Kavitha Rajagopalan
@kxraja.bsky.social
Founding director, Asian Media Initiative @ccmnewmarkj.bsky.social. Writer. Previously Sr Fellow Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affrs. Global migration + Asia-Pacific. Pediatric transplant mom.
Pinned
We will not advance multiracial democracy until we stop blanket dehumanization of others based solely on their group identity presentation. From endemic racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in narratives surrounding “crime” “immigration” and “voting patterns” to in-community jokes. It must stop.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
MINNEAPOLIS: “All I did was step outside as a Somali American citizen, and I got chased by a masked person, assaulted, kidnapped. It was inhumane. If this is what’s happening to a 🇺🇸 citizen on camera, imagine what could happen to your loved ones.”
December 11, 2025 at 4:00 AM
MINNEAPOLIS: “All I did was step outside as a Somali American citizen, and I got chased by a masked person, assaulted, kidnapped. It was inhumane. If this is what’s happening to a 🇺🇸 citizen on camera, imagine what could happen to your loved ones.”
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
It’s been two weeks since ICE took Yuanxin Zheng from his father. He is six years old. He’s still not home. This has to end.
December 10, 2025 at 10:32 PM
It’s been two weeks since ICE took Yuanxin Zheng from his father. He is six years old. He’s still not home. This has to end.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
My final manuscript in! And now I give you..... COVER REVEAL (US cover, UK is sooooo different but it's not public yet)
December 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
My final manuscript in! And now I give you..... COVER REVEAL (US cover, UK is sooooo different but it's not public yet)
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
NEW: Christopher Dawson won hundreds of millions in federal contracts, promising to help Native Hawaiians.
Documents suggest he pocketed the profits to invest in a beachfront horse farm and luxury homes.
With @civilbeat.bsky.social
Documents suggest he pocketed the profits to invest in a beachfront horse farm and luxury homes.
With @civilbeat.bsky.social
He Spent Funds Meant for Native Hawaiians on Polo and Porsches. The Federal Government Failed to Stop Him.
A small business program allowed Christopher Dawson to win big contracts if he promised to uplift Native Hawaiians. Instead, federal prosecutors allege, he used the money to line his own pockets.
www.propublica.org
December 10, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: Christopher Dawson won hundreds of millions in federal contracts, promising to help Native Hawaiians.
Documents suggest he pocketed the profits to invest in a beachfront horse farm and luxury homes.
With @civilbeat.bsky.social
Documents suggest he pocketed the profits to invest in a beachfront horse farm and luxury homes.
With @civilbeat.bsky.social
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
In the last 50 years, return migration was at its peak when there was no militarized border.
(Massey, Pren and Duran 2016)
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
(Massey, Pren and Duran 2016)
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
December 10, 2025 at 2:37 AM
In the last 50 years, return migration was at its peak when there was no militarized border.
(Massey, Pren and Duran 2016)
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
(Massey, Pren and Duran 2016)
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
From our friends at @investigatewest.bsky.social
New research shows white youth in Washington are far more likely to get second-chance diversion programs while Native American and Black children are offered those opportunities the least.
Read full story below
www.underscore.news/justice/nati...
New research shows white youth in Washington are far more likely to get second-chance diversion programs while Native American and Black children are offered those opportunities the least.
Read full story below
www.underscore.news/justice/nati...
Native American Kids Less Likely Than Others in WA to be Offered Second Chance in Juvenile Court, Data Shows - Underscore Native News
Lawmakers and researchers push for new tracking measures as racial disparities and decentralized practices shape youth justice outcomes.
www.underscore.news
December 9, 2025 at 7:11 PM
From our friends at @investigatewest.bsky.social
New research shows white youth in Washington are far more likely to get second-chance diversion programs while Native American and Black children are offered those opportunities the least.
Read full story below
www.underscore.news/justice/nati...
New research shows white youth in Washington are far more likely to get second-chance diversion programs while Native American and Black children are offered those opportunities the least.
Read full story below
www.underscore.news/justice/nati...
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
Best Of 2025: News baltimorebeat.com/best-of-2025...
December 9, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Best Of 2025: News baltimorebeat.com/best-of-2025...
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
Breaking:
Trump ally Alina Habba says she will step down as New Jersey U.S. attorney after an appeals court ruling last week upheld her disqualification from the job.
Trump ally Alina Habba says she will step down as New Jersey U.S. attorney after an appeals court ruling last week upheld her disqualification from the job.
December 8, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Breaking:
Trump ally Alina Habba says she will step down as New Jersey U.S. attorney after an appeals court ruling last week upheld her disqualification from the job.
