Get ready for Critical Social Justice: Ignite with our What You Need to Know series. Written By Becca Mann, Mosaic Intern for Gender Equity, Social Justice, and Inclusion and Carlos Turcios, Coordinator for Student Diversity and Inclusion in Campus Life.

The term undocumented immigrant relates to a foreign-born person who is currently living in another country without legal authorization, whereas unauthorized migration relates to the action of moving to another country through means outside of what is permissible by that government. To most living in the United States, these definitions are not new. Although immigration to the new world began since the inception of the United States, the concept of “illegality” was something created in the late 19th century.  For each era of immigration, representation in the media clearly depicted imagery suggesting how immigrants looked like, the languages they spoke, why they were here, and how it affected the livelihood of Americans of that time.

In 2014, the majority of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States came from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and China. Forty percent have less than a high school degree and about half have very limited to no English language skills. (Migration Policy Institute, 2014). Foreign policy, poverty, violence and civic unrest in their countries of origin are just some of the reasons why immigrants leave to the United States.

The truth is immigration policies have always been convoluted to understand. Immigration policies have continuously expanded throughout the different waves of immigration that have created “gaps” to those who fall within “gray areas”.  These complications on determining the statuses of immigrants have led to recent executive decisions such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for various countries. More recent legislative decisions (i.e. attempts at terminating DACA and TPS), have affected general societal attitudes toward immigrants, especially the undocumented immigrant population.

Despite immigration being a common topic during election seasons, rarely do English-only speakers get a preview of what underlies in the experiences of the people living with this identity. Different nationalities, time of entry, age groups and socioeconomic statuses are only some factors that drastically affect the lived experiences of immigrants in the United States.

So you’re probably asking yourself “what can I do to help?” Below are some suggestions on what you could do to be a better ally:

Use the term “undocumented immigrant” instead of “illegal immigrant.” Undocumented immigrants are simply that, they don’t have official papers to be in the country where they are currently residing. Labeling them “illegal” is viewing their action of immigrating as an attack, suggesting their human existence is unlawful. In reality, being an undocumented immigrant is a violation of a civic law and not considered a federal crime.

Educate yourself on the U.S. immigration processes. Most people accuse undocumented immigrants of “skipping the line”and they just need to wait to live here legally. However, the official ways to legally enter this country have not changed since the Immigration Act of 1965 and sometimes this “line”does not exist for certain people. For those who have a line, the wait may be too long that it endangers their livelihood.

Remove needing a Social Security number from applications. Undocumented immigrants don’t have Social Security numbers and a lot of job applications, health forms, or other documents require that you include one. This excludes the entire undocumented population from opportunities like jobs, healthcare, welfare, and education among many others simply because they don’t have a Social Security number.

Stop assuming that immigrants “look a certain way.” Although statistics do show that the majority of immigrants come from Mexico and Central America, that does not mean that people from other regions can not hold this identity. Likewise, the nationality does not assume race and people can look very different regardless of where they are from. Be conscious of the diversity within the immigrant community.

There are ways to support immigrants and get involved!

Retriever Immigrants United, or RIU for short, is a brand new student organization on campus this semester. This org focuses on community building, education, and empowerment. The mission of this group is to provide a space for all statuses of immigrants (e.g. undocumented, DACA, Temporary Protective Status, first generation, second generation) and allies to provide support and share resources.

General Body Meetings are from 6 p.m. -7 p.m. every Wednesday in Math/Psych 105.

You can find Retriever Immigrants United on myumbc and Facebook. Also you can contact retrieverimmigrantsunited@umbc.edu with any questions or more information.

The Mosaic myumbc page also has a folder under the “Files” tab with a lot of helpful information.

To learn more, come to our event “CSJ Igniting Consciousness Into the Immigrant Experience” on Wednesday, October 24 from 5:30-7 pm in Commons Skylight.

October 24 is also “I Stand With Immigrants Day of Action.” Please join RIU for their event in recognition of this day from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. in the Commons Breezeway.  

Get ready for Critical Social Justice: Ignite with our What You Need to Know series. Written by Courtney Hobson, Coordinator in the Dresher Center for the Humanities.

When you need to look up information on the internet, Google is the number one site we typically go to. If you type in “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” or “Aretha Franklin,” the first result will likely be an article on Wikipedia.

For those of you not in the know, Wikipedia is a free open-source encyclopedia which means that anyone can edit it. Most of the editors consist of academics or hobbyists who, with time, a computer and a steady internet connection, are generating informative articles that are viewed by millions all over the world.

As one of the top ten visited internet sites in the world, Wikipedia is not merely a tool to record facts; it is helping to shape our collective knowledge. Winston Churchill once remarked that, “history is written by the victors.” Knowing our history is important, but knowing the authors is even moreso. This brings us to editing articles on Wikipedia.

