Let the city know.
Today in the U.S. Capitol Michigan Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian-American member of Congress, held a news conference alongside Rabbis for Peace and several colleagues calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Rabbis for Ceasefire & Members of Congress Hold Press Conference at US Capitol https://t.co/fKQAdnbnLc
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) November 13, 2023
J.T.
This is a special rebroadcast episode for the first ever panel-discussion by K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean.
On Thursday, November 2, 2023, K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean, also known as K-Town Is OK, brought together long-time and former residents of Koreatown into conversation. The panel, free and open to the public, was held just over a year after the public release of a private discussion between L.A. City Council Members Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin De Leon, and Federation of Labor leader Ron Herrera, in which they dismissed Korean-American residents of the area and ridiculed Oaxacan or Mexican-American members of the community as “short, dark people” and “feos (ugly).” The panel discussion was held online and featured a line-up of guest speakers, culminating a year-long effort by my colleague Helen H. Kim and I documenting Oaxacan-American, Korean-American and other voices in Koreatown through our website and podcast, K-Town Is OK.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Quien Es Tu Vecindario to support this panel and help create more such dialogue for our communities.
J.T.
Tonny St. James is the Youth Policy Advisor at Lens Co. Tonny was born and raised in Kigali, Rwanda. In 2017, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in fashion and culinary arts. But after struggling with homelessness and immigration issues, Tonny shifted his focus to advocating for young people facing homelessness. He has been an advocate since 2018, most recently leading the Young People To The Front Podcast, among other initiatives. In this episode, Tonny tells us about going to a U.S. boarding school in Africa, the peace and reconciliation process in Rwanda with respect to the 1994 genocide there, the complications of immigrating to the U.S. as a queer Black person, his thoughts on “transplants to L.A.,” and much more in a convo that inspires us, makes us laugh, and energizes us. You can keep up with Tonny through his new Aliens, InC organization.
To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please check out my PATREON.
J.T.