The Forgotten Era of Punjabi Mexican Marriages

Photo courtesy of PBS

Chicken curry enchiladas, Catholic Mass, and Sikh gurdwaras?

This article explores the history of interracial Punjabi/Mexican marriages.

A study showed that 378 of these couples existed in California alone.

But, as this article points out, “discovering love didn’t mean finding acceptance.”

Couples still had to battle intensely to obtain  the legal rights of white American couples.

Click the link to read more, and feel free to leave comments!

http://www.ozy.com/flashback/the-forgotten-era-of-punjabi-mexicans/65005

Photo courtesy of Ozy.com

 

The community speaks after tragedy

Photo courtesy of Newsday

The media has been capturing Pakistani-American voices after the shooting in San Bernardino earlier this month.

According to an article by Al Jazeera, the California Pakistani-American community is “shaken to the core.”

The Council on Islamic-American Relations has condemned the attacks and offered condolences for the victims.

Reactions has also come at an international level, as the Pakistani Ambassador to the US released a statement saying, “Our physicians, engineers, IT professionals, lawyers, entrepreneurs as well as industrious wage earners are contributing to the socio-economic development of the United States as well as Pakistan through their hard work, integrity and commitment.”

While Muslims decry the violence, Islamaphobic actions have been increasing. They started with inaccurate coverage of the attack, morphed into threatening messages, and have extended to violent acts.

Non-Muslims have been conflating Islamic extremists with general practitioners of Islam, and the results have been devastating.

The link below describes hate crimes that have followed the shooting at San Bernardino:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/anti-muslim-attacks-after-san-bernardino

Please feel free to leave comments to describe your experiences or offer any other commentary.

Could California have a South Asian governor?

Former Goldman Sachs executive and US Treasury Department official, Neel Kashkari, challenges incumbent Jerry Brown for the position of California governor.

A Republican who has been garnering publicity through radio waves, Kashkari has received endorsements from Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, Condoleeza Rice, and Darrell Issa. He seeks further support through a Students for Kashkari coalition and fundraising efforts to give him more visibility.

Kashkari has both a BA and a Master’s degree in Engineering, as well as an MBA from UPenn’s Wharton School.

According to his website, Kashkari will start rolling out detailed policy proposals to fix the California public school system, make college more affordable, and create jobs.

In an interview with Frontiers before an LGBTQ parade in California, Kashkari stated, “‘Look, I’m a brown guy, son of immigrants, I’m pro-immigration, I’m pro-gay marriage, pro-choice, I’m Hindu and I’m running for governor. I’m not going to apologize for any of my beliefs. I’m going to explain to you why I believe what I believe. And even if you disagree with me on some of these issues, that’s OK. The issues I think we can all unite around are economic issues.”

Nicknamed Barry Goldwater 2.0 for his conservative libertarianism, Kashkari is most well-known for his role in responding to the 2008 financial crisis.

Though Kashkari has been planning a visit to the USA/Mexico border, and states that he is “pro-immigration,” he has not made strong public policy stances on the issue, save for his position that national legislation must be reformed and that immigrant children must be sent back safely and compassionately.

What else do you know about Kashkari? Would you vote for him?

Image courtesy of US Treasury Department website