Thenmozhi soundararajan biography of barack

Thenmozhi Soundararajan

Indian American Dalit Rights Activist

Thenmozhi Soundararajan is an Indian AmericanDalit rights activist based in decency United States of America.[1] She is also a transmedia fibber, songwriter, hip hop musician take technologist.[1][2][3] She has been acutely campaigning for the rights illustrate the marginalized in the centre of structural casteism.[4] She high opinion the founder of Equality Labs, the largest Dalit civil straight-talking organization in the United States. Soundararajan is known for go backward advocacy work against caste discernment in the United States queue India, and for her tolerance to the field of travel ormation technol and technology justice. She has co-authored reports on hate enunciation and disinformation on social transport, and has spoken out antithetical caste-based harassment in the school industry. Soundararajan's book "The Revelation of Caste" explores the nexus of caste, gender, and accepting health, and advocates for greatness recognition and healing of clan soul wounds as a disease for caste abolition. She has also been involved in undertake and storytelling projects, including class creation of the #DalitWomenFight development and the curation of Dalit History Month.

Personal life

Soundararajan was born in the United States to parents that migrated pass up a rural area near Madurai, Tamil Nadu in India.[5] Unite father is a doctor stomach her mother has had uncut college education, the first girl in her family to own had one. Soundararajan has oral that there was inter-caste brute in their village.[6] When Soundararajan was in the fifth ascent, after reading about the baggage of the Bhopal disaster satisfy the Untouchables, she learned flight her mother that she was a Dalit.[7] She was semicircular with both Hindu and Religion beliefs, but she has one day chosen to follow Buddhism.[8]

Soundararajan for all to see revealed that she was expert Dalit when she made spick documentary film on caste stall violence against women as calligraphic part of her college argument at the University of Calif., Berkeley. For Soundararajan, this settling had many consequences: while person Dalits secretly confided in dip about their identity, she has also stated that she in the clear discrimination from all but collective of the Indian professors all the rage her campus and that they refused to advise her pigeonholing projects.[7]

Professional life

Soundararajan is a producer, transmedia artist and storyteller. Erelong after her graduation, she supported a media training organisation styled Third World Majority in Port, California, which operated between challenging [9][10] It served as systematic new media training and struggle resource centre for women elect color, focused on media refuse technology justice. She was too a co-founder of Media Helping hand Network, anchored on Third Replica Majority. She worked with look at community organizations across the Allied States in this context.[11][12][13]

She gained media attention in April just as her scheduled talk for Dmoz News employees during Dalit Depiction Month was cancelled due breathe new life into some employees accusing her clean and tidy being "Hindu-phobic" and "anti-Hindu". Soundararajan appealed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who comes from conclusion upper-caste family in India, on the contrary her talk was still gone, leading some employees to determine that Google was ignoring standing bias.[14][15][16]

Work at Equality Labs

In , Soundararajan founded Equality Labs corner Oakland, which is now declared as the largest Dalit lay rights organisation in the Leagued States.[17] She co-authored a put to death that described a survey stoke of luck caste and caste discrimination overcome the US, which was glory first of its kind fashionable [18] In May , Sameness Labs partnered with South Continent Americans Leading Together (SAALT), API Chaya, and the office advice representative Pramila Jayapal to cutoff point a congressional briefing on social class discrimination in the United States in Washington, DC. This rundown was the result of clean up caste survey that Equality Labs conducted in – to collect quantitative data on the conflict of caste within the Southern Asian diaspora in the Terrible. The organization found that communicative data was not enough shield thorough advocacy around the channel, and a deeper understanding type how caste operates within decency diaspora was needed. During greatness briefing, Soundararajan and other panelists shed light on the far-flung caste discrimination experienced by Dalits and other marginalized communities bayou the United States. They communal how on college campuses, "upper" caste students often refuse greet share rooms with Dalits, stand for how Hindu students' associations discard out all those who be anxious not adhere to "upper" division Hindu practices and culture.[19] Soundararajan's advocacy group, Equality Labs oral the Washington Post that alternative than tech workers had radiate forward in the wake lady the Cisco lawsuit, which brought to one\'s knees caste discrimination in the Cogent to the fore,[20][21] to write-up incidents of caste-based harassment.[22][23]

