @jameselbaor
- Elisa M. Ortiz, Onward and Upward, @emortiz
- Elizabeth Clawson, Nonprofit Periscope, @eclawson
- Trina Isakson, Trina’s Nonprofit Blog, @telleni
- Colleen Dilenschneider, Know Your Bone, @cdilly
- Tera Wozniak Qualls, Social Citizen, @terawozqualls
- Tracey Webb, Black Gives Back, @blkgivesback
- Kevin Gilnack, (Nonprofits + Politics)2.0, @kgilnack
I have followed many of them for quite some time and am am always learning new things from them. More than serving as a mere collective, I am interested to see how we forge partnerships, learn from each other and build capacity beyond our immediate group.
Be sure to add them to your google reader (or whatever blog bookmark that you are using)…and stay tuned!
Time Running Out for Another DreamActivist!
Without substantial intervention, Jorge-Alonso Chehade will face a difficult choice Friday morning. He will either get on a plane to Peru, a country that has become foreign to him, or he will choose to remain in the US to fight for the passage of the Dream Act and other young adults like him. Alonso is a Dream Activist – one of tens of thousands of young adults who came to the US as young children who undocumented. He has been courageously fighting is deportation, and time is up Friday morning. DHS is forcing him to leave the United States, a country that has been his home for more than 8 years.
I just got home from a Dream Activist PA meeting at Temple U. More than 10 students came together to learn about the Dream Act and how they can make a difference in the lives of students like Alonso. Two Dreamers attended, as well as Reagan Cooper of PICC (Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition). This meeting served as a great initial brainstorming session on how to grow the capacity of the PA movement – how to cultivate members, forge partnerships with community organizations, and gain the support of our local representatives across the state.
For extensive coverage of Alonso’s case and other Dream Activists, check out Citizen Orange!
CIR Won’t Cure Bigotry and Hate
I am getting to this rather late, but better late than never, right?
Thursday was National Constitution and Citizenship Day, a day that commemorates the formation and signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787, as well as recognizes all who, by birth or by naturalization, have become US Citizens.
Unity in Movement – Citizenship Day Mobilization 2009 hosted events throughout the day in Washington, D.C., in an effort to advocate for more responsibility and accountability among our elected officials for social change and justice.
Today also represents a moment for all of us to reflect on what being or becoming American means, as individuals and as various interwoven communities. All residents, documented or undocumented, are a part of and belong to this narrative.
I am not a citizen. I am actually not sure if I will ever be. Although my birthfather and my dad (who adopted me after marrying my mother) are natural born U.S. citizens, that status was never transferred to me. Long and complicated story aside, the simple answer is: 1) my parents never filed for me at the time of the adoption, 2) I never filed in my late teens, and 3) now I refuse to file until/unless the German government allows me to retain my German citizenship.
I constantly remind myself that I am extremely fortunate that I am able to have these choices, and that I experience little to no adverse effects sans U.S. passport. I feel extremely connected to and invested in U.S. society. I sometimes even forget that I am not a Citizen. I am one of the lucky ones. People only know that I am an immigrant because I choose to tell them my story. As in other areas of my life, I pass! Upon first glance no one assumes that I am an immigrant. No one questions my status or my right to be here, to seek secondary and post-secondary education, to acquire and maintain employment, or to purchase (and sell) a home – to live a happy, safe and full life. I am rarely told to go back to where I came from or that I am a leech on the American taxpayer.
Anti-Immigrant Protester
Unfortunately this isn’t the dominant immigrant experience, especially for immigrants of color. Various organizatons – Southern Poverty Law Center, National Council of La Raza, Immigration Equality, and others – have reported that anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise. It has been for more than a decade. It’s hard to miss, no? Just do a quick google search or check out the likes of Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck. I will spare you the long list of nativist, anti-immigrant hate mongers! Nativist voices have reached a deafening pitch in recent months, particularly as the prospect of comprehensive immigration reform. And the kicker! While CIR is necessary, vital, imperative in fact, it is not going to solve the deep-rooted ideology of hate against immigrants in this country. It’s not about being documented or undocumented. As long as people/immigrants of color are being profiled solely based on the color of their skin or their accent, the piece of paper is irrelevant in this equation.
