I’ve been playing around with a few different AI (artificial intelligence) websites for fun. One of them will take a picture and alter it however you choose. I took my headshot and told the AI to add a circus lion. I’m not showing the picture, it was a bit risqué. Another time I directed the AI to add sushi or put a Star Trek theme around me. It was funny to see what came up and a great way to burn 20-minutes. AI has a lot of potential, but it isn’t foolproof. In today’s NY Times there is an article with a dire headline: “A.I. Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn.” Since I’m not extinct yet, I didn’t ask ChatGPT to write this blog post.

Presently, AI can help to educate about race, but for the near future we need to invest in our own learning with time and personal experience.

Paul Simon – What’s a white dude has to do with it?

On my daily dog walks, I’m listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s book Miracle and Wonder, Conversations with Paul Simon. When the book popped up on my library queue, I paused and thought “Why’d I put a book about a white dude on hold?” but since it is a Malcolm Gladwell book I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. The audiobook is excellent. Both Gladwell and Simon’s voices are narrating the book and they interweave Simon’s singing.

While listening to the book I also thought about a podcast I had just listened to about AI technology. I realized AI can’t teach about race deeply (yet) because it doesn’t know how to draw upon different life experiences and weave them into a cohesive narrative. AIs can give you academic and basic answers about race. I tested the theory by asking ChatGPT to write a few paragraphs about race. It spit out some decent answers. But some of the best race work can’t be done by an AI because it doesn’t know how to take abstract concepts and blend them to push thinking or experiment with its writing to find the right tone, mix of thoughts, or interesting ways of forcing new thinking.

Gladwell talked about cultural immersions and experimentation as being part of Paul Simon’s musical genius. Simon’s music is influenced by many different sources and he experimented all the time. He wasn’t afraid to try something and deem it not usable or up to his musical standards. Gladwell talks about how different great musicians of that era were influenced by different radio channels they could pickup which introduced different types of music – such as Gospel, jazz, Mexican music, etc. Simon also talks about how he can’t imitate other sounds, he found it necessary to hop on a plane and record in different locales to ensure he was hiring musicians with those authentic sounds to get his music right. The riffing off different musicians led to some of his best music. His music is known for its South African, gospel, and playing with sounds (non-words la, la, laaa, sound).

Respectfully immersing ourselves into different cultures is important to learning about race. Being uncomfortable and around situations that are different helps us learn, build empathy and tolerance, and forces new thinking. It helps to break the known neural pathways that lead to our biases. It also gives us a bigger reservoir of experiences to draw upon when we encounter a new situation.

Gladwell included an audio clip of an NBA player (I can’t remember which one, and I can’t find it in the audio book at the moment) who recounted in detail how a game went. The player was re-living the game in his head for the interview. Gladwell talked about how having these detailed memories and deep mental bench of experiences allowed the basketball star to play at a peak level. He could quickly draw on his memory to adjust his game versus being like me on the basketball court – looking like a stunned deer. For us non-NBA players having deep diverse experiences allows us to bring richness and nuances to understand race and adjust our work to be deeper and better and more quickly responsive to POC community needs.

Currently, I doubt an AI can make these quick pivots and draw on diverse experiences to get race work right. If we think about where AI’s are drawing their information from it is from published material. Who currently has access to being published favors privileged people – white, formally educated, English literate (for English generating AIs), access to publishing privilege, tech literate, etc. Some will say the internet breaks down barriers to being published, that is true (this blog is proof of that since it is self-published – mistakes and all), there isn’t equal access to the internet.

No AI generated posts yet

I joked with a friend that I should take a week off and allow ChatGPT to write a few posts. But nah, the AI wouldn’t have the same personal nuances. Maybe I’ll test it out by asking ChatGPT to write about race combining Malcolm Gladwell, Paul Simon, and an unknown NBA player to see what it gives me.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Robin, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Sue C D, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

I just finished listening to the audiobook What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. I’ve put off reading it since it is a heavy topic, but the audiobook popped up in my library queue right when I had finished listening to another book so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. In the book, Foo delves into her childhood abuse and subsequent complex PTSD. In the later part of the book, she writes about her present-day work to heal and move forward with her life and mental health diagnosis. I won’t give away the details of the book, but one of the themes in the book is healing, which lead her to a therapist who worked with her on the importance of repairing relationships.

Working on racialized problems and working to undo racism is messy, tangled, and hard. All of us, regardless of race, will mess up at times and cause harm to someone we’re in a relationship with in some way. (Relationships include work relationships, friendships, and family relationships — not just intimate or romantic relationships.) When these ruptures in our relationships happen an apology is often a first step, but moving it beyond an apology to include work at repairing a relationship will go further.

