MALCS Archive

(MALCS) Women Active in Letters and Social Change

Letter to President Obama

Posted by the webjefa, from a public email from MALCSista Francisca James Hernandez, Instructor of Anthropology, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

The taking hostage of the country by Tea Party Congresspeople, and Obama’s accommodationism, has me upset and concerned enough that I just wrote him a letter, and I wanted to share it with you. It was inspired by Paul Krugman’s brilliant clarity on the political and economic conflicts in Washington. (Please read his articles at NYTimes such as his latest at https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/opinion/krugman-the-centrist-cop-out.html.) News reports today were talking about what might happen at my college if the country defaults as we depend a lot on federal student aid funds, esp since the state has gotten out of the higher edn business, as our chancellor has put it. Right wing avarice and rapaciousness is hitting so very close to home, esp here at ground zero in Arizona…..
All my love,
Francisca

Dear President Obama,
Do you read Paul Krugman’s columns in the NYTimes? I am a lifelong Democrat. Wouldn’t dream of voting Republican. But for the first time in my life, I am seriously thinking of not voting Democrat in the next presidential elections. I think you have seriously mishandled this so-called debt crisis (actually a Tea party crisis) as well as most of your presidency. You are so beholden to the corporatists and the militarists, you seem to no longer be able to see the proper course for the country according to your once-held progressive views (if Dreams of My Father was at all sincere, a truly beautifully written book).

In 2008, WE THE PEOPLE voted for a progressive, not another Republican. If you sign legislation that does not raise taxes on the most wealthy and the corporations and that cuts SS, Medicare and student aid AT ALL as in ONE PENNY, then my vote was wasted. Voting for even a write-in candidate would be preferable in 2012. WE THE PEOPLE have been making concessions to the corporatists and the militarists since at least 1980. I will not continue to enable the Democratic party to sell us down the river with my humble little vote.

It is distressing to see the continued rise of the right-wing. It is equally, if not more, distressing to see your and your administration’s enabling of it. I will have no more to do with it as a voter. And I haven’t even mentioned my abhorrence at your immigration and border policies. For those I say, shame on you!!! As a Latina, I think I will be part of a trend among Latinos as well as progressives that will be abandoning the party in 2012 if you capitulate to the Tea Party Republicans. Risky? Yes. But much less so than the accommodations you make with those who would enslave us and are, therefore, our enemies. Perhaps you believe slavery no longer exists in the U.S.? Well, WAKE UP!! It does! Blacks in prisons, Browns in the agricultural fields, and women in the sex trade. It is on the rise in this country as well as elsewhere, and everyone is in debt servitude with no jobs or minimum wage with conservatives and the rich trying to steal the very little we have left. I pray, Mr. President, that you will do the right thing. But given your history, I am more fearful than hopeful.

Paul Krugman’s columns express, I believe, a correct political as well as economic analysis. There are many out there who are offering good advice such as Robert Reich, Matt Taibi, and Michael Tomasky. Please take it!

Francisca James Hernández, Ph.D.
Anthropology Program, Pima Community College

News From the Exec: Proposed By-laws Revision

Third in the series from the Executive Committee 

Summary of Major Changes

In the spring of 2010, the Executive Committee undertook a major revision of the MALCS bylaws, the first revision since 1991. Since that time, the Executive Committee has visited and revisited drafts, taking care to deliberate thoughtfully on the document that sets out the organizational structures and practices of MALCS. It is important to note that during our deliberations, we made every effort to be mindful of our organizational history. At the same time, we worked hard to understand changes in the broader cultural environment that might impact how an organization like ours operates.

What follows is a summary of major changes that the MALCS Executive Committee is recommending for the organization’s bylaws. The section headings below correspond with the draft that is being circulated for consideration. Under each heading, we provide a description of changes that differ significantly from the previous version of the bylaws. A draft of the proposed bylaws follows this summary. [Read more…] about News From the Exec: Proposed By-laws Revision

Institute: Public transport to CSULA from LAX/Burbank

Public Transportation from LAX or Burbank Airports to Cal State LA

There are multiple ways to go from the LAX and Burbank airports to CSULA. These are some of them:

From the LAX Airport– Follow the signs to Ground Transportation. Once outside, look for the green signs indicating Flyaway. The Flyaway shuttle buses are blue and they run every 20-30 minutes. Make sure you will board the Flyaway bus to Union Station. The fare is $7.00 and it takes between 30-50 minutes to Union Station (downtown), depending on traffic. Based on the time of your arrival to Union Station, select an option to get to CSULA. These options can take from 12 to 25 minutes and are:

  1. the Metrolink San Bernardino from Union Station to CSULA, costs $5.25 and takes 10 min;
  2. the Silver Line to CSULA costs $1.50 and takes 12 min (board at Busway E); or
  3. the bus 481, or 70 costs $1.50 and takes 20-25 min.

From the Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport—Walk to the Metrolink (Amtrak) Burbank Station and board either the Metrolink or the Amtrak. These are the options:

  1. Take the Metrolink directly to CSULA. You will need to transfer in Union Station from the Airport/Venture line to the San Bernardino line. It costs $6.25 directly to CSULA, it would take you about 40-45min (check schedules to find out if your waiting at Union Station is reasonable);
  2. Take the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner (Amtrak) to Union Station, which costs $8.00, and would take about 25-40 min. Once at Union Station you will have several options to arrive to CSULA, which can take you from 12 to 30 minutes
    • take the San Bernardino Metrolink to CSULA, takes 10 minutes and costs $5.25;
    • OR take the Silver Line to CSULA, costs $1.50 and takes 12 min. (board at Busway E);
    • OR take the bus 699, 481, or 70 to CSULA, costs $1.50, and takes 20-25 min.
  3. Take the Metrolink to Union Station which costs $6.00 and then:
    • take the Silver Line to CSULA, costs $1.50 and takes 12 min. (board at Busway E);
    • OR take the bus 481, or 70 costs $1.50 and takes 20-25 min.