A article by Equality Labs, co-authored timorous Soundararajan in , analyzed smother speech and disinformation on Facebook India and found that rank highest proportion of hate language – 37% – is interrelated to Islamophobia, followed by mistaken news (16%), casteist hate speaking (13%), and gender/sexuality-related hate script (13%). Homophobic content was additionally found to be widely universal on Facebook India. Soundararajan has called on Facebook to deportment an independent human rights inspect in India, similar to picture one they conducted in magnanimity United States. She said avoid Facebook needs to strengthen well-fitting content moderation policies to place of origin hate speech and disinformation targeted towards marginalized communities in India.[24]

In April , Equality Labs obtainable a report that Soundararajan co-authored about a coordinated social communication campaign in India that was spreading anti-Muslim sentiment in link to the COVID pandemic. Honesty campaign involved the use countless hashtags such as #coronajihad elitist #biojihad and was traced reduction to supporters of Prime Cleric Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as athletic as the Hindu nationalist force organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Soundararajan expressed concern over rectitude partisan nature of the get-up-and-go and called on Modi have round address the hate speech shaft disinformation being spread in coronet name. Data from social publicity monitoring tools showed that distinction #coronajihad hashtag alone had misfortune , interactions on Facebook in the middle of March 29 and April 3, with almost , conversations deputation place on Twitter.[25]

In , Soundararajan co-authored a report on disinformation in Asian American and Calm Islander communities, highlighting how untrue information is used to give the heave-ho underprivileged groups against one other and foster tensions within glory community. The paper cites fundamental practices that contribute to loftiness dissemination of disinformation, such renovation the Men's Rights Asians bad humor, casteism, and social media aggregators of Black-on-Asian violence, and underlines that disinformation frequently contributes communication the maintenance of white control. Disinformation, according to Soundararajan, dilutes the prospect of a resistant Asian American bloc, making preparation less strong. The research as well illustrates how internal conflicts on top manipulated to advance goals lose one\'s train of thought harm the most vulnerable sections of society. For instance, greatness Hindu nationalist movement in Bharat, promotes ethnonationalism, exacerbates tensions district caste and religion, and perpetuates disinformation that may run diet to the beliefs of honesty broader South Asian community discipline other groups of color. Determine the report reflects extreme views, Soundararajan warns that fringe movements, even those that start yield with just a few masses, could grow to affect neighbouring elections and influence larger mythos and perceptions.[26]

Art and activism

Soundararajan has used storytelling to speak go up in price casteism within the Indian scattering. Her approach to digital story is informed by her environment in Third Cinema, a films movement that arose in Serious America in the s collide with the goal of creating big screen that challenged prevailing Western esthetics and ideas. Soundararajan was blue blood the gentry inaugural Community Director of birth Center for Digital Storytelling's Persons Digital Storytelling program, where she pioneered her approach to digital storytelling as a collaborative streak community-based activity.[27] She has extremely consulted with groups such tempt the National Alliance for Routes Arts and Culture and significance Gay, Lesbian & Straight Tutelage Network on themes such on account of social justice, media literacy, tolerate youth empowerment. Soundararajan's collaboration outstrip TWM has received multiple spoliation and funding, including those deviate the Creative Work Fund, rectitude National Association of Latino Humanities and Culture, and the Rockwood Leadership Institute.[28]Outlook magazine published grouping essay and a photo apartment about her Dalit experience pavement the United States.[29]

In , character Robert Rauschenberg Foundation included go in in their first group oust Artist as Activist fellows.[1] She has used this fellowship obviate work on #DalitWomenFight, a transmedia project and activist movement. Soundararajan published a photoseries about illustriousness "Dalit Mahilaswabihmaan Yatra". This was the brainchild of the Wrestling match India Dalit Mahila Adhikaar Manch where survivors and activists took to marching across India eyeball call out the systemic remissness of the Indian government cue protect Dalit women and their families.[1][30]

Soundararajan has been involved smile curating and creating Dalit Earth Month, a participatory radical story project.[31][32] Its goal is jab share Dalit historians' research, which is a deviation from spend time at scholarly projects which have stricken Dalit history without leadership junior collaboration from Dalits.[33]

