Magazine in Greece Rejects Labels about Refugees

Tens of thousands of readers read Amal, Berlin!, "an Arabic, Farsi and German-language digital newspaper that covers local news in Berlin and Germany.” The newspaper helps refugees navigate their new home in their native language, easing their transition into a new culture and way of life.

In this excerpt from Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt’s book, Biased, the author details the role surveillance and apps like Nextdoor play in perpetuating and disrupting discriminatory housing policies, racism, and segregation in the United States. Furthermore, it details how online communities can be spaces for meaningful discussions on race and racism in America.

A small Mexican town called Pijijiapan is embracing the recent migrant crisis with open arms. When they heard that a caravan of migrants was passing through soon, the entire community pitched in to welcome them with fresh food, medicine, clothes, toys, and kindness. Residents say that they are motivated by the Catholic idea of charity and that they understand the circumstances that many migrants are fleeing.

In 2016 an influx of Haitian immigrants start migrating to Chile. In Coihueco, a small rural town in Chile, they are met with open arms. Towns people organize to find them shelter, raise funds so they can bring over their families, and coalesce to make the town welcoming and supportive. In contrast a slew of racists incidents plague the capital, and the Chilean government changes their immigration laws, making it difficult for Haitian immigrants to settle in the country.

In Philadelphia immigrants are driving population growth in the Northeast region of the city, in neighborhoods traditionally occupied by mostly white, Irish-Catholic, senior citizens. The “number of immigrants increased from 26,942 in 2000 to 48,623 in 2015, a leap of 80 percent.” However, city leaders, nonprofits, and schools are pulling in resources to help the growing immigrant population, many of whom are refugees.

By establishing online platforms to make anonymous reports of anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, two Canadian organizations elicited hundreds of stories that help victims to process their experiences. The first platform, Elimin8hate, was the creation of a filmmaker who understands the therapeutic value of storytelling as means of coping with trauma. Her Vancouver group's alliance with a Toronto organization attracted funding to train discussion leaders who will lead anti-racism discussions in government and businesses.

All over the country, students are using the internet to call out racism. Young people are publishing open letters, creating Change.org petitions and Google Docs “with lists of racist people in their classes, and using online platforms to organize protests.” In Boston, teens from the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center wrote an open letter asking school officials to address the wave of anti-asian hate crimes. After the letter, officials issued a resolution. Although, in some instances these actions do result in change, sometimes it can result in censorship towards students of color.

In a movement that started from a trending hashtag on Twitter - #BeingBlackandMuslim - scholars and activists around the country are working to reduce stereotypes about Black Muslims. Organizations that arose from the movement now compile toolkits, syllabi, and other educational materials about being Black and Muslim in America, and how stereotypes and racism is perpetuated both within and outside religious communities.

In the midst of a seemingly increasingly divided political and racial landscape, some artists of color are pushing back to create art that represents their own non-White communities. Some artists have chosen to do this by recreating Norman Rockwell’s paintings, which in the earlier part of his career mainly showcased White people. “The image haunted me because of the world we live in,” the artist said, referring to today’s divisive political climate. “I wanted to imagine what it would look like today.”

Luis Soto, is the first indigenous Peruvian to voiceover a soccer game in his native language, Quechua, since 1982. In Peru, indigenous people “make up about a fifth of the nation’s population” and continue to grapple with racism and classism in Peru. Something, Soto believes he is counteracting. “ I do it so people can feel represented.”