9:36 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · children|Education|New York City · 7 Comments
9 Feb 2010
My first daughter was barely walking when the New York City Department of Education put the New York City Police Department in charge of school safety. I protested the measure, supporting the high school students and parents who knew that putting the already racist NYPD in charge of public school safety would lead to racial profiling on top of racial tracking that was already happening.
Now my older daughter is 12 years old, and the school where many of her friends go, the school that is her zoned junior high school (full disclosure- she attends a private school), the school my sister graduated from, had a 12 year old arrested and handcuffed for doodling on her desk.
Alexa Gonzalez no longer faces a suspension for scribbling with a lime green marker, but principal Marilyn Grant told her mother, Moraima Camacho, that agency policy dictated that she calls the cops.
“[She said] that it wasn’t their fault that it was something they had to do,” Camacho said of her meeting with Grant at Junior High School 190 in Forest Hills. “She doesn’t consider it doodling.”
A message left for Grant was not returned.
After Alexa scribbled her name, the date and a smiley face on her desk during a Spanish class on Monday, her teacher reported her to an assistant principal, who placed a call to cops, city officials said.
The cops arrested Alexa, escorting her out of the school with her hands behind her back in metal handcuffs, Camacho said.
11:58 am By la Macha · children|Family|Violence · 17 Comments
8 Feb 2010From Larry La Fountain, comes news of this absolutely amazing looking film.
Trailer for the Peruvian film MILK OF SORROW, about a young woman who suffers from “frightened tit”, an illness transmitted through the maternal milk of women who were raped or abused during the terrorist war in Perú. Nominated for best foreign film Oscar. In Quechua and Spanish.
My limited Spanish is not near good enough to put a translation up of the clip, but if any of you out there have the time to post a translation in comments, we’ll post it up in the post and give you credit!
5:19 pm By la Macha · children|Family|Violence · 6 Comments
2 Feb 2010Living in Michigan (which in many areas is actually warmer than this reservation) and experiencing the bitter cold–reading this news completely distressed me. Please help if you can.
A State of Emergency has been declared on the Pine Ridge Lakota “Sioux” Indian Reservation. People have died. Many more people are at risk of freezing to death. Another cold front is coming in, yet where is the national media coverage?
Does the ‘Lacreek Electric Company’ – a non-Indian utility often thought
to be prejudice, care that people are suffering, since they are pulling
meters every day? (which is illegal throughout the rest of the u.s. during
the winter months).What will Obama and the federal government do about this? While they dig
out Haitians, indigenous people right here may freeze to death. What are
we going to do about it?Help put this message out for help. The children and families of the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation need our help now. It is urgent that all 40,000
residents of the Oglala Nation have electricity and propane.Call LaCreek toll free at 800-655-9324 or (605)685-6581 to see how you can
help pay into a customer’s account, example $5 into ten customers would
require a $50 donation by you. Tell LaCreek to make sure tanks are full
for ALL area residents between the months of November to March – and to
collect any delinquent payments between April and October.Also, check out this non-profit to see if it is appropriate for you:
Arlene Catches The Enemy 605-867-5771 Ext 13.
Tax Deductable, Non-Profit (501-c-3). She can take credit cards over the
phone: Pine Ridge Emergency Fund, C/O Economic Development Administration
PO Box 669, Pine Ridge, SD 57770-0669And call Lakota Plains Propane at 605-867-5199 and find out what homes have
elderly or children and if they need money put down on their account to be
able to have a warm home tonight.*……………………..*……………………..*……………………..***************
List to assist Elders at Pine RidgeShare
Below are several Elders in the Kyle Community of Pine Ridge that are in
immediate need of assistance. The contact information has been confirmed
and permission has been granted to share their information with you.There are several ways I will mention where assistance is needed and I’ll
share here before I begin the information for where you can assist in
paying for Propane for those who need it or to contact a local grocery
store to pay for food for families who need this. Other ways of assisting
the individual families will be listed with their contact information
below.To pay for propane for any individuals listed below use the information
here and be sure to make your payment to the account of the individual(s)
you choose to help. The propane company requires a minimum order of $120
of fuel before they will make a delivery to the individual. You can also
pay for a persons propane and they will credit the individuals account so
that when they do run out of any fuel they may have at the moment they cansimply call and the company will deliver more.