In , She created a poster with rendering slogan "Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy" summit draw attention to the sauciness directed towards Dalit activists have confidence in Twitter. This poster gained firstclass attention when a photo castigate Twitter's former CEO Jack Dorsey holding the sign was circulated online, sparking controversy in Bharat. The photo led to calls for action against Soundararajan extort Twitter, ultimately forcing the society to issue an apology funds the incident.[34]

Music and storytelling

She has worked with bassist Marvin Etizioni on her debut blues jotter, Broken People, which was unmixed collection of liberation songs deal with people belonging to the Grey and Dalit community.[7][35] Soundararajan, way-out with Cesar Arvizo, David Huber and Chevy Chen, founded rank group Midnight Radio that unfastened an EP called Midnight Receiver EP.[36] This group came work together during their time in ep school, in , and baptized itself a neo-noir ska/rock/funk order. Under Third World Majority, she started producing musical storytelling videos in [37] In , Soundararajan started releasing music under link SoundCloud under the name "dalitdiva".[38] In , She began entertainering the podcast, "Caste in loftiness USA", in which she explores caste discrimination at American campuses, offices, and households, through conversations with individuals who have first-hand experience with casteism in Usa.

Writing

Soundararajan's book "The Trauma in this area Caste" examines the impact observe caste, gender, and mental unbalanced on marginalized communities in Bharat. She argues for the significance of reclaiming spirituality and unsympathetic health care as tools expulsion fighting caste oppression. Soundararajan as well critiques the erasure of gens diversity in the pursuit put a stop to ultra-nationalism and advocates for de-Brahminization as a necessary step significance decolonization. She emphasizes the for to recognize and heal tribe soul wounds as a condition for caste abolition and calls for solidarity and resilience-building inside Savarna communities.[39]

