Photos By: Rebecca Gottbetter
Embrace Publication presents you with its second edition, In Color, which aims to deconstruct the binary. In this context, "the binary" is in reference to the way that society restricts the landscape of race, sexuality, fashion, and more into either/or spaces that prohibit fluidity. Within this issue, we aim to deconstruct the invisible walls that limit the spaces in which we imagine fixed constructs, in an effort to challenge the so-called "normal". Henceforth, the intentional absence of sections and page numbers to highlight the fluidity within every topic that is presented. Our team hopes to challenge conventional thoughts through each submission. We thank you for being bold enough to Embrace the world through our perspective lenses. Enjoy the realm of the unseen.
Yetunde Smalls
Alexis Davis
In color is resistance .
Photos By: Rebecca Gottbetter
Lavender SoftnEss
Sweetness
Rest
Peace
Rosemary Protection
Lightness
Rose Respect
Divinity
Abundance
Love
**These three herbs connect with each other in a simple yet deep way. In unison, they bring us back to the basics of rest, protection, and love. I recommend using these three herbs in a bath to cleanse, recharge, and uplift your aura. These herbs can also be used in a steam.**
Spiritual Bath Recipe As we move through this chaotic realm, we are exposed to various energies. Some drain us and others fill us. Lavender is a beautiful introductory herb in the sense that it opens the door for further exploration of self and space. Lavender is a gentle, yet encouraging plant. It welcomes you into a space of softness and relaxation by dispelling anxiety and inducing rest. Once in a Lavender lush space of solace, Rose glides in gracefully to hold you. In her deep red way, she envelops you in velvet robes of love. Now, it is important that you acknowledge her power to the fullest.
As Rose gives you the tools to humbly stand in your power, Rosemary cloaks you in a gleaming veil of protection. It reminds you not to take yourself or life too seriously, while helping you to determine how and when to set clear boundaries. Rosemary dedicatedly fills the holes in your aura so you are less susceptible to energy leeches.
Rose, is not just for romance, the love of Rose is too abundant to be confined to one type of connection. Rose will help you to realize the depth of all love. From love between long-time friends, to developing love for your inner child, to strained love between estranged relatives, she helps you to see your entire self so that you can respect the complexity of others. The ability to acknowledge and exist in fluidity is what makes us all divine.
By: TaZ Rite
24/356 Death scared of me because my heart still beating That’s after racism, capitalism, and those suicide meetings But lots of friends left I guess we turned vegan the way we didn’t meat But I’m glad I didn’t see them, I would’ve been tempted to eat Eat all that nonsense and ignorance And have white folk act black, oh that’s that privilege shit Throw away my growth and resort to the past, a lifestyle that wouldn’t last Like impoverished kids tryna fast Like India without the caste system I guess it missed him They tried to oppress the boy since birth But obeying white old men didn’t fit him A mixture of Tyler and black thought Goofy tall boy filled with wisdom But I was on a mission, to end the suspicion that a black kid with a hoodie is dangerous or out of commission And now all the people that hated are black fishin’ And now at the barbecues white liberals are eating all the fried chicken That’s probably what the cop said when they killed Alton sterling, had the audacity to ask why the kids were hurting Will the cops face Jail time ? “Uhm well I mean they’re still learning” So black lives don’t matter ? “Well they’re not concerning” How much more of this do we have to take ? You said it yourself you’re good at enduring When I was younger I wasn’t quite discerning Not seeing past stuff, but I was still learning like that white boy “hey nigga I listen to lil wayne wbu?” Nah I listen to jazz “Oh shit I’m blacker than you”
I don’t fit stereotypes, but I will blast this stereo to all types of music I’m doing me so well I’m making you sick Me rising above makes you puke quick So rebuke this, like I got 4 finger rings on saying fight the power Rihanna said “don’t stop the music” don’t talk out your butt just cause you have loose lips that’s what they told a nigga so I’m empowering my people what ? you wanna see me pull a trigga ? Rather than make 7 figures It’s figures the way you kill us off in our communities and then shoot motion pictures of our death and sorrow as if our experiences can be borrowed I guess it fine you’ll see one of our stories online a Netflix subscription is like 12.99 a crime of some sort not reported in court my feelings cut short like hipster jeans all my haters antihistamines I don’t stay in the same place everyday is constant revival and tribal tribulations “I’m not black I’m light skin nation” and I gotta sit and be patient for actual emancipation from a nation who would rather see me work for 12.00 dollars an hour than become greatness This is the world we were born into you can see why we hate this
AMIR TAZI
In color is fluidity.