Lakota Plains Propane (will take credit card)
Highway 407
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
605-867-5199
Be sure to request a receipt and use the contact for the person you are
helping to call and followup to be certain they received the help you paidfor.
Kyle Grocery (will take credit card)
Owner: Liz May
605-455-2824
Again be sure to follow up with the person you make a donation for to be
sure they received the appropriate credit for purchasing food.Elders in need are as follows:
Adolph Bull Bear
605-454-2190
He remains in need of continued assistance for propane, his son who is
disabled lives with him and he is in need of food assistance which you cancontact Kyle grocery (above) to make a donation for food. He will also
need help with his electric bill.Arlene Talks (age 72)
605-407-8243
She has a daughter and a granddaughter (age 7) who lives with her and is
in need of propane and food assistance and you can contact the propane andgrocery above to assist. You could also contact her for mailing address to
send items for her granddaughter such as clothes, etc.
Janice One Feather (age 61)
605-455-2889
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 44, Kyle SD 57752
For Propane Delivery give House # 307
She has two grandsons living with her. Asa Steele age 7 and Dillon
Westover age 9. You can mail donations for the two boys to the mailing
address above for her and if you mail by fedex, UPS, etc use the house
#307 Kyle SD 57752. She is in desperate need of food assistance and
propane and you can use the info for propane and grocery companies above
to pay for those items.Donna Garnette
605-455-2527
605-441-7541
She has two grandchildren (Boy and girl), you can contact her for an
address to offer assistance in clothes, etc for the children. She is in
need of Propane and food assistance and you can use the info above for
both companies to assist them with that.Lilly Mae Red Eagle (age 88)
605-455-2612
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2, Kyle SD 57752
For propane delivery give House #HC2
She is in need of Propane and food assistance. You can use the info above
for both companies to assist them with that. For deliveries by fedex, ups,etc use the house #HC2 Kyle SD 57752
Perlene Yellow Wolf (age 65 approx)
605-455-1458
She is in need of propane and food assistance. She lives with her daughterCrystal and three children. You can use the info above for both companies
to assist them with that. They have a lot of problems with pipes freezing
so if anyone in the immediate area could help with this that would be
greatly appreciated.May you be richly blessed for sharing your blessings with these elders and
ensuring some relief to their suffering. Please help now as the need is
immediate but please remember to help again in the future if you are able
to as their needs are continual. Thank you in advance for sharing your
love and helping these elders.
10:08 am By BiancaLaureano · Books|children|Education|Haiti|history|Media · 1 Comment
20 Jan 2010Have you considered how you are talking with the children and youth around you about Haiti? Are you looking to read books written by Haitian authors*? Then this information is for you! My homegirl Aiesha, media maker and creator behind Super Hussy Media, sent this link to amazing age-appropriate resources (for all ages) for those people who are instructors/educators or parents/mentors who seek to learn how to teach about Haiti. There are also great resources for self-education regarding Haiti.
If you are a professor I encourage you, and echo Prof. Susurro, to consider doing a Teach In regarding Haiti. Here’s an example of one going on in NYC at the Brecht Forum.
*Shameless plug for my NYC Caribbean book club called Date With A Book. If you are seeking authors I encourage you to check out the books we have read and are going to read or contact the creator Marcia directly. Tell her you found out about the book club from me!
1:58 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · children|Family|New York City|Women · 4 Comments
4 Dec 2009This summer, I first wrote about Angeline Hassell and her struggle to be reunited with her daughter. Now, with Mayor Bloomberg elected to a controversial third term, a mother struggling within the family court system of NYC asks what he has done not just for her lately, but for the too many women and children caught within a web that promised to help them.
December 3rd, 2009
The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor, The City of New York
Office of the Mayor
New York, NY 10007Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
I remember reading in a newspaper that you stated, “The reason you ran for Mayor is because there’s no other job where you can have such a direct and meaningful impact on the day to day lives of so many people.”
