by Glenn Nelson
I’ve long believed that “Rooney” and “rule,” when combined, are two of the most insidious words in the English language. This Sunday’s Super Bowl reminds me of the most diabolical form of this linkage.
Continue reading OPINION: The Rooney Rule Stain on Football and American SocietyNothing lifts the spirit like appreciation. Next Monday is Valentine’s Day. Let’s each take a moment to send a love note to someone: a beloved friend, family member, colleague, community member, or, yes, partner. Complete the Emerald’s Love Notes form (at soseaem.org/lovenotes22) by 5:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, and your note will be published on Monday.
Love Notes will be limited to 300 characters, must be “family friendly,” and may be edited for typos.
📸 Featured image is attributed to Thomas Hawk (under a Creative Commons, CC BY-NC 2.0 license).
Before you move on to the next story …
The South Seattle Emerald™ is brought to you by Rainmakers. Rainmakers give recurring gifts at any amount. With around 1,000 Rainmakers, the Emerald™ is truly community-driven local media. Help us keep BIPOC-led media free and accessible.
If just half of our readers signed up to give $6 a month, we wouldn’t have to fundraise for the rest of the year. Small amounts make a difference.
We cannot do this work without you. Become a Rainmaker today!
by Polly Woodbury
Nearly every business in the world has been affected by COVID-19. Undoubtedly, it has been a difficult time to navigate successful operations. However, when a multimillion-dollar company unilaterally terminates 1,329 workers — and nearly 1,100 of them are union leaders, members, and activists — this is not a means of adjusting payroll, it’s an atrocious act of union-busting.
This is what one of the most successful casinos in the world, NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, committed against the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) in April 2021. Despite LRSU’s attempts to collectively bargain to find a solution for all sides, these efforts were rebuffed and the dispute remains unresolved.
Continue reading OPINION: Why Casino Workers Are on Strike in Cambodia — and How You Can Helpby Marcus Harrison Green
(This article is copublished with The Seattle Times.)
Valued reader, I really need you to ask yourself a question: Do you know what critical race theory (CRT) is?
Can you explain where and why it originated, and its core tenets?
Moreover, do you really believe it’s being force-fed into our children’s brains, hardwiring them to believe that every single white person in existence reeks with wickedness?
Continue reading OPINION: Before You Rage Against Critical Race Theory, It Might Be Helpful to Understand Itby Amanda Ong
Like many Chinese Americans of the diaspora, I have never spoken the dialects of my family with any fluency. There were the words I knew only in Chinese to speak in public without anyone understanding, like “that’s cheap” in Cantonese, ho pang, or “too expensive” in Shanghainese, gesu. There were the words we used at home because they were intimate to us, like pet names, but there were never words that flowed into full sentences, conversations, articulate thoughts. Still, I always knew the language of food. And there is no time that is more important for food than the Lunar New Year. Long noodles are for a long life, whole fish is for abundance, egg dumplings are for money, mandarin oranges are like gold.
Continue reading OPINION: Lunar New Year in the Seattle Asian American Diasporaby Jamerika Haynes-Lewis
At the age of 50, Shrounda Selivanoff saw herself doing many things. Recently, she became the director of public policy for Children’s Home Society of Washington (CHSW). This is in addition to her work as a community advocate for children and families. However, raising a newborn was not a part of her plan. “I’m committed to my grandchild. I’m committed for life,” Shrounda says proudly. “I’m his grandmother.”
Continue reading OPINION: HB 1747 Offers a Pathway to Keeping Families Togetherby Shirley Leung
My family and friends have been directly impacted by failed land use and housing policy in Washington State for decades. Though I didn’t realize it until recently, it’s no exaggeration to say that these land use policies have shaped almost every aspect of my life since my family immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong in the early ’90s.
Continue reading OPINION: Better Land Use Means More Opportunity for My Family and Yoursby Felipe Contreras
In my role as an associate producer on the Storytelling team at Nia Tero, I have a bit of a reputation. Whenever there’s a photo or video shoot on a farm, they call me — “the farm guy.” So when I was asked to do a photoshoot on an Indigenous-run farm in Tacoma last fall, I accepted the assignment with glee.
That I’m “the farm guy” at Nia Tero might be a surprise to people I grew up with in Los Angeles, including my blended Latine family and community. The only farms I knew during my childhood were the ones our family car passed while driving on the 5. Before I would see the farms, I would smell the stench. And then we would see thousands of cows crammed in the isolated confines of what I now understand were factory farms. Once my dad saw me looking at the cows, and he said, “Those are not happy cows. Those are sad cows.” This was in stark contrast to commercials about “happy cows” from the same time period.
Continue reading Seedcast: An Environmental Storyteller Reconnects to His Farming Heritageby Vallerie Fisher
Seattle voters have another decision to make this year — and this one should be a no-brainer! Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has two critical levies on the ballot and as a South Seattle educator, I urge you to vote “YES” by Feb. 8.
These levies are voted on for renewal every three years — most recently in 2019. Seattle voters have supported these levies year after year because our students rely on this funding for everything from textbooks to after-school programs. These levies are an investment in our children’s future and well-being.
Continue reading OPINION: Vote ‘YES’ for Seattle Schools by February 8by William Lau
Content Warning: transphobic hate crimes, anti-Blackness, murder, incarceration
In the spring of 2021, I moved to Columbia City. I found the neighborhood to be welcoming and exciting. It’s close to bookstores and Asian grocery stores, and I spent much time going on walks around my home. On my walks, I paid close attention to public boards and postings. I found posters advertising community events and marches, as well as stickers declaring various points of view about the pandemic.
One day, I was surprised to come across a red sticker on a street pole that said “protect children from gender clinics.” I’d heard this phrase before. As a transgender man, I’m very familiar with the various right-wing dog whistles used to deny health care to my community. The claim that clinics that offer transgender health care prey upon children is a blatant lie, even as bills passed in the U.S. make it increasingly harder for transgender youth to receive care.
Continue reading OPINION: The Ubiquity of Transmisogyny in Seattle