Photos By: Rebecca Gottbetter
LIBERATE LIBER ERATE LIBERAT B E R A T EL I B E R A T E IBERATE LIBER BERATE LIBERAT IBERATE LIBER IBERATE LIBER LIBER \
RATE E E RATE TE ATE ATE ATE
What does it mean to be a sexually liberated young black woman in 2019? Honestly, it’s not as easy as you think. This is because within the sexual liberation movement, there is a huge lack of diversity in regards to black experiences, stories and bodies. In fact, black bodies are constantly being hyper-sexualized and exploited, giving us limited space to share our stories. Because of this, when I was in the process of creating the concept for this photoshoot, one of my main goals was to successfully encapsulate black bodies in a positive and sexual way, giving them the proper space to reclaim both their gender and sexual identities. This concept also challenged and critiqued societies overall gaze on black sexuality. By: Maya Lewis
I AM MY OWN
Photography by: Bri Mottey
I remember staring at my body in the mirror. Then I remember looking down and asking “Are you mad that I let somebody in?” I never knew how intimately and physically I would be impacted by the realization that, as a black woman, my body had never been my own. I assumed that the self care and sexual liberation that I worked hard to believe in, was enough. I assumed that having a healthy, understanding, and positive sexual experience was enough. I thought that what I saw in myself would have been enough. But there I was arguing with my body whether or not if it was mad at me for embracing my own sexuality. Feelings of Body Dysmorphia throughout and after the sexual experiences of black women exists amongst the long list of issues created, enforced, and at the exact same time invalidated by our community every day. I wanted the sex to be for me, more than anything. But I felt as though my body had to cater to everyone else. It wasn’t just about the person that I was having sex with, and it was not about that specific sexual interaction. This feeling was deeply complex and severely personal. For the first time I felt extremely disconnected from my body, (my vagina in particular). Like someone was poking pins in every single place I was uncomfortable about, so I couldn’t focus on anything else. All of the dreamy and fulfilled feelings that I had post-sex were soon ran out the door. Our entire lives are spent being told what our body will do for others. There are expectations imposed on us on how we should express our sexuality. We are taught to the person we are engaging with, as though our purpose is to exist for others. Black women have been ingrained with the idea that the value on our bodies placed by men, is all that we would ever be. I didn’t think I was, but I am still learning that I am my own. I can touch who I want to, and still be my own. I can feel how I feel, and still be my own. I can say what I want to say, and still be my own. I do not exist for the purpose of others, and that is a euphoric climax all on its own. Written by: Leah Aulisio-Sharpe
In color is boldness.
Photos By: Maya Lewis and Rebecca Gottbetter Respectively
“Eurocentric beauty standards still control modeling all over the world. The intent of the 90’s photoshoot that I curated, was to ensure that black folks were being represented here on campus. I hope to create more spaces like this, in the future.�
Curated by: Amir Tazi Photography By: Amir Tazi, Maya Lewis
What Lies Underneath the Beat Faces & Extravaganza By Nick Muscara
The 2019 PRISM Drag Show marks the 8th year an LGBTQ+ organization known as PRISM has produced an entertaining spectacle for all of Ithaca College. The show takes place during the Spring semester of each academic year and IC students are permitted to audition to perform in the showcase. Even alumni from previous years may be invited back to perform again. Each year the show is produced by PRISM’s president or co-presidents of the year. This past year, the organization and show was headed by Thomas Conti and Paige Whitmore. The show encapsulates the expressive and rebellious foundations of drag culture. Drag is a performance art form through which the societal standards of gender are played with and twisted to the point in which performers are often unrecognizable. Thus, performers often take on personas that do not reflect their everyday personalities. These new drag personas offer an outlet to express parts of their identities they may not feel comfortable revealing in the ambient hegemonic “straight world”. As a retaliation against the gender binary that exists in our society, drag cultivates a community willing to accept and embrace the various differences that define who we are as human beings. I wanted to write a piece that reveals what drag means, and I figured it would be best if I were to get these answers from the sources themselves, the ones actively participating in drag culture. I decided to interview this past year’s drag show performers to see what they had to say about drag. My interviewees included drag queens, drag kings, and other non-binary drag performers with varying experience levels. Shared among them is their passion for drag and commitment to fostering a space in which self-expression is celebrated no matter how “strange” or “wrong” it may seem to others. Maya Lewis, who I collaborated with for this article and the interviews, provided the wonderful photographers of the performers. quotes cited from multiple drag show performers
“…I feel like I can express myself, culturally, in a way that I don’t always feel like I can as a man. I learned how to be Chinese and Asian through the context of a feminine roles. I was looking at a picture of myself recently. I was like, wow, I look like my mom a little bit on her wedding day. And for me, that was a big thing. There is a lot of things that Yue is different about than Walt. And I think that a lot of [that is] more confidence in who she is. In terms of gender, in terms of her identity, in terms of race and culture. There is just a lot of things that I wouldn’t dare to do normally that I dare to do because I do drag.”
“I feel like my drag persona is different but not that much different than my own personality. My drag persona is very, like, flamboyant gay man. [A] lot of florals and glitter and stuff like that. And, that’s just like the amplified version of me. So, they’re a little bit different. But, it draws from my own personality.”
“I’m a black, queer man at the end of the day. We in the black community have issues with
homophobia in the queer community. We have issues with racism, and so, sometimes, I try to create my own spaces. Like, I’ve done a recent show in Brooklyn called ‘Brown Sugar’ which...basically...highlights the queer POC performers throughout the area.”
