Southern University: Hip-Hop & Politics
This podcast was born from Dr. Eugene Lee-Johnson's Hip-Hop & Black Politics class at Southern University. Throughout the semester, the students learn how White supremacy impacts each part of their lives and how fate and group consciousness work to influence Black political participation. In tandem, the students will speak about specific topics (the media, gendered racism, the history of American racism, etc.) from class and how they influence their lives. We hope you enjoy!
Southern University: Hip-Hop & Politics
Global Pathways: Journey to Immigration
As your guides, we navigate the intricate process of assimilation and integration within the United States, shedding light on the historical immigration policies that have shaped the nation. We confront the barriers of language, cultural norms, and systemic biases, while reflecting on how host communities can bridge the gap between foreign and familiar. This episode peels back the layers of the U.S. immigration system, exposing the privileges, racism, and xenophobia that contribute to the marginalization of immigrants, and the importance of fostering understanding and inclusion across all sectors of society.
In our final chapter, we champion the call for comprehensive immigration reform and the cultivation of an inclusive environment. We discuss the critical roles played by political leaders and public figures in advocating for policies that resonate with our values of family unity and human rights. Join us as we share personal encounters with discrimination and inspire a call to action for marginalized communities to stand united against prejudice. This episode is an invitation to embrace cultural diversity, understanding, and mutual respect, championing these principles as the keystones of a truly united and vibrant nation.
Hello everybody, welcome to our podcast, Global Pathways Journey of Immigration. My name is Ryan.
Speaker 2:And my name is Raelynn.
Speaker 1:And today we'll be talking about immigration, what it is and the reasons people migrate, and you know all kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:So yeah, and basically how we can help or bring change to the issues of immigration. So first we can talk about what immigration is.
Speaker 1:Immigration is the act of individuals relocating to another nation to reside there permanently or semi-permanently in, to basically have a better life and people migrate for a multitude of different reasons, but just to name a few the pursuit of education, reuniting with family, escape persecution or conflict and economic instability, just to name a few the pursuit of education.
Speaker 2:People migrate to america for better education opportunities. We have many diverse universities, academic programs and basically more opportunity for like research and career advancement. People want to reunite with their families, because many people from different countries migrate to america to reunite with their families and basically just to support one another and build a better future future like um generally, and it's typically already hard You're migrating from your native country already to somewhere that is already unfamiliar to you.
Speaker 1:So there are a lot of different things that play into discrimination and the things that people have to deal with, and religious persecution is definitely one, especially in many parts of the world.
Speaker 1:Widespread discrimination and violence against people based on their ethnicity, religion and other identities does play into or factor into, um, just people's overall perspective of moving and trying to better themselves, or just trying to, I don't know, just trying to escape, like systemic persecution from you know where they came from. Basically, an example would be the Baha'i, the Baha'i members in Iran, which are subject to systemic discrimination, excuse me and harassment and persecution from their government. They face arbitrary arrest and imprisonment for exercising their faith, as well as being denied access to higher education and employment opportunities. Because of the large number of Baha'is, they have left in Iran and applied for asylum in the US, they are free to practice their faith without worrying about being persecuted. This is definitely something that is a big issue, especially because not even just immigrants, but, um, even people that are us citizens tend to face religious persecution just for having a different faith, like there's more than one faith, than it's just being christianity or you know things like that.
Speaker 2:So it definitely does factor into the issues that are coming about not only do immigrants leave their country for religious purposes, they also leave for violence and conflict. Millions of people are forced to leave their homes every year due to armed conflict, civil war and widespread violence in these regions. People fleeing to save for nations do so out of fear of violence, uprooting themselves and losing loved ones.
Speaker 1:The Global Peace Index provides information about areas that are impacted by violence and conflict as opposed to this issue, and according to their degrees of peace and stability. Significant numbers of refugees and asylum seekers come from nations like South Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria that are embroiled into protracted conflicts. Countries like Mexico, El Salvador and Nigeria have significant migration flows to the US, and this definitely plays into the violence and persecution that people face coming into a different region than what they're used to economic instability and immigrants migrate to countries like the US because they have better, they have a better chance of getting out of poverty and their countries may be limited in economic opportunities.
Speaker 2:So we all hear that in the US they don't have to pay as much taxes as actual native born United States people. So it's better for them to migrate to our countries and just get a better opportunity and a better life at, basically in finances yes and to say that people move here for a better life and, you know, better employment, wages and things like that.