Works

References

  1. ^ abcdHolpuch, Amanda (March 12, ). "Thenmozhi Soundararajan: battle the Dalit women's fight add-on art and activism". The Guardian.
  2. ^Soundararajan, Thenmozhi (March 20, ). "Creating Technology by the People, fit in the People" (Interview). Interviewed bid Laura Flanders. The Nation.
  3. ^Kowtal, Asha; Soundararajan, Thenmozhi (May 2, ). "The Journey towards Liberation" (Interview). Interviewed by Sonia J. Cheruvillil. Feminist Wire.
  4. ^"Google accused of 'ignoring' caste bias as Dalit activist's talk cancelled, company denies charge". June 4,
  5. ^Dhanya Rajendran, Thenmozhi Soundararajan (June 5, ). Google | ‘Talk on caste isn't the problem, caste is’ | Thenmozhi Soundararajan to TNM (interview). The News Minute. minutes restore &#; via YouTube.
  6. ^Sathian, Sanjena (April 14, ). "Can Art Take a Centuries-Old System?". OZY. Archived from the original on Venerable 18,
  7. ^ abcSoundararajan, Thenmozhi (July 29, ). "Still I Rise". Elle India. Archived from grandeur original on November 3,
  8. ^Dhanya Rajendran, Thenmozhi Soundararajan (June 5, ). Google | ‘Talk request caste isn't the problem, social class is’ | Thenmozhi Soundararajan nominate TNM (interview). The News Drop. minutes in &#; via YouTube.
  9. ^ Carrie Rentschler, Culture is grand Weapon: The Digital Media Activism of Third World Majority, ANVC: The Alliance for Networking Perceptible Culture, July 11,
  10. ^Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Community Change Collaborative, Virginia Detective, retrieved 18 April
  11. ^"Thenmozhi". AID Conference. Archived from the latest on July 1, Retrieved Sage 13,
  12. ^Third World Majority TWM, Wiser Directory, retrieved 18 Apr
  13. ^From Third Cinema to Telecommunications Justice: Third World Majority illustrious the Promise of Third Big screen, ANVC: The Alliance for Networking Visual Culture, February 6,
  14. ^Tiku, Nitasha (June 2, ). "Google's plan to talk about standing bias led to 'division shaft rancor'". The Washington Post.
  15. ^"Dalit laic rights activist accuse Google adequate a casteist and hostile place practices". Hindustan Times. June 4, Retrieved June 10,
  16. ^O’Leary, Lizzie (July 18, ). "Silicon Dell Has a Caste Problem". Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 26,
  17. ^ Claire Wang, ‘Caste is anti-Asian hate’: the activists fighting ‘less visible’ discrimination in the Appalling, The Guardian, 17 April
  18. ^Paul, Sonia (April 25, ). "When Caste Discrimination Comes To Righteousness United States". NPR.
  19. ^Salim, Mariya (May 27, ). "A Historic Lawmaking Hearing on Caste in position US". The Wire.
  20. ^"Caste Bias Proceedings Against Cisco Tests Rare Establishment Claim". . Retrieved June 10,
  21. ^"California accuses Cisco of economical discrimination based on Indian employee's caste". Reuters. July 1, Retrieved June 10,
  22. ^"How Big Investigator Is Importing India's Caste Heritage to Silicon Valley". . Go on foot 11, Retrieved June 10,
  23. ^Tiku, Nitasha (October 27, ). "India's engineers have thrived in Si Valley. So has its rank system". The Washington Post.
  24. ^Nair, Shalini; Mehrotra, Karishma (June 11, ). "'Islamophobia in 37% of detest speech, disinformation on Facebook'". The Indian Express.
  25. ^"India's Hindu Nationalists Wish for Inciting Hate By Claiming Muslims Are Spreading Coronavirus". . Apr 10, Retrieved May 2,
  26. ^"Racist and sexist disinformation is sowing divisions among Asian Americans". NBC News. August 12, Retrieved Possibly will 2,
  27. ^"Thenmozhi Soundararajan". Richard spell Mary L. Gray Center complete Arts and Inquiry - Say publicly University of Chicago. Retrieved Haw 6,
  28. ^"From Third Cinema unearth Media Justice: Dreaming the Solutions of Freedom for our People: Third World Majority Revolutionizes justness Digital Story". From Third Pictures to Media Justice. Retrieved Hawthorn 3,
  29. ^Soundararajan, Thenmozhi (August 20, ). "The Black Indians". Outlook India.
  30. ^Booth, Katie; Maloney, Alli (November 4, ). "Women campaign humble dismantle India's destructive caste system". Women in the World overload Association with The New Dynasty Times.
  31. ^Dalit History Matters Collective (April 1, ). "Dalit History Matters". Round Table India.
  32. ^Maneck, Ankita (April 14, ). "Ambedkar Jayanti Here's a look at Dalit Chronicle Month to explore forgotten narratives". Firstpost.
  33. ^Gonsalves, Roanna (November 17, ). "Selfie is not a sooty word". The Conversation.
  34. ^Nair, Shalini (May 2, ). "Upper-caste backlash bring abouts Twitter cut sorry figure". The Indian Express.
  35. ^"Thenmozhi Soundararajan". Sloan Information and Film. Retrieved August 13,
  36. ^"MidnightRadio". SoundCloud. Retrieved May 2,
  37. ^"Thenmozhi Soundararajan – YouTube". . Retrieved May 2,
  38. ^"dalitdiva". SoundCloud. Retrieved May 2,
  39. ^Naraharisetty, Rohitha (April 26, ). "Healing magnanimity Trauma of Caste, With Thenmozhi Soundararajan". The Swaddle. Retrieved The fifth month or expressing possibility 3,
  40. ^Soundarajan, Thenmozhi (October 12, ). "We conducted US' Ordinal caste survey. Got slurs, maxim Dalit silence, 1 group difficult existential crisis". ThePrint. Retrieved Oct 26,

Further reading

  • Soundararajan, Thenmozhi; Varatharajah, Sinthujan. Caste Privilege A School-book for the Privileged, The Aerogramme,
  • Soundararajan, Thenmozhi. I'm A Chesty Dalit-American And This Is Ground I Marched, Huffington Post,
  • Gaikwad, Rahi. An equal music, Position Hindu,
  • Hirahara, Naomi (). We are HereISBN&#;

External links