Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Feminists Around the World: Guerline Jozef
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Hey, this is any and Samantha, what come to stuff?
- 0:07Speaker 2: I ever told you a prediction of iHeartRadio.
- 0:18Speaker 1: And today we are highlighting the amazing works of Garlin Joseph,
- 0:24Speaker 1: a Haitian activist who's been working to fight for our
- 0:27Speaker 1: community and other refugees around the world. And yes, obviously
- 0:32Speaker 1: we're still carrying on and making sure we are talking
- 0:35Speaker 1: about all the people's no matter what month, it is,
- 0:38Speaker 1: more feminists around the world, and we will never stop.
- 0:41Speaker 1: It's Women's History month now, so we're talking more women's surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise,
- 0:49Speaker 1: And yes, we were talking women's as an inclusive of
- 0:52Speaker 1: every person who identifies as women and according to Amnesty
- 0:56Speaker 1: dot org, as of July twenty twenty three, she runs
- 0:59Speaker 1: the the only black and Haitian women led organization that
- 1:03Speaker 1: works to help migrants on either side of the US
- 1:06Speaker 1: Mexico border, which is the Haitian Bridge Alliance or HbA
- 1:10Speaker 1: were also known as the Bridge. Joseph has been outspoken
- 1:14Speaker 1: about the needs of the migrant community and the racist
- 1:17Speaker 1: and inhumane treatment of the refugees. She's been at the
- 1:19Speaker 1: forefront of not only working to educate the public and
- 1:22Speaker 1: migrants of the knees and dangers the migrant community faces,
- 1:25Speaker 1: but she's been a political activist working to seek political
- 1:28Speaker 1: and social change.
- 1:29Speaker 2: Joseph started her advocacy activism as a child, witnessing the
- 1:32Speaker 2: inequalities and its treatment of so many of her community.
- 1:36Speaker 2: In the twenty twenty one Forbes article titled a Black
- 1:39Speaker 2: Immigrants Mission to center Black Migrants at the Southern Border,
- 1:42Speaker 2: they quote Joseph remembers when her father took her to
- 1:46Speaker 2: meet Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant wrongfully arrested, handcuffed, and
- 1:50Speaker 2: forcefully sodomized with a broken broomstick by two New York
- 1:53Speaker 2: City Police Department officers. As a little girl, I had
- 1:57Speaker 2: a chance to bear witness to real violence against black bears.
- 2:00Speaker 2: I remember holding my father's hand as he took me
- 2:02Speaker 2: to visit mister Louima in the hospital, said Joseph, co
- 2:05Speaker 2: founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance. While
- 2:08Speaker 2: a Haitian just like me, it was clear that those
- 2:10Speaker 2: two officers saw his color before they ever considered his
- 2:12Speaker 2: immigration status or country of origin. Joseph continued seeing Abner
- 2:17Speaker 2: Luima laying in that bed, barely breathing and missing most
- 2:20Speaker 2: of his teeth made it clear that my blackness and
- 2:23Speaker 2: my immigration status are interconnected, and the article continues. That
- 2:27Speaker 2: moment in nineteen ninety seven, coupled with a twenty fifteen
- 2:30Speaker 2: phone call from a colleague about Haitian migrant seeking asylum
- 2:33Speaker 2: on the US Mexico border, turned Joseph from an outspoken
- 2:36Speaker 2: immigration advocate to a black immigrant woman on a mission
- 2:39Speaker 2: to center black immigrants, those already in the United States,
- 2:42Speaker 2: and especially those praying and hoping for entry and refuge
- 2:45Speaker 2: on America's southern.
