Thinking about the homeless

What It Feels Like To Be on Welfare Link to Huffington Post article

The Importance of Possessions While Homeless Link to Scientific American article

On Route to DMH at 6am,

Congresswoman Napolitano's Mental Health Roundtable at City of Hope

I was fortunate to attend this consortium that exists for mental health officials to address the needs of San Gabriel Valley residents from all walks of life by networking and creating discourse.

ACTIVARTE in Boyle Heights, 9/17/14

Critical Race Theory Notes

What is CRT? Built on Critical Legal Studies and Radical Feminism, this theory propose that racism is ordinary, not aberrational. It’s the usual way society does business, the common, everyday experience most people of color. It also proposes that a system of white-over-color ascendancy serves important purposes, both physical and material.

1st Feature: “Ordinariness” is difficult to cure or address through formal/color blind conceptions of equality in rules that only address blatant forms of discrimination.

2nd Feature: “Interest Convergence” or “material determinism” racism advances the interests of both white elites (materially) and working-class people (physically), large segments of society have little incentive to eradicate it. Ex. Browm vs. Board of Education

3rd Feature/Theme: “Social Construction” holds that race and races are products of social thought and relations. NOT objective, inherent, or fixed, they correspond to no bio or genetic reality. Rather, races are categories that society invents/manipulates/ retires when convenient. That society frequently chooses to ignore these scientific facts, creates races, and endows them with pseudo-permanent characteristics is of great importance to CRT.

4th Feature: Differential Racialization is the way dominant society racializes different minority groups at different types, all in response to shifting needs such as labor market. Ex. In one era a group of color may be depicted as a happy-go-lucky, simpleminded, and content to serve white folks. Yet a little later, when societal conditions change, that same group may appear in cartoons, movies, and other cultural scripts as menacing, brutish, and out of control, thus requiring vigilant monitoring and repression.

5th Feature: Intersectionality and Anti-Essentialism dictate that no person has a single, easily stated, unitary identity. Everyone has potentially conflicting, overlapping identities, loyalties, and allegiances.

6th Feature: The unique Voice of Color, holds that because of the different historical experiences from black, Indian, Asian, and Latino writers and thinkers, they may be able to communicate to their white counterparts matters that they are unlikely to know.

Nothing Happens in a Vaccuum

As I was reading this article on Medium (Link here) I stumbled on the phrase "nothing happens in a vacuum." It took me a few minutes and some internet searching to clarify and digest it mentally. 

A defining set of words I found during my research helped clarify what it means.

"everything is in relation to it's context. Everyone lives in a different culture, society, family, etc. that alters and shapes the way they see the world. This is why people are fascinated by the few "feral children" (i.e. children dropped off in the woods or whatnot, without living with other humans.) These children have lived without being conditioned by society, so scientists are very interested in them because they really have almost been brought up "in a vacuum." Don't forget: a vacuum is NOT referring to a vacuum cleaner; it is referring to a vacuum of space. Nothing is there to alter the original thing."

Why am I interested with this phrase? Because it's relevant to the issues at hand.

Michael Brown.

John Crawford III.

Trayvon Martin.

Policies need to change. People need to change. We need to change.

Black People of the U.K., what are your views on culture and black people in the U.S.A? (Source: Reddit)

This question caught my attention from r/AskReddit

 Top comment:

[–]ceilingkat 3461 points 5 hours ago*

Black female. I was born in London and now live in the US. (spent a good amount of years in the Caribbean in between though, so bear with me).

I didn't feel nearly as much racial tension in the UK as I have in the US. It's definitely not been overt, but I do feel people are much much more apt to tip toe around racial issues here than in the UK which for me is a sign of unease. And unease doesn't usually signal acceptance.

A lot of white people in the US seem terrified to say the wrong thing. In the UK more people talked openly about it if on the rare occasion it came up.

I noticed that in England, if you're British you're British and you happen to be black. In the US there's "African American" and "Asian American" but no one calls white people "European Americans" so that was a confusing one for me.

