Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Malayalees for Social Justice is committed to dismantling the systems of oppression that work to discriminate, disenfranchise, and marginalize communities of color in the United States and globally.
As a South Indian diasporic community in the United States, we are committed to disrupting hate and dismantling the systems of white supremacy, caste supremacy, and patriarchal capitalist structures by cultivating an inclusive, equitable, and antiracist society.
Stop Sexual Violence
Malayalees for Social Justice condemns sexual violence, harassment, coercion, and intimidation of any kind.
We acknowledge that sexual violence towards women specifically, continues to thrive within our own community as Malayalees, South Indians, and South Asians. We are committed to using our platform to dismantle the patriarchal systems that allow violence of this kind to go unchecked and are committed to holding perpetrators accountable. We will not allow victims to be shamed into silence. It is our sincere belief that our community as a collective can do better and reverse the pattern of silence. It is our hope that our community will join us by refusing to accommodate, dismiss, or deny violence or harassment of any kind. We choose not to be bystanders. To divest from the respectability politics that insulates perpetrators of abuse from accountability and denies justice to our own women who are being harmed because of “what people will think.”
Statement in Malayalam
മലയാളീസ് ഫോർ സോഷ്യൽ ജസ്റ്റിസ് ലൈംഗിക അത്രിക്രമണങ്ങളും, പീഡനങ്ങളും, ബലപ്രയയോഗങ്ങളൂം, സമ്മർദങ്ങളും, ഭീഷണികളും വളരെ ശക്തമായി അപലപിക്കുന്നു. സ്ത്രീകൾക്ക് എതിരായി ലൈംഗികാതിക്രമങ്ങൾ പ്രത്യേകിച്ചും, മലയാളികൾ, ദക്ഷിണേന്ത്യക്കാർ, ദക്ഷിണേഷ്യക്കാർ , നമ്മുടെ സ്വന്തം സമുദായത്തിൽ, തുടർച്ചയായി വളരുന്നതായി ഞങ്ങൾ അംഗീകരിക്കുന്നു. ഇത്തരത്തിലുള്ള അക്രമങ്ങൾ അനിയന്ത്രിതമായി തുടരാൻ അനുവദിക്കുന്ന കുറ്റവാളികളെ നിയമത്തിനു മുന്നിൽ കൊണ്ടുവരാനും, അവരെ സമൂഹത്തിനു മുൻപിൽ തുറന്നു കാട്ടാനും ഞങ്ങൾ പ്രതിജ്ഞാബദ്ധരാണ്. ഇരകളെ നിശബ്ദരാക്കാൻ ഞങ്ങൾ അനുവദിക്കില്ല. നമ്മുടെ സമൂഹത്തിന് ഒരു കൂട്ടായ്മയെന്ന നിലയിൽ മികച്ചത് ചെയ്യാനും നിശബ്ദതയുടെ മാതൃക മാറ്റാനും കഴിയുമെന്നാണു ഞങ്ങളുടെ ആത്മാർത്ഥമായ വിശ്വാസം. ഒരു തരത്തിലുമുള്ള അക്രമങ്ങളും, ഉപദ്രവങ്ങളും ഉൾക്കൊള്ളാനോ, നിഷേധിക്കാനോ, നിസ്സാരവല്കരിക്കാനോ ഞങ്ങളുടെ സമൂഹം തയ്യാറല്ല.ഈ ഉദ്ധ്യമത്തോടൊപ്പം ഓരോ മലയാളിയും ഞങ്ങളോടൊപ്പം ചേരുമെന്നാണു ഞങ്ങളുടെ പ്രതീക്ഷ. കാണികളാകരുതെന്ന് ഞങ്ങൾ ഉത്‌ബോധിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ഉത്തരവാദിത്തത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ദുരുപയോഗം ചെയ്യുന്ന കുറ്റവാളികളെ അകറ്റി നിർത്തുന്നതിനു പകരം "ആളുകൾ എന്ത് വിചാരിക്കും" എന്നതിൽനിന്ന് ഉപദ്രവിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന നമ്മുടെ സ്വന്തം സ്ത്രീകൾക്ക് നീതി നിഷേധിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന അനുരഞ്ജന ഒത്തുതീർപ്പ് രാഷ്ട്രീയ മാതൃകകളിൽനിന്ന് പിന്മാറി, കുറ്റം ചെയ്യുന്നവർക്ക് തക്ക ശിക്ഷ ഉറപ്പുവരുത്തുകയും അതിക്രമങ്ങൾക്ക് ഇരയായവർക്ക് നീതിലഭിക്കുന്ന ,സുരക്ഷിത ജീവിതം ഉറപ്പുവരുത്തുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന സമൂഹമായി മലയാളികൾ ഉയരട്ടെ. നോക്കുകുത്തികളായി മാറാതിരിക്കുക!
“Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style” [Shantrelle P. Lewis, 2017]
Coloring Black
By Jyothis James
What is it like to fashion and adorn a body that is considered a “problem?” Black skin sits at the bottom of the phenotypic and aesthetic hierarchy white people have ordained as sacred. Additionally, sartorial colonization imposed European dress through legislation, acculturation, or through insecurities generated from the destruction of cultures. In such conditions, the alternative to indigenous practices was to instead cling to the colonizer's culture and thereby his costume. For instance, in Toward the African Revolution, Franz Fanon writes: “Having judged, condemned, abandoned his cultural forms, his language, his food habits, his sexual behavior, his way of sitting down, of resting, of laughing, of enjoying himself, the oppressed flings himself upon the imposed culture with the desperation of a drowning man” (39).
It was not merely the colonized culture that was dismissed and belittled but the colonized body as well. W.E.B. Du Bois, Fanon, and George Yancy each describe the phenomenological denigration of the black body and the black person under the white gaze…
Continue Reading at: Caribbean Philosophy
Let’s get Social
We use Social Media for many things. Announcements, Live Events, and info for you to engage with. Follow us!
Featured story about us in “The News Minute”
This US Malayalee organization fights racism, casteism and gender bias
Malayalees for Social Justice has its roots in the Black Lives Matter movement but rebranded itself to address various areas of discrimination.
Videos you do not want to miss!
Kimberly Jones
The contract was broken....
Dave Chappelle
400 cops showed up because the man killed one of their own
BLM Protests
Protesters of all ages, all races, all backgrounds are showing up at Black Lives Matter protests out of love for their fellow human beings.
Actions you can get started with right now!
Talk to you Parents
Talking to our parents can be difficult during this time. You may not feel you know enough, and you may have also come to the realization that our parents hold on to varied levels of racism. Start reading and start the uncomfortable discussions.
Awareness Actions
As we learn how systemic racism has been ingrained in this nation, we learn how to use our voice and impact change to our families, our friends, our peers, and the overall cause. Use these resources to get educated.
Protesting Actions
You are ready to mobilize, you are full of energy, and you are ready to fight for the cause. Learn about why protests matter, and how to protest the right way. You can also check out the events section of this site to see some upcoming protests.
Financial Actions
You're ready to donate, but don't know where to start. Learn about policies that use your donations, and tax dollars to help or hurt Black and minority lives. Money makes the world go round, and you should have a say.
Political Actions
Helping change policy with your voice and your vote is incredibly important. It's one of the easiest physical things you can do after you've done the reading. So take a look at a few of the posts, and keep an eye out for updates ones coming soon.
India needs your help!
Our souls cry out over the COVID crisis in India. As American-Born Indian’s and NRI’s this situation has been devastating to watch from the comfort of our phones far away from the trauma and uncertainty of this horrific situation. But we will not allow the grief to paralyze us to inaction, our community in the diaspora is not short on privilege or abundance, so we are asking our people to let that flow back to our ancestral homeland because they desperately need our support.
Photo by: Atul Loke for The New York Times
Your Impact
Upcoming events.
Our team has been working hard to put together the best events that you should attend. They may be Instagram live sessions, Facebook Live or even on Clubhouse.
Make sure you take a look periodically. You do not want to miss these events.
Great reads by our Team
Make a donation.
We are a non profit with our entire team donating their time. We will continue to do so. But there are certainly items in our projected planning that require cash, and your donations will enable us to do more!
Coming soon: We will share ways to donate and help shortly.
Contact Us
A movement is only as strong as the community that holds it up. Together, we can do more than we can do alone. Let's bring our abilities and passions together to affect real change.
There are many ways to join us and support our mission. Contact us to find out more about volunteer opportunities, fundraising events, and ways to help
Email
info@malayaleesforsocialjustice.org