- 2:46Speaker 1: Border, and with that she started her organization, the Haitian
- 2:51Speaker 1: Bridge Alliance. Oh here's what their website says. The Haitian
- 2:54Speaker 1: Bridge Alliance HbA, also known as The Bridge, as a grassroots,
- 2:58Speaker 1: nonprofit community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration
- 3:02Speaker 1: policies and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal and
- 3:06Speaker 1: social services, with a particular focus on black people, the
- 3:09Speaker 1: Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA plus individuals and survivors
- 3:15Speaker 1: of torture and other human rights abuse. It goes on,
- 3:18Speaker 1: we focus on the issues unique to black migrants and
- 3:21Speaker 1: build solidarity and collective movement toward policy change. We work
- 3:25Speaker 1: closely with the black migrant communities throughout the United States
- 3:28Speaker 1: progressive coalitions fighting anti blackness and advocate locally, nationally, and
- 3:33Speaker 1: internationally for fair and just immigration policies. We're working to
- 3:37Speaker 1: end racist border policies like the Remain in Mexico policy
- 3:40Speaker 1: Title forty two and the Border to Prison and Deportation Pipeline.
- 3:44Speaker 1: We advocate for the expansion of TPS, protection for more communities, DACA,
- 3:48Speaker 1: and an overhaul of the asylum system that centers dignity
- 3:52Speaker 1: and passion, not cruelty. Since twenty sixteen, HbA has regularly
- 3:56Speaker 1: brought delegations of lawyers, doctors, and other volunteers to the
- 3:59Speaker 1: same Diego Tijuana border to provide humanitarian relief to Haitian
- 4:03Speaker 1: and other black migrants from Africa. We also work with
- 4:07Speaker 1: Haitian migrants in Tapatula, Mexico, and were the first organizations
- 4:10Speaker 1: on the ground during the Del Rio emergency. We aim
- 4:14Speaker 1: to transform the perception of the border from the misguided
- 4:16Speaker 1: stereotype that it only impacts a certain set of people
- 4:19Speaker 1: to Transamerican global space that includes black people, because immigration
- 4:24Speaker 1: is a black issue.
- 4:25Speaker 2: And here is a bit directly about Joseph and her
- 4:27Speaker 2: work within the organization quote with many hands, that work
- 4:32Speaker 2: is light. This Haitian proverb serves as Garlin Joseph's inspiration
- 4:35Speaker 2: and the vision behind the Haitian Bridge Alliance in twenty fifteen.
- 4:38Speaker 2: Garlin is a human rights advocate who dedicates her life
- 4:41Speaker 2: to bringing awareness to issues that affect us all locally
- 4:44Speaker 2: and globally, such as immigration, domestic violence, child sexual abuse,
- 4:48Speaker 2: and other human rights issues. And she and her organization
- 4:52Speaker 2: have been doing their continuous work in order to get
- 4:54Speaker 2: justice and help for the migrant community, and part of
- 4:57Speaker 2: that work has been to fight against Title FI two
- 5:00Speaker 2: in the US, which was finally lifted in twenty twenty three,
- 5:03Speaker 2: but a lot of heavy stipulations were still put into place.
- 5:06Speaker 1: Right and just a note, Title forty two is quote
- 5:10Speaker 1: created to address public health and social welfare and grants
- 5:13Speaker 1: the government the ability to take emergency action in numerous ways,
- 5:16Speaker 1: including to stop the introduction of communical diseases. While the
- 5:21Speaker 1: code has been in place for decades, it was used
- 5:23Speaker 1: widely beginning in March twenty twenty by the administration of
- 5:27Speaker 1: then President Donald Trump in order to regulate border crossings
- 5:30Speaker 1: under the premise of increased COVID nineteen precautions. The Trump
- 5:34Speaker 1: administration used Title forty two essentially to override immigration law
- 5:38Speaker 1: that allowed people to ask for asylum after entering illegally
- 5:42Speaker 1: and said we could send them back across the border,
- 5:45Speaker 1: arguing that taking micros into custody and federal facilities would
- 5:49Speaker 1: create more of a public health risk. And that was
- 5:52Speaker 1: from the PBS article.