“There isn’t one right
“Drag is
fuck your gender rules. I think some forms of drag are more
gender rules...But, it’s still “fuck you, gender,” like, no matter what, how you present yourself in drag, you’re pushing boundaries.”
“I realized that just cause I identify as a man does not mean I can’t wear nail polish, does not mean I can’t have nails, does not mean I can’t have long hair, does not mean I cannot wear that blouse. It’s just fucking clothes...whatever floats your boat, do it. And
don’t be concerned about what others will think
way to be a boy.”
“The more mainstream drag becomes, the more accepted the
exploration of gender and drag, but
also trans people and gender-nonconforming people will be more visible to the general public [it is] really
refreshing and nice to be like, we are the queer community and like we’re here and it’s not perverse or something. And we don’t need to hide…I've always kind of used the label of drag king, though, it’s kind of become ambiguous but...I see more drag kings on the scene now than there have been which is nice. And I think that has to do with people knowing that it’s an option now.” quotes cited from multiple drag show performers
"My advice for any up and coming queen: take your craft serious. No one’s gonna respect you if you don’t respect yourself. I understand, that, you know, in the beginning of drag, things might not be as glamorous. Money may be tight. You might have to make things or halfway make things just to make a look look halfway
Note: Overnight shipping orders placed before 1PM PST will ship same day. After 1PM PST overnight decent, but you in orders, yourself you invest in your No days one orders will ship the following day.invest All other our and current processing time is 2 craft. business (excluding weekends as mentioned during checkout. If you havetoany time else canand denyholidays) your efforts. Know your worth. Always be willing takeprocessing criticism, but, related questions please email info@fashionnova.comNote: Overnight shipping orders placed before you know, not seriously...you take what you can, you can make it work for 1PM PST will ship same day. After 1PM PST overnight orders will ship the following day. All other orders, our current processing time is 2willing business days critiques. (excludingBut weekends and in holidays) asand mentioned during yourself...be to take also invest yourself be realistic.” checkout. If you have any processing time related questions please email info@fashionnova.comNote: Overnight shipping orders placed before 1PM PST will ship same day. After 1PM PST overnight orders will ship the following day. All other orders, our current processing time is 2 business days (excluding weekends and holidays) as mentioned during checkout. If you have any processing time related questions please email “Drag means a lot to info@fashionnova.com
me because it was one of the first places that gave me a
space
to
experiment with my gender identity, and trying out things in a space where people are so supportive,
Overnight shipping orders placed before kind, Note: and loving . So, it 1PM PST will ship same day. After 1PM PST means a lot toorders me towill ship the following day. All overnight other orders, have been able our to current processing time is 2 business days (excluding weekends and have holidays) my start IC as at mentioned during checkout. If you have any processing time related questions with all those please email info@fashionnova.comNote: Overnight a m a z i n g p eshipping o p l e orders placed before 1PM
cause it helped me
in my real life, like Note: Overnight shipping orders placed before
1PM PST will ship same day. After 1PM PST overnight orders will ship the following day. All other orders, our current processing time is 2 gender identity and business days (excluding weekends and holidays) as mentioned during checkout. If you stuff like that.” have any processing time related questions please email info@fashionnova.comNote: Overnight shipping orders placed before 1PM
coming out with my
WHAT LIES BENEATH
quotes cited from multiple drag show performers
How do we describe drag? This performance of gender seems to function in a multitude How we describe drag? performance of genderaseems a multitude of ways. It can be a learning of do ways. It can be a This learning experience, way to infunction which inone discovers new aspects and hidden levels ofatheir It is a daring pursuit that pushes boundaries waypursuit possible. It can experience, way inidentities. which one discovers new aspects and hidden levels of their identities. Itinisany a daring that pushes even exist as an extension of oneself. For performers, drag is a fun outlet that enables them to boundaries in any way possible. It can even exist as an extension of oneself. For performers, drag is a fun outlet that enables experiment in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in their daily lives. It encourages them them to experiment in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in their daily lives. It encourages them to stand out against the to stand out against the constraints of standard definitions of gender and say “screw you” to constraints of standard definitions of Drag genderoffers and say,an “screw you” to oppressive societalidentities norms. Drag offers an opportunity to oppressive societal norms. opportunity to explore and draws forth the explore identities and draws forth the courage to pursue one’s truths. Itthat is a passion that is revolutionary, not only in the courage to pursue one’s personal truths. It personal is a passion is revolutionary, not only in the surrounding environment but in the internal realm too. surrounding environment but in the internal realm too. In recent years, drag has gone mainstream. Shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race have In recent years, drag has gone mainstream. Shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race have introduced drag culture to millions introduced drag culture to millions of people around the world. But how do real drag artists feel of people around the world. But how do real drag artists feel about this spread of awareness? There seems to be mixed feelings about this spread of awareness? There seems to be mixed feelings about this. On the bad side, about On the bad side, the so-called “highest of drag” is disproportionately represented mainstream media, the this. so-called “highest” form of dragform is disproportionately represented ininmainstream media, particularly through Emmy-award winning series. This presentation misdirects particularly through RuPaul’sRuPaul’s Emmy-award winning television series.television This presentation misdirects people to believe that those people to believe that those drag queens embody what drag should be; yet, there are so many drag queens embody what drag should be; yet, there are so many unique expressions of this versatile art form. Drag should not unique expressions of this versatile art form. Drag should not be restricted to this unrealistic be restricted to this unrealistic image of what drag is. Where are the drag kings? Where are the bio queens? Where are the nonimage of what drag is. Where are the drag kings? Where are the bio queens? Where are the binary drag performers? Drag is free to Drag be expressed whichever it is deemed through whichever body thefit, passion to non-binary drag performers? is freeinto be expressed in fit, whichever it is deemed through pursue it exists. body The good part is the simple fact that drag is becoming awareness this amazing culture whichever the passion to pursue it exists. The mainstream. good partGreater is the simpleoffact that drag is is becoming mainstream. awareness ofvisibility this amazing is circulating theIt’sglobe. circulating the globe. MainstreamGreater presentations also increase of trans and culture gender-nonconforming people. a Mainstream presentations also increase visibility of trans and gender-nonconforming people. It’s celebration of queer people to see LGBTQ+ members being so positively represented within our society. More people are a celebration of queer people to see LGBTQ+ members being so positively represented within being exposed to drag culture and becoming more comfortable with the with its controversial self-expressive behaviors and our society. More people are being exposed to drag culture and becoming more comfortable acts thatthe do not neatly the norms of our heteronormative world. This spread drag encourages idea that can with with its fit controversial self-expressive behaviors and of acts that do notthe neatly fit anyone the norms of our heteronormative spread ofthe drag encourages the idea that anyone can pursue pursue drag and be supported inworld. a lovingThis community, with potential of even achieving a successful career through it. drag and be supported in a loving community, with the potential of even achieving a successful Currently, drag is expanding exponentially as new performers rise to its call for revolution. career through it. Currently, drag is expanding exponentially as new performers rise to its call for With so many forms of drag and different demographic backgrounds of performers, drag can vary greatly among these revolution. artists. BeWith mindful intersectional issues come intodifferent effect, too,demographic within the queer community in whoof is represented primarily sothat many forms of drag and backgrounds performers, drag in mainstream Drag queensthese are theartists. commonBe image of whatthat someone sees when this concept of drag is mentioned, can varyculture. greatly among mindful intersectional issues come into effect, too, withindrag thekings queer community who is represented primarily in mainstream culture. Drag queens leaving and non-binary draginperfomers feeling underrepresented. are the common image of what someone sees when this concept of drag is mentioned, leaving In summation, Drag goes against the grain of the modern world. Crashing through barriers of social norms, drag creates drag kings and non-binary drag performers feeling underrepresented. a space brimming with authentic self-expression. The gender binary possesses no power over performers of the art. Drag does In summation, Drag goes against the grain of the modern world. Crashing through not need to mean anything in particular, it can. Anything can be expressed through this art form.self-expression. Drag is an ambitiousThe barriers of social norms, dragbutcreates a space brimming with authentic gender binary possesses no and power over So, performers ofdrag theperformers art. Drag does notplease need toseeing mean pursuit worthy of recognition, respect, acceptance. support local near you and stop the anything in particular, but it can. Anything can be expressed through this art form. Drag is an world through a lens of a gender binary that was created to keep people in order. Break the mold and embrace all the unique ambitious pursuit worthy of recognition, respect, and acceptance. So, support local drag qualities that make you who you are while appreciating those parallel differences among others. “Drag up your life!” performers near you and please stop seeing the world through a lens of a gender binary that was created to keep people in order. Break the mold and embrace all the unique qualities that Nick Muscara make you who you are while appreciating those parallel differences among others. By “Drag up Photos By Maya Lewis your life!” By Nick Muscara
In color is inspirational.
