social issues
Honored to Speak at CAIR-Chicago’s 19th Annual Event
I feel incredibly honored to have been a speaker at CAIR-Chicago’s 19th Annual Event – THE NEXT LEVEL at UIC; My favorite organization with the most respected mentors and inspirers. I will cherish my scarf and name tag for life. Please go to cair-chicago.org and give generously! #civilrights #socialjustice #Islamophobia #inclusion #mediarelations. My intro begins […]
Local Afghanistan refugee hopes to finish dental school after adjusting to new life in United States
I am gladly re-sharing this story by Brie Isom, a wonderful journalist who spoke with an Afghan refugee with dreams to finish dental school. There is a Go Fund me link at the bottom of this article. Share widely! Yasmina Local Afghanistan refugee hopes to finish dental school after adjusting to new life in United […]
Representation and American Girl Doll
It’s been a wild month. American Girl dropped the new Eid al-fitr outfit on their website and their store shelves, and I spent an entire month being interviewed by Chicago local news stations, Muslim organizations and magazines and by my own company that I work for. This was mostly unexpected, as I planned to take […]
Gen Z’s Cancel Culture: They’re Cancelling the Racists
As a mom of 2 Gen Z’ers, (one who voted in the primaries- woohoo!), I have some things to say. (See Pew Research Center’s May 2020 article: On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far) First: I’m blessed to have watched not only my kids […]
Deconstructing Police Brutality
There is a ton of complexity on the police brutality issue. Military industrial complex using police forces as a place to dump “old” equipment because they need to spend our tax money to keep churning out more as well as to use this equipment to flex dominance on the world stage (I’m being kind in […]
There was No Place for a Muslim Journalist in 1980s America
I shared this piece at the Daily Kos: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/17/1912291/-There-was-No-Place-for-a-Muslim-Journalist-in-1980s-America?_=2020-01-17T15:56:33.864-08:00 I was a Muslim American kid of the seventies with a writing bent that delighted my third grade Chicago Public School teacher, Miss Hale. A teen of the eighties who penned sappy poetry and wrote for my high school yearbook, people asked, “What do you want […]
Open Invitation to Jamie Cygielman CEO, American Girl Doll – Vlog Letter
Dear Jamie Cygielman, CEO of American Girl Doll. I am inviting you to meet with me, doll collector, focus group administrator, and Muslim American advocate of diversity and inclusion issues. I invite you to explore a day in the life of a Muslim American Girl in America; and, I ask you to create a Muslim […]
Mass Graves – Crimes Against Humanity in Srebrenica
The following is an account from Julie Smith {not her real name} on what she witnessed working with U.S. forces stationed in Bosnia after the genocide carried out against Bosnian men by Serb forces, led by convicted war criminal, Ratko Mladic. Mladic is the name at the helm, but hundreds of Serb criminals participated and […]
You Are Enough – Writing Contest by Positive Writer
I am participating in the Writing Contest: You Are Enough, hosted by Positive Writer. Dare to Be Your Authentic Self by: Yasmina Blackburn I sat down to write the most important piece of writing in my lifetime. Invited for work I was doing for a not-for-profit organization in my hometown of Chicago called MyJihad, I […]
Podcast July 2, 2018 – State of the Union a la Yasmina Reality & How to Stay Sane
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