A basic apology is often a one-way transactional interaction. This is why now formulaic statements, in the vein of ‘thoughts and praryers,’ after a tragedy do little and are not sufficient. It says I’m sorry something happened, but there is no attunement to relationship and repair work that needs to take place. There is no love or an investment into a relationship with thoughts and prayers statements.

Repair work is deeper than an apology. It asks both sides to come together to acknowledge what happened. This takes self-awareness and empathy. Self-awareness, when emotions are high, is taxing. I know when I’m in the moment and upset I don’t want to be self-aware, I want to be righteous and right. Once I’ve come down a bit from the emotional high is the place where I have to stop and evaluate how to repair the relationship.

Earlier this week a colleague who works in informal dispute resolution told me about how she coached an administrator to talk to a grandparent who was deeply unhappy with how her grandchild was treated at school. The school administrator felt he’d taken all of the steps he was required to – he’d checked off all of the legal and policy steps he was required to do. He was hesitant to talk to the grandparent since he knew they were justifiably upset with him and the school. Talking to someone who is upset is very rarely at the top of anyone’s list of things they want to do, thus he avoided the grandparent. After talking to my colleague who coached the administrator on how to talk and listen to the grandparent they had a productive conversation. The grandparent wanted to be understood. The grandparent and administrator took steps towards repairing their very tentative relationship. After the conversion, the grandparent was less upset, and the administrator understood more about what had happened that led to the conflict — empathy had grown between them. They were also able to avoid a drawn-out administrative process that wouldn’t have benefited either side.

Many times repair processes can be healing and help people move forward. I have friends and colleagues who work on restorative justice processes. For these processes to work people have to invest in them with openness even though they may be hurt and be willing to invest in the relationship. For people, especially people of color, who experienced a racialized incident this can be hard and not something they are willing to revisit. Racism cuts deep and can’t always be repaired quickly.

Repair work takes time. Sometimes it can be accomplished in one conversation, but other times it takes many conversations, patience, and empathy to reach a place of repair. Shame and hurt over causing a breach in the relationship can be constricting and cause people to want to avoid starting a relationship repair.

Relationships are the basis of moving race work forward. Along the way we will mess up and a relationship may be at risk of ending. Instead of avoiding the problem, we should pause and work on seeing the relationship as valuable and working on repairing the hurt that was caused.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Robin, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Sue C D, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month, it is time to share a few of my favorite books by Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander authors. Representation matters and I hope people will include some of these authors in their ebook queues and overflowing stacks of paper or eyeball-reading books.

As a note, I get very annoyed with book lists and other lists during AANHPI month that are not inclusive of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders. I am listing the ethnicities of the writers as I know them to highlight and encourage people to read diverse AANHPI works and to especially call out the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander books on this list.

Lei Aloha: Celebrating the Vibrant Flowers and Lei of Hawai’i by Meleana Estes (Native Hawaiian) is eye candy. The book has full-color pictures printed on nice paper and with interesting history and narratives about leis this book is a joy to browse through. It looks like a fancy cookbook in weight, design and feel, but unlike a cookbook, it isn’t a how-to book. You won’t find detailed instructions on how to make leis, but you will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of lei making in Hawai’i.

I’ve probably shared Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy (Indian American) on other lists on Fakequity, but it is now out in paperback. I appreciated Murthy’s focusing on human connections and weaving science with real life examples of why connecting with others is important for health and community wellbeing. I still think back to parts of the book and have carried some of the lessons I’ve learned from this book into my daily work.

I haven’t read this book yet, but I’m really excited about Lee Cataluna’s latest book of plays Flowers of Hawai’i and Other Plays. Cataluna is a writer in Hawai’i who captures the essence and people of Hawai’i well. If you enjoy traveling to Hawai’i please take time to read works by contemporary writers from Hawai’i, this is a good place to start.  

What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo (Chinese) is deep. Foo delves into her history as she works to heal from complex PTSD. This book isn’t for everyone, but if you get into it there is a lot to learn and unpack about mental illness, family dynamics, Asian American and immigrant stories, and healing.

Habitat Threshold by Craig Santos Perez (Chamorro, from the Island of Guåhan, Guam) is a book of environmental poetry. It is stark and maybe will shake many of us out of our complacency and complicity around climate change.