Less than 10% of Wikipedia’s editors identify as cis or trans women and the editors that do identify as women are more likely than men to have their edits reverted.

What does this mean? This means that women are not seen or valued as notable contributors to our society. The statistics are similarly dismal for POC.

Editing Wikipedia is a step towards challenging systemic structures that tell us what information is important enough to know. It is a step that I realized that anyone could take when I attended my first edit-a-thon in 2016 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The edit-a-thon focused on expanding or creating articles about Black artists. With just 30 minutes of writing and research, I was able to create an short article or stub. I am now one of those hobbyists who edit articles for fun, but I focus on adding content about people from Baltimore, especially Black women.

For the CSJ: Ignite Wikipedia edit-a-thon, we will have a chance to discuss these issues in greater depth, as well as explore resources available through our library. But most importantly, we will inject Wikipedia with a bit of Baltimore and shine a light on figures and events who have shaped our city.

Further reading below:

• Gender bias on Wikipedia
• Wikimedia Foundation releases gender bias report
• Why didn’t Wikipedia have an article on Donna Strickland, a Nobel Prize winner?
• Doing the work: Editing Wikipedia as an act of reconciliation
• How Does Political Wikipedia Stay Apolitical?
• Why I’m making it My Feminist Mission to End Wikipedia’s Notability Policy
• Art and Feminism
• afroCROWD
• Women in Red Wikiproject

Sherman Scholars kicked off the Number Ninjas math summer program at Maree G. Farring Elementary/Middle School in South Baltimore. Nearly 50 students grades 1-5 enrolled in the four-week, full-day program.

The program is directed by Sherman & UMBC Education Alum Atom Zerfas and staffed by two math teachers, six Sherman Scholars, and six Baltimore high school students through YouthWorks. students engaged in small group lessons, blended learning computer programs, restorative circles, and learning stations. In the afternoon, students participated in math-based projects developed by Sherman Scholars.

Get ready for Critical Social Justice: Rise with our What You Need to Know series. Written by Marie Pessagno.

Three years ago, the idea to incorporate a walking tour of Baltimore during Critical Social Justice week came into fruition. Since its implementation, it has been an integral part of CSJ. You may be asking yourself: “Why it is important to include a walking tour of Baltimore? How could walking through Baltimore possibly have anything to do with Critical Social Justice?  These are both great questions to ask, and so to give a thorough answer, I met with Baltimore implant, history enthusiast, and walking tour guide… Dr. Kate Drabinski.

In talking to Dr. Kate, I was made aware of the fact that not all UMBC students are familiar with the city of Baltimore outside of Camden Yards or the Aquarium. Dr. Kate expressed to me that “In order to fully understand and comprehend the complexities that the city of Baltimore represents, it is important to physically experience it.” The walking tour is only one (of many) ways in which we as a community can bring UMBC to Baltimore.

Baltimore is a city that has been recently been the object of many news stories because of the politicized and highly publicized experiences of violence and police brutality.  This has most recently been seen during the unrest that occurred after the death of Freddie Gray.  There is an upcoming HBO special set to air November 20 that is centered on the years of economic disenfranchisement as seen through the eyes of activists, journalists, and community residents to better tell their stories in hopes to be understood.  

The systematic racism and segregationist efforts in Baltimore began in the early 1900’s and continue to occur today.  The walking tour helps to “enable students to broaden their view” of Baltimore outside of the classroom and to give a first-hand account of where and how history shaped the city.

Following the walking tour, Charm City Connection is hosting an event to link UMBC students to organizations that do work in the Baltimore community. Check out the flyer here! This is a great way to extend your knowledge of the city and the many opportunities and resources that are available to help serve our local community and to help better the city.

That’s me! And my body.

A reflection on body acceptance and positivity while being a part of a water ballet by Special Projects Coordinator, Amelia Meman.

I tend to not write about my body much. It’s not that I don’t think about it. I’m preoccupied by it, actually. Rather, it’s that I don’t want to continue to bring attention to something that seems, to me, like a glaring error that folks can already pick apart.

It’s not just that I’m sort of fat. I am fat, and that’s something I’ve been able to tease out through years of BMI charts. There’s also everything else: I’m broad shouldered, hairy, weirdly proportioned, and I have a really large tongue. I have weird chubby baby cherub hands and my feet are callused because I use them to climb (read: fall out of) trees.

I could spend many more words on my weirdo body (as I’m sure many others could, too), but this summer I signed up to be in Fluid Movement’s annual water ballet, and now I am actually proud of what my body does. It’s a weird and foreign feeling for me–being proud of my body. After I have somersaulted and tread water for an hour and pin-wheeled and held people’s ankles while floating like perverse otters, I think I’m starting to really love this body.