In general interracial couples aren't something unusual. There's tons of books and TV shows where a black female might be the major love interest. Even in the opening ceremony for the Olympics in London it featured a black teen couple in the sort of "play" they put on. I was watching it with some black American friends, and they thought that was commendable. It was difficult to explain why it wasn't some huge cultural achievement.

And of course, most black people in England are immigrants from common wealth countries like in the Caribbean so they already have strong cultural identity. I find more black Americans have a chip on their shoulder about race than other black people across the world I've encountered. Even being here for the past 5 years I'm much quicker to think someone is being prejudiced than just simply being an asshole.

All in all, I think England was privileged to not have to deal with slavery in their back yard. Even though they obviously participated in the slave trade and absentee planters owned plantations, they didn't have to deal with it directly. So I guess they don't have the same deep seated issues with race.

Edit to clarify a few FAQ:

• My experience is from London, NYC/Philly
• When I said "slavery" in that last part I was referring to Transatlantic African Slave Trade. Sorry for not specifying
• All this is in my experience. I did not mean for any of this to be hard and fast truths
• And when I said using "African Americans" vs. using "European Americans" I meant on likegovernment forms[1]   or on the news etc. I definitely agree people use the terms "Italian-American," "Irish-American" etc. but it just doesn't seem as prevalent in my experience. Note on the census "white" is used without further elaboration, whereas other ethnic groups are broken down more.

Source here

Summer 2014: PROJECT WORK

Product Marketing mess

Grant Writing Consulting chaos

After wrapping up my first year of graduate school, I found myself with a plentiful amount of time. Well weekdays, since I was working at Lowes on weekends. Two weeks into the break I received the opportunity to return to my old Kanex gig. More money? sure I'll take it. Soon seven days a week of work tired me out and I quit Lowes. Now I find myself juggling two weekday jobs. After purchasing a Surface Pro 3 (for school purposes of course (: ), I need to go back into savings mode.

12 Years A Slave

I avoided this movie because I knew it would bring me to tears. The atrocities of the past evoke so much emotion but these are stories that need to be told. On this July 4th, a day that has become marketed as a festive day filled with glamour, I find it best to reflect on the tragic truths from our predecessors.

Hector and the Pursuit of Happiness

"We should concern ourselves not so much with the pursuit of happiness, but with the happiness of the pursuit."

The New York Times' "The Way North"

A journey by Damien Cave and Todd Heisler as they travel up Interstate 35, from Laredo, Tex., to Duluth, Minn., chronicle how the middle of America is being changed by immigration. Along their journey, they ask a great question:

What does it mean to be American?

Link to series on NewYorkTimes.com

A Generous Sulley Muntari

While the press spends its time focusing on the actions of a few misguided fans, it neglects to shed light on the good that occurs.

Focus on You.

because I said I would.

DUI driver takes full responsibility for his actions. Embarks on a mission to drive folk who under the influence of alcohol home. Donates any funds he receives to a good cause(or not).

Reddit post here.

Images.

Be kind.

Color Splash Heroes

Gift from the neighbors

 and nephew derpin' it.

Hidden Village at CSUDH

Summer Wedding Style + Color Palette

Pull Together

An excerpt from a speech given by my professor Dr. Bender:

"My mentor, Dr. Alex Norman, a prominent African American Professor Emeritus out of UCLA’s school of Social Work – at my own MSW graduation – said: We are all community! Harambee! And from my Jewish culture and religion; we likewise say, Al Ti Frosh Min Ha Kehilah. Do not separate your self from the community. These emerging scholars, social activists and Social Workers that are publically recognized here are thus connected. May we all embrace community as have they! Ma Tunda ya Kwanza – with the fruits of all of our harvest! "

Audre Lorde’s (1978) Litany of Survival

and when we speak we are afraid/
our words will not be heard/ nor welcomed/
but when we are silent/ we are still afraid/
So it is better to speak/
remembering/ we were never meant to survive (pp. 31-32)

Backpack says hi

Minimalist Compass

Minimalist Google Drive Doodles

Esquire's How to Tie a Scarf Like a Pro

Source: Link