Younger Readers

I am in love with 8-year-old Jasmine Toguchi and her adventures. I’m so glad author Debbi Michiko Florence added to the Jasmine Toguchi series. In the newest books Jasmine Toguchi Brave Explorer and Jasmine Toguchi Peace-Maker, Jasmine and her family travel to Japan where she learns more about being a supportive sister and friend.

The Yasmin book series is another favorite. Yasmin is an elementary school age girl who many beginning chapter book readers can relate to. I’m including the Yasmin books on this list to highlight the many Muslim Asians and a Pakistani writer.

Wishes by Muon Thi Van (Vietnamese) is told with very few words. The sparse text is meaningful and guides readers to understand more about the Vietnamese immigrant experience. The pictures are gorgeous and add to the poetic nature of the book.

I recently donated a copy of Gibberish by Young Vo to my friend who is an elementary school counselor. When I caught up with Counselor Elizabeth she told me about how she read it to a third grade class. She noticed a few of the boys who would normally be on the side listening but fidgeting slowly crept over and were hovering over the book as she read it. They related to the story of the young boy who has trouble making himself understood because of language and disability. (Unknown ethnicity of author.)

What Asian and Pacific Islander authors are you reading? I’m always on the hunt for new books. Send me your recommendations. This list is very incomplete, but it is a snapshot of some good books I’ve enjoyed or hope to enjoy over the next few weeks and months.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Sue C D, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

All is a dangerous word, especially when coupled with the word equity.

It is time for the annual reminder, there isn’t such a thing as equity for all. That would be equality. Equality for all is redundant, see where I’m going with this?

Equity is not meant for everyone, all, to have the same. Equity means we look at where people are, look at the goals, and figure out different ways for different groups of people to reach that same goal. Equity also requires us to do the harder work of being in justice-based relationships with people and making resources, sharing or giving power, and sometimes stepping back so others can lead.

One group may need a head start because they are further behind, another group may need different tools or access to different instruments to achieve the same goal, and so on.

Here is a practical example. If the goal is every student receives an education, the way each student gets there might be a little different.

Group A – Regular classroom support, basic classes, and relationships with teachers.

Group B – Immigrant students who are new to the country and do not understand English, will need more language support, and ongoing support around settling into a new community.

Group C – Students with various disabilities will need different support than other groups. Such as they may need access to elevators, learning aids such as screen readers, or accommodations such as more time to turn in assignments.

Group D – Black students, recognizing the education system has not been equal or inviting to many Black students and currently many Black students are not graduating at the same rates as their white counterparts. Working with the Black community and learning about their needs and the diversity within Black communities is important to getting to equity.

Group E – Indigenous and Native American students, understanding how education was used as a tool to systemically decimate Native communities.

And so on. Everyone gets what they need, but not the same. Equity is not equal, and it is not for all. While everyone may get what they need, we don’t need to say equity for all – there is no such thing.

Equity for all would allow one group, Group A most likely, to take more than they need. It also wouldn’t recognize the starting point for each group is very different.

All is a dangerous word

When I edit writing and I see the word all, I have to pause to see if it is really necessary. Ninety-five percent of the time I strike the word and the sentence doesn’t change much. All is dangerous because we use it often, but we rarely work towards serving all or everyone. If we worked to serve everyone we would fail miserably and waste a lot of time and resources. Instead of focusing on all or even using platitudes like “Equity for all,” or “Justice for all” we focus and get clearer about our goals.

When we say all we let ourselves off the hook for drilling in deeper and articulating what needs to be done. My friend CiKeithia likes to remind me, people and organizations really good at saying what we don’t want around race work, but they forget to say what we’re building towards.

The word all gives people permission to default to access versus practicing equity. A few days ago Heidi emailed me a screenshot of a press release talking about tree equity. Do trees need equity? The movement to ensure there is ACCESS to trees is a good one, but access isn’t equity. If you need a primer on this make sure to review Heidi’s really great mapping tool. Equity requires harder work of ensuring people most impacted by disparities have a say in determining their futures.

Equity is hard. All is easy. Do the harder work and stop saying equity for all.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

Happy May 4! AKA Star Wars Day. But this isn’t a critique of the Star Wars franchise as it relates to race and social justice – that sounds tempting, but I will have to do some research and rewatch the movies to make that happen. (Sidenote: Remind me to tell you how Moana and Star Wars The Force Awakens are the same).