Speaker 1:The unemployment rate has risen to about three point two percent, suggesting the decline in wages, which caused long term decline in labor force participation. Um, people, it's just a lot of different factors that play into people coming here for a better life but all having to have all these different blockades and like barriers that keep them from achieving such things. Because, you know, people sell this thing of the American dream and being able to do better for yourself, do better for your family and be able to, you know, bring your family over, and just all these different things, and just almost like selling a fantasy. But then you get here and it's like all these different things that just make it twice as hard to be able to do what you need to do just like anybody else. Right, and because of this, the lack of employment during recessions and currency devaluations ultimately destabilized communities.
Speaker 2:And, like she said, like the American dream is a great concept, a great dream. However, in order to go to better countries, you need visas, you need residency permits to stay here or you'll have to be deported back to your country, which is a very, really big barrier that we're going to get into later mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:And economically it's really unfortunate because immigrants make up majority of the labor markets in the US and without immigrants, a lot of what we see, or different products and things that we see on the shelves and stuff wouldn't even be made possible if it weren't for immigrants like they come here, they know how to use their hands and different things and being able to again going back to trying to make a better life for themselves. They make a majority of the market and are treated the worst they actually make up. Sorry not to cut you off, but immigrants actually make up 25 of the global output and the us make up five percent. That make up the long-term contribution to economic growth and stated.
Speaker 2:Like I said before, um, getting legal documentation is a very big step that a lot of immigrants happen to miss, which is why we have such a big issue in america when it comes to illegal and undocumented immigrants.
Speaker 1:And this is where we get into a lot of undocumented immigrants and this is where we get into a lot of american immigration issues because of not being properly documented or just properly properly cared for when coming to this country and, with immigration being such a complicated topic, a few important issues that are definitely something to be talked about or touched on would be the border security and unauthorized immigration, social integration and cultural cohesion, as you said before, the legal politics of it, the legal and policy changes and the economic impact, as we just talked about, in job competition For border security.
Speaker 1:The issues of border security and unauthorized immigration remains a central concern, especially with debates over enforcement measures, immigration policies and the influx of immigrants. And going back to like what I said before, just making things twice as hard to be able to just make a better life for yourself and even for the fact that people know, like you're migrating from a different country or region, like people already have preconceived notions about who you are and, like you know, stereotypes have a um play a big role into that as well and just causing issues of like um, of being overly surveilled, and that definitely causes issues to well.
Speaker 2:To the underlying issues at hand dealing with immigration yes, our former president, donald j trump, built his whole campaign on building a physical barrier between mexico and the united states to to prevent illegal immigration, and just to prevent not only that, but like prevent drug smuggling, human trafficking. And he also wanted to protect the American jobs in their communities, which we'll get into later.
Speaker 1:Yes, uh, yes, and the research by economics economists excuse me, george borjas and david card explored the impact of immigration on the labor markets, with studies suggesting positive and negative effects on the wages and employment um, such as skill levels within the industry. And immigration alone just raises questions about the social integration and cultural cohesion that immigrants face when coming into the US or different places that they choose to migrate to, because, again, like I said, of preconceived notions and concerns that people already have about them and debates over identity, assimilation, multiculturalism and just overall community cohesion and really how they interact, how they fit into this idea of, as the US would put it, homogeneity, because the Immigration Act of 1924 was made to maintain a certain quote-unquote look and basically all these different factors that go into keeping immigrants in check, such as being overly surveilled and the visa restrictions, uh, and things like of that nature, basically just has to do with keeping a certain kind of look and almost keeping people in check yeah and like, like she said, uh, americans.
Speaker 2:Well, america wants to keep a certain look, but we have to realize that when people come from different countries, they have different cultures. We have language barriers that prohibit us from being really one.
Speaker 1:Like social, cultural norms, values and expectations are different between immigrants and our community, leading to misunderstandings, conflict and social tension and for our country, so built on the idea of um land of the free and being able to express yourself and have all these different ideas, with no some, with no sort of censorship, just the cultural differences and expectations that people have from immigrants.
Speaker 1:It's like people just aren't as accepting, which I mean everyone didn't grow up in the same environment, didn't have, don't have the same ideals or beliefs. But there's always this push and pull of understanding, like where people are coming from, or understanding like why people do the things that they do. But it's not necessarily for us to understand, but the language barriers as well, um, differences in the languages can hinder the communication and interaction between immigrants and their host community. Therefore, going back to community cohesion, people just making it a little bit harder for them to integrate into society, a society they're already unfamiliar and unaware of. So just making people as uncomfortable as possible and making things harder for them. It just takes on a whole different perspective of land of the free.
