Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Shonique Williams, California's 41st Congressional District

America is supposedly the land of opportunity, although it doesn’t feel like that nowadays. But that opportunity is not gone. Shonique Williams (she/her), is a perfect example of that. Raised by a disadvantaged mother on welfare, Shonique was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned while trying to escape an abusive relationship. She fought against her imprisonment and was released after a year. In the aftermath, she founded an advocacy organization to help prevent the same thing that happened to her from happening to others.

This millennial progressive advocate is running on a platform centered on civil rights, with a focus on Black, Brown, and marginalized communities, alongside economic justice and making California more affordable and sustainable for everyday people. Her top priorities include affordability, sustainability, and criminal justice reform, including living wages, affordable housing expansion, Medicare for All, and universal childcare and pre K, but her wide platform includes abolishing ICE, ending mass incarceration, and protecting California’s natural environment.

Unifying Americans: Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

On February 8, with a total of 135 million viewers, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance became the most watched halftime show ever. One thing was clear throughout the almost 14 minutes he was on the field, this performance was not just an homage to Puerto Rican and Latino culture, but an act of resistance against the backdrop of aggressive immigration crackdowns and targeted racist rhetoric.

Yilian Cañizarez Reminds Us that Resilience Brings Renewal

Yilian Cañizarez uses music as a tool for translating emotion and connecting with her audience. Her new single, “Vamos a Florecer,” functions as a reminder that resilience can bring renewal. Beyond the music, Cañizarez is dedicated to supporting several different movements, including ones that fight against racism, work to expand children’s exposure to art, and support the ocean. She has been able to work as an ambassador for Ville de Lausanne — Campaign Against Racism in Switzerland, support her family’s organization Palacios House of Arts, and serve as a “Voice for the Ocean” for UN World Oceans Day. To learn more about Yilian Cañizarez and her new music, read on.

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2024 - Kerene Moore, Michigan 15th District Court

Kerene Moore (she/her) is a queer social justice attorney with over 15 years of legal and public service experience. She is currently the Director of Conviction Integrity at the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office. She previously served as a juvenile referee and judicial attorney in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court, and as an administrative law examiner with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. She started her career at Legal Services of South Central Michigan where she provided free representation to over 1,000 under resourced clients. In 2014, she also founded Outreach, a pro bono LGBTQ+ advocacy project with University of Michigan law students. Throughout her career, she has served on the committees and boards of several organizations including the Jim Toy Community Center, Equality Michigan, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission. She has also served as co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Law Section of the Washtenaw County Bar Association and is the incoming chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s LGBTQ+ Law Section. Kerene is passionate about increasing access to justice to people from all walks of life, supporting treatment courts, ensuring that crime victims are receiving support, and actively reducing systemic bias in our courts.

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2023 - Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church

It’s 2023, and just in case you thought it was an “off year” for elections, there are off-year elections! This year, Virginia is having its state and local elections. Today we are kicking off our 2023 progressive candidate profiles with Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, who is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church in Virginia. Parisa is the first Iranian-American Chief Prosecutor in United States history. Elected in 2019, Parisa ran on a platform of making the criminal justice system fairer to marginalized communities by no longer asking for cash bail, ending prosecution of marijuana possession, addressing racial disparities, not charging minors as adults, creating an independent body to review use of force by police, restoring voting rights to the formerly convicted, and creating a restorative justice process. In her first term in office, she has done all of that.

The Future Perfect Project: The New Generation of LGBTQ+ Storytelling

Meet the Future Perfect Project (FPP)! This New York-based Organization promotes LGBTQ+ Youth expression and their music! Founded by Celeste Lecesne and Ryan Amador, the Future Perfect Project amplifies the queer youth narrative through workshops and social media. If you wish to see their work in action, the Future Perfect Project is hosting a free immersive event at Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza on June 4th at 12 pm EST, kicking off Pride Month nicely! Nine artists from all around the country will perform their collaborative album “Not What You Pictured” at the event. All performances are of course LIVE! Jejune is ecstatic to get to know this small collective of artists through their music, and can wait for the show! If you are interested in the Future Perfect Project’s story and want to support LGBTQ+ youth, please continue reading the interview below!

