Rev. Irene Monroe – We The People

Trump’s ‘Shithole Countries’ Comment Gravely Impacts its LGBTQ Asylum Seekers

Rev. Irene Monroe January 29, 2018

President Trump’s proclivity for racist remarks comes as no surprise to me. His now- infamous comment stating a preference for immigrants coming from a Scandinavian country like Norway than from Africa and Haiti which he depicts as “shithole” countries with nothing to offer the U.S is based solely on his ignorance (Also, Mr. President, Africa is a continent.). As some matter-of-fact, black African immigrants are the most educated demographic group in the U.S., surpassing those of us born here- black or white. According to the Los Angeles Times, they come from five major countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South African. While […]

Columns/ Perspectives/ Top Stories

King’s Dream of ‘the Beloved Community’ Extends to Your Community, Too

Rev. Irene Monroe January 15, 2018

This year is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. It’s a painful and necessary anniversary to remember considering where the country is today. Americans on the margins have the most to lose in a nation now eroding if not dismantling decades-long civil rights gains that allowed full protections and participation in an evolving multicultural democracy. While I am nervous where we are in 2018 after an Obama presidency, I am also reminded, however, of MLK and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. My looking back at that era gives me hope to […]

Opinions/ Perspectives

The New Jim Crow Targets LGBTQ Americans, Too

Rev. Irene Monroe December 18, 2017

Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig protest Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012. Courtesy of Dave Mullins Last week the U. S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the case “Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.” The case – which has many of us LGBTQ Americans on pins and needles – will litigate a baker’s rights to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple-Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig- on the grounds of religious freedom enshrined in the First Amendment. If the case is decided in favor of the baker, Jack Phillips, it will be a colossal blow to civil rights […]