Serena at the US Open 2019

I made it out to Flushing Meadows this week to see the incredible Serena Williams as she fights for her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie Margaret Court’s record. In this quarterfinals match, her 100th US Open match win, Serena defeated Qiang Wang 6-1, 6-0. “It feels good,” Williams told ESPN after the match. “It feels like, ‘OK, this is what I’ve been training for.” Asked if she is upping the intimidation factor this year for her opponents, she said in the press conference afterwards: "I’ve always been the person that goes out there and roars, and screams, and complains, and cries, and fights. I’m extremely passionate about what I do." She’s also extremely too fast for my camera. Go Serena!

The Washington Post: “Yogurt Billionaire’s Solution to World Refugee Crisis: Hire Them”

Hamdi Ulukaya, the Turkish immigrant who founded Chobani, the best-selling yogurt brand in the United States, argues that the best way to help refugees is to provide them employment. “The number one thing is hiring, a job,” he said in an interview in Bogota, where he met with business leaders and migrants to discuss the humanitarian and economic crisis in Venezuela that has led to millions of refugees fleeing their home country. “For a refugee, it’s day and night. That’s the point at which they find their life can continue.”

The UN Refugee Agency estimates that the total number of forcibly displaced individuals, including refugees and other migrants, has risen nearly seventy percent over the past ten years to approximately 71 million. Ulukaya, whose net worth is estimated at $1.34 billion, employs refugees at his US plants and has pledged a large portion of his fortune to the charity he founded, Tent Partnership for Refugees. He encourages other business leaders to help solve the global refugee crisis. “It’s good for the companies to be a part of this,” he said in the Washington Post. “Because people five years or 10 years from now are going to question ‘What did you do about this? Why were you not part of this?’”

Minimalism/Maximalism at FIT

The Fashion Institute of Technology’s Minimalism/Maximalism exhibit  examines the interplay between minimalist and maximalist aesthetics throughout history. While some styles are decidedly simple in color and design, other items openly celebrate extravagance and spectacle. Spanning from the eighteenth century to the present, the exhibit features garments and accessories from “alternating periods of excess and restraint,” which connect to larger social and economic trends of their times.

Minimalism/Maximalism will be on view through November 16, 2019 at FIT’s Fashion & Textile History Gallery on the corner of 28th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan.

Jacki's Greetings from Los Angeles

Hi DLG Blog Readers – Jacki here…long time no blog! For those of you who don’t know me, I used to be an attorney with the firm and a frequent blogger. A few years ago, I made the genius decision to throw away my snow boots and move to sunny Los Angeles. I was thinking about the blog since I just had a fun (and informative!) visit with Protima and Carolyn in Los Angeles when we all attended a conference to discuss visas in the arts and entertainment field. Long story, short – I begged Protima for a guest blog because I had the perfect Friday photo!

While walking along Melrose Avenue, I came across the famous Cisco Home wall, normally displaying the “Made in LA” mural, painted over with new details to reflect the importance that immigration has had on shaping the culture of this city and beyond. Rumor has it that the artist behind the Cisco Home wall takeover is “HiJack,” an anonymous street artist who is active in Los Angeles. In a caption to an Instagram post he made about this wall, “HiJack” comments, “We need to remind ourselves of what we are composed of as a city and more broadly as a nation.”