Case in point – a recent SPLC Report, Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, NY indicated that immigration status was completely irrelevent to those who use violent rhetoric and actions against ethnic minorities in this country. The report indicated that whether someone is Mexican, Ecuadorian, Columbian, Cuban, etc., the assumption is that every Latino is am “illegal Mexican”. CIR won’t change that attitude.
And honestly, I am not sure what will. Nativists are fueled by an irrational fear that morphs into unabashed hate. I am not sure if legislating them into being descent human beings is really a viable solution. Nevertheless, stronger hate crime legislation and passage of CIR are necessary tools of defense and justice against this undeniable culture of xenophobia.
Crosspost – Swirl Standing with Atlanta’s LGBT Community
This is crossposted fromthe SwirlBlog:
From time to time we are compelled to stand up for what is right and condemn what is wrong. Swirl is a committed ally of the LGBT community. Therefore we felt compelled to voice our outrage about the recent Atlanta Police Department raid of the Atlanta Eagle, a long-standing LGBT establishment in the Atlanta community.
Dear Citizens:
As directors of the Atlanta and Philadelphia chapters of Swirl Inc, a national multi-racial organization focused on challenging notions of race through community building, education and action, we are outraged by the Atlanta Police Department’s raid of the Atlanta Eagle on September 10, 2009. We are troubled by the lack of transparency from City Government and Law Enforcement, as there has been little clarity about the charges filed against the owners of the Eagle or those who were arrested.
See full Op-Ed here!
Act Now!! Justice for Julio Maldonado and Denis Calderon
Julio Maldanado and Denis Calderon were victims of a vicious racially-motivated hate crime in 1996. They ended up sending 13 years in prison for defending themselves. And now they are on the verge of being deported. Seth Williams, then a prosecutor with the City of Philadelphia, tried the case which ultimately landed Julio and Denis in jail for 13 years. Mr. Williams is now the Democratic candidate for District Attorney of Philadelphia.
For background on the he case, please see change.org.’s immigration issues page.
What happened to Julio and Denis was wrong – from the hate crime, to the wrongful prosecution, and to their impending deportation. Let’s not compound the wrongs these two men have and continue to face!
Sign and send this letter, urging PA Governor Rendell and DHS Secretary Napolitano do the right thing for Julio Maldonado and Denis Calderon by providing them the justice they have been denied of for the past 13 years.
Please Call DHS (let’s fill their voice mail) at 202 282 8495 and leave a message to Secretary Napolitano asking her to…. CANCEL the deportation of Julio Maldonado (A30326124) and Denis Calderon (A37919176) IMMEDIATELY – or – at the minimum provide them with a STAY OF DEPORTATION, DEFERRED ACTION and a RELEASE UNDER AN ORDER OF SUPERVISION until their PARDON petition completes. They are innocent men, victims of hate and injustice. They deserve true AMERICAN JUSTICE.
Dave Bennion, blogger at Citizen Orange, circulated the below email to pro-migrant advocates. It captures the injustice of the situation Julio and Denis find themselves in, and why we need your help to make things right for Julio and Denis:
I’ve been in touch with the family of two men in federal custody right now standing on the brink of deportation, and it is one of the most explosive criminal/immigration cases I have ever seen. If you have a chance to read further, I would be very interested to get your thoughts about the case.
The family is working to raise awareness about the cases of Julio Maldonado and Denis Calderon, latino victims of a bias attack in Philly in 1996 who were then wrongfully convicted and now await deportation after 4 years in federal prison for “failing to cooperate in their own removal.” They are in jail now because they refused to sign the papers required to request their Peruvian travel documents so they could be deported, and for no other reason. Julio is due to be deported at the termination of his prison sentence on September 12. There is a pardon pending before Governor Rendell that would hopefully eliminate the ground for deportation.
