HAPPENING NOW: LA City Council to vote on whether to take $$ from Dept. of Homeland Security for “countering violent extremism.” Civil liberties groups say program, started under Obama, has largely targeted — and stigmatized —Muslims…
…This concern was only heightened when the Trump administration last year rescinded a CVE grant for fighting extremism among white supremacists
Council expected to accept #CVE grant. Dozens here to convince it otherwise with signs that read “CVE is Islamophobia” & “CVE criminalizes black and brown youth”
Council vote comes just days after @ACLU_SoCal@AAAJ_LA sued the city for not meeting all its info requests about the $425K grant. No comment on suit from city attorney’s office.
The grant has divided Muslim civil liberties advocates. Some who are part of @VigilantLOVEla want the city to turn down the money. Meanwhile, @mpac_national has advised the mayor’s office on how the $$ should be used.
.@mikebonin urges LA council to vote 'no' on accepting grant. He says that #CVE program is "about targeting Islamic and communities of color when we know the real threat of terrorism in this country… is white guys with guns"
.@mikebonin notes SupCo just upheld travel ban. “I don’t think we can form a partnership with the Trump administration on terrorism when they are very clearly determined to racially profile in this country.” #CVE
CVE protestors stand up as reps from @MayorOfLA office defend taking the grant. Admonished by council Pres for booing
Mayor's rep Joumana Silyan-Saba recognizes "optics" of taking CVE money but says giving it back "will leave a vacuum for law enforcement-only solutions." Says money would go back to Trump admin and "leaves it open for (it) to do as they please with it"
Council prez Wesson sends issue back to public safety committee to "see if we can’t somehow come up with something where we can elevate comfort levels" on all sides."
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There's never been a complete list of the people of Japanese descent incarcerated during WWII.
So a team of scholars & volunteers scoured 10's of 1000's of historical documents to come up with all the names — a way to give them back their identities. laist.com/news/wwii-monu…
In news stories, we use the estimate "more than 120,000" when describing the number of Japanese Am's and nationals incarcerated during WWII.
The team has now confirmed 125,284 people by name. The list is printed in a 1,000-page book that will be @jamuseum for the next year.
The team thinks they've got the list 99.5% right but to get it to 100% they're asking survivors and descendants to offer any corrections/omissions.
Aside from the "Book of Names," there's a searchable database going live this weekend: ireizo.com.
Up until several years ago I didn't know one of the worst massacres of Chinese people happened in downtown LA.
So many times without knowing it, I've walked past spots where people were strung up and shot. Apparently, I wasn't alone. laist.com/news/la-histor…
LA's 1st Asian Am councilmember Mike Woo is part of a group trying to get a memorial built for victims of the 1871 massacre.
Hard to say where. The attacks played out across LA. But they started on Los Angeles Street, near El Pueblo. Only marker now is a sidewalk plaque.
On Oct. 24, 1871, there was a gunfight btw 2 Chinese men. A white rancher who entered the fray was shot dead. That led a mob to form around a building (no longer there) where many Chinese men were seeking refuge. They were shot at and dragged outside to be hung.
CA has $5.2 BILLION to give out in rent relief. You can get 100% of back rent paid from April 2020 thru this Sept if you've struggled financially bc of covid & are income-eligible.
Applying can be hard if you don't know English well. Here’s ways to make it easier:
If you text “rent” to 211211, you can get help figuring out if you qualify in one of 11 languages.
Aid is available to those who earn no more than 80 percent of the median income for their area. For a family of 4 in the LA area, that’s just under $95,000.
You can also call for interpreter help: 1-833-430-2122. It’s available for Vietnamese, Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog and Cantonese.
San Gabriel Valley is coming out big tonight for the victims of the Atlanta shootings. I’d estimate 1000+ btw 2 vigils.
People feeling the loss hard in this swath of LA Cty, which has 1 of the country’s largest concentrations of Asian residents. 10 cities have Asian majorities.
Leaders from these Asian-majority cities - Arcadia, Rosemead -- kick off a vigil in downtown San Gabriel.
Emotions run strong.
San Gabriel’s mayor Chin Ho Liao shouts “We have to stop the hate! We are Americans!”
Crowd in San Gabriel is older, more immigrant (I hear Mandarin and Cantonese being spoken) than those attending another vigil happening next door in Alhambra.
That one is being put on a 22 yo first-time organizer Betty Hang. Will come back to hers.
Today Congress held its 1st hearing on violence & discrimination against Asian Ams...in 34 years.
The top-ranking Republican at the hearing grabbed headlines by apparently reminiscing about lynchings. But a lot else was going on. Some highlights:
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas went from lynchings to complaining the hearing was about policing free speech. He wants to criticize China.
NY Rep. Grace Meng - among those who've blasted racist rhetoric re: covid - wasn’t having it.
"We will not let you take our voice away from us.”
Roy’s free speech remarks also set off Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif.
“You can say racist stupid stuff if you want, but I'm asking you to please stop using racist terms like kung flu or Wuhan virus or other ethnic identifiers in describing this virus. I am not a virus."