Photos By: Rebecca Gottbetter
ROOTS Roots they wanna know my roots so they shot roots just to show white liberals africans were killed and enslaved and as for our roots ? put in graves behave? I’m trying it’s just I have no sense of who I am because my roots are dying while the fruit are still hanging Jim Crow and enslavement the blood isn’t on the l e a v e s a n y m o r e i t ’s splattered on pavement Reparations? they were late on those payments just imagine if I was late on mine these were my roots
my great great grandma had 17 kids 11 of them illegitimate my great grandma had a bad relationship with her mom, they weren’t too intimate and my grandma was raised in North Carolina a gatskin a slave name passed on without asking but not taken cause her husband was an anderson which was probably a slave name so let’s not be mistaken my grandma left and moved out to brooklyn where my mother and along with my uncle would eat whatever was given they later moved out to Baltimore where my mom was class president from middle school to high school graduation she reminded me a lot of myself, a walking sensation but where this all started is when thousands of ships departed to a land “uncharted” where natives had lived hundreds of years before and drove to extinction by colonization and war and at the core of this mass evil was a destiny manifested by religion, privilege, and the journey to independence and they had nothing to worry about because they weren’t facing a sentence like a capital letter punishment didn’t exist for crimes against humanity they didn’t know any better oh wait we weren’t human and the information white Americans were sold was bodies and propaganda and made it ok for whites to say I can’t stand ya
how has this translated in 2019 ? is so 2019 its still the same it’s just evolved in different ways shit still hasn’t been fair and nothings free there’s always fare like nearly killing someone for jumping over that 2.75 to catch the train or white consumption of black culture taking over another lane
we getting cut off and no matter how hard we try to assimilate we always be nothing more than something they fucking hate creating hate amongst each other where Dominicans can’t admit their Haitian roots to kids spending 1500 dollars on balenciaga boots or when black trans women are being targeted and the whole world goes mute or disputes on who is leading who where we feel the need to be the face of every movement in order to satisfy some self improvement we’ve lost the feeling of just being beings leaving our true selves in the bottom of our shoes making it hard to walk straight hard to even come out with the truth and in truth my roots are deeply rooted in loving one another and being a statistic in rention rates and give hope to everyone that you can make it without being an athlete, a rapper, or committing felonies look where I’m at now it had to be destiny I didn’t look for anyone to see me as amazing I saw the best in me especially when my own people was testing me and when they fell in love they S-A-T as I inspired you by being an individual I made me standing up on all 10 at a PWI I feel free while you B-Y-O-B I’m getting O-U-T out to empower all the people from city
it’s in my blood to extend these blue veins to all shades in the room birds cages in the room who lived their entire life for people to say there’s no space in the room we flooding those streets like katrina we venturing new shores like sandy and it makes me sad that this is the shit that wouldn’t win a Grammy but I don’t do shit for a trophy I do it for my family But then again who’s my family I mean that’s really how the fam b live my life not knowing who’s really family my roots my roots my roots deeper than your mono crop system deeper than the deepest depths of the depth present in the deep ocean that breeds depth but breaths death deeper than merely lyrical lyrics given by a fake lyrical nigga lyrically, lyrically they wanna me to make my pain into metaphors therefore it’s something scholarly something aesthetically pleasing to read “man that’s art” nigga this is my pain and i say it with great disdain Especially when ya be the same ones shooting my people with aim ive seen that bindi too many times too many times I’ve seen too many nines shot by too many blues clues there wasn’t any on us but it says something that these are the only stories anyone wants from us , like you the ithacan and we just kicking the can down the road no down the hill jack and Jill would kill for a story like this. they’d do anything to highlight my oppression and trauma like that’s all there is to us how much would it cost ? a few bucks so instead of making 7 figures myself white directors and film companies are enjoying their wealth things we don’t see, stealth when they see us, melt molten volcanic rock frozen over my soul I’m hot but deep down I’m cold I’m old I’m sold on the premise that I promise to be honest with myself in order to live sane or if not I’ll end up someone white liberals die for, Cobain talk about duality learning about my spirituality it’s not enough to be a genius enlightenment thinkers put black face on everything but Jesus my roots my roots my roots dating back to when obelisks was used to date back to my roots I rebuke any words less than great when talking about the roots the same roots who made me go on quest for self love and lose my mind in black thought my soul can never be bought and that’s love
Amir Tazi
CHIVO By Sebastian Chavez
The Sun rises over this quiet and cynical desert. It is one of the most beautiful sites you’ll ever get to see, but it is the land that belongs to the immigrants. The sunlight castes away the darkness from the battleground. This battleground that is home to many immigrants who are fighting for a new life. The sunlight starts to creep up the face of Maria who is a Salvadorian immigrant who has been on a treacherous journey. She says to her 8-year-old boy “Wake up mi amor! Wake up! We have to get ready. It’s time to go. It’s time for a new life.” She approaches her son who is lying on the dirt sleeping, so she thinks. She takes notice quickly that her son isn’t breathing. Panicking and screaming at him “Wake up! Please Wake up! Don’t this to me. Please God! Help! Someone Help!”. Her son lifeless body she held her arms the same arms that embrace him into this world. She keeps screaming “Amor? Amor? Get up! Please get up! No! No! We have to go Amor!”. She shakes him in hope of her beloved son waking up, but her son will never see the light of day ever again. The Coyote a man who is being paid to get these immigrants to cross the border. He screams aggressively to the tireless immigrants, “We have to go! We have to keep moving!”. Maria couldn’t get up she was in shock. Her 8-year-old son was lying on the ground dead. Her son who she will never be able to see him grow and live a life that he deserve to live. That’s the reality of life for an immigrant is that this world doesn’t have sympathy for them. They are treated like dirt and that is because the world believes they are dirt. The desert is the grave yard for most immigrants who don’t make out it. It is home to the forgotten. She kept looking at her son just wishing she could say goodbye. She wished that it was her who had died that night because it felt like she just did. Coyote comes up to Maria and tells “Maria let’s fucking go! There is no time to waste! Leave that worthless piece of shit on the ground! He was holding us back either way. You can make another one! Vamos todos!”. Maria looks at the Coyote with pain and anger,“What did you just say?”, she starts slapping and throwing these weightless punches at him. Coyote just stops her and grabs her trying to console her in the best way he can. “We need to make it to the Los Angeles in one piece! We have come this far. You are also not the only person who has lost someone on this trip. I’m sorry I know that is hard, but he is gone. The good thing about his death is that he doesn’t have to suffer anymore in this hell hole we like to call ‘life’”. It felt like a knife had just pierce her whole heart wide open. Her heart in pain and anguish trying to pick up the pieces in order to carry on. Maria gets up from the ground from where her son lies she knows she has to keep going no matter the cost. “Alright then let’s go” the Coyote says to the group “I am in control of everything we do from here on out. You all belong to me until we get to Los Angeles. It is my duty to get you all there, but I will fail. Most of you will die on this journey. This country doesn’t want people like us. They despise us and they will do anything to make sure we stay out of it”.