Trump ally Alina Habba says she will step down as New Jersey U.S. attorney after an appeals court ruling last week upheld her disqualification from the job.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
On December 7, 1941, Rae Takekawa was a teenager spending a quiet Sunday at home when regular radio programming suddenly cut out. It took her a moment to understand the broadcast: Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
December 7, 2025 at 5:01 PM
On December 7, 1941, Rae Takekawa was a teenager spending a quiet Sunday at home when regular radio programming suddenly cut out. It took her a moment to understand the broadcast: Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
My main observation is v little thought has been given to political diversity in immigrant heavy electorates. Digital illiberalism converges and evolves in-community oppressions and conflicts. As the electorate absorbs more ideologies and generations, non material analysis of voting is key.
anyways i think this is relevant to understanding why the go-to disparagement of dems from the left is "shitlib" and the go-to disparagement of republicans from the right is "republican in name only"--and maybe why one strategy has been somewhat more effective than the other
December 7, 2025 at 5:10 PM
My main observation is v little thought has been given to political diversity in immigrant heavy electorates. Digital illiberalism converges and evolves in-community oppressions and conflicts. As the electorate absorbs more ideologies and generations, non material analysis of voting is key.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
Immigration arrests in New York City have slowed since peaking in the summer months while deportations increased, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data available through mid-October released Monday and analyzed by THE CITY.
NYC Deportations Ramped Up While Immigration Arrests Slowed, Latest Data Shows
The number of deportations exceeded the number of arrests in August and again in September — the first time that’s happened in the two years for which data is available.
buff.ly
December 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Immigration arrests in New York City have slowed since peaking in the summer months while deportations increased, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data available through mid-October released Monday and analyzed by THE CITY.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
The abortion fund @yellowfund.bsky.social recently announced it would halt funding and support for callers with appointments at any Planned Parenthood affiliate—not just PPSE—due to the allegations. Yellowhammer said it was already working with indie clinics most as that was better for patients
December 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
The abortion fund @yellowfund.bsky.social recently announced it would halt funding and support for callers with appointments at any Planned Parenthood affiliate—not just PPSE—due to the allegations. Yellowhammer said it was already working with indie clinics most as that was better for patients
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
My constituent, Wilmer, was mauled by an ICE attack dog despite the fact that, as he has consistently explained, he was not resisting arrest or trying to flee—his wife and young children, all U.S. citizens, were forced to watch helplessly as Wilmer was violently attacked and dragged away.
December 6, 2025 at 2:41 AM
My constituent, Wilmer, was mauled by an ICE attack dog despite the fact that, as he has consistently explained, he was not resisting arrest or trying to flee—his wife and young children, all U.S. citizens, were forced to watch helplessly as Wilmer was violently attacked and dragged away.
A nurse.
So glad the administration is getting rid of these horrible people who want to hurt Americans.
So glad the administration is getting rid of these horrible people who want to hurt Americans.
“Traumatized, humiliated, degraded.”
The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.
It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.
Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.
It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.
Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Exclusive: Woman detained by feds in Keys says she was following agents’ orders
“This is not the America that I grew up in, and this is not the America that we represent.”
www.miamiherald.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:31 PM
A nurse.
So glad the administration is getting rid of these horrible people who want to hurt Americans.
So glad the administration is getting rid of these horrible people who want to hurt Americans.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
The AI-powered Freedom Filter eliminates ideas that do not conform to new rules of conservative political correctness.
“School officials have created a Microsoft Copilot prompt to review course descriptions with an eye toward avoiding ‘advocacy-oriented or prescriptive terms.’”
Terms: “dismantling, decolonizing, interrogating, challenging, centering, combating, liberation, resistance, activism, justice oriented”
Terms: “dismantling, decolonizing, interrogating, challenging, centering, combating, liberation, resistance, activism, justice oriented”
To Root Out Wokeness in the Course Catalog, This Texas University Is Turning to AI
“The AI was upset with my use of the phrase ‘women's rights movement.’”
www.texasmonthly.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The AI-powered Freedom Filter eliminates ideas that do not conform to new rules of conservative political correctness.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
it's genuinely wild how much conservative literature is basically desiring this as an outcome
i was reading kurt's latest fiction book earlier
i was reading kurt's latest fiction book earlier
December 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
it's genuinely wild how much conservative literature is basically desiring this as an outcome
i was reading kurt's latest fiction book earlier
i was reading kurt's latest fiction book earlier
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
Conflict is inevitable. If you do any sort of organizing, you’re going to work with people you don’t like.
Learn to manage conflict. Both between you and someone else, and between other people.
The beautiful part is that working through conflict together can actually build stronger bonds.
