forwarding a question from a student

[eghoffma@umich.edu]

Hi all -
I'm forwarding a question from a student about organizations or
strategies that can be helpful in resisting English Only movements and
other forms of language discrimination in the US. I've got some
suggestions, but thought forwarding his request to the list might
provide more useful suggestions than I could muster alone.
Thank you!
Best,
Erika

I come from a pretty diverse community (Clinton/Utica, NY) that
contains many refugees of different ethnicities (Burmese, Bosnians,
Lebanese, etc), and I want to know how one would go about helping
immigrants against the discrimination caused by a monolingual
ideology.
In my community, Bosnian refugees specifically have frequently been
the targets of racism due to cultural differences and their inability
to speak English. Many Bosnian individuals have been refused legal aid
because they speak Bosnian instead of English, and are thus unable to
defend themselves against frivolous charges in court. I know that
there are organizations where I'm from that try to improve the
situation of refugees by providing translation services, but these
organizations are all privately-funded. The local government does not
seem to desire to do anything to help accommodate the non-English
speaking population– I'm not sure if it is actively trying to hurt
immigrants, or if it is just ignorant and apathetic.
I was wondering if there are any specific organizations in the U.S.
that directly combat the idea that the U.S. must be monolingual.
Additionally, I would like to know if you are acquainted with any
strategies that can be effective against governments and politicians
that, due to laziness and inaction, allow discrimination against
non-English speaking Americans.



-- 
Erika Hoffmann-Dilloway
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Oberlin College