Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff
The story of Eroseanna Robinson, a bad ass Black skate activist in the 1950s. It was another young African American woman who would take the most blows from the skaters intent on keeping Skateland [a segregated rink in Cleveland, Ohio] white. Eroseanna (Sis) Robinson was a young staff member at a Cleveland community center in…
According to the economic model of Game Theory, the best strategy when faced with an opponent can be summed up as “be nice, be forgiving, but don’t be pushover.”
As Election Day gets nearer in the US, we’re likely to encounter repeated claims by various parties, including the President, that mail-in voting is more prone to fraud than in-person voting. In light of this, I’ve created a couple of handy infographics. Feel free to share! NOTE: This information is presented in my personal capacity…
“To be antiracist is to reject cultural standards and level cultural difference. Segregationalists say racial groups can not reach their superior cultural standard. Assimilationalists say racial groups can, with effort and intention, reach their superior cultural standards.” — Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist I’m reading the wonderful book How to Be an…
As a Filipino American, I sometimes feel like I am surfing that edge between white privilege and being a person of color. On the one hand, I have certainly experienced racism in the past, both micro-aggressions and actual aggression. But my experience is so far from what most black and brown people experience in this…
My friend Sophie Rubin created this super helpful video that breaks down clearly and succinctly all the factors that play into why California, particularly the San Francisco Bay Area, has such a problem with affordable housing. I knew some of these things going into the video, but was totally floored by all the tax policy…
The New York Times has an inspired write up about Quaker activist Benjamin Lay, “You’ll Never Be as Radical as This 18th-Century Quaker Dwarf.” It really speaks to my condition, as Friends say: “Lay, a hunchback as well as a dwarf, was the world’s first revolutionary abolitionist. Against the common sense of the day, when slavery…
My friend DJ posted to his Facebook wall this excellent summation of why fan culture matters in an our current era of aspiring autocrats and empires. I got his permission to repost it here. Remember, when you're rolling your eyes at all the people posting about "May the 4th be with you", think about what that actually…
I knew a little about South African politics and Apartheid before coming there. But being there in person brought home the brutality of Apartheid and the continuing challenges South Africans face as a multi-racial society. Historic Sites On our second day in Johannesburg, we visited the Apartheid Museum. The museum presents in rich and compelling detail…
This photo gives me all sorts of feelings as an Asian-american. There was a time – not very long ago– when people who looked a lot like me were judged as being a threat to the state by the very nature of their race and ancestry, rather than their deeds. They may have immigrated here and…