Ram Bagai Film Project at USC
Film project by Ram Bagai and other students at the University of Southern California. 1936.
Courtesy of the Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive in the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
South Asian American Progressive Organizing in the Bay Area
A reflection on South Asian American organizing in the Bay Area authored by Sunaina Maira, Madihah Akhter, and Sabiha Basrai on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The paper highlights the many changes and challenges that Muslim and South Asian American communities have experienced, and, continue to experience in the two decades since 9/11.
"Mother India" Dies In L.A. at Age of 90
Obituary in India West Magazine for Kala Bagai Chandra, who died in Los Angeles at the age of 90 from a stroke. Chandra was among the first South Asian women to immigrate to the U.S., having arrived in San Francisco in 1915. Her husband, Mahesh B. Chandra, was a member of the Gadar Party.
Photograph of San Francisco Bus
"This is the bus that took J.C. Kaimal from San Francisco to Seattle. The bus driver took an instant liking to him and insisted he sit in the front seat and they chatted on the ride. This was a fond memory for my father." --Maya Kaimal
Rani Bagai on "Vaishno Das Bagai"
Part of a video interview of Rani Bagai conducted on June 3, 2013. In this section, Bagai discusses her grandparents Vaishno Das Bagai and Kala Bagai (later Kala Bagai Chandra), their marriage, children, and life in San Francisco after arriving in 1915. Rani Bagai explains that together the couple had three sons, the youngest of whom was her father.
Contract Terminations of Parkmerced Employees, Lead to Picket Lines
When janitorial workers were fired at a prominent condo complex in San Francisco in April 2015, Emmanuel Eric was quoted in an article in the Golden Gate Express as a board member of the union representing them, stating, “(Preferred Building Services) are not feeling our pain,” Eric said. “They see a dollar sign.
"My New Vision" by Bella Comelo
In 2000, as unions shifted more to an organizing model rather than just serving needs of members, SEIU brought on a new leadership team. When Bella Comelo was elected to this team, she wrote this poem. She noted, "After this the classified staff got annuity reinstated, but after I got promotion it was taken out again."
Service Employees International Union to Bella Comelo
This award from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was given to Bella Comelo for her hard work organizing workers at the San Francisco Airport to unionize. She mentions this campaign in her oral history of her experience becoming a union member and then organizing others.
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Newsletter
In this article from summer 1995 of the APALA (Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance) newsletter, Bella Comelo is featured as she joins the board and speaks out about priorities such as affirmative action and immigration justice.