The underlying convictions that led to final orders of removal were for attempted aggravated assault stemming from their efforts to defend themselves from an angry white mob in South Philly that shouted racial slurs at them and then physically attacked them. The convictions were twice overturned after new medical evidence emerged but due to the determination of Seth Williams (Philly’s likely next DA) to build his career on the backs of two immigrants (disturbing parallels to what we see in SF with Gavin Newsom and in Newark with Corey Booker–all three of these politicians are rising stars, darlings of the so-called progressive movement), one of whom was the head of the first Latino household in the neighborhood at that time, the vacated verdict was appealed and the men missed a filing deadline for a rehearing.
Tragically, a young white named Christian Saladino who was one of the attackers died after experiencing some sort of stroke or heart attack during the attack. Julio and Denis were acquitted of murder charges in the only jury trial to be held in the case after medical evidence showed that Saladino did not sustain any external physical injuries that could have led to his death and that he had a preexisting medical condition that could have accounted for his reaction. Several witnesses had close connections to the attackers, and favorable witnesses were intimidated through community violence the day after the attack and did not participate. They are willing to speak now.
The criminal charges for attempted aggravated assault stuck and for technical reasons, Julio and Denis missed the window for applying for the more lenient form of cancellation of removal under former section 212(c). One of Philly’s best immigration attorneys, Joe Hohenstein, appealed their immigration case to the Third Circuit but was unsuccessful. Their criminal attorneys took their habeas case to the Supreme Court and lost. I’ve been in touch with Joe and his involvement helped me know right away that this case is legit.
This case has a lot of explosive elements: bias attack against Latinos, wrongful conviction in the criminal system, and harsh immigration consequences. Denis has a USC wife and USC children. Julio lived here since age three and both men were decades-long LPRs. I instantly knew this case was different from most that come into my office. Maria, Julio and Denis’s cousin, has been fighting tirelessly against the very politically connected Seth Williams.
I think the story of these men needs to be heard, because what happened is a particularly outrageous example of what happens every day to immigrant families in Philadelphia and around the country.
Right now we’re trying to get Seth Williams to acknowledge that his actions ripped apart two families. Julio and Denis would have given up and gone to Peru 4 years ago, but they saw that it would have devastated their mothers, so they stayed these last 4 years in prison in the hope that justice might be reached.
Maneesha at Families for Freedom is now working with the family, and we are getting some traction in the blogosphere. But that alone won’t be enough. Again I would love to hear your thoughts about this case.
IdeaCamp Here I Come
After heading out to Philly Sips with ABC Pastor otherwise known as LT, I decided that I would make an appearance at IdeaCamp DC. IdeaCamp is one of several unconferences that have ignited throughout the country – a grass roots movement if you will. The DC edition will focus on cultivating relationships, providing technical assistance and developing partnerships within the social justice community.I don’t have any concrete expectations, but am looking forward to meeting some new people outside of my immediate network. Make some new connections, learn something new……perhaps even set the stage for some new collaborations.
I’ve connected with a few other queer Christians who are going, so I can’t wait to touch base Saturday night. Plans are to go out in DC. I am interested in forming more queer-positive spaces throughout Christendom.
Either way, it should be a good time. I am staying Fri – Sun, so if any of my DC folk want to get together for brunch on Sunday, let me know.
Loving Day
“We loved each other and got married,” she [Mildred Loving] told The Washington Evening Star in 1965, when the case was pending. “We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants.”
Mildred Loving fought for her right to marry someone of another race in 1960’s Virginia. More than 40 years later we are still fighting for true marriage equality.
Stay tuned…..recap of Philadelphia’s First SwirlPhilly Loving Day events to come!
Related Stories:
Matriarch of Inter-Racial Marriage Dies
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24468808/
The Huffington Post Interview with Loving Day Founder
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-gandin-le/loving-day-its-not-a-hall_b_51358.html
Village Voice Interview with Loving Day Founder
http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-06-06/people/love-actually
2006 Washington Post Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201716.html
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License
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