The immigrants would travel miles and miles through the hot and treacherous environment. Blister and cuts spread all over the bottoms of their feet. It was a torturous walk something that only the strong are capable of. This walk is a representation of the desire of survival. Hope, but how much hope can a person have in themselves to make it something that is unknown to them? Walking in hope of a brighter future, but in the back of their mind maybe that future doesn’t want them. “It is so quiet and lonely out here”, Maria says this with pain to the Coyote. He looks at her with sorrow glance and says “What is scaring about this place is that even though it is so quiet and peaceful. You can also hear the voices of the forgotten. All the people that have died trying and their bodies that have rotten into this wasteland that they call ‘America’”. Maria was in a state of confusion of how much hate a country can have on a people. Coyote starts to reflect on his past journey “Too many to count and too many I want to forget. Every time I have done this journey it hurts me to see what people have to endure in order to hope for a better life”. Maria replies to him, “What is this life people are searching for? I don’t know what my purpose is without my son. If I’m not a mother then what am I? I was raised to serve my husband and be the best mother I could possibly be to my child”. Maria talks to herself, “I hurt I want to grab my heart and set it on fire. Why am I here? Back home doesn’t want me and to this unknown place doesn’t want me, so who wants me? There is no power no more within me. There is only doubt. This doubt is possessing me”. Suddenly, the Coyote tells everyone “Get down! Get down!”, everyone panics and hides, but they have no clue what they are hiding from. Everyone looks at the Coyote in a state of confusion, “They are here. The white men in uniform they kidnap, murder, rape, and do other things only God knows”. The other immigrants scream out “Shut up! If they hear us we will be killed on site”, these people don’t show no mercy or sympathy for anyone. Coyote looks at everyone and says them “We are going to try to make it over that hill. That is our only option they have us surrounded. Everyone run and don’t look back”. All the immigrants sweating bullets and breathing very heavily. This is a life or death situation. Whatever move they make will be a fatal one for some or for all. “We are going over that hill and I can’t promise all of us will make it” said Coyote. There was silence in the wind nothing to hear or to say. The pressure was high and the tension was clear that this moment was either going to make it or break it. The Border troops were all lined up ready they screamed out “We know you are out there you beaners! Come out! We have tacos and horse shit for y’all”. Startled and frightful of these white men in uniforms Maria questioned it “Why are they talking to us like that? What did we do?”. Coyote just look down and just took a deep breath and told Maria “Do you not understand? They don’t want us here! What part don’t you get? We are fucking trespassers. This is it. On my command we run.” Those were the last words of the Coyote. He would be shot and killed. Maria and other immigrants as fast as they could, but they didn’t make it. They were captured forced into vans and taken to a detainment center (American version of: putting people into cages like savages.) We tend to ignore this hard truth. While you read this there is a mother, child, or father who is either dead or locked in a cage that they don’t belong in just because they aren’t part of this society we know as White America.
PROFESSOR YAMASHITA: BRINGING TSURU FOR SOLIDARITY TO ITHACA
“TSURU means crane in Japanese, and symbolizes peace, compassion, hope and healing. In the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding (origami), it is a popular, easy-to-learn figure that children and adults of all abilities can create. The cranes we fold today are expressions of SOLIDARITY with children, families and communities that are under attack.” -Tsuru for Solidarity The US has a history of separating families and incarcerating marginalized groups. From the violent separation of families during slavery, forced assimilation in Native American boarding schools, mass deportation of Mexican and Mexican Americans in Operation “Wetback”, Japanese American World War II incarceration, and the current incarceration camps at the Southern border, the racialized criminalization of communities is not new. Tsuru for Solidarity is “a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies.” Their goals are to • educate, advocate, and protest to close all U.S. concentration camps • build solidarity with other communities that have experienced forced removal, detention, deportation and separation of families • coordinate intergenerational, cross-community healing circles addressing the trauma of our shared histories. On June 22nd, 2019, Tsuru for Solidarity members travelled across the country to protest the detention of asylumseeking children at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. This site was a previous jail site for Native Americans during the 1860s and 70s, and was also a concentration camp for 700 Japanese Americans during World War II. There were members from Black Lives Matter, Indigenous and migrant communities, and Japanese Americans sharing their stories of resistance and speaking out against the incarceration of immigrants. Lines of cranes were strung together as members of Tsuru for Solidarity shared their stories. Although military personnel attempted to interrupt their ceremonies and events, Japanese American incarceration survivors continued to speak about their mission. Dr. Satsuki Ina said, “We’ve been removed too many times.” Professor Wendi Yamashita grew up in California and came to IC in the fall of 2018. She received her PhD in Gender Studies and her MA in Asian American Studies from UCLA. Her research examines Japanese American memories of World War II incarceration in relation to settler colonialism and the prison industrial complex. By analyzing how racial and gendered punishments are played out through the US incarceration system, she interrogates how the racialization of Asian Americans is formed in relation to other groups of color as a means of striving for meaningful cross-racial coalition building. Wendi also works with the Manzanar Committee, which is a grassroots organization in Los Angeles. She became involved with the organization during her PhD research, when she called to ask for an interview and says that being part of the Manzanar Committee has been one of the “biggest and greatest things.” She serves as Co-Director of their program Katari: Keeping Japanese American Stories Alive, which provides college-age youth with the opportunity to learn about Japanese American history and its preservation at the Manzanar National Historic Site. She has said that “teaching and having conversations about what happened to Japanese Americans during World War II is important to understanding, not only how the current political climate came to be, but also how we can resist and support one another. Stories and storytelling are a form of resistance.”
Her involvement with Tsuru for Solidarity began after the co-chair of the Manzanar Committee suggested that the Manzanar Committee attend a tsuru workshop. This summer she attended one of those workshops hosted by Nikkei Progressives. Although “distance separates [Wendi] from community organizing since [my] community is so far away from me, folding cranes helps [her] feel like [she] can still help in a small way.” She will be attending their Washington D.C. protest in the spring of 2020 Her interest in Asian American advocacy stems from her own personal history and her own family being incarcerated during World War II. “Family is always something that sustains my work,” she explained. She says that her connection to teaching and education also pushes her to continue learning about the movement. Her family would talk about their experiences in the incarceration camps, but it was always briefly, suddenly, and never more than a few sentences. Her grandparents have very different histories because one was incarcerated in San Anita but left incarceration to farm sugar beets in Colorado while her other grandfather answered “No/No” to the War Relocation Authority’s loyalty questionnaire. [The Densho Encyclopedia states that the loyalty questionnaire was a “bureaucratic means of assessing the loyalty of Nikkei in the WRA concentration camps. Responses to this questionnaire were meant to aid the War Department in recruiting Nisei into an allNisei combat unit and to assist the War Relocation Authority in authorizing others for relocation outside of the camps.] She had to piece together what happened over many years on her own, so when she started her MA project on her family’s experience it wasn’t until she did formal interviews that there was a shift in her relationship with her family. “My grandma talks about it a lot more, about our family history because she knows that I really value it in a way that she didn’t know I did before,” Wendi said. During a trip to Tule Lake, where her grandparents were incarcerated, they talked about a lot of stories. Her grandfather has dementia and although a lot of his stories are often repetitive, “he remembered the landscape and he knew what the mountains were called. It was so interesting to see how someone whose memory was failing at times could recognize and name this landscape.” Even now, while Wendi is creating curriculum for her classes at IC, she is finding out parts of her family history that she didn’t know about. She is very close to her Nisei relatives [second-generation Japanese Americans], and when she questioned her mother on why she had never met her grandfather's brother, she assumed that he was a Kibei Nisei (someone who was born in America and educated in Japan). “It was many years later when I was doing personal research on my family that I realized he renunciated [his American citizenship because of the loyalty questionnaire] and went to Japan.” She found his story looking at a lesson plan created by the California State University Japanese American History Digitization Project. Her dream is to pull the documents that relate to her family from the WRA records and find the
written evidence of her family’s experiences.
By: Katelyn Monaco Illustration By: Lauren Sumida
Katelyn Monaco: What are other actions that students and other members of the Ithaca community can do to be active in these movements? Wendi Yamashita: The Tsuru stuff is the easiest at the moment because it allows people who are not close to where the actions are taking place to feel involved to feel connected and that’s why I was really drawn to it. It’s hard to get involved when things are so far away from you and one of my problems with Ithaca is that it feels so isolated in many different aspects. In theory, I would love to take students to go to the protest in the Spring, but I don’t know the risk assessment here. There is a lot of student activism on campus and off-campus like the BLM protest for Rose DeGroat (with IC students there and leading some of the chants and holding it down). In the JA community, we do a day of remembrance when Executive Order 9066 came out. It’s a huge community event that’s hosted in different areas like LA and NYC, but these are so far away from me. Maybe we could eventually bring one here. But it’s not just about centering the Japanese American experience, but to make larger connections to other communities that are here at IC and in Ithaca and those that are experiencing unjust treatment.
KM: How are you trying to build a diverse array of allies? WY: Community work, writing statements to show support and solidarity for others’ work, and attending and creating events that allow for solidarity are all really important. Nikkei Progressives just did a concert where they used the money to support immigrants who are being detained. Seeing the kind of relationship building is nice to see and I try to do that in classes as well. What are the possibilities if we all made these connections to one another based on our identities and personal histories?
