Day 2 of the “Immigrant Arts & Women’s Empowerment Summit 2018″ at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan. August 7, 2018. 10:30 am.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was on a panel named: “The Future is Female: Mobilizing and Organizing Women Through The Arts”.
We are ALL Immigrants was the meme of the day, presented by the Immigrant Arts Coalition. (click picture to enlarge)
Entertainment unions were on hand as well: Local 802 (Musicians Union) and SAG/AFTRA as well as the Writers Guild. (click picture on right to enlarge/ link to sag -aftra readable version on left)
Barbara D. Underwood, NY State Attorney General,
opened with a very brief speech:
Underwood mentioned, DACA Dreamers, Right to Choose, teen immigrants. Then she read lyrics from Rodger & Hammerstein’s “Carefully Taught”. Quoted the Statue of Liberty poem . Shared that, as Attorney General, she is proud of battles fought to help our communities. Stressed that conversations with artists here and abroad, important contributions.
Before the panel began, the chairs in the room went through an embarrassing removal of unused seats. (Obviously attendance was not what they expected).
The loud clanking of the chair removal, the rows of chairs and the panel table rearranged, went on for awhile. Finally, rows of chairs were added down front, closer to the panel. This was the last shuffle before the panel commenced.
The introduction to the panel said this was a panel of six sisters, using arts to mobilize women. (She affectionately shared Puerto Rican sisterhood with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).
Some quotes from Ruth Messinger, who seemed to be the grand dame of the panel: “Honor those who were originally on this planet. We need to learn to listen. Telling stories. Use the arts to tell their story. Social Change repeats over and over. We’re all by-standers. Can’t afford to be by-standers. Where do you stand? Put yourself forward. Some will disagree with you, but only way change is made. Every person in country is an immigrant. They don’t all know it. Stories lost (through the generations/assimilation) We’re from “here” is a story lost. What will they (can) they teach? 2020 is soon here. VOTE. You must!”
The New JDL NY was outside the Museum of Jewish Heritage while this reporter was inside to hear the panel that included the Dem-Socialist flavor of the month, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This was the best picture I could capture of the JDL.
Do appreciate this link to a twitter picture
The panel. The summit. Immigrants In America. The Future. Women. The Arts.
Part 1 video. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was on a panel named: “The Future is Female: Mobilizing and Organizing Women Through The Arts”.
Transcribed excerpts from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, “It’s because there’s so much fear over being different in our politics […] and, I think, that what we hadn’t shown is that you can really lean into who you are and not be afraid of being ostracized. Because, I think, people are just kind of craving any sort of unique voice right now. […] yeah, I feel like, really, often times, especially in political language, there’s always this, this opposite (uh) impulse. Like a consultant will come in and say, “Oh,we have to compensate for everything that you are.” You know (laughter) so if your like a first generation immigrant and they’ll like over-compensate with (like) the super-Americana (like) patriotic, stars and stripes kind a thing. And (uh) and it’s because — and they’re implicitly telling you what they think you’re not, because of who you are. Instead of saying you could be all of those things. You know, you can be a first generation patriot, if, you know, if that’s who you are. Because you can be these things. And we are (in) contradictions. But yeah, sometimes if, if you’re like (um) you know, if you’re a woman they’ll try to kind of put you in like those — big shoulder pads (laughter) and, you know, make you a little more masculine. And it’s like, you don’t have to compensate for who you are. You can just, if anything, you should lead-in more. And, I think, these opportunities, whether they’re intentional or not, once you become a part (like) IN the public eye, it’s an opportunity to kind of lead-in and embrace and grow into more of who you are than trying to apologize or shrink-down or moderate who you are. […] And, that’s what they have done, and said, “Oh, we are morally superior. We are the party of “Family Values”. So, we’re so going to separate children from their parents at the border.”