- 5:54Speaker 2: And recently, Joseph and the bridge helped bring a lawsuit
- 5:57Speaker 2: against the current administration for quote, racial discrimination and rights
- 6:01Speaker 2: violations of Haitian asylum seekers. In truthout dot org, they
- 6:05Speaker 2: write the suit was brought on behalf of eleven Haitian
- 6:07Speaker 2: asylum seekers who were abused by US border agents as
- 6:10Speaker 2: more than fifteen thousand people, mostly from Haiti, were forced
- 6:13Speaker 2: to stay in a makeshift border encampment on the banks
- 6:16Speaker 2: of the Rio Grande near the Acuna del Rio International
- 6:18Speaker 2: Bridge in Texas. One of the plaintiffs is Mirard Joseph,
- 6:23Speaker 2: the asylum seeker whose image went viral after being photographed
- 6:26Speaker 2: while a border patrol agent on horseback lashed him with
- 6:29Speaker 2: split reins, grabbed his neck, and gripped Joseph by the
- 6:33Speaker 2: shirt collar.
- 6:34Speaker 1: Right, And they quoted Joseph in that article, as her saying,
- 6:38Speaker 1: this is a critical junction in our country here in
- 6:40Speaker 1: the United States, as we make sure to uphold human
- 6:42Speaker 1: rights and understanding seeking asylum is a human right. We
- 6:46Speaker 1: will continue to push forward and make sure that accountability
- 6:49Speaker 1: is served, but also we have systematic change in the
- 6:51Speaker 1: way that we receive people in the United States, and
- 6:55Speaker 1: just as a side, the lawsuit was originally filed in
- 6:57Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, but was just her last week, and according.
- 7:01Speaker 2: To the transcript from the hearing, Joseph testified for what
- 7:04Speaker 2: they were asking for in that hearing quote, there are
- 7:07Speaker 2: a few things we are asking for. We'll be able
- 7:10Speaker 2: to share more as the case continues, but one of
- 7:12Speaker 2: the things we are asking is accountability, justice for those
- 7:15Speaker 2: people to be able to get a fair access to
- 7:17Speaker 2: protection as they continue to barely survive because the conditions
- 7:21Speaker 2: in Haiti continue to be extremely difficult, and the deportation
- 7:24Speaker 2: and expulsions of those people were found to be unacceptable.
- 7:27Speaker 2: So we will continue to fight and we are grateful
- 7:30Speaker 2: that the judge listened to our request to continue this case.
- 7:32Speaker 2: And even though the government said that our case had
- 7:35Speaker 2: no basis, and what the world saw is that what
- 7:38Speaker 2: we witnessed, but we will continue to push forward and
- 7:41Speaker 2: make sure that accountability is served. But also we have
- 7:44Speaker 2: systematic change in the way that we receive people in
- 7:47Speaker 2: the United States and making sure we have a fair,
- 7:50Speaker 2: just immigration system where people can continue to seek asylum
- 7:54Speaker 2: and seek protection.
- 8:05Speaker 1: Obviously, she and her organization are quite busy again, like
- 8:10Speaker 1: we said, last week was the hearing in front of
- 8:12Speaker 1: the judges. And just to add to her mini roles,
- 8:15Speaker 1: here's a bit of information on other things that Joseph
- 8:18Speaker 1: has been a part of and continues to do. According
- 8:21Speaker 1: to her biography on docs dot house dot gov. Miss
- 8:24Speaker 1: Joseph created Tales from the US Mexico, Borderlands and Beyond
- 8:27Speaker 1: and Immigration Information Session focusing on Black immigrants and the
- 8:31Speaker 1: Borderlands and Beyond. She is also a co creator of
- 8:34Speaker 1: Faith and Action and Immigration Justice Movement in Southern California,
- 8:38Speaker 1: a four part immigration program for both impacted communities and allies.
- 8:42Speaker 1: Miss Joseph uses her platform FYI for Your Inspiration Radio
- 8:47Speaker 1: located in Mission Behill with correspondence in Africa to give
- 8:51Speaker 1: a voice to the voiceless coast to coast and around
- 8:53Speaker 1: the world. Miss Joseph also served as an advisory member
- 8:56Speaker 1: to Voices against Violence and their efforts to prevent domestic
- 8:59Speaker 1: violence in California and around the world. She was a
- 9:02Speaker 1: chairwoman of Award and Action from twenty thirteen to twenty nineteen,
- 9:05Speaker 1: a nonprofit organization that aims to prevent and decrease the
- 9:08Speaker 1: occurrence of child sexual abuse.
