Taz	Name: Taz Location: Oakland, CA I’m a Cali writer & political organizer on a life adventure. I’m learning to trust in the universe w/ hope she’ll send me what I need.

A little about me

I’m South Asian American. I’m Muslim. I’m a woman. I’m an activist. I’m a poet. I’m an electoral organizer. I’m a writer. I’m a music lover. I believe in the power of the vote, the power of lyrics, the power of quantitative data and the power of narratives. I am a data wonk, a public policy geek, and a public relations innovator. And basically, I am simply obsessed with the intersectionality of everything that I just mentioned.

In reality, this means that I’m a public policy analyst working in the world of racial justice. I do P.R. for cookie bakers to civil rights organizations to South Asian hip-hop emcees. I also write in the realm of pop and politics, with a focus on music, art, politics, Islam and south Asian. In particular, I write on the largest South Asian American blog, Sepia Mutiny (sepiamutiny.com). I write for a Muslim punk zine Taqwacore Webzine (taqwacore.wordpress.com), and last week I just started a tumblr site collecting political posters and images of the Desi Diaspora at mutinousmindstate.tumblr.com. And I’m also writing a memoir documenting family stories on revolution.

I would describe myself as a

blogger

Why I deserve a Netroots Nation Scholarship

I have committed myself to working for the social justice and have done so for the past twelve years. Unfortunately, I just can’t find people that will pay me to live sustainably and consistently to do it. I have a Masters degree in Public Policy from UCLA, yet I continue to hop from campaign to campaign, and hustle with side gigs to side gigs. As much as I believe in the power of Netroots Nation, and the importance of providing a South Asian Muslim woman voice to the dialogue there, I simply can’t afford to send myself to Netroots Nation.

I manage these blogs

Sepia Mutiny
TazzyStar

The blogs I use most are

AngryAsianMan
Taqwacore Webzine

What first inspired me to get involved

I always knew I wanted to make the world a better place then when I came into it. But my life changing moment for me happened when I moved to DC, fresh faced and eager right out of college. Three months after arriving in D.C., September 11th happened. I was devastated. Not only was I across the nation from my family in Los Angeles, I was also hearing stories of hate and racial discrimination targeting my community. I had moved to DC to create a political voice, yet no one was creating a political voice for my South Asian and Muslim community. No one was creating a voice for my community.

So in 2003, I started a non-profit organization called "South Asian American Voting Youth" to register, educate and mobilize South Asian American 18 – 24 yr. olds. The organization was the first operation of it’s kind in the South Asian community. We trained hundreds of youth, and mobilized thousands to the polls.

How I've gotten others involved

I have always made it a point to prioritize trainings and leadership development in all of the work that I’ve done. As a trainer for Campus Camp Wellstone, I trained hundreds of young people in campaigning skills. When running a six ethnic targeted electoral campaign targeting low-propensity AAPI voters, I made it a point to partner with local organizations as well as to provide mini-grants to youth organizations. I think it is incumbent on the social justice movement to provide leadership, training and support to the next generation of leaders.

The blog post I am most proud of

http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/006442.html

More about my volunteer work

The latest project that I’ve signed up for is the Bay Area Solidarity Summer (www.solidaritysummer.org). Following the legacy of Desi youth organizations in the U.S., such as Youth Solidarity Summer, Organizing Youth, and DC Desi Summer, BASS is a weekend for desi youth to learn about themselves and get politicized. This summer will be the first time BASS will take place, and there is a fantastic team of progressive South Asian organizers volunteering to be a part of the collective to create this event. BASS will focus on South Asian teenage youth 14-19 years old, and I hope to create the kind of weekend that I wish I could have had when I was their age. I am very excited about being able to join this team and to create something magical for a new generation of Desi youth. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

My Twitter manifesto on online activism

Don’t let yourself be marginalized – everyone has a story to tell. So tell your story.

My suggested bumper sticker slogan

"Writing is Rioting!"