One of my favorite performances, a water ballet inspired by Jeff Goldblum’s The Fly (1986). Photo retrieved from facebook.com/FluidMovementWB/

See, Fluid Movement’s water ballets are magic. They’ve been going on for almost 20 years now and they’re characterized by unabashed silliness, a heaping ton of glitter, and diverse folks from all over the place coming together in Baltimore’s public pools to dance in water.

I first heard about them through, who else, but my former professor and all-around life hero Dr. Kate Drabinski who had thought of me for their 2014 production of the War of 1812. I wasn’t able to do it, nor did I make it to the show, but I followed their page on Facebook, only to find out that the next year they were doing a water ballet inspired by the life of Jeff Goldblum. I know. They’re amazing. Anyways, my best friend Susie and I went to this show, and we couldn’t keep from crying in awe at how wonderful this whole thing was. We vowed to join the troupe. Now it’s 2017 and we’re starring in the [The Scottish Play] in this summer’s Sharkespeare production.

Poster designed by Justine Jones. Buy tickets to a performance here: https://www.mt.cm/events?title=Sharkespeare

Let me tell you about the phenomenon of being in a water ballet troupe with strangers: it is weird, it is awkward, it is incredible.

We started out doing land rehearsals and really spotting the whole production out. We would meet up at the Clifton Park Mansion where folks brought Jell-O Jigglers and clementines, and we would try our best to remember each other’s names. It felt a lot like marching band camp–we would move to the music, find spots, spin in circles, all that. Everyone was dressed in whatever they had come from work in or they had on some iteration of a “dealing with Baltimore heat” get up. It was all very comfortable and simple, but as we neared pool opening season, I became increasingly anxious.

I knew I would have to eventually strip down to a bathing suit and get in the water, but I still wasn’t all that ready when we finally did. It wasn’t just the bathing suit and all of the flesh it exposed, but that I was not a swimmer. Although I have a piscean affinity for being in water, I wasn’t some sort of avid water sportsperson. I only knew how to freestyle because I was obsessed with Michael Phelps’s arm flap stretch.

I was really afraid that not only would my body not work visually, but that it wouldn’t work physically.

But I think everyone was entering the pool with similar preoccupations. What if my body is too fat or too skinny? What if my butt is exposed? What if I can’t make it through the whole practice? What if I’m the first person to ever drown during a performance?

Getting in the water and futzing around with all of these other people who are just as adorably inelegant but enthusiastic as I am was the turning point. Many of us were new and doing something as simple as laying out was frustrating. But our directors were patient. Other folks who were returning to water ballet guided us through the moves. We kicked at each other and quickly apologized, only to laugh, because water ballet is just a very intimate activity. You trust and appreciate each other quickly, when you have to make a pentagram by spread eagle-ing in formation.

Otters are the original water ballerin(x)s.

The other night at practice was unusually hard. We were in a different pool, I had had a long day. The water was also choppy because a water aerobics battalion had blasted their way through enough EDM and disco to make a club tired. I inhaled quite a bit of water (use a noseclip, kids) and my mind was exhausted. But even after everyone started getting ready to leave, I stayed in the water, egg beatering, sculling, and flipping around. I kicked at the water and propelled up and out, I whipped my arms in circles and somersaulted, I folded my body and sunk slowly down. My body does all of this. It’s capable of learning and exerting force and taking up space and being–of all things–beautiful.

Yes, the visual idiosyncrasies of my body are still here, but so are everybody else’s and I like everybody else’s. I like the dimples of cellulite if you have them. I like that “hip dip,” I like your hair (whether it’s on your head, your chest, your legs, your toes), I like the way our boobs are oppositely asymmetrical. It doesn’t even really matter if I like them–I guess I just appreciate you for you and think you are beautiful.

Our body diversity (although fairly narrow as it is in this instance), our weird little eccentricities, our way of working together and genuinely appreciating each other; it’s all just another thing pushing me to earnestly fall in love with home, whether that’s Baltimore or my own body.