Aizzah Fatima: “All because they’re brown children. If they were white children they would never do that.” (more chatter – unclear – about brown people)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez : “Yeah, and so, I think that, um, they have gone so obviously off-track … like … I struggle to think, at this point, of a thing that they are doing right, to be honest (um) that, I think, it’s easier if we can just claim it. But I just think that (um) and I also, I just rejected left/right frame-work cause I just don’t think that’s how people really operate (um) And we just quash things down into this left/right lens cause it’s easier for us. But that’s not how people really work. But, anyway, like, I would say that, on the “left”, there’s been this reluctance to say, “Oh, don’t moralize the issues.” And I push-back on that because, like, we are in a time of right and wrong. We are making, you know, in the ’90’s when we were…. people were talking about tax-breaks and trade-deals where, I would still argue still have some moral basis. But when they try to, kind of (um), actually make it a little bit more abstract, (unclear) you can’t moralize these issues. But the issues today are moral. I think, I think every single (gasp), you know, my right to health care is a moral issue. The idea that we have the largest population of homeless people since the great depression in New York City is, is a moral issue. The fact that there are three empty luxury apartments for every one person experiencing homelessness is a moral issue. The fact that kids are going into (uh) trailers in the back of their schools to get an education because we won’t build schools, is a moral issue. All these things are moral. And (um) I’m not, you know – And that’s the frame by which I access my politics, you know. I don’t, I don’t look at politics as (unclear). My tax cut is going to get me more. I will get, my politics, I look at politics as what is the right thing to do. And how do we get closer to that. So, I think it’s okay to, to embrace — how you access your politics. And you should embrace (unclear) … And for me, I ask,”Is there a moral framework.” (applause)
Part 2 video. Panelist, progressive Ruth Messinger, chimed in on the issue of MORALITY as she gave support to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
Transcribed excerpts video 2 begins with Ruth Messinger responding to Ocasio-Cortez, “Equity and inequity are fierce moral issues. (um) And we have (unclear) generalization that has ceded this language to people who claim themselves, proudly, to be “pure of faith”, “people of morality”, and to connect their faith with their morality. But they are, and I think this is important for the fight we have in front of us, they are actually, in significant numbers (unclear), they are uncomfortable. They’ve been talking about morality for a long time and now they’re supporting a person and a party and candidates in elections who are saying some of the most unbelievably immoral, inequitable and unjust things about brown children; about segregated school systems; about failures of health care. And so this is actually the moment for progressives to reclaim the language and say, “It doesn’t matter, ” as Alexandra just said, “if your morals come from a faith-base or not.” Frankly, if you want to share that faith-base, or not, there are moral issues (um) that, in fact, influence how every single one of us was raised, and taught, whatever language our families use (um). And those moral issues about how we treat people, and how we treat the least well-off people, are the critical issues for this society and this world today; that to be able to claim that you’re speaking the, the language of moral morality with moral authority, with moral courage, is exactly what we need today in our political and our faith-based leaders.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Yeah. And I do, I do feel it’s really important to under-score that, that we need to take this moment, and we have to, we really do need to claim the moral high-ground, because we have it. And if we don’t claim it, then we’re going to be a part of this lie. If we don’t reclaim this moment right now, in particular, in a moral frame, then our moral — then no one’s claiming the moral frame. Then no one is advocating for what is right in this country. And that is how we engage in a collective slide and, honestly, don’t let them forget it. Don’t let these people forget what they stood by and supported in this moment. They can never claim this moral frame-work ever again; EVER again. Because they stood by as children were ripped from their parents. They stood by as the richest in this country began to enrich themselves at the cost of children’s healthcare and education and housing. They stood by as the childrens’ health insurance program was (claimed) hostage. They stood by. Though all these things. And we cannot …we have to claim it. We have to tell them that this is what they are doing right now so that they know that they can’t forget it. So no one can say that no one told me. We have to be the ones that have that, that have that voice of moral clarity. Because, if we let it slide, (unclear) this country slides.” (applause)
Flickr slide show:
And the exposés keep rolling on in: “The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Model Loses in the Midwest.” If socialism is so popular, why aren’t the socialists winning? [Daniel Greenfield]
One of the handouts in the “gift” bag, compliments of the (very Marxist) Workman’s Circle, represents the rejection of the Trump Presidency from the labor UNION presence at this summit.
From this summit. It was clear. Very clear. VOTE 2020. ‘Cause the Marxist, Socialist, Progressive machine is committed to making America into a Socialist hell-hole. So VOTE. Your future depends on it.
[Where indicated, pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall]