5 Things Friday
Vaccines, economic relief, extra charges for Derek Chauvin, and one more lame white guy out of a job. We did some shit!
It's Friday, and it feels like a good one. We have some serious economic relief coming to our teachers, our small businesses, our parents, and our PEOPLE. We have vaccines flowing, the trial of Derek Chauvin is ready to kick off (with an extra charge of third-degree murder added this week), and, as a perk, we have one more lame white guy out of a job.
It's a good time to remember that WE did this. Each and every one of these things could not have been accomplished without the protesting, petition signing, donating, and voting that we did over this past year.
And guess what? We are just getting warmed up. Here are your 5 Things.
DONATE TO THIS. It's officially been one year since the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. And for so many of us, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel as we, and those we love, are getting vaccinated! After such a trying year, it's easy to forget we are the lucky ones, living in a country with front-of-the-line access (and $$) to get the vaccine. On Wednesday the U.N. urged countries to contribute more money to help lower-income countries access coronavirus vaccines, saying around $1 billion was still needed, and every little bit helps! So when we got an email from a loyal 5 Things subscriber generously offering to match up to $1000 in donations that our community makes to the COVAX program, we immediately opened our wallet, and pledged to ask you to do the same. Donate right here to Gavi, a global health organization working to supply COVID-19 shots to emerging economies. Then EMAIL US HERE the amount you donated (or drop it in the comments here), so your donation can be matched!
LISTEN TO THIS. For (yet another) lesson in white supremacy, listen to this Code Switch episode on how the Hawaiian language was nearly wiped out of existence after the islands were colonized by the U.S. government in 1896. The native language was banned from school instruction immediately after the U.S. government illegally overthrew the Hawaiian government, and students would routinely be punished for uttering it inside classrooms for over 100 years. In almost all public spaces, English quickly replaced Hawaiian. The language was on the verge of dying out completely until a group of young people decided to create a strong community of Hawaiian speakers—as they were learning to speak it themselves.
WATCH THIS. Black feminist collective SeeBlackWomxn—A Bay Area group of artists, activists, curators and writers raised on Black feminist theory—has just launched a five-part digital event series with the de Young Museum designed to discuss the future of aesthetic and somatic expression in the contemporary Black Arts scene. Part of Virtual Wednesdays, a programming series that highlights diverse viewpoints that engage and reframe the museum’s exhibitions and collections, you can tune in every Wednesday at 5pm PST via the de Young’s YouTube channel. The first episode aired this past Wednesday, but you can still watch it here.
READ THIS. Jillian Knox and Elvis Santoyo launched the home decor brand Casa Ojo to bring exquisite designs across the border while providing support to Mexico’s artisans.“There’s a lot of integrity behind what we do and a lot of equity. Everyone we have worked with has been able to expand their own business. This is really about equity and our responsibility in educating people as to where things come from, and not watering down what these people make to suit our needs,” says Knox. Read the full, fascinating story about this cool, change-making couple, then SHOP all the gorgeous products on offer.
SIGN THIS. A violent white supremacist in Fort Wayne, Indiana, walked up to a car with three Black teenagers and unloaded his gun on them—killing Josh Cooper and Andy Retic and critically injuring Jaylin Rice who is now recovering in the hospital. Sign this petition right now to demand justice and accountability for the families of the #FortWayne3. The killer, Joseph Bossard, has been charged but not with a hate crime, and has yet to be convicted.