Since it is May, we get to celebrate Kodomo no hi tomorrow Children’s day and Boy’s day in Japan, and in the US it is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Here are a few notes if you’re celebrating/honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Celebrate the diversity of Asian and the Pacific Islands in America – it isn’t East Asian and Sometimes Southeast Asian Heritage Month with a sprinkling of others month — It is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Too many organizations forget, practice laziness, or have honest oversights about the diversity of the API race group and default to primarily focusing on East Asians. Do it right and honor the greater diversity of APIs.

Learn about AAPIs

The race group is very diverse and expansive. The Asian race group spans from:

• East Asia: Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, etc.
• Southeast Asia: Viet Nam, Thailand, etc.,
• South Asia: India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, etc.,
• Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,
• West Asia and Middle East: Armenia, United Arab of Emirates, Yemen, Qatar, Palestine, etc.*

*Currently in the US Census Middle East rolls up into the white race category. There are conversations to have the Middle East become its own race group. For now, I am including the Middle East in Asia as a point of inclusion and want to acknowledge and honor West Asia and Middle East people’s contributions.

In 2000, the US Census separated the Pacific Islander race group into their own category. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) include three major subregions of Oceania:

• Melanesia: Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, etc.
• Polynesia: New Zealand Māori, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti
• Micronesia: Guam, Caroline Islands, Palau, Yap

The lists above are not inclusive, the examples listed are meant to be geographic place markers.

Please make sure if you’re celebrating AAPI Heritage Month you are inclusive of many different regions of Asia and the Pacific Islands.

No Tokenism

As you celebrate the month, please make sure you stay away from tokenizing Asians and Pacific Islanders. We do not want a celebration that looks like a fake Hawaiian luau with plastic leis and blow-up palm trees. Stay away from caricatures of Asians or over femininized Asian women.

Instead do some research and learn about the Asians and Pacific Islanders in your community. Migration patterns are different for different ethnic groups; this is reflected in where different ethnic and language groups have settled in the US and beyond. Learn about the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in your area and get to know them. EPIC’s website has a lot of great information about the Pacific Islander diaspora in the US. I also remember reading in Detours about how Native Hawaiians migrated to Washington state, and in particular how Kalama, a town in Washington can trace its name back to a Native Hawaiian.

As an example, I live in Seattle and since it is spring, I am enjoying watching the Samoan cricket league start to gear up. During the summer my neighborhood park becomes the home field to the Samoan Cricket League. I don’t understand the game, but I enjoy watching the families settle into the park on Saturdays to play, watch cricket, and be their authentic selves. Sometimes if I’m lucky some of the families have food and drinks for sale. It is a treat and reminds me of food from Hawai’i. Last year I spied some round donuts and asked the aunty what they were, she told me and gave me a sample. It tasted exactly like andagi, Okinawan donuts. I told her we call it andagi in Okinawan and bought a few to share with my kid.

Learning More

As an Asian who grew up in a majority Asian community, I know I have blind spots. I grew up mostly with East Asians and Native Hawaiians. I have a lot more to learn about other Asian and Pacific Islander experiences.

I also have to learn a lot more about the intersectionality of the Asian experience with other race groups, such as how is the Asian-Black experience different, awareness of indigenity with Asians and Pacific Islanders, disabled Asian and disabled Pacific Islanders experience, etc. I recently read Sonora Jha’s book How to Raise a Feminist Son. While Jha and I are both Asian women our experiences, I learned a lot about how she sees the intersections of feminism and different forms of identity.

Celebrate and Honor AAPIs

Please celebrate and honor Asian American and Pacific Islanders. We are here and we contribute mightily to our communities. Don’t dismiss the month, take some time to enjoy what AAPI month has to offer.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

Earlier this week I heard a colleague and friend defend his dissertation. It was amazing. Kaleb researched the meaning of place and learning for Black students and other students of color who traditionally do not have a space of their own (e.g. colonization, gentrification, stolen lands, redlining, push-out effect, etc). When Kaleb and I worked together we were part of a nonprofit rooted in a geographic space. It was cozy and wonderful. COVID disrupted our time together, but I’m grateful we got to spend time together and now I get to learn from a newly minted PhD.

Place Matters

Kaleb and I first met when we were part of a place-based organization. The organization was rooted in a very specific geography to focus on people of color. I enjoyed building deep relationships within this community. Through that work, I also learned how important place matters for policy work. I was reminded of that today when I listened to a presentation on preschool enrollment and saw how having specific preschools in specific neighborhoods really impacted the demographics of the program. Place matters.

If we know place matters, it is also important to know the stories within these places.