KM: What does “Stop repeating history” mean to you? WY: I think it’s important and points to the patterns in history. I like the idea of “stop repeating history” more than “never again” because I feel like “never again” implies that it hasn’t happened again, but it actually happens over and over and over. I think stop repeating history is more attuned to those patterns the connections across history.
KM: What is the importance of community in your work?
Art Courtesy of: Yuuto Kuroki
WY: I didn’t know how spoiled I was until I came here. I felt like I was taken out of my community and my family and the well-established support systems that I had. For me, it’s about maintaining my community despite distance as well as establishing community here for me and other folks who are feeling similarly. No matter where you are or who you are, finding people to support you and to support as well is really important. When I’m here I also feel supported by students, which has been really nice. One of the things I never thought about before coming here was how important my literal identity was because I had the privilege of growing up on the West coast being around professors who looked like me. Coming here a lot folks don’t have that and even for me, in terms of the faculty, it has been a challenge.
KM: Why did you decide to integrate Tsuru for Solidarity’s work in your classes? WY: Because there’s so much distance now between my community [back in California], the work feels different than it used to. One of the reasons I was really drawn to Tsuru for Solidarity workshops is because I was really inspired by the tangible ways I could stay involved while I was so far away. I like the group aspect of coming together to make art, that’s also therapy, that’s also space to share stories and make connections with other community members who have like-minded social justice activism. That’s why I wanted to bring it here because I felt like it allows students to learn about this history, do important ally solidarity work, and it’s also a space to think about healing and what that looks like. There’s a lot of accessibility issues in terms of traditional activism and protests. Tsuru allows for accessibility regardless of your immigration status, ability issues, or if you have children, etc. Something that has shifted for me in terms of teaching is doing more creative and non-traditional work. I’m not the most creative person and even my cranes aren’t perfect; they have character. Even if you’re not good at it, even if it’s difficult to learn, I think there’s a way to find joy in the making of the cranes. A lot of [activism] work is really emotionally and intellectually heavy and it feels like we’re only talking to each other in terms of loss. There should be spaces for healing and joy and making funny looking cranes.
Art Courtesy of: Lauren Eng
KM: What is the common denominator in successful movements? Tsuru’s strengths/ limitations? WY: In terms of Japanese American activism, some of the things I do like are coming out of multi-generational activism. Before it was like an old guard, where second and third generations [of Japanese Americans were] holding it down. This was based on the activism movements they were taught in the 60s and 70s. Now I’m seeing a lot of younger folks get involved in organizations and having a mix of first through fifth generation Japanese Americans bringing in different viewpoints. Having diverse voices in different communities is always better and more fruitful; it feels like there are more possibilities. However, there aren’t a lot of multi-racial coalitions. There is a lot of JA support of other organizations which is really great and they provide money, which ties into Japanese American privilege.
KM: What are some misconceptions that you often hear about Japanese American incarceration? WY: The term is often referred to as “internment,” so my real issue when I teach Introduction to Asian American Studies is reframing that history within a different kind of language. It does matter, especially in the way that euphemisms were used during the time period and long after. Changing the language is significant in the ability to make connections. “Internment” makes it sound like JA incarceration was an apparition or an isolated event, but if you think of it as incarceration or forms of containment/social control, then it allows you to make larger connections with different groups of people who have also experienced something similar. Those connections are really important as well as piecing together what the differences in experiences are.
Interview by : Katelyn Monaco
What does it mea
an to be american
What Does It Mean To Be American?
America was forged with freedom as its foundational concept. The year 1776 is arguably the birth of the United States. The initial sentiment of the first settlers was to break away from the tyranny of Britain with the purpose of etching an identity of self- governance and religious freedom. In short, a life without persecution. The framework for an American identity was formed within that year. Its purpose was not racially or culturally motivated, but instead, it was to posit itself as a seed within the consciousness of the newly settled occupants based on the foundational concept of freedom. Initially, the construction of an American identity was to represent an idea; an idea of freedom and justice for all. An idea that all men are created equal. The new Americans shared a common experience of tyranny and now their success would be marked by the newly forged identity of America. Despite the intentions of American identity, the reality is that soon after that identity was shaped, there was an immediate departure from the concept, i.e. slavery; which magnified the contradictions in an American identity, introducing race as a major factor in accessing an American identity. In this new context American identity is geared towards one type of people, those of Anglo-Saxon descent. In theory, the construction of an American identity encompasses people of different nationalities and ethnicities, but history shows that American identity is reserved exclusively for a select group of individuals and those who are outside the margin must fight for the right to claim an American identity. This photo series encompasses those who are on the margin, bringing beauty to those areas that are often overlooked as an alternative to “American� identity.
Photo Series and Writing By Yetunde Smalls
Cover Design by Rebecca Gottbetter Cover Photography by Rebecca Gottbetter Branding and Publication Design by Rebecca Gottbetter
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Photo By: Rebecca Gottbetter