Tiffany Puett

The following is an invited paper I presented as part of “Politics, Power, and the Periphery:  Responses to the Recent Poll of Texas Muslims,” a panel discussion organized by University of Texas Middle Eastern Studies Graduate Student Association, Austin, TX in April 2017. This panel brought together local scholars and community leaders to respond to an inflammatory letter sent by TX Rep. Kyle Biedermann to Texas Muslim leaders ahead of Texas Muslim Capitol Day as well as the forum he hosted at the Texas Capitol on " Defending Against Radical Islamic Terrorism in Texas ." My presentation drew from the IDCL white paper " Understanding Islamophobia in the Texas Public Sphere. " I want to talk about Rep. Biedermann’s letter and subsequent forum and situate it within some patterns that have emerged in research undertaken by my organization, the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life. We’re a local non-profit research and educational organization with a mission to

a sermon given on April 2, 2017 at Church of the Savior, Cedar Park, TX I direct a non-profit called the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life and we do workshops on what it means to be an ally and how to think about diversity and social justice. So that’s what I want to talk about today. So what do I mean by ‘allyship’? Allyship is a life-long process of building relationships that one enters into to strive to be an ally. And what’s an ally? An ally is a person of privilege, who uses their advantage or social power to work against oppression or injustice, to be in solidarity with marginalized groups of people, and to work for social change. In this country, we like to claim that equality-- the inherent equality of all people-- is a cornerstone American value, a value our society is built upon. But historically, our society has been organized around hierarchies that give power and benefits to certain groups over others. These hierarchies are based on membership in social gr

This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/september-11-15-years-later_us_57d56bc1e4b0eb9a57b7ad1d Co-authored with Amanda Quraishi The events of September 11, 2001 are seared into the hearts and minds of many Americans. Most adults probably remember where they were when they heard about the planes crashing into the Twin Towers and the Towers collapsing. Many of us watch these events replayed on TV with a visceral lump in our throats or knot in our guts. The loss of so many lives, so suddenly and unexpectedly, is a bewildering tragedy that Americans have been trying to make sense of for a decade and a half now. Each year, we memorialize this day to remember these 2,996 individuals and insist that their deaths not be in vain. American children today have no memory of these events. They probably don’t realize that September 11, 2001 changed us. They’ve grown up in a country that can no longer pretend to be an island unto itself. And

This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tiffany-puett/texas-and-the-politics-of-exclusion_b_8594446.html? Last Friday night, several armed terrorists coordinated attacks around the city of Paris that left 129 people dead. The terrorist group ISIS, or Daesh, has claimed responsibility. The day before the Paris attacks, suicide bombers with ISIS affiliation killed 43 people and wounded 239 more in Beirut. The attacks have set many people reeling in the face of such senseless violence and extremism. In Texas, these events have incited deep political anxieties and fed the politics of exclusion. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Monday that Texas would not accept any more Syrian refugees in the wake of these events. In a letter to President Obama, Abbott said, “Given the tragic attack in Paris and the threats we have already seen... Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees - any one of whom could be con

This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tiffany-puett/houston-arabic-immersion-bigots_b_8074516.html? As the school year began last Monday, Houston’s new Arabic Immersion Magnet School saw the first day marked by discriminatory, xenophobic protests. The public elementary school is among a number of schools with a dual language curriculum in the Houston Independent School District. While other schools offer a Spanish - English or Chinese - English curriculum, this is the first Arabic - English program in Houston and among the first in the nation. The school’s mission focuses on cultural awareness and creating “competent global citizens.” For most children at the school, Arabic will be their second or third language.

Woody Guthrie wrote 'This Land Is Your Land' 75 years ago today. This song evokes something from my Oklahoma roots and has an affective pull on my heart. It encapsulates my views of pluralism-- critical, skeptical, and justice-oriented. Often, just the first few verses are played and it seems like a folksy patriotic tune. But the heart of the song comes in the later verses, one of which is rarely included: "As I went walking I saw a sign there And on the sign it said "No Trespassing" But on the other side it didn't say nothing That side was made for you and me In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people By the relief office I seen my people As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me? Nobody living can ever stop me As I go walking that freedom highway Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me"