Begin to Understand the Stories

Every place has an indigenous/pre-colonized story. That is a great place to start exploring some of the stories of a place. As an example, I researched the original place name for my neighborhood. The original Lushootseed name is qWátSéécH, translated to green-yellow spine – which is very true of the neighborhood. Connecting to the original place name is important to understanding the Native American history, and more specifically the Duwamish stories of this place. Equally important is to ask why aren’t these place name stories more readily told. Whose stories are we burying and silencing and why aren’t they readily shared? We switch from silencing Indigenous stories to understanding and centering Indigenous and POC stories.

Who is telling the story?

Place matters, and the story keepers matter too. We need to treat stories with care, especially linguistic care. Staying true to their original meaning and original creation. Kaleb shared an example of how one of the projects he worked on for his dissertation was with a Deaf youth group. The students Kaleb was working with wanted to understand how to communicate more seamlessly with their Deaf counterparts, recognizing the language and disabilities differences.

We need to ask how these stories can support or exclude people. Taking care in creating ways to include people in the meaning of our stories is important. It is also important to reflect on which stories belong to certain communities and do not need to be shared at the risk of harming a POC community.

As I thought about this post I thought about a few places where we can begin to unearth the stories our places hold. I’m sharing it to help us find our stories and to use them to create wonder and reflection.

• Indigenous place names – research the original place name and pronunciation of your city, town, neighborhood. What is the story behind the name?
• Family stories rooted in important places to your family.
• What are the stories of harm to Black and Indigenous, or other POC communities related to places you belong. As an example, colonization, red lining, etc. What are the stories of liberation, justice, or place making by POCs in your communities?
• What are some of the native plants in your area, what are the POC stories related to some of these natural wonders?
• If you’re in an urban space, what are the migration stories of how people got there? What are the founding stories and how do POCs interact with those stories — do POCs belong or are they written out of the place story?

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

Photo of a mural of two Black sisters left girl’s hands making a heart shape, both smiling. Source: Flickr / lunapark

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Eid Mubarak to our Muslim relations. Happiness and joy during this special season.

22 April is Earth Day. Environmental disasters and climate change impact people of color differently and often more severely than many white people or people with privileges. It often isn’t people of color who are the ones making the detrimental environmental conditions. I hope you’ll take some time to learn about the environmental justice movement. If you’re looking for a great book to get started Braiding Sweetgrass is a gorgeous book that is finally getting the attention it deserves. A young adult version was recently released too.

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A few weeks ago, I went to the Pacific Science Center’s fundraising luncheon. Sandwiched between the warm and soothing butterfly house and an IMAX theatre (which is one of the best theatres in the area) we heard fabulous speakers talk about their passions for learning and inspiring curiosity. The keynote speaker Matt Oppenheimer, founder of Remitly (an international money transfer company) said something that stuck with me. He said, “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.” He talked about this principle of how he built Remitly – the problem was people needed to move money quicker and cheaper. Oppenheimer talked about how he had to be careful not to become wedded to one idea or solution in trying to solve that problem, especially as he built his company and had invested a lot of time and effort into solutions to the problem.

When I heard that phrase, my first reaction was “How do we fall in love with racism? Racism is bad – very bad, not lovable bad.” But there is something there. We have to figure out how to love the problem so we stick with it and not abandon solving racism.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ quote from Between the World and Me: “But race is the child of racism, not the father,” lays out the problem to love nicely. Race and racism are social constructs. Race has become a way to make the world more understandable for our modern lives – there is no other need for race other than what we make it. Yet we need to pay attention to race because race and its consequences have permeated every aspect of our lives and we need to figure out how to love the problem so we fix the problem of racism.

I see white people often fall in love with their solutions. It looks like creating programs for people of color, savior-ism tactics around giving something, missionary work, and so on. People fall in love with their solutions and not the problem of race. The solutions they dream up and carry out give white people and the systems that perpetuate them meaning, value, jobs, and proximity to power. Even when the solutions are band-aids or are flat-out not working for people of color, white people and their systems, which many pocs work in and are part of (myself included), continue to perpetuate them because we love the wrong things, or it is easier to continue then to break apart a legacy of bad love.