Speaker 2:Quote-unquote and to piggyback off of what you said, I think it is a responsibility for the host community of america to understand immigrants that come from different countries, because how are we gonna be more cohesive and more united if we don't learn different languages, or learn or understand where people are coming from, or understand their cultural norms and just be more aware of how we handle people?
Speaker 1:Yes, and the whole idea is perspective and really being able to understand other people's perspective, like we go through life all day, every day, knowing other people's perspective because we're ours, is ours matters, but ours isn't the only one that matters, like different people have different perspectives, and just things like this definitely contribute to the feelings of alienation, alienation, excuse me, marginalization and just cultural identity and struggles that immigrants face when they come to countries like the US, because, again, like I said, for a country that's so open to the idea, like you know, come on and everybody, just you know, join in and you know, love and hugs, and it's just not as welcoming and as comforting as people make it seem yes, and not only do we see that in uh society, we also see that in like politics and the legality of everything and the complexity of immigration laws um your bureaucratic processes and policy debates on changing immigration laws and changing how we handle people and how we react to those certain things and reports by organizations like the american immigration council and the migration policy institute document the complexities and shortcomings of us immigration systems and therefore highlighting issues such as like we, like you said earlier visa blockages, asylum processing delays and the need for just comprehensive reform overall.
Speaker 1:The us immigration system is often categorized by patchwork of laws and regulations. Um, they just lead to inconsistencies in processing applications and resolving immigration cases. Again, hate to sound like a broken record, but again just making it twice as hard for people to really just be able to do the simple things that they need to do, like I understand all the paperwork and things that go into it, but it shouldn't have to be jumping through hoops and going through hell and high water to make a better life for yourself. When they may, when it's no different, like if it was somebody that was white, I mean the connections that they may have not saying everybody has the same connections, but just because of that white privilege, things are made a little bit easier and I feel like that's not something to stray away from as well, because it's something that we see every day, whether you know people know it or not. Hopefully they're aware enough to see and understand that you know that plays and factors into the issues at hand.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and I just don't understand why should it be such a strenuous process to get visas and, you know, resident residency permits? If we want to keep the security and safety of this country, I think that would be like the first thing that immigrants, or illegal and even illegal immigrants should go through is to really try to get like their visas so we understand who's coming into the country. If security is such a big thing for us, why is it such a long process to not, you know, help these people out or see where they're coming from and see how how they got to this country?
Speaker 1:but racism factors a lot into that, especially because um stereotypes is all different kinds of stereotypes um about immigrants and like you know them coming from different places and things like that, and really things such as like like we see different movies and you know um things out there online or on social media, and there's all different kind of stereotypes that factor into. You know how people um see those communities and zonophobia zonophobia um particularly uh those from marginalized communities or non-english speaking backgrounds face zoonophobic attitudes and stereotypes that portray them as threats and burdens to society. But things like this lead to social exclusion and discrimination in things like employment, housing, and they're some more subject to verbal and physical harassment, again, because people have different ideals and stances on what they believe in. So when it's something that they don't understand or something that they feel is a threat to them, then it therefore causes other issues.
Speaker 2:And those same issues lead to racial profiling and just being targeted by our law enforcement. Immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, are perceived to be immigrants based on their race and ethnicity and are often subject to racial profiling and discriminatory treatment by law enforcement officers. This can result in unfair scrutiny, disproportionate arrest, detention and deportation, even in the absence of criminal activity. So even our native, like born people who come, who maybe mothers, fathers, come from different countries and then they come here and they were actually born here, they face a lot of Just different types of discrimination because of immigration and because how our legal system and our law enforcement treats immigrants.
Speaker 1:And because of that hate crime, they're more susceptible to hate crimes as well.
Speaker 1:Like they have to.
Speaker 1:It's no different than I would say, hell, really, just being black in America because you necessarily can't really go anywhere and then it's like you, you have to constantly be on your guard or like you know not like you can't live your life, but you do have to understand the environment that you're in and understand that environment that you're in and understand that, okay, walking down the street, like I'm a black man in a majority white neighborhood or I'm a black woman in a um, majority white institution or something like that, like I'm more susceptible to hate crimes, no matter how people perceive themselves, anything, like anything can happen.
Speaker 1:Like me just being black alone, like I definitely need to watch myself, even if I'm at an HBCU, depending on the, you know the area that I'm in, whether it's Louisiana or I'm up there in Mississippi or Alabama or you know different places like that. I still have to understand my environment, understand where I am and, as a woman, how things like that, how it affects me and how it affects, um, I don't know, little black boys like a little brother, a little sister. I I have two nieces and I worry about them constantly. Just you know they're little black girls, like people, aren't always as accepting or, you know, understanding of especially to what they don't know, to expect again, especially to what they don't know.
