Perhaps the most talked-about moment of President Obama's address to Congress last night followed the dismissal of rumors that the new health care plan would cover 'illegal immigrants.' Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) was so outraged that he yelled, from the floor, "You lie!" In an instant, Wilson was willing to breach protocol, embarrass himself, and undermine his party — because he was so infuriated by the idea that Obama's plan might provide care to a certain group of people.

Why is our conversation around immigration so often driven to extremes, both of language and of policy? In this video, Rinku Sen takes the term 'illegal' to task, showing how it's been used to make us comfortable with the suffering and exploitation of millions of undocumented immigrants.

More in the Word! video series:

"Reverse Racism": Word Distracts from the Big WHite Elephant of Systemic Racism
"Colorblind": Word Twists Good Intentions
"Merit": Word Hijacks the Conversation Around Race

The Progressive Book Club has started a video series, Open Books, in which they ask "PBC authors to tell us about the books they love." This week, Rinku Sen, ARC's Executive Director and co-author of The Accidental American, recommends two novels about characters trapped “between the oppressed and the oppressor,” and tells us why these books speak to her.

The Accidental American is available now.

ARC’s Executive Director Rinku Sen, will be speaking on several panels and hold a book signing for The Accidental American. Here are the details for the book signing:

Thursday, August 13, 10:30am.
Book talk and signing on The Accidental American. Exhibit Hall, 3rd floor.
Here is a link to the floor plan.

And here's the lineup of sessions Rinku will be speaking at:

The Myth of Post-Racial America
Thursday, August 13th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Panel/Room, 301/302

Stepping it up: Creating Powerful Multiracial Alliances with Progressive Bloggers
Friday, August 14th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Panel/Room, 301/302

Continue reading for more information on the panels.

Fekkak Mamdouh is the co-author, with Rinku Sen, of The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization. He’s also the cofounder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York and codirector of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, the country’s first national restaurant worker organization. Until September 11, 2001, he was a headwaiter and beloved union leader at Windows on the World, a restaurant in the World Trade Towers. Mamdouh grew up poor in Morrocco, and then emigrated to Saudi Arabia as a young adult, where he worked for the Saudi Royal Family. He first came to the United States as a paid companion to a Saudi prince, then overstayed his visa and remained here permanently, changing his status from illegal to legal through marriage.

In this PBC video he talks about his life, his organizing work, and what being American means to him.

Learn more about The Accidental American here. And don’t miss this PBC video interview with co-author Rinku Sen.

Buy The Accidental American for FREE when you join Progressive Book Club!

These were people who had been through something terrible together [enduring the deaths of friends and losing their jobs in the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center] and were trying to make something beautiful out of that horrible event that had happened to them. They really understood that in order to heal from their sadness they had to have hope and optimism and solutions; they had to have change. I could see that they got that hope from each other.

That's right folks, you can get the book for free when you join the Progressive Book Club (PBC.) But wait, it gets better. "The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization" vividly illustrates the challenges and contradictions of U. S. immigration policy, and argues that, just as there is a free flow of capital in the world economy, there should be a free flow of labor. If ColorLines and RaceWire readers join, PBCwill donate a portion of the profits to ColorLines, so it's a win-win situation.

To order 'The Accidental American" book now, visit the Progressive Book Club site.

In the book, Rinku Sen writes about unfair labor practices in the New York high end restaurant scene. And it seems like this story is coming right out of her book.

Tom Colicchio, the celebrity restaurateur and judge on Bravo's popular Top Chef television show, is being sued in Federal court by a former waitress who accused the company of stealing employee tips, withholding some overtime pay and sometimes failing to pay minimum wage.

Maybe the back of the house workers will partner up with the plantiff and form a class action lawsuit because we all know the people in the back of the house are probably getting it even worse.

Read more here.

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