More than half a century before the COVID-19 pandemic normalized working from home, Lillian Vernon (1927-2015) launched what would eventually become a multi-million-dollar catalog business from the kitchen table of her modest home in Mount Vernon, N.Y. Her accomplishments as a pathbreaking entrepreneur were recently recognized with the installation of an exhibit: “Lillian Vernon, Kitchen Table Millionaire,” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Tag: Immigrant and Migrant Women
Caring for Ethiopian Women in Conflict-Affected Communities
For two years, Tigray in northern Ethiopia was wracked by a brutal civil war that claimed 600,000 lives and left 2.7 million people internally displaced. During the fighting, rape was used as a weapon of war, and one in 10 women and girls of reproductive age experienced physical, psychological and sexual violence. One year on, sexual violence continues to be used to intimidate and terrorize women and girls who have been displaced by the conflict.
MSI was the only organization providing sexual and reproductive care in Tigray during the conflict. Without more funding, the contraception, safe abortion and post-abortion care services that our outreach teams provide are at risk—and so are the health, lives and futures of the women of Tigray.
Eyes on Everywhere Else: Sudan, Pakistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Eastern Congo
The world is not confined to Israel and Palestine, and it should be possible to give that conflict the attention and outrage it deserves—which is a lot—while not treating other people as trivial or disposable because they happen to live in places that are not as geopolitically relevant to U.S. interests, or are not as psychologically or biologically tied to as many Americans and Europeans, or are not as connected to the American and European telling of history.
It does not have to be this way. We do not have to turn our eyes away.
Why I Want to Build a Better Democracy
As a young girl in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran, I never expected to be fighting for democracy in the United States.
We are linguistic and ethnic strangers, yet we are family and are at home in the United States. And we are one among many here. That spirit of welcome is the spirit that should propel us toward the new democracy we want—and need. It’s what should animate us as we build a new democracy that we can all call home.
I Was Low-Income and Undocumented, But I Dreamed of College. Now I’m ACLU’s Deputy National Political Director.
With recent judicial blows to affirmative action and DACA, and attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, many underrepresented students are left wondering: Now what?
Do they belong in higher education? Will they have the opportunity to go to college? Will they have a successful career? Will they ever make it? Growing up Latina, low-income and undocumented, Maribel Hernández Rivera had the same questions. Now, she is the ACLU’s deputy national policy director and is searching for ways to support and mentor the next generation.
Women Need the Afghan Adjustment Act
Thousands of Afghan women entered the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome. Still, they continue to be hampered by the lack of a simple, straightforward and reliable way to obtain permanent legal status and to become citizens.
Congress can change that by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA), which was reintroduced this summer by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives. AAA would allow Afghans paroled into the United States to apply for their green cards, provided they met basic background checks and other eligibility requirements.
Asian Americans Are a Powerful Voting Bloc. It’s Time for the Political World to Start Acting Like It
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. and a powerful voting bloc. Yet, they remain underrepresented in almost every industry, including politics.
AAPI voters feel ignored and overlooked by both political parties. And there are only two AAPI senators—Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth—and 19 representatives currently serving at the federal level. There have only been six AAPI governors in the history of the U.S., none of whom are currently in office.
Electing Asian American and Pacific Islanders isn’t just about visibility; it leads to better policies, better lives and improved livelihoods. Investing in AAPI organizing and representation can’t wait.
Jaahnavi Kandula Did Not Deserve This Death
On Jan. 23, 2023, Jaahnavi Kandula was crossing the street when she was brutally struck by a police cruiser going 74 miles per hour. It is difficult to believe that we aren’t hearing this story until nine months later, but that’s how it goes.
Jaahnavi Kandula was a 23-year-old graduate student at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus raised by a single mother in Andhra Pradesh, India. She was due to graduate in three months with a masters in information systems. In a demographic analysis, Kandula and I are no different.
Our lives will always be worth more than a few thousand dollars.
Dr. Katalin Karikó’s Hope in Messenger RNA Helped the World Recover from COVID-19
Dr. Katalin Karikó’s 2021 discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Millions of people owe their health—if not their lives—to her perseverance.
“Science is 99 percent challenge,” said Karikó. “You are doing things you have never done, or nobody has ever done. You don’t even know if it is possible.”
Anti-Abortion Groups Are Coming for Birth Control—Just as Reproductive Rights Activists Warned
Dark money anti-abortion and pay-to-play groups are predictably responding to the FDA’s over-the-counter birth control pill decision with a disinformation campaign.
Access to a prescription-free contraceptive pill, the second most widely used form of contraception—more than ever—is an essential tool in the fight for reproductive justice.