Reclaiming the Message Workshop Series: Working with Allies in Threatened Communities
August 22 and 24, 2006
- Download Workshop Materials
- Listen to streaming audio from the workshop: August 22, August 24
The attacks on Muslim and Arab people within the United States have been relentless since 9/11. Though the Bush Administration has been careful to talk about not lumping all Middle Eastern people into the terrorist category, that has been the effect of government policy-- selective registrations, arrests of more than a thousand Muslim/Arab people after 9/11, and the FBI coercing Muslims to act as informants in their communities. News of an alleged terrorist plot in London recently is fostering a new wave of suspicion, resulting in many of our immigrant neighbors feeling reluctant to gather for social and political events.
Threatened Communities Panelists
August 22 call:
Kayse Jama founded the Center for Intercultural Organizing to give voice to immigrant groups in Portland Oregon. CIO was instrumental in producing the book, Speaking Out to Protect Civil Rights and to Reduce Discrimination and Harassment in the Era of the USA PATRIOT Act, which documents the process of passing a Bill of Rights resolution in Multnomah County. Currently, Kayse is working on a project called Bridgetown Voices, where Portland’s immigrants give voice to their dreams for an inclusive community.
Samina Faheem Sundas is director of American Muslim Voice, established in July 2003 as a grassroots, nonviolent, inclusive, civil, immigrant and human rights organization building alliances and genuine partnerships with like-minded groups and individuals to protect and preserve civil liberties and constitutional rights for ALL. AMV holds its third annual conference ,“Ordinary People, Extraordinary Heroes,” on August 20. The conference is a celebration of those who work for global peace and non-violence.
August 24 call:
Pramila Jayapal founded Hate Free Zone Washington in fall 2001, thinking it would be a short-term response to the hate crimes resulting from 9/11. Five years later, Hate Free Zone has a staff of 14, numerous awards, and is still spreading throughout the Northwest. “Justice for All,” is a documentary produced about an historic public hearing held in Seattle after 9/11. Audio from that hearing is available by clicking here. Pramila is also a member of the Rights Working Group, which is offering its Liberty and Justice for All” campaign to communities who want to hold local conversations to bring new allies into our work for basic rights.
Rashida Tlaib works with the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Dearborn, Michigan. She connects immigration and terrorism issues in ways that show the potential threat to Arab-Americans and indeed all Americans by runaway immigration “reform.” In 2004, she documented post-9/11 abuses of immigrants in a report that shows how government secrecy and lack of due process forced innocent people into a netherworld of jail and deportation.
Workshop Materials
Beyond the Legalization Programs (PDF)
Immigrants Speak: Testimonies from A Documentation Project
And Justice for All (documentary on Seattle public hearings on post-9/11 harassment): Email your request for a videotape
Helpful hints to build bridges with Arab and Muslim Communities
Conversation Project: Toolkit to start a Conversation Project, Rights Working Group