Learn to manage conflict. Both between you and someone else, and between other people.
The beautiful part is that working through conflict together can actually build stronger bonds.
December 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Conflict is inevitable. If you do any sort of organizing, you’re going to work with people you don’t like.
Learn to manage conflict. Both between you and someone else, and between other people.
The beautiful part is that working through conflict together can actually build stronger bonds.
Learn to manage conflict. Both between you and someone else, and between other people.
The beautiful part is that working through conflict together can actually build stronger bonds.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
Earlier this year, we collated Koritha Mitchell's many publications across the Hopkins Press journals program into a handy reading list
www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/kor...
www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/kor...
Koritha Mitchell: A Reading List
www.press.jhu.edu
December 5, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Earlier this year, we collated Koritha Mitchell's many publications across the Hopkins Press journals program into a handy reading list
www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/kor...
www.press.jhu.edu/newsroom/kor...
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
What is next for MAGA?
I wrote about the MAGA civil war, the dynamics shaping this ugly struggle for supremacy on the Right, what Trumpism without Trump might look like, and why MAGA is likely to emerge more ideological and more radical.
Some thoughts from my new piece for @zeit.de:
I wrote about the MAGA civil war, the dynamics shaping this ugly struggle for supremacy on the Right, what Trumpism without Trump might look like, and why MAGA is likely to emerge more ideological and more radical.
Some thoughts from my new piece for @zeit.de:
MAGA: Wie MAGA um die Zeit nach Trump kämpft
Donald Trumps Macht über seine Bewegung wird rissig. Sie streitet schon jetzt, wer nach ihm kommt – und zwar auf ihre Art: Die Rede ist vom MAGA-Bürgerkrieg.
www.zeit.de
December 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
What is next for MAGA?
I wrote about the MAGA civil war, the dynamics shaping this ugly struggle for supremacy on the Right, what Trumpism without Trump might look like, and why MAGA is likely to emerge more ideological and more radical.
Some thoughts from my new piece for @zeit.de:
I wrote about the MAGA civil war, the dynamics shaping this ugly struggle for supremacy on the Right, what Trumpism without Trump might look like, and why MAGA is likely to emerge more ideological and more radical.
Some thoughts from my new piece for @zeit.de:
I like soccer players so much. They run and run for ah hour and a half and when they finally score a goal they celebrate by running more.
December 6, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I like soccer players so much. They run and run for ah hour and a half and when they finally score a goal they celebrate by running more.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
In this episode of “Movement Memos,” Tamara Nopper and host Kelly Hayes discuss the urgency of political education in our current fascist climate, what people are learning in the streets, and the importance of counter-recruiting for movements against policing and deportations.
Fascism at the Door, Neighbors in the Street: Abolition in Practice
“I think a lot of us could level up our skills,” says researcher Tamara Nopper.
buff.ly
November 27, 2025 at 7:04 PM
In this episode of “Movement Memos,” Tamara Nopper and host Kelly Hayes discuss the urgency of political education in our current fascist climate, what people are learning in the streets, and the importance of counter-recruiting for movements against policing and deportations.
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
Some Gaza fundraisers as the winter weather gets worse, a thread: Ramzi is needing money for food and tent rent if you have anything to donate, no matter how small. www.gofundme.com/f/help-ramzi...
Donate to Help Ramzi's family to survive in gaza, organized by Bouchra El idrissi
My name is Ramzi from Gaza, I am 20 years old. My house was destroyed and we… Bouchra El idrissi needs your support for Help Ramzi's family to survive in gaza
www.gofundme.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Some Gaza fundraisers as the winter weather gets worse, a thread: Ramzi is needing money for food and tent rent if you have anything to donate, no matter how small. www.gofundme.com/f/help-ramzi...
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
It's here. Applications are now open for exhibitors, workshops and volunteers for the 3rd annual Black Zine Fair taking place on 5/9/26. Applications are accepted until Feb 9. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
December 5, 2025 at 7:37 PM
It's here. Applications are now open for exhibitors, workshops and volunteers for the 3rd annual Black Zine Fair taking place on 5/9/26. Applications are accepted until Feb 9. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
This is a hugely important job at @knightcolumbia.org, and an opportunity to help chart the course of an unusually dynamic, effective organization that is already a leading defender of democratic rights, institutions, and values. Please send good people our way! knightcolumbia.org/page/chief-o...
December 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
This is a hugely important job at @knightcolumbia.org, and an opportunity to help chart the course of an unusually dynamic, effective organization that is already a leading defender of democratic rights, institutions, and values. Please send good people our way! knightcolumbia.org/page/chief-o...