Michelle Meow, host of “The Michelle Meow Show,” will present a special event focused on LGBT immigrant rights in conjunction with the Commonwealth Club for the Immigrant Day of Visibility.
Meow, a 37-year-old lesbian whose parents are refugees from Laos and whose wife is from Thailand, believes the immigration issue is “a matter of urgency and many cases, life or death for our immigrant/migrant communities, inclusive of LGBTQI immigrants and migrants,” she wrote to the B.A.R. in an email interview.
“LGBTQI people are still persecuted in many countries around the world. Having a much more supportive system to accept LGBTQI asylum seekers is necessary,” wrote Meow.
“LGBTQI immigrants face not only the challenges of surviving in an anti-immigrant political environment, but also face discrimination in the immigration system,” she wrote, adding “being placed in detention with the wrong gender, not having access to HIV/AIDS medication, and violence due to anti-LGBTQI discrimination,” are examples of some challenges LGBT immigrants face.
Civil rights activist Karen Korematsu is keynoting the Immigrant Day of Visibility event on May 24.
Korematsu, the founder and current executive director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute, will be joined by a panel of LGBT immigrants.
Fred T. Korematsu is the late Bay Area civil rights leader who stood up against the Japanese internment during World War II. Karen Korematsu is his daughter.
Karen Korematsu was unavailable for comment.
The panel includes Nepali metal-rock guitarist Flash, Thai Molam folk singer Tookta; and Russian singer Igor Chudak, who is a member of the LGBT Asylum Project‘s advisory council and will speak about issues at the border, family separation, transgender migrants, and the Muslim ban.
The event will also recognize the Council of American Islamic Relations—San Francisco Chapter, Transgender Law Center, African Human Rights Coalition, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
The public will be able to attend the free reception and program hosted by the Commonwealth Club in partnership with Meow Friday, May 24. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by a program from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Commonwealth Club’s Taube Family Auditorium, 110 The Embarcadero.
Got international LGBT news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at WhatsApp at 415-517-7239, Skype: heather.cassell or oitwnews@gmail.com.
Originally published by the Bay Area Reporter.
Got international LGBT news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at Skype: heather.cassell or oitwnews@gmail.com.