To select the faster way, depending on your schedule, the schedule of trains and buses, and the distance to walk to each means, go to www.metro.net and use the Metro Trip Planner, or the Goggle Transit in the main page of the Metro Trip Planner, or go directly to Google Maps, Directions.

Useful links:

      1. LAX Ground Transportation: https://www.lawa.org/welcome_LAX.aspx?id=292
      2. Flyaway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FlyAway_Bus#Union_Station
      3. Flyaway Union Station: https://www.lawa.org/popup.aspx?id=304
      4. Metrolink:https://www.metrolinktrains.com/
      5. Amtrak: https://www.amtrak.com
      6. Buses: www.metro.net
      7. or call (323) GO-METRO or (511)

Enjoy your trip by public transportation to CSULA. Download this info as a Word document.

–From Tere V.

News from the Exec: ReVisioning MALCS

Our Mission

MALCS is an organization that supports Chicanas, Latinas, Native American and Indigenous women in higher education and community leadership.

Our Vision

MALCS is an organization that initiates dialogue amongst our members and creates exchanges with other social activist organizations drawing on our histories as well as emerging cultural thought and practice in order to address new global challenges.

Getting to Our Mission and Vision: Confronting Challenges to Mujeres

To evaluate where MALCS is, as an organization, we reflected on its role in social action, the purpose of our work and how it is linked to the movement for the transformation of our society. [Read more…] about News from the Exec: ReVisioning MALCS

Justice for Palestine: A Call to Action from Indigenous and Women of Color Feminists

Please help distribute widely to your communities.
All the best,
Anna Guevarra
Assistant Professor, Asian American Studies and Sociology
University of Illinois at Chicago
 —————————————–
**For press inquiries, please contact moc.liamgobfsctd-3c626b@noitageledtsinimef

Between June 14 and June 23, 2011, a delegation of 11 scholars, activists, and artists visited occupied Palestine. As indigenous and women of color feminists involved in multiple social justice struggles, we sought to affirm our association with the growing international movement for a free Palestine. We wanted to see for ourselves the conditions under which Palestinian people live and struggle against what we can now confidently name as the Israeli project of apartheid and ethnic cleansing. Each and every one of us—including those members of our delegation who grew up in the Jim Crow South, in apartheid South Africa, and on Indian reservations in the U.S.—was shocked by what we saw. In this statement we describe some of our experiences and issue an urgent call to others who share our commitment to racial justice, equality, and freedom.

During our short stay in Palestine, we met with academics, students, youth, leaders of civic organizations, elected officials, trade unionists, political leaders, artists, and civil society activists, as well as residents of refugee camps and villages that have been recently attacked by Israeli soldiers and settlers. Everyone we encountered—in Nablus, Awarta, Balata, Jerusalem, Hebron, Dheisheh, Bethlehem, Birzeit, Ramallah, Um el-Fahem, and Haifa—asked us to tell the truth about life under occupation and about their unwavering commitment to a free Palestine. We were deeply impressed by people’s insistence on the linkages between the movement for a free Palestine and struggles for justice throughout the world; as Martin Luther King, Jr. insisted throughout his life, “Justice is indivisible. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” [Read more…] about Justice for Palestine: A Call to Action from Indigenous and Women of Color Feminists

D.C.: American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Pop Music

Just wanted to let you know that  American Sabor:  Latinos in U.S. Pop Music exhibit at the Smithsonian will be opening next week.  East Los Chicana  feminist punk represents!

If you are near D.C. we hope you get to see the exhibit –it will be up through Oct.

Click below for more info.

https://www.washington.edu/news/articles/uw-curated-2018american-sabor2019-music-exhibit-heads-to-the-smithsonian

https://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/American-Sabor-Latinos-in-US-Popular-Music-4516

Submitted by Michelle Habell-Pallan

MALCS Special Gathering: A Report Back

We’ve just posted to the main website the second installment of “News From the Exec” (under Leadership).   The first few paragraphs are below, or click on the title to read the full report:

A MALCS Special Gathering: A Report from the Executive Committee”

Introduction and Overview

In the April of 2010, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed SB1070, one of the strictest anti-immigration measures in recent history, into law. Shortly after that, political leaders called for a boycott of the state. MALCS, like many other academic organizations, decided to boycott and not hold our summer institute originally scheduled for Arizona State University in July of 2010. The circumstances surrounding our decision to boycott raised questions about MALCS’s organizational structures and processes. It became clear that as an organization it was time for us to revisit our mission as well as our communication and decision-making processes. The Executive Committee called for a national meeting, a “Special Gathering” that would give us an opportunity to discuss these and other issues critical to the future of MALCS. The Special Gathering, a one-day meeting held November 7, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas, was attended by mujeres from across the country.

What follows is a three-part report from the Executive Committee outlining the events that led to the Special Gathering, articulating key points made during the gathering, and providing an assessment and articulation of the next steps MALCS should take in order to ensure its success in the 21st century.

 

Please click to read the complete report.Â