immigration

Crying in H-Mart: Grief, Hunger, and Healing

by | April 22, 2021

In rock musician Michelle Zauner's memoir "Crying in H-Mart", food is not just a vessel to memorialize her mother but a touchstone for accessing her Korean heritage.

Crying in H-Mart book cover

The Cold, Hard Truths About Texas

by | April 15, 2021

The blackout has left me with time to reflect on my Texas childhood. A daughter of immigrants, white-washed and shamed for my brownness and non-compliance to the Texas Way, this blackout has ignited an anger I've felt for most of my life. The failure of Texas goes beyond wifi. It is a failure of ethos.

texas winter storm

How to Break Up With the Non-Profit Pyramid Scheme. For Now.

by | March 4, 2021

I’ve only been out of work for 11 days at this point. Yet I awake each morning to an attached PDF, an embedded link, or a “heads up” on some new job. Through the morning haze, it’s typically the first alert I see on my phone. For some asinine reason, everyone finds grounding in their […]

smiling hip white professionals

Democrats Should Listen to David Frum If They Want to Lose Elections

by | January 22, 2021

David Frum warns Democrats not to give residency to Latinx frontline workers. Don't listen. Biden’s immigration policy as voter enfranchisement: a coalition of Latinx voters and newly naturalized citizens will be the next Georgia swing

Latino voters in Georgia

This Isn’t My First Coup. But It Is the First One I Have A Problem With

by | January 19, 2021

It's no secret that the US has long undermined self-governance in Latin America while pretending to be the greatest exporter of democracy in human history. I recall an aphorism attributed to Porfirio Diíaz, "Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States." With that lens, I see this coup attempt as evidence of how weak US institutions, beliefs, and democracy truly are.

Ecuador protesters

Fascism Goes to School

by | January 12, 2021

The classroom is where many white women may mimic the power of a strongman and the power asymmetry widens when a white teacher is placed in charge of a racially minoritized class of students.

Benito Mussolini

When You Can’t Claim It, But You Can’t Escape It

by | December 15, 2020

Revisiting one of our favorite pieces from Tasteful Rude: “Are you Black?” my first crush, a white boy, asked me as we played together in the sandbox at school. I wasn’t sure. I thought of my nickname “negrita” but I didn’t know how to explain that I’m the darkest in my family or why it seemed perfectly natural to be identified by my pigmentation. When I couldn’t answer, he ran away from me.

Jessica Hoppe