Our today’s guest is She is someone who has lived through some of history’s most defining moments. Her early childhood took place in the heels of the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979. She remembers attending school and swearing her allegiance to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini and being encouraged by her teacher to report her parents if they did “bad things” like listening to music, drinking wine, and speaking poorly of Khomeini.  But at the age of six, this course of life was altered when her family uprooted them to a suburb of Los Angeles. Reeling with culture shock and speaking no English, she had to learn to construct a new life and identity in this new country that was rapidly-changing to reflect the ideals of the Reagan administration.  Nineteen years later, after a life-altering moment, she returned to Iran to rebuild her relationship with the culture and identity that was lost. A little while later, she wrote a memoir, to document her experiences. Parnaz shares her journey of self-discovery with us.

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We are kicking off April with a new season of Immigrantly. You probably noticed, we took a small hiatus in recognition that so much is happening around us and like you, we needed time to adjust, root down, and grapple with what this nation and the globe is experiencing. I think everyone is feeling a mixed bag of emotions. Some are anxious, fearful even. Others are exhausted physically and emotionally. And there are those who are hopeful, hopeful that this is a reset button, a forced acknowledgment of what has escaped our gratitude. In all, it’s a weird time and a weird way of being. Life at the moment contradicts the robotic, hectic schedule we have turned to and normalized as productivity. To those New Yorkers still in the city, I am with you. I am learning how to be present with myself and inside my home as we let the health professionals lead the charge against this pandemic. That being said, COVID 19 isn’t the only news percolating. And we can’t let these other stories go unnoticed.    Today’s episode will be on DACA and the urgent details surrounding its Supreme Court case. We will explore the program’s recent past, its current status, and its future prognosis. Of course, with any lesson of the historical sort, we need primary voices! So scattered in this episode are audio snippets of brave DACA students who hope that sharing their experience will garner awareness and mobilize communities into action.

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is an acclaimed actress known for her provocative performances in a wide range of memorable roles on film and television. She has starred in over 20 feature films and many TV shows and has earned a loyal, international following. She is also a seasoned voice-over artist. Perhaps best known to mainstream film audiences for starring opposite Albert Brooks in Warner Bros’ LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD, Sheetal has become a favorite in the independent film world. She won 3 Best Actress nods in the festival circuit for THE WORLD UNSEEN, one for her role in WINGS OF HOPE, and most recently for GRIN, which she also produced. In 2012, fans voted her ‘Favorite Movie Actress’ in AfterEllen’s Visibility Awards. She is currently in post-production on the feature, HUMMINGBIRD, which she produced as well.

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Saima Mir is a powerful writer who uses her personal stories to challenge notions surrounding patriarchy, Islam, and parenting. As a result, she has produced narratives that explain the intersection of identities, religion, and politics.  Her writing simultaneously educates and empowers the communities she is writing for. But even a reader who doesn’t share her background will find something to relate to because Saima writes in a way that draws on the universal themes of what it means to be human. Saadia and Saima talk about her writing, motherhood, how moms are discriminated against in the workplace and how to reclaim agency.

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Regina Jackson and Saira Rao are the co-founders of Race2Dinner, an organization that allows specifically white women to address their racism through a sit-down dinner they pay for. It’s innovative, and it pushes past social boundaries to get to the heart of the matter. Saadia talks to Saira and Regina about how they define racism in America, their encounter with white supremacy, and what led them to start Race2Dinner. In the process, Saadia hints at her take on the controversial topic of racism in America.

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Xiao Wang is the co-founder and CEO of the Seattle-based startup, Boundless. Boundless is an immigration company with a mission to “empower families to navigate the immigration system more confidently, rapidly, and affordably.” In 2018, they received the Torch Award for “Business of the Year” from the Better Business Bureau. Xiao’s credentials include leadership roles at Amazon Go, Providence Equity, NYC Department of Education, and McKinsey. Xiao holds a BA/MS from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. On top of that, he’s an immigrant himself; his family relocated from China to the United States when he was a child.

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Wardah Khalid is a policy analyst, activist, and speaker on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, refugees/immigration, and Islam in America. She currently works on Capitol Hill as an APAICS Congressional Fellow. She is the Founder and President of the , a national civic education, and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening American Muslim engagement with Congress. We talked about her passion for political advocacy, Muslim involvement in US Politics, Muslim tropes & sweet stuff like chocolate, barfi & Gulab Jamun. Here’s a link to our Patreon and GoFundMe accounts. Your support is greatly appreciated!

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Shamim Sarif is a British novelist and filmmaker. Her work often focuses on various aspects of identity; including gender, race, and sexuality. It often draws upon her own personal experience with cross-cultural, non-heterosexual love. Sarif described her film, I can’t think straight to be semi-autobiographical. With her partner Kattan, she runs Enlightenment Productions based in London. Her next project is Polarized; a love story between two women from very different sides of post-Trump America.

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This special minisode focuses on America’s immigration history in the context of family separation. It debunks the notion that the concept of family separation is new. The episode showcases how children have been separated from their families time and time again throughout America’s history. In each of the instances, Saadia explores how people of color, often children, were violently separated to fulfill economic and political agendas.

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Annie Tan is a Chinese American Special Education teacher, writer, activist, and storyteller from Chinatown, in New York. Annie has been featured in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, and The Moth Radio Hour on NPR. She will be featured in the upcoming PBS documentary series "Asian Americans." Her work centers around public education, teachers unions, tenants' rights, and Asian American issues. Previously a teacher in Chicago, Annie, now teaches Latinx and Asian students in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. After school, Annie tells stories on stages about being Chinese American and a daughter of immigrants, teaching, activism, and her family's story in America.

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