COVER - Rising From The Ashes

Walking on a runway is glamorous but walking for injustice is empowering. Meet Kaprice Imperial! The Filipina-American model is admirable in challenging the world to do better and to dream of a future that is more inclusive and united. In our interview, Kaprice gets candid with Jejune on what happens before hitting the runway, the effects of her Asian background, and protesting hate crimes. Check out our interview below!

The US Army Is Becoming More Hair Inclusive - Will States Follow Suit?

Creating a Respectful Open World for Natural Hair. That’s the mission of the CROWN ACT.

The CROWN Act was created in 2019 by Dove and the CROWN Coalition to ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools. Ending hair discrimination would, as Rep. Ilhan Omar puts it, step forward to combat racial discrimination. She states, “For far too long Black women have been penalized for simply existing as themselves.”

Brandon Ash-Mohammed: A Place For Black Queer Comics

What does it mean to be a comedian in 2020? The etymology of comedy is derived from 14c., it was "narrative with a happy ending; any composition intended for amusement," from Old French comedie (14c.), "a poem" (not in the theatrical sense) and directly from Latin comoedia. Comedic styles have differed throughout the ages, some more performative in execution, some story driven, and others purely satirical.

Comedians have become the layman’s philosopher, they tackle topics, personal, relatable, controversial. They dissect our societal norms and provide a humorous analysis on our values. Brandon Ash-Mohammed is part of a new generation of comedians carving his own lane in stand up. For starters, he is the first ever queer black Canadian comedian to release a comedy album, Capricornication. Brandon is also the creator of The Ethnic Rainbow, Canada’s first and only comedy show for LGBTQ comedians of colour. Please read our exclusive interview to earn more about Brandon Ash-Mohammed.

Art, zIssue 25Jejune ContributorAugust 3, 2020comedy, performers, performing, gay, LGBTQ+, lgbtq, LGBTQ, lgbt, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, black rights, African AmericanComment

Minhee Jones - 6 Feet Apart...

Musician Minhee Jones is an international melting pot of harmonies. Originally from Los Angeles, the London based artist denotes early classical influences from the likes of Beethoven. Her identity as biracial, born Korean and Black, helped to bolster the complexities of her artistry.

Directly off her new EP, the single “6 Feet,” was an almost prophetic analysis of mindfulness — of course more relevant, and literal, now amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With lyrics like “we stay 6 feet apart to stay 6 feet above”, this song is essentially an anthem to what we are living through right now.

In addition to being a powerful musician, Minhee teamed up with Fender, Ford, and Co-op Food and broke three Guinness World Records by playing concerts in 51 cities in 7 days to raise money and awareness for Music Venue Trust. Minhee encapsulates a mix of soulful rebellion, perhaps an ode to her punk bass playing roots. As an instrumentalist, specializing in drums, bass, analog synths, piano and vintage harmonium, it is her prolific style and adventurous nature that enables her to march to the beat of her own drum. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Minhee Jones.

Jejune Stands With African Americans

In light of the injustices and protests going on right now, Jejune has decided to pause this week’s contents in respect and solidarity of Black Lives Matter and African American rights. Instead, we will be focusing our content on sharing resources on how to support and help the movement and on different ways one may educate themself on the situation. Please join us this week as we further educate ourselves on how we can help and support the African American community as the Black Lives Matter Protests continue in the midst of Covid-19.

Attached below are some photos and a brief video from the protest in Brooklyn, NY. Jejune stands with you and wants the world to know, the protesters we have seen in NYC are peaceful, passionate, and beautiful human beings. We fight with you to be heard and seen.

Please stay tuned for our IG Live Interviews with voices from the African American community and reference our #BLM Reference Book. Thank you and be safe!