Tag: Arizona

AAPI Run: Ravi Grivois-Shah | Candidate for Tucson Unified School District Governing Board

Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah (Photo Credit: Dr. Ravi Grivois-Shah for TUSD).

Posted By Jenn

Once again, a record number of Asian Americans and a growing number of Pacific Islanders are running for public office at the local, state, and national level.

Every week, Reappropriate will profile progressive AAPI candidates for higher office. Check back at Reappropriate throughout 2020 to learn more about these candidates and find out how you can get more involved in their campaigns.

Ravi Grivois-Shah is endorsed by Run for Something, a group that recruits and supports talented, passionate young people who advocate for progressive values now and for the next 30 years, with the ultimate goal of building a progressive bench. Since its launch on inauguration day 2017, they’ve recruited 16,000 young people to run for office.

What is your full name? 
Ravi Grivois-Shah

What office are you seeking?
Tucson Unified School District Governing Board

When is the election date?
It is a non-partisan election and will be on the General Election ballot this November 3, 2020.

What is your party registration (if any)?
Democrat

Continue reading “AAPI Run: Ravi Grivois-Shah | Candidate for Tucson Unified School District Governing Board”

Appeals Court Dismisses NAACP & NAPAWF Lawsuit Challenging Arizona’s Racist Anti-Abortion Ban

Posted By Jenn

racism-hurts-arizona

Earlier this year, I named the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) one of my Giving Tuesday Top 5 organizations for their tireless advocacy around racial justice and women’s rights. NAPAWF has been at the forefront of many key issues relevant to the the AANHPI community, chief among them reproductive rights. For years, NAPAWF has engaged in a state-by-state fight to protect our reprodictive rights (which is of particular importance for the AANHPI community) in part by challenging conservative efforts to rollback abortion access with overtly race-baiting bans on abortions if doctors find that the procedure is sought for reasons such as fetal sex. Despite the lack of any evidence that women are seeking such abortions in any significant numbers, these restrictions are passed on the basis of stereotyping of Black, Asian and immigrant parents as immoral and sexist. Further, these racist laws have received scant commentary or criticism from mainstream media or center-aisle Democrats.

Two years ago, NAPAWF joined forces with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to file a lawsuit challenging one particularly vile and racist abortion ban in Arizona, which is noteworthy for its unusually explicit fear-mongering of Black and Asian women during debate that preceded passage of this as the first bill to ban race-selective abortion in addition to sex-selective abortion.

Continue reading “Appeals Court Dismisses NAACP & NAPAWF Lawsuit Challenging Arizona’s Racist Anti-Abortion Ban”

Study: Anti-Asian racism basis for anti-abortion bans in 8 states | #ReproductiveJustice

Posted By Jenn

asian-baby

Last year, nearly 500 restrictions on abortion and reproductive choice were proposed at the state level nation-wide. Among those abortion restrictions were bans on sex-selective abortion; bans that have now passed in eight states — Arizona, Illinois, North and South Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Kansas and North Carolina.

Advanced by Republican pro-life legislators, the ban on sex-selective abortions cite concerns that appear superficially feminist: to protect the “unborn” from gender discrimination prior to birth. Further, these bans are based on the assertion that male-biased birth ratios are evidence of sex-selective abortion; that these male-biased birth ratios are only found in India and China; that these male-biased birth ratios are evidence of sex-selective abortion occurring in the United States; that the growing influx of Asian women immigrants from India and China means sex-selective abortion is occurring here; and that the U.S. is one of the few remaining countries in the world that has yet to ban sex-selective abortion. As I wrote about last year, these are the kinds of arguments that are being expressed on the floor of state legislatures, and they are succeeding in restricting reproductive rights for women living in those states.

Yet, closer examination of the arguments of Republican legislators reveals that it is predominantly unfounded and wholly racist anti-Asian stereotypes — not facts — that serve as the principle justification for these recent restrictions on sex-selective abortions.

Continue reading “Study: Anti-Asian racism basis for anti-abortion bans in 8 states | #ReproductiveJustice”

Governor Brewer vetoes SB1062, Arizona’s “Right To Discriminate” Bill

Posted By Jenn

Governor Brewer vetoes SB1062.
Governor Brewer vetoes SB1062.

I guess my friend Mike Bryan of Blog for Arizona was right. Faced with mounting state-wide and national pressure from activsts, business leaders, her own advisors, and even members of the Arizona GOP, Governor Jan Brewer did the only thing that made sense.

Continue reading “Governor Brewer vetoes SB1062, Arizona’s “Right To Discriminate” Bill”

SB1062 “Right to Discriminate” bill will likely be vetoed by AZ governor

Posted By Jenn

Anderson Cooper looks like he believes it.
Anderson Cooper looks like he’s about 2 seconds from a face-palm for the entire ten minute interview.

Last week, Arizona passed a disturbingly dense State Senate bill called SB1062. This is a bill that it’s authors have dubbed the “religious freedom” bill, but which is really a free pass for Arizonans to legally discriminate against anyone they feel like on ostensibly religious grounds.

The bill’s authors pedantically claim that the bill is exclusively intended to protect the right for Arizonan’s to exercise their religion, a right that Arizona state senator, SB1062 bill supporter, and possible talking tree stump Capt. Al Melvin could not convince Anderson Cooper last night was even in danger in the state of Arizona ( video after the jump).

Continue reading “SB1062 “Right to Discriminate” bill will likely be vetoed by AZ governor”