Speaker 1:You're right, we got to think about, you know, understanding of, especially to what they don't know Again especially to what they don't know.
Speaker 2:You're right, we got to think about, you know, black and brown people, like you say, our brown brothers and sisters.
Speaker 1:They are also in, like more poverty communities and environments, so the same discrimination or racism that we may face they also face that in certain areas Like again, like even with like Muslims or the LGBTQ plus community, like it's hard for people of those different sectors to walk down the street and just really enjoy themselves. Again, not to say that they can't or they can't enjoy their lives and things like that, but again, with people already having preconceived prejudice and not really be or really being afraid of what they don't understand, people are more susceptible to hate crimes because of other people's ignorance.
Speaker 1:And so because of that it just makes things a little bit harder for most, because they don't. They don't know what's coming Like. They don't know I can walk outside and somebody could just punch me in my face or, I don't know, strangle me or whatever, Like sorry, not to get really gruesome like that, but I mean things like that do happen Like women get stabbed just for telling a man no.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that could either be conceived just off race, just because she didn't want to mess with you, or you know, whatever the case may be, but it can be really anything. So it's just really a fact of staying on your guard and also just being aware of where you are, because, again, we're here here, land of the free and everything, and, you know, building a better life, like that's all fine and dandy and that's how it's, um, that's how it's shown and projected out to the world.
Speaker 2:But that's not exactly what it is, or at least that's not really how it how it's shown and how it's perceived yeah, and it's crazy for them to like come to a whole different country, whole different idealisms, to to still face certain discriminations and things and things like that and, with the nature of these things happening, it is our responsibility as advocates to be, to be like well, how could we, how could we change this?
Speaker 1:or like what, because, of course, rome wasn't building a day? But how are we able to be advocates and be stepping stones for those coming into, you know, a newer country, not necessarily knowing what to do or what to look forward to and what to necessarily expect on their day-to-day?
Speaker 2:right and I think we can do that by promoting education and awareness and, like we said in our intro, many immigrants come for educational purposes and education plays a big role in challenging stereotypes and myths and fostering empathy towards our immigrants. Schools, community organizations and media outlets can provide accurate information about immigration issues, like we're doing now, and highlight immigrant contributions to society and promote cultural understanding and appreciation.
Speaker 1:And I feel like especially us, since we because we're so young and I feel like our generation, we have more access to technology and, just, you know, social media in general, it's our responsibility to speak on issues that combat discrimination and xenophobia and things of that nature, because, especially now, people people are more out there about their racism and really being able to, um, you know, just say whatever they want. So say, quote, unquote, land of the free, and really being able to say what you want to say. I just feel like social media, especially with our generation, can help immigration by, or immigrants, just by, specifically talking on these different things and advocating for policy reform and speaking up against, you know, different things that we see that are wrong and, and I think, comprehensive immigration reform and, you know, just creating a more fair and humane um experience for those migrating to a different country.
Speaker 2:And I think people that are in the limelight and are very big and popular on social media. They need to be more aware and connect more with society and you know, if you have that platform, just speak on certain issues, especially immigration and how it's such a big thing, so people can become more aware or just like just kind of tap into like reality. You know, I think social media we live in a false sense of reality and it's just all about how we look, how much money we make, and we need to focus on more real issues to have a better and more equal society.
Speaker 1:I completely agree and I feel like social media helps us to better connect with each other, because not only can we speak on topics like this freely on different platforms like Twitter, instagram, tiktok and things like that, but it helps us to better understand that we all have similarities. Like, just because we believe in different religions or we have different politics, you'd be surprised to see who has the same interest that you do or who you know. Y'all like the same things, or same creators or same music or you know just throwing some things out there. But really being able to see the humanity in it all and understand, you know, promote tolerance and respect for all individuals, across all races, ethnicities and just regardless of background or immigration status. Because at the end of the day, that's like, that's paperwork.
Speaker 1:Like you can't see the humanity in somebody from just looking at a sheet of paper, then you can really being in front of them, sitting with them with them, talking with them, even just connecting with them on social media, like chat rooms or like twitch. Like you know, people doing all that streaming and stuff like that, like people connect in different ways, like that, and it just it helps. Social media helps to build, like I know people talk about all the negative sides of social media, but social media also helps to build community for us within each other, connect with people from different walks of life and all over the world. We're just able to have a better understanding of other people and celebrate the diversity and inclusivity of others. As well as just advocating for policy reform, comprehensive immigration reform is essential for creating fair and humane, functional immigration system. Therefore, providing legal pathways to immigration and protecting immigrants' rights addresses to the root causes of migration.