Back in 2005 I had written to your office regarding my situation which involves domestic violence and immediately you had someone from your Domestic Violence Taskforce Unit call me back. I bring this up to say this – you were the ONLY politician that responded at that time when I reached out regarding my case. To this day I still have the original letter that I sent to your office. You were extremely helpful because you wanted to make sure that my daughter and I were safe. Your administration has consistently been in the forefront to bring awareness to domestic violence and you have implemented many resources such as the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence and The Family Justice Center just to name a few.
Now here it is 2009 and it’s very unfortunate that after all of your taskforces efforts to ensure that my daughter and I
were safe that those efforts may have been in vain. I say this because we have been thrust right back into the very same situation that made me seek your assistance back in 2005 by the Queens Integrated Domestic Violence Court itself. I know neither you nor Chief Administrative Judge Lippman would ever condone what has happened in this case especially given your continued pledge in the fight against domestic violence and especially with Chief Judge Lippman’s wonderful efforts from January 1996 to May 2007 in how he led the implementation of nationally significant reforms and contributed to the creation of the domestic violence courts which were put in place to solve problems. I am positive that what is going on in my case is not what you or Judge Lippman had in mind. As Mayor of New York City you have always said, “That you will hold everyone accountable for their actions and that you will not uphold them when they are doing wrong.” Which is why I felt compelled to write you this open letter.
Read more…
10:43 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · children|Family|holidays|houston|Immigration · 3 Comments
3 Dec 2009
Update:Due to protests and no doubt media attention, the Salvation Army announced they were not going to ask families to provide social security numbers in order to get gifts for their children.
Santa Claus has a list and he’s checking it twice. According to some charities, that list has to be cross-reference with the Department of Homeland Security. There have been numerous reports over the internet that some charities are requiring families asking for help for holidays show proof of legal status. So before you send your kids on Santa’s lap, make sure your papers are in order.
Some Houston charities have decided to confirm immigration status before conferring Christmas cheer. It’s about “making the best decisions about whom to help” these charities claim. And naturally, a few aren’t directly asking for proof of citizenship, just a birth certificate or demonstrated need via receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and/or Medicaid (both of these programs exclude undocumented residents).
10:00 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Books|children · Comments Off
16 Nov 2009
This is Poroto’s (my toddler) new favorite book, the recently released by Workman Spanish translation, Al Galope! by Rufus Butler Seder.
Warning : blatant use of my kid ahead
Poroto Peeps Al Galope from VivirLatino on Vimeo.
What makes Al Galope! so much fun for the pre-school set (the ideal age for this book, in my opinion) is it features animals and what they do, adding a touch of a self-esteem in it’s final pages. But what sets this book apart and even had my 12 year old saying “that’s cool” is its use of “scanimation”, a mix of optical illusion and animation that makes the animals “move”. The author explains it best.
From Mexico, we get this warning to wash our hands! Or, !Lavarse las Manos!
And with the latest news about the H1N1 virus not looking so good, washing your hands is such a good idea!
2:51 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · children|Family|Immigration|Nashville|Women · 1 Comment
7 Oct 2009It reads like a bad novela if it weren’t the real nightmare that so many families are living in the United States. First, Maria Gurrola is violently attacked and her newborn, Yair Anthony Carillo, is abducted by a woman claiming to be an ICE agent. Then, once reunited with her baby, Maria lost Yair and her other three children, this time to State authorities who cited vague “safety issues”.
Yesterday, the petition to remove the children from the home was withdrawn and Gurrola has been reunited with all of her children.
Tuesday’s hearing was planned at Juvenile Court to discuss allegations that the family may have known of a plot to sell the baby for $25,000. Court documents did not detail who made the allegations.
Metro police spokesman Don Aaron released a press release saying that Metro police agree that the children should be returned to the parents after extensive interviews by Metro, TBI and the FBI over the last day. All the agencies are in agreement, he said.
“At this time, (authorities) do not believe the parents, Maria Gurrola and Jose Carrillo, are involved,” Aaron said. “Significant unanswered questions remain, however, including why Gurrola and her newborn son were chosen by alleged kidnapper, Tammy Renee Silas. Statements made to law enforcement by Silas are part of the continuing investigation.”
Now if only all the babies can be reunited with their mothers, like Cirila and Angeline.
Via / USA Today
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
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