We need to fail faster

If we fall in love with the problem and the people at the heart of the problem, we can identify what isn’t working faster. One of my genius colleagues, a Black disabled woman, will often ask “How will you know when you failed?” She also has a genius way of asking this right in the middle of big presentations where people are proudly showing off their new shiny programs. It brings the conversation back down to earth and jabs right at the heart of the problem. Her point is, we often have an idea of what success will look like, but rarely define what failure looks like. Project and program logic models, grant documents, and so often have us define what success will look like. What is the aspirational goal or the north star we’re marching towards. Rarely are we asked to articulate what failure will look like, what are the warning signs, the symptoms, the lack of traction that we need to look for so we can stop what isn’t working quicker. Too often systems want to see success on their terms without recognizing the signs of failure. Oppenheimer talked about failing faster so he could get back to loving the problem and not a solution that wasn’t working.

How to fall in love with a problem

I’m still figuring out how to fall in love with a problem I don’t want to love. In order to love something we have to know it, understand all of its greatness and nuances, and listen to it with all of our attention-not half-heartedly while we scroll on our phones. I am working on figuring out how to love racism and give it the attention it needs so I can solve it. In the meantime, I have a love for my Black and Brown friends, neighbors, and relations – they have the knowledge, resiliency, humor, indigeneity, and fortitude to see problems and solutions, to build and sometimes repair, and love another for justice’s sake.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sally, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

It is spring break for me, so tonight’s post is going to be short. Before I start it is Arab American Heritage Month, an important time to honor and recognize our Arab American relations and to work to make their work and culture visible.

Since it is spring break, here is my to-do list – maybe it will inspire you too. Punchline — this list is not like the wild spring breaks of reality TV, much duller and simpler.

Read some of the books in my growing pile – My attention span for reading is a bit short these days, so one goal is to read a paper book. I have been enjoying audiobooks as I walk my dog. My pile of books is exclusively POC or about disabilities, so it is even more urgent to get back into them. If you need some book suggestions for your own reading stack check out last week’s post or previous Fakequity book posts.

I recently learned April is National Poetry Month. Spring is a great time to pick up a book of poetry by POC authors. I just found Nikki Grimes One Last Word book at the library. Like its companion book Legacy, it is written in Golden Shovel methodology which makes it very intriguing.

Walk outside and enjoy the changing scene. I grew up in Hawai’i where the season changes are a bit muted, but still lovely year-round. Now that I’m in Seattle it is very neat to see how the cherry blossom trees are coming back, flowers popping up, and the sun is staying out a little later.

Learn about native plants and pollinators – I read up on milkweed plants and butterflies and found the topic fascinating. If you’re in an area where you can grow native milkweed plants, it might be fun to plant some to see if you can support monarch butterfly migration. I’m still figuring out which milkweed plants are native to my area before ordering.

Take in a cultural festival – On Sunday I’m planning on visiting a Cherry Blossom festival to watch a taiko performance. And the Merrie Monarch Hula Competition also just started. Merrie Monarch is a huge deal in Hawai’i. It is the place where the best hula halaus perform and compete. More importantly, it helps to keep hula and Native Hawaiian culture and language alive.

Cook veggies – Last week I went to the Asian grocery store in my neighborhood and bought some veggies, they have been languishing in the fridge. Tonight, I pulled them out and made an impromptu stir-fry with some Korean condiments to use those down too. The no-recipe dish came out pretty good and I’m giving myself a high five for a vegan dinner and using what I had on hand. I’ve been reading more about indigenous foods, climate change, and environmentalism — which indirectly influenced tonight’s dinner.

Watch Beef on Netflix. I haven’t started it yet – I need to finish my current show first.

Civic learning. Today I took one of my kids to the state capitol since I had to run a work errand in that area. He asked a lot of good questions. We learned more about representative democracy together, including who is not represented well in civic life because of access, privileges, and purposeful exclusions. There is also a special election where I live — earlier in the week I voted and walked my ballot to the ballot box. I am grateful Washington State is a vote-by-mail state and my ability to vote is intact. I wish I could take this for granted, but over the past few years I see how fragile voting rights have become.

Play a few board games – Ok this one has very little value to racial equity since most of the games we currently have and play are based on capitalism and resource hoarding. But I like games and it stretches critical thinking skills. It also opens space for learning life skills and having fun. Earlier this week my youngest bankrupted me in Monopoly by building a hotel on Boardwalk, which I landed on TWICE – game over.

 I hope your spring break list includes a mix of learning, fun, and enjoying the seasonal shifts.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

I invited my upper elementary school kid to write this week’s blog post. She loves to read graphic novels and has racked up a collection of favorites. I thought it would be fun to have her share a few of her favorites by POC authors or about disabilities. I limited her to five of her favorite graphic novels, otherwise, this blog post would be three times as long. Stay tuned for future posts with updated recommendations from her.

