Toward a Multiracial Immigrants鈥� Rights Movement

May 31, 2024

The issue of immigration tends to reach a during election years. But organizers work continuously between election cycles for immigrants鈥� rights. In a new op-ed for 大象传媒, writer Ingrid Cruz makes an honest assessment of the movement and the internal challenges it faces, especially given the increasing racial, ethnic, and national diversity within its ranks.聽

Cruz鈥檚 writing has appeared in Mashable, The Los Angeles Times, Refinery29, and Latina Media Co., and she previously worked in immigrants鈥� rights organizing. She spoke with 大象传媒 Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on 大象传媒 Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about how the immigrants鈥� rights movement can become stronger by addressing internalized white supremacist thinking.

Sonali Kolhatkar joined 大象传媒 in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽大象传媒 Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent Media Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽聽of the same name.