From the Restore Fairness blog.

Courage comes in many different forms. For Esmeralda, a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico who faced horrific circumstances in immigration detention, it came in the form of seeking justice. Kept in a segregated cell with other transgender detainees, Esmeralda never realized that her experience in detention would match the trauma of discrimination she had faced back home. But her story is also one of hope for change. Watch the video now.

While the Obama administration has pledged to reform the detention system, its promises do not go far enough. Spread over a patchwork of more than 500 county jails, privately run prisons and federal facilities, immigration detention is a $1.8 billion business estimated to hold 442,941 detainees in custody in 2009 alone.

Transferred far away from their homes and families, stories are rife of how detainees are denied visitation, access to lawyers, medical care, and are subject to physical and verbal abuse. Many vulnerable people, including asylum seekers, pregnant women, children, lawful permanent residents and even U.S. citizens are among those detained.

Listen to Esmeralda's voice of courage and take action now to fix a broken detention system.

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This is the kind of fighter we Americans not only deserve, but need.  Hillary started her day in Philadelphia speaking to 1000 Union Leaders reminding them she is a fighter and will keep on, regardless of her opponents crying for her to hand the nomination over to him (because apparently he is beginning to realize he cannot win any other way).  Hillary said, "Could you imagine if Rocky Balboa got halfway up those art museum stairs and said, well, that's about enough?"

Rocky didn’t and neither will Hillary.  

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Brought to you by Jack Tuner of Jack & Jill Politics whilst cooking one tasty meal.

I figured my first turn at the racial roundup post should be inspired by an extra black authenticity. Thus, it is one day late! CP Time, yall. CP Time. Here we go:

Is Tupac's home changin?
Booker Rising discusses the declining black population of Oakland, CA and the impact on black businesses. Berkeley's North Gate News provides the context:

Barnett, who lives in East Oakland, has considered moving to the suburbs. He said he understands why people go. "People are leaving because it's so hard in Oakland right now," he said. "There are few jobs, high crime, and the schools are horrible. People want to go somewhere where their kids have a chance."

Sounds like "Black Flight" to me, and it's hard to blame folks, but some see a solution in joining up. From the same article:

Other black businesses have even joined the Latino Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, further downstate...

Black folks try to give Heismann to brown folks
The Daily Breeze is reporting about attempts from some black residents in Gardena, CA to block a Latino market from coming to town.

About 75 neighbors packed the Gardena council chambers on Tuesday night to express opposition to the Numero Uno Market slated for the corner of Rosecrans and Normandie avenues.

"Everything coming into Gardena on our side is in Spanish," resident Dorothy Dawson said. "I thought we were in America."

That's funny, Sista Dorothy. I'm pretty sure white folks said the same thing about your people when yall decided to leave the plantations.

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Brought to you by Jill Tubman of Jack and Jill Politics

This week, a controversial photo snapped at a blogger lunch in Harlem with Bill Clinton is under much discussion in the progressive blackosphere. You can follow the conversation here, here, here, and here And responses here and here. I know many of the bloggers in the photo -- including Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller of MyDD -- to be tireless workers against racism in America. I agree with Jeralyn Merritt at TalkLeft that:

There should have been a greater attempt made to include minority bloggers. But I think it was unintentional. I will bet that when there's another such event, and there will be, whether it's by President Clinton or another Democrat, there will be a greater effort to include a more diverse group of bloggers.

There's a problem with this photo and what it implies about how the power structure is changing -- and who might get left behind. Let's not deny that and make excuses. Instead, let's talk about how to fix it. The Republic of T has a great post on Blogging While Brown that offers a thoughtful commentary on the big picture here (pun intended).

What do you think? Jack and Jill Politics asks you to help us think about how to include more diverse voices from the blogs and beyond to the table of progressive politics so that pictures like this look different from now on.

More news in minorities and politics after the jump.

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