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Summer Issue
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THE DISH WHAT A STICKER CAN TEACH YOU By Genevieve Vahl
A couple of years back, after having claimed the insurance money from the guy that t-boned me running a red light, totalling my car, I got a new car, well new to me: a 2008 Subaru Outback. I was most excited to finally put stickers on it like a glorified Nalgene from places I have gone, the Wisconsin ‘W’ to show some Badger spirit, a configuration of the great lakes as the proud Midwesterner I am. Brands too like Backcountry and REI to show my affection for the outdoors. It’s an indirect way to represent myself, but definitive of my values nonetheless, to the strangers I only catch at a glimpse passing me in the other lane. One time when I was driving westbound to Madison, I was honked at as a driver passed me in the left lane. I thought to myself, I am already going over the speed limit sir, please hold your horses. Until he passed in his red Buick Regal holding up two hands in a ‘W’ in Badger camaraderie. A bond we formed from a sticker driving 75 down the interstate. One sticker in particular I remember purchasing, feeling exceptionally excited for it represented a set of beliefs I held at my core; meaning I believed in deeply. Or so I thought... I found this sticker in one of the boutique stores on State Street. One of those sweet small businesses with the artisanal Wisconsin paraphernalia: the hand illustrated ‘Wisconsin favorites’ tea towels or the Midwest living t-shirts or the third coast stickers; each store with their own flare of tourist goodies. Even though I had lived in Madison for two years at that point, you become a tourist in your own city when your mom comes for a visit on a beautiful July afternoon. We stopped in all of the shops along State Street’s quaint mile long stretch that my college budget otherwise could not afford to even be tempted by. Because we all know those bright yellow cat eye sunglasses will always find a reason to weasel themselves into your ‘budget.’ In one store in particular, a multilevel stand held an assortment of bumper stickers with lefty sayings and witty retorts. Like ‘COEXIST’ in the various religious denominational symbols building out the letters of the word. Or ‘Eat Real Food’ in black sans serif font mounted on a plain white background. Yes! That’s it! That’s the one. As in proper Madisonian fashion, the eat local, eat whole foods rhetoric had influenced my personal relationship with food.
No longer was I naive to the ploy of processed, packaged foods that disguised deliciously addictive flavors from chemicals and preservatives. Eating ‘healthy’ is one of my most rigorous priorities. I buy from the perimeter of the store, the fresh foods, limiting myself to only trusted products from the interior packaged foods. I religiously made my meals in the anything but ideal kitchens of the freshman dorms; supported the campus Slow Food chapter. All while trying to minimize single use plastic as much as possible. So yes, ‘Eat Real Food’ rang so true to myself I thought it worthy enough to paste on my car. This same dedication to eating healthy also led me to pick up the book “In Defense of Food: an Eater’s Manifesto,” by Michael Pollan. “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants,” he opens the book in his introduction. Honestly that was exactly the type of concise, digestible piece of advice I was looking for out of this book. Yes, tell me what I should and should not be eating. Yes, I want to read a manifesto to better my own habits and tendencies in eating. Yet, when I got into the read, the direction was different than my expectation. He spends the entirety of the book talking about how the industrialized food system we have going on here in the US and the resulting western diet are literally the demise of health for the American people. He talks about how we need to make sure we refuse the processed, refined foods the groceries are marketing to us, to eat better, more sustainable food that is not mass produced and doesn’t have all of the added preservatives and chemicals.
“A bond we formed from a sticker driving down the interstate.”
Picture from www.foodiesfeed.com
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Summer Issue
But what he does not acknowledge to a proportional scale in all of this food system discussion is how this exact industrialization of our food system, the steps away from fresh whole foods into a more expedient system of profiteering, has disproportionately affected low income, often communities of color. He spends the entire book making an incomplete argument. I do not believe you can have a conversation about the food system without talking about the inequalities it reigns on those forcibly victim to it. There is one single line in the entire book, on page 184: “There’s no escaping the fact that better food—whether measured by taste or nutritional quality (which often correspond)—costs more, usually because it has been grown with more care and less intensively. Not everyone can afford to eat high-quality food in America, and that is shameful; however, those of us who can, should. Doing so...” blah blah blah. He goes on and on. But for that point, “Not everyone can afford to eat high-quality food in America, and that is shameful,” is all he’s got on that. Yes, everyone should eat from the farm, everyone should try to grow some of their own food. Sure. But what about those who do not live in areas where that is an accessible expectation? What about those people who do not have access to fresh food because of economic or geographical barriers? Most often low income communities of color are forced into areas called food deserts: areas defined by the US Department of Agriculture as a “low-income area where access to a full-service grocery store is 1 mile away. But Vanessa Koster, a city planning manager, pointed out half a mile is a more reasonable distance to measure, since many residents don’t have access to vehicles.” This leaves these people with processed, refined foods as their only option. Not to mention how much more expensive fresh foods are in comparison to processed foods, adding another barrier to accessibility. The US does not have respect for people’s wages and the essential workers we are now understanding during this COVID-19 pandemic are the backbone of our nation, where their small budgets do not afford them the luxury of fresh foods, rather have to rely on the cheap convenience and quantity just to put food on their families’ plates. Food insecurity in Wisconsin affects a quarter of a million households, 11.6%, making that 12.4% of all people and 20.4% of children. In Dane County specifically, 11.8% of all people and 17.5% of all children are food insecure.
