Leigh Hopkins

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Leigh can be reached by email at leighopkins@gmail.com.

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I took this gorgeous photo of one of my favorite places on the planet. This month, the Trump administration is moving forward with plans to build a new barrier that would include 25 miles of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, pictured here. Last week, my new column launched at The Rumpus, and the first piece, “The Borderland,” is a very personal look at life in a border town, my experiences as an immigrant and ex-pat, and the ugly history of US immigration policies. I’ve been meaning to post some photos taken during my time in the desert. An excerpt (linked in profile): “In springtime, the arroyos fill with water and the desert floor swells with green. By July, the saguaros bloom red with fruit. Ha:sañ is the O’odham word for saguaro cactus, and Ha:sañ Bak means “the saguaro is ready.” Before the first harvest, Tohono O’odham rub the meat of a fallen saguaro fruit on the body near the heart. When you enter the desert, you must have a clear mind and a good heart. In Tohono Oʼodham there is no word for wall.” #immigration #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #bordercrisis #TheRumpus #TurningPurple @ Ajo, Arizona @organpipecactusnps @marisaemily
Me at 12: “What’s a Lebanese?” Mom: “Someone from Lebanon.” Me: Mom: “Why?” Me: “That’s what everyone’s calling me at school. Mom: Me: Mom: “Have a cookie.” #LGBTQbaes on Twitter 2019: a miracle. #itgetsbetter 🌈✨🦄❤️
What do Americans really think about migrants? Meet Dr. Emile Bruneau, the Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Peace and Conflict Neuroscience Lab. I interviewed him for the first installment of my new column at The Rumpus (linked in my profile), and what he shared with me totally shifted my understanding of what we know about the borderland crisis. Emile studies the cognitive roots of empathy, for example, by looking at neural responses to others’ physical pain and emotional suffering, and uses behavioral research to determine what roles ingroup and outgroup empathy play in real intergroup conflicts. Not only is he a brilliant researcher and the kindest person I’ve met – he’s also my next door neighbor. 😀🌿🕊#nonviolentaction #peace #198methods #writing #firstammendment #socialjustice
Terrible news today about @pacificstand. I just learned on Twitter that this morning, without any warning, Pacific Standard’s primary funder cut off all charitable giving, and the board is shutting down. This is what happens in an insecure democracy. We have to be vigilant about protecting the press, the arts, and activists.  We all need to keep picking up the torch. 3.5% of us taking turns. Pacific Standard has a brilliant reputation for providing high-quality, non-partisan, science-informed reporting on social and environmental justice. They reach tens of millions of people every year, produce podcasts and 50 print magazines: “We’ve published 20,929 articles, working with a diverse army of 2,729 freelance writers and reporters (that’s about 31 million words), and commissioned thousands of illustrations and photographs (some of which won us our second National Magazine Award).” #together#FirstAmendment #together #198methods #nonviolentaction
My new column launched at The Rumpus today, and I’m blown away by Dara Herman Zierlein’s artwork! Her vivid illustrations capture my intent for this column. “The personal is political” is a phrase that was popularized by feminist Carol Hanisch in 1969, and this first piece, “The Borderland,” is a walk through my own story as an immigrant and border-dweller and the deep roots of this country’s dehumanizing immigration policies. Dara captured the energy of the border crisis and the beauty of the desert, and I’m thrilled to be working with her. An excerpt from the piece, linked in my profile: “Two sets of lights blinked on, and a hundred yards ahead, and a HUMVEE bombed toward us and slammed on the brakes. A window rolled down. The Border Patrol dressed in night gear, black goggles over their faces. I rolled down the window. The BP’s face was incredulous. “What are you ladies doing out here?!” I kept my voice even. “Watching the sunset.” And then I got cocky. “What, it’s not safe?” #immigration #immigrationreform #TheRumpus @motherstime.mum
WRITE LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER. The first time I read these words was in 2010, in “Dear Sugar” at The Rumpus. This morning I drank my coffee in this very mug, over the moon that as of today, I’m a columnist at The Rumpus! Check out the link in my profile to read the first installment: TURNING PURPLE: “The Borderland.” Some history behind the saying: for a long time, readers were trying to guess Sugar’s identity. Is it Lidia? Lots of people guessed Lidia. Is it Cheryl? Turns out Sugar was and is Cheryl Strayed, and you can read some of the most loved letters from Dear Sugar in Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. #writelikeamotherfucker #therumpus @cherylstrayed @lidiamiles @marisaemily @marisakorbel @kellyblog
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