- 9:11Speaker 2: And here are some accolades she has received. According to
- 9:13Speaker 2: the National Alliance for Advancement of Haitian Professionals quote, Miss
- 9:17Speaker 2: Joseph was named one of Politico's twenty twenty one forty
- 9:20Speaker 2: most Influential people on race, politics, and policy in the
- 9:23Speaker 2: United States for her leadership and is the recipient of
- 9:26Speaker 2: prestigious awards, most recently the LOSS America's twenty twenty one
- 9:30Speaker 2: Border Heroes Award, the twenty twenty one Robert F. Kennedy
- 9:33Speaker 2: Human Rights Award, the twenty twenty two National Haitian American
- 9:36Speaker 2: Elected Officials Network Community Champion Award, and the twenty twenty
- 9:40Speaker 2: two American Immigration Lawyers Associations Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award.
- 9:46Speaker 2: That's quite unmouthful, but she deserves all of those awards.
- 9:50Speaker 1: And war you know, I know these awards are great,
- 9:53Speaker 1: but the fact that we have to attach people's names
- 9:55Speaker 1: on it and make it even longer instead of vagueous
- 9:59Speaker 1: America Immigration Lawyers Association Human Rights Award. I feel like
- 10:05Speaker 1: I nailed the last You nailed everything about that anyway.
- 10:10Speaker 1: And by the way, these are just her recent awards.
- 10:13Speaker 1: She has a bigger list like started like way back
- 10:15Speaker 1: early two thousands, like twenty nineteen, like she received so
- 10:18Speaker 1: many more that were just not going down the list.
- 10:21Speaker 1: She doesn't have a Wikipedia page, which is horrifying to
- 10:24Speaker 1: me because I'm like, she's one these accolades I don't understand.
- 10:29Speaker 1: And she's doing so much work with Haitian community and
- 10:33Speaker 1: the immigrant situation. Obviously again doing some amazing things. She
- 10:38Speaker 1: was testifying in front of the White House as well.
- 10:41Speaker 1: I think she actually had a whole thing where it
- 10:43Speaker 1: was presented to President Biden as well in these conversations
- 10:48Speaker 1: and again had a huge part in taking down or
- 10:51Speaker 1: making sure that title forty two was autsigned, resigned, or renewed.
- 10:56Speaker 1: And I think it actually went away in twenty twenty three.
- 10:58Speaker 1: So it was supposed to go in a way in
- 11:00Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, but it stuck around the under the
- 11:03Speaker 1: guys at COVID. This is a COVID measure, which is
- 11:07Speaker 1: abhorrent anyway, But yes, amazing works from garyln Joseph, and
- 11:13Speaker 1: I'm sure we're gonna hear a lot more, especially with
- 11:15Speaker 1: that case.
- 11:16Speaker 2: Yes, and if any listeners, because I know we've talked
- 11:19Speaker 2: about this before, if you have the time and the
- 11:22Speaker 2: interest of making a Wikipedia page, you can. Here's a suggestion.
- 11:29Speaker 2: And if you have any suggestions for us for people
- 11:32Speaker 2: we could cover in the segment or organizations we could cover,
- 11:36Speaker 2: you can let us know. You can email us at
- 11:37Speaker 2: Stephanie momsteffantiheartmedia dot com. You can find us on Twitter
- 11:40Speaker 2: at momsue podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff
- 11:42Speaker 2: One Ever Told You. We have a tea public story
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- 11:46Speaker 2: get your books. Thanks us always to our super producer Christina,
- 11:49Speaker 2: executive producer Maya, and your contributor Joey. Thank you and
- 11:52Speaker 2: thanks to you for listening. Stefan Never Told You is
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