If your house was on fire, who would you call?
This week I was thinking about: the surge of COVID-19 cases in India, moments of flow, the definition of friendship, healthy boundaries, and at home workouts. Starting at the beginning I’m thinking about how India’s number of cases have been the highest to date while a lot of folks have received their vaxes in the US and want to believe that we’re not still in a global pandemic. The photos in places like Miami where clubs have thousands of people are quite shocking and as all the IG memes i’ve seen have already pointed out, looking especially at you for support if you dawn an egregiously cultural appropriative “Namaste All Day” shirt or own Lululemon leggings. We’ve linked a few organizations to look into if you’re looking for places to donate to and linking this article here that I saw on our friend’s Twitter.
I'm thinking of moments of flow because as many of you might already be aware... I LOVE a good panel (attending and moderating)!! AND this week in my job I was able to be on a virtual stage with THE Tina Tchen. And yes, she was as insightful and amazing as I would have expected. Speaking of Tinas, please go watch the Tina documentary on HBO Max of an amazing freaking woman. And yes, I did mention Dolly’s documentary in week six’s Substack for anyone who is keeping track.
Thirdly, my friend Steph (s/o Steph) asked me what the definition of friendship was a while back and I've since asked that question to many friends because it is fascinating to me. The most poetic I thought was Jon’s response: people who you initially overlap with. YAS! My definition is just people I enjoy spending time with and two people have said folks on my call list who would let me crash with them if my house was on fire. HIGHLY SPECIFIC. This question reminds me of the game We’re Not Really Strangers, which I think is fun. Something I miss is unintentionally overlapping with people you know but are not friends with, have met once and there’s no middle part of the venn diagram of your life that overlaps.
Along those lines, I’m also thinking about healthy boundaries. See this account @nedratawwab from some great content that just speaks to your inner soul. For example, “Now and then I have to remind myself: That I have come a long way, that I am capable of figuring things out, and that I am deserving of joy, grace, peace, and blessings.
Also, I generally just have a lot of gratitude for at home workouts because it gets the body moving and we love to see that. ANYWHOO, hope you’re crushing it bbs. Be good people. XOXO, kick ass. We’ve officially kicked off May!
Books I wish Read in High School
Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by bell hooks, I wish that I read any of bell hooks’s work as part of the high school reading curriculum but alas I was stuck along with everyone else with damn Catcher in the Rye. -_- Yes, I'm still bitter. In Teaching Community, hooks gets #personal and shares her lived experiences to highlight how to engage in hard conversations around privilege, race, class, and justice on the reg. She also highlights the important role of teachers to create an inclusive classroom and that starts with intention. A good education should not be gate kept for the privileged.
Read if: you’re into inclusive teaching, restorative justice, bell hooks and intentional community.
Books Where You Save Yourself
Crying in Hmart, Michelle Zauner: Grab the issues, first. This book is from musician Japanese Breakfast who discovered it from my always trendy friend Z (she coined the term Pureee so please give her ™ rights!). After a viral 2018 New Yorker essay, Michelle uses that as a springing board to explore her upbringing in a Korean American household, losing her mother to cancer and an exploration of her identity through the foods she eats. I love this book. I also love H-mart (if you havent been, drop everything and go now because only then will you realize what it's like for my mom to be on a first name basis with the fish man who always gives her number 4 chopped-style Mackerel without the head every Saturday morning).
Read if: Identity is on the mind & you know food is the mirror looking back at who you are.
On Trend
Neti, Neti by Anjum Hassan, this story is said to rip your heart out in a good way, a coming of age story of Sophie, 25 years old finding her way in the city of Bangalore. She is figuring out what it means to be on her own, figuring out life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As a reminder, women are disproportionately impacted by the global pandemic. Our heart is breaking for the surge that India is seeing. The economic loss of Indian women losing their jobs is US$216 billion and as we know this will impact generations to come. Women have also reported substantial increases in domestic work and domestic violence. We need to support our brothers and sisters in India. Here are some places to donate: Ketto, Youth Feed India, and Indian Red Cross.
Read if: You’re looking for a beautifully written coming of age story of a woman of color, a southeast asian woman.
Not your typical eat, pray, love
Love is an Ex-Country, Randa Jarrar: Randa is taking back the American road trip because that shit is too good to just be for white people. After reading about larger than life Egyptian actress Tahia Carioca and her cross country trip in 1946, Jarrar sets out on her road trip that is all about finding home for a queer Arab-American who knows there are many people from both cultures who do not like her and what Randa stands for. Cross country we go with Randa but we also ride with her through memory lane.
Read if: you’re about breaking the box when it doesn’t fit for you b/c one size doesn’t fit all & you also lol when Brown people reclaim white things (bc they should) and did white people really think that they could keep that stuff to themselves?????
Decolonize your mind
The Little Book of Restorative Justice for People in Prison: Rebuilding the Web of Relationships Book by Barb Toews, I also have restorative justice on the brain this week. In this book Toews discusses the effed up prison system. The United States is home to 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prisoners. Literally disgusting. Restorative justice boiled down believes that people are naturally good, we’re all human/interconnected, and that we need to invest in one another through tools like community agreements as well as collaborative thinking. Instead of using punitive strategies, flip society’s paradigm and ask how we can use more restorative language. This book delves into the criminal justice system and how we need to freaking dismantle and decolonize our thoughts. P.S. I like this YouTube video by David at Amplify RJ using the metaphor of a tree to explain RJ.
Read if: you think that the prison system is effed, you think that the prison system is working perfectly, you’re interested in restorative justice, you don’t know what restorative justice is and if you’re looking to decolonize your mind. ;) see what I did there
Independent Bookstore Map:
This week we’re highlighting Grassrootz Bookstore located in Phoenix, AZ specifically in Eastlake Park. Grassroots Bookstore is Arizona's Black-owned, Activist-owned, and Worker-owned bookstore. WOO! Ali Nervis opened the doors of Grassrootz in 2019 and this is a very holistic business folks. In addition to being a bookstore, they offer a co-working space for entrepreneurs of color (including helping to identify where to get that $$$ from local loans/grants) and operate a juice bar.