The below text is from my kid with light editing for clarity. She handwrote the post and I typed it up for her. My notes are in italics to round out her writing.

Just Roll With It

This book is about a girl named Maggie who loves RPG [role playing games] and figures out she has OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder].

Invisible: A Graphic Novel

This book is about a group of kids who help a little kid and her mom.

The book also explores the diversity within the Latino/Latinx community. A diverse group of Latino middle school students are sent to the cafeteria to fulfill community service hours. Through their time together they learn about each other and learn how to help others.

Black Blood Acolyte

This book is about two kids name Kita and Kanna who are mages but the king banned magic so they have to do it secret.

This is one of her favorite books. A bit of fantasy and science fiction, but not too much to keep it relatable. My kid hopes this book becomes a series.

Tidesong

This book is about a girl named Sophie who is awesome at magic and goes to live with her grandma to help her get better.

The Prince & The Dressmaker

This book is good. It is about a prince named Sebastian who likes to wear dresses in secret.

My kid’s teacher loves graphic novels as much as my kid. Her teacher handed her this book during independent reading time and it became a favorite. This is a good book to introduce gender fluidity and acceptance.

Erin’s Bonus Recommendations

I’ll throw in a few of my favorite middle grade graphic novels.

Stuntboy

My kid would probably argue this isn’t a graphic novel, but more of a reading book with pictures. In any case, the story is thoughtful, delightful, and funny as you follow Portico Reeves through several adventures. It also introduces what it is like to live with anxiety (mental health/disability) and working through ‘the frets.’

Superman Smashes the Klan

This is an oldie but goodie recommendation. Superman Smashes the Klan was one of the first graphic novels I read that sucked me back into graphic novels for middle grades. Gene Yuen weaves historical fiction (WWII anti-Japanese sentiment) with superhero charisma. My older kid enjoyed this too and introduced his middle school friends to the book.

I hope you find a few fun books to share with middle-grade readers or maybe for yourself. If you liked these recommendations hit the like button and we’ll see about bringing back my kid to share more of her recommendations.

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Why I wrote this: To share diverse books for middle grade readers. There are many book lists out there but middle-grade lists are sometimes a little harder to find.

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Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Dennis F, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lola, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.

One of my secret skills is writing bios for friends. Earlier this week a friend challenged me to write a bio for her dog, so I did. I’m taking the idea and running with it for this week’s blog post – this will not be a work of genius, just some doggie fun.

This week I present four Social Justice Dogs of South Seattle – MeiMei, Perigee, Sitka, and Miki. Read their bios to learn more about their stance on race and what they have to offer. These are tongue in cheek bios that are not meant to be taken seriously. These are wonderful dogs who are delightful and a handful. Hopefully you’ll enjoy their social justice not-dating bios.

Meet MeiMei

MeiMei is a poodle-lab mix with a lot of energy. Despite being white MeiMei does not believe in white fragility. When MeiMei senses a white person is about to shed white tears, she will lie down and ignore you. MeiMei will not come over and comfort you, instead, she’ll stare at you and remind you that your fragility around race isn’t about you. MeiMei will demand you pull yourself together. Her endless energy does not allow for wallowing in hurt feelings, she’s all about moving forward, which race work demands of us. Before you think MeiMei is being generous to you, please remember MeiMei is all about her queenly self – give her the attention she deserves and you’ll feel better cause snuggling a dog does help with the emo-feels.

Perigee is Side-Eyeing You

Perigee arrived in Seattle from Hawai’i Island as a rescue. At first, she wasn’t a fan of the Seattle chill – literally and figuratively. Perigee’s best skill is getting people to understand that whatever they are arguing about is not worth the time and energy. Tackling bigger systemic problems is worth the fight. She does this by literally barking and getting people to move along. Once they disengage from their one-on-one arguments, they can begin to see how messed up the entire system is and work to fix that instead of petty arguments.

Perigee is also anti-capitalist and dislikes gentrification. Perigee hates all of the Amazon delivery trucks that stop in the middle of the street to deliver packages. She makes her dislike of Bezo’s blue smiles known by barking very loudly at the trucks. She also is pro-environment, but doesn’t like bicycles since she can’t ride them.

Miki and his true feelings

Miki does not mask his feelings. If he thinks your comment is racist or doesn’t pass his sniff test he’s outta there. As a pointer who likes to sniff and point Miki will sniff out inauthentic people and comments.

Miki has better things to do, like napping, than hanging around racial equity projects that are dull and mediocre. Miki also does not believe in pretension, his prey drive and desire to keep moving are strong. This is very handy if you want to keep a project moving forward and need to drag people or dogs along to work toward racial equity.