Resources and related posts:

Fluid Movement Website

Treat Your Body Lovingly: A Twelve-Step Program by Dan Willey

Unruly Bodies Class Blog

Note of Absence for 10/9/13 by Amelia Meman (when I was in Dr. Kate’s Unruly Bodies Class)

The Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting is in Baltimore, Maryland, March 12-16, 2017. This is a special opportunity for students to participate in a large interdisciplinary science meeting at minimal cost. Undergraduate registration is complimentary and SOT will waive registration for faculty (non-SOT members) who accompany a group of undergraduates attending the meeting. A special program on Sunday, March 12, for undergraduates includes a special set of lectures and breakout sessions to introduce students to toxicology, graduate studies, and the opportunity to meet one-on-one with directors of academic toxicology programs and internship hosts. Although we especially encourage undergraduates to attend on Sunday, complimentary registration provides access at any time during the meeting.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in the Baltimore area

Parades, performances and more in Baltimore for the 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Film screening: 'Sisters of Selma': As part of the "Keeping the Dream Alive - a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr." observation, St. Ignatius Church will present the documentary "Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change." Serving as facilitator for the film and the following discussion will be Sister Gwynette Proctor. 7 p.m. Jan. 15. 740 N. Calvert St. Free. 410-727-3848 or st-ignatius.net.

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: The Pratt Library's annual King Commemorative Lecture is presented by DeWayne Wickham, the founding dean of the School of Global Journalism & Communication and distinguished professor of journalism at Morgan State University with nearly four decades experience as a journalist. 2 p.m. Jan. 16. Enoch Pratt Library, Waverly Branch, 400 E. 33rd St. Free. 410-396-603 or prattlibrary.org.

Fired Up: The Concert: Featuring performances from Shades of Yale as well as speakers evoking the power and spirit of Martin Luther King's words. 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Jan. 16. The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, 1601 E. North Ave. $5-$10. 410-563-3404 or greatblacksinwax.org.

D.I.V.A.S. For Dr. King: An annual concert honoring local women for community service, in honor of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. 3 p.m. Jan. 17. Triumph Community Church, 425 W. Monument St. Free. 410-728-0112 or triumphcommunitychurch.org.

MLK Jr. Day Breakfast: Civil Wrongs to Civil Rights and Back Again will include a traditional breakfast with a guest speaker, a performance by Brenda Tucker and a self-guided museum tour. 9 a.m. Jan. 18. The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, 1601 E. North Ave. $20-$25. 443-563-3404 or greatblacksinwax.org.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration: The American Visionary Art Museum offers a day of guided tours, birthday cake, music, workshops and special performances. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 18. 800 Key Highway. Free. 410-244-1900 or avam.org.

MLK Day at the Museum: Featuring a reading of Jeff Stetson's play "The Meeting," about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., presented by Evolutionary Art Works. A Q&A follows with the director, as well as an afternoon of film screenings related to King and the civil rights movement. The galleries will also be open. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 18. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St. $5. 443-263-1800 or lewismuseum.org.

Songs of Freedom: Honoring Dr. King through Songs of Human and Civil Rights: Includes projects/displays, a performance from the Florence Bain Senior Center Gospel Choir. young vocalists and an interactive music workshop from musician Scott Paynter, who will teach and perform freedom-based songs from Bob Marley, John Lennon, Peter Tosh and more. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Jan. 18. Roger Carter Center, 3000 Milltowne Drive, Ellicott City. Free. 410-480-3250 or hchsmd.org/events.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade: Baltimore honors the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with regional marching bands, color guards, steppers, equestrian units, dance squads, civic organizations, and floats. The parade steps off at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Eutaw Street, continuing south on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.  Sonja Sohn of 'The Wire,' Ravens' Justin Forsett to be MLK parade grand marshals.  Noon Jan. 18. Free. 410-752-8632 or promotionandarts.org.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade: The parade will proceed through Annapolis' downtown area, beginning on Amos Garrett Boulevard, making a right turn on West Street, proceeding around Church Circle, then down Main Street, turning left on Randall Street, and ending at the Market House. Noon Jan. 18. Free. annapolis.gov.  

2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation: Claudia Rankine, a Jamaican-born award-winning author and poet, will speak at Loyola University Maryland's annual convocation. 5 p.m. Jan. 18. McGuire Hall, Loyola University Maryland, 4501 N. Charles St. Free. 410-617-2000 or loyola.edu/joinus/mlkconvocation.aspx.

Meet Sean,

He is a Visual Arts major and an URA Scholar. He is a proponent of research funding... "You have nothing to lose except the potential of how far $1500.00 can push you in your career. You can do almost anything you want with the funds as long as you just prove that it’s worth doing." His future goals is to freelance as a photographer and to continue to visually tell the stories of people who can’t tell their own.

Sean's creative project will document the "invisible citizens" of Baltimore City. Homeless individuals are visible casualties of racial and socio-economic class divisions, yet as individuals they are often invisible to much of society. In an effort to make some of these individuals visible, Sean will interview and make individual photographic portraits of select homeless persons with whom he has become acquainted in the past year. This work will personify the individual. Homeless people who participate will be able to take credit for helping others who share their struggle.

Read more about his research here…