Speaker 2:Root causes of migration and just advocacy efforts that focus on policies that prioritize family unity and upholding human rights and, like we said, we need our political leaders and public figures and influencers to advocate for these policy reform and changes, because they are at the forefront of our society and they could be a big help in just creating a more diverse and equal society yes, um, embracing diversity at and just the cultural richness of immigrant communities helps to foster a sense of belonging and unity.
Speaker 1:Because the biggest thing it's already hard enough your own native land, and then you're stepping into the unknown already, but you know what's best for you, what's best for your family and just your life in general, and you want to be able to enjoy those things and just have community cohesion without the. You know the pushback or, and you know people just being able to. You know just fight, fighting against you and just because of how you look or where you come from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, like we said, immigration is a very big issue, especially in America, regarding border security, the impact on jobs and economics Just a big issue in a lot of things also, you know, when it comes to legal situations and policy challenges. So what would you say, ryan, is your personal opinion based on, like the whole discussion and just immigration in general? What would you say is your honest personal opinion about immigration?
Speaker 1:honestly, I just believe that it is. It's never right to just judge a book by its cover and just because of where somebody comes from. That doesn't give you any excuse to treat somebody like can I cuss on you? Just like shit? Like, um, it's just, it's no excuse to treat somebody like shit, especially when you don't know them and you again, you can have more in common than you really think you do.
Speaker 1:And it definitely is a team effort like to change immigration and culture on all societal levels. It takes leadership and policy advocacy and community organizing for people to really understand. And just, it's already hard coming from somewhere you don't know and people backing you, whether they know you or not, just even a group of strangers on social media advocating for you and what, just wanting the best for you, like it makes all the difference. It really does and it really starts with us as a generation, because once we change our outlook and our perspective on things, we're better able to, um, just be more inclusive with other people, and that's just not even with just immigrants, that's with anybody from any culture, any ethnicity, whatever the case may be, religion, whatever, whatever it is. It just helps you better connect with people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just think honestly. We are both black. I think, as black individuals, we face a lot of discrimination and I feel like, ok, if we both are two communities that face discrimination, why not we team up together to help each other out and we both fight, you know, discrimination against our community, because in a lot of poverty communities it is black and brown people. So I just feel like we need to help each other and team up to just basically move forward and be more inclusive with each other. I think, you know, if we recognize and accept immigrants as people of our society, then it would just help us a lot in terms of, like, education, discrimination, legislative changes, uh, assisting immigrant communities, diversity and just a lot of things because, whether people believe it or not, that's essential to our community and just really our society in general, and just really being able to just come together like it's.
Speaker 1:You can't just be one-sided about things like my, like my dad always tell me, um, I have like this Pollyanna view of things, or like I just see things more so it's like just black and white and things are not like that. Like you have to open your mind and be understanding to. You know not just people but their beliefs and you know what they come with, because everybody's not cut from the same cloth. You know what I'm saying. So it's just, you have to be more open-minded to ultimately just be a better person and really just be a better friend, partner, whatever the case may be. But ultimately it's better to be open-minded because it just helps us better connect and just um, just mesh together better yeah, if we're such a diverse society, you know we need to act as such.
Speaker 2:We need to accept people's differences and just try to understand them. We're not going to be able to like accept somebody if we don't understand how they even cook their food or something.
Speaker 1:We just need to understand and be more aware of other people, especially people that do come from other countries and culturally as well, because where we lack, somebody else from a different culture can definitely pick up and teach us different things that you know maybe we might not have known. It helps make us better just as a country or just as people, period, because you have to be able to mesh with people and just better understand them in order to hell even just walk around and just kind of go about your daily life, like even people you don't agree with in the classroom or you know your peers and stuff like that. Y'all have different. You know ideas, ideals, at the end of the day, but y'all are still able to come together and you know, talk as friends or hang out and, um, just be able to be in the same room, the same community as each other.
Speaker 2:But you, there's a mutual respect, and I feel like that's where, um, we as a country are lacking when it comes to the mutual respect so, all in all, we just need to be more respectful, more aware and more inclusive to, you know, people coming from different countries, even people who are native to this country. Just be more nicer and more kinder to people. Yeah, this has been a episode of global pathways, the journey of immigration.
Speaker 1:Thank you for thank you for coming.