Sitka – Everyone Needs a Special Friend

Everyone needs a special friend to help explain race at times. Sitka is here for you as a non-judgmental friend. She’s got you if you’re feeling down and need someone to cry or laugh with as you figure out race. As a golden retriever, she is a people pleaser, but you do have to build a trusting and long-term relationship with Sitka. A pocketful of treats and belly rubs go a long way in relationship-building with Sitka. Remember relationships need to go two ways, you can’t just take from Sitka. Sitka needs something back from you, take this as your hint to build relationships and not just transactions (aka I take without investing in you). Sitka does take fan-mail, please email it to fakequity@gmail.com. 

I hope you enjoyed meeting these four special dogs.

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Why I wrote this: To have fun and I didn’t want to think hard, however it backfired and I ended up staying up just as late to finish it.

Thank you to our Patreon subscribers. At this time I don’t offer ‘extras’ or bonuses for Patreons. I blog after working a full-time job, volunteer and family commitments thus it is hard to find time to create more content. Whatever level you are comfortable giving pays for back-end costs, research costs, supporting other POC efforts, etc. If your financial situation changes please make this one of the first things you turn-off — you can still access the same content and when/if you are able to re-subscribe I’ll appreciate it.

Adrienne, Agent001, Aimie, Alayna, Alessandra, Alessandra, Alex E, Alexa, Aline, Alison FP, Alison P, Allison, Amanda, Amber, Amira, Amy, Amy K, Amy P, Amy R, Andie, Andrea J, Andrea JB, Andy, Angelica, Angelina, Ashlie, Aya, Barb, Barbara, Barrett, Betsy, Big Duck, Brad, Brenda, Bridget, Brooke B, Brooke DW, Cadence, Caitlin, Calandra, Callista, Cari, Carmen, Carolyn, Carrie B, Carrie C, Carrie S, Catherine, Chelsea, Christa, Christina C, Christina S, Clara, Clark, Courtney, Dan, dana, Danielle, Danya, Debbie, DeEtta, Denyse, Dennis, Diane, Don, Ed, Edith, Edith B, Eileen, Elizabeth, Emily, Erica J, Erica RB, Erin, Gene, Genita, Hannah, Hayden, Heather H, Heather M, Heidi and Laura, Heidi, Hilary, J Elizabeth, Jaime, Jake, James, Jane, Janet, Jelena, Jen C, Jen E,  Jen H, Jena, Jenn, Jennet, Jennifer, Jess, Jessica F, Jessica G, Jillian, Jody, John, Jon, Jordan L, Jordan S, Josie, Julia, Juliet, June, Karen, Kate, Katharine, Kathryn, Katie O, Kawai, Keisha, Kelly, Kiki, Kim, Kimberly, Kyla, LA Progressive, Laura, Lauren, Leah, Leslie, Lily, Liora, Lisa C, Lisa P-W, Lisa S, Liz, Lori, Lyn, Maegan, Maggie, Maile, Maka, Maki, Marc, Mareeha, Marilee, Mark, Matthew, Maura, McKenzie, Melissa, Melody, Meredith, Michael, Mickey, Migee, Mike, Milo, Mindy, Misha, Molly, Nat, Natasha, Nicole, paola, Peggy, PMM, Porsche, Rachel, Raquel, Rebecca, Sarah B, Sarah D, Sarah H, Sarah KB, Sarah R, Sarah S, Sarita, Selma, Sharon B, Sharon Y, Shaun, Shawna, Siobhan, Steph, Stephanie, Su, Sue, Susan, T Wang, Tania DSA, Tania TD, Tara, tash, Tim, Titilayo, Tracy G, Tracy TG, virginia, Vivian, Ward, Wendy, Willow, and Zan

If you subscribe to the blog, thank you. Please check fakequity.com for the most up-to-date version of the post. We often make grammatical and stylistic corrections after the first publishing which shows up in your inbox. Please subscribe, the sign-up box on the right sidebar (desktop version). To see what Erin is reading and recommended books check out the Fakequity Bookshop.

I am writing from the lands of the 29 federally recognized and non-federally recognized tribes in now Washington State, including the Coast Salish people — Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, and Native American organizations that have treaty rights and have been here since time immemorial. I give my thanks to the elders, Native and Indigenous colleagues and relations, and the land itself. Fakequity pays “rent” to Native organizations in Washington and Hawai’i; a small act to repair and work to be in more justice-based relations.