Even further, the rate of food insecurity exceeds one in three for some of the most vulnerable groups, including households that contain a disabled person (37.7%), Hispanic households (34.5%), African-American households (34.6%), single mothers (34.9%) and households below 100% of the federal poverty level (37.3%) across Wisconsin. By comparison, whites in Wisconsin have lower rates of food insecurity than the national average, whereas Hispanic and African-American households have significantly higher rates of food insecurity than their state and national counterparts. Hispanics nationally reach 23.8% whereas in Wisconsin, it is up to 34.5% and for African Americans, nationally, it is 25.5% whereas in Wisconsin it is up to 34.6%, exhibiting obvious disparities for those who can least afford another obstacle, especially in our own state. This all consequently results in this poorer health trend that Pollan mentions. When people rely on the processed refined foods our industrialized food system is selling to us, our health is compromised for a slew of reasons he goes much further into than the sociological effects it has on communities. Yes, he mentions how the health of the American people is jeopardized because of this western diet that is failing to provide anything besides monetary gains for corporate giants, but does not mention the communities who are disproportionately facing these health consequences as a result. So I will. In the US, African Americans are 51% more likely to be obese compared to non-Hispanic Whites. In fact, African Americans have the highest rates of obesity than any other racial and ethnic group. So these low income communities, food deserts, communities of color who face systemic barriers to equal wages and opportunity are forced to eat the junk that is actually killing them at higher rates than anywhere else in the world. They have no other option but to buy into a system that cares more about profit than their people. Now COVID-19 enters this conversation. As Pollan argues, the American health has blundered because of this western diet. So with this compromised health right out of the gate, these communities are already at risk of disease, much less when there is a lethal pandemic ravaging the globe. In a COVID e-newsletter from my Madison Representative Dem. Chris Taylor, she gives the stats of this glaring problem.
Picture from www.foodiesfeed.com
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“Another reminder of the racial inequities that plague our state and nation are the disparities communities of color are experiencing when it comes to the infection and death rate of COVID-19 patients. Black people make up only 6 percent of our state’s population, yet represent 19 percent of the total COVID cases, and 25 percent of the state’s deaths. These disparities show that racism is a public health crisis.” Just another item to add to the endless list of systemic obstacles communities of color face everyday. Of course the people who do not have access to good, clean, fair food that Pollan adamantly preaches about are going to have poorer health than those who do, where they are then subject to even more obstacles to a healthy, equal life. So now “Eat Real Food” is pasted on the back of my car and I am embarrassed. A white girl driving her Subaru Outback says to eat real food as if everyone needs to eat their kale and salmon everyday. It is making a command to do something that often many people cannot. It is a sticker of privilege and access. I bought the sticker thinking ‘we all need to be eating better and refusing processed foods because it is bad for our health and the environment.’ But like Pollan, I was failing to look beyond just the health lens. To recognize the social barriers systemically upheld against communities. How eating real food is a luxury in the United States. I have a much better understanding of the inequities our country flourishes on since I bought that sticker to now put in the work so we all can eat real food.
Picture from www.foodiesfeed.com
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Summer Issue
MO D A
EQUALITY AT WORK Supreme Court Case Bostock v. Clayton Country, Georgia includes queer individuals in employment discrimination protections By Kate Lawless, Deputy Editor The Civil Rights Act of 1964 officially made it unlawful “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”1 These protections did not originally apply to those who were discriminated against based on gender identity or sexuality. Fifty six years later, members of the LGBTQIA+ community are finally included in those protections. On June 15, the Supreme Court found that workplace discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender identity violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which includes protections against “sex discrimination.”2
league.3 Months later, Bostock filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and then in 2016, he filed a pro se lawsuit against the county for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Now, after four years, it has been determined by the Supreme Court that LGBTQIA+ people are entitled to the same workplace protections as every other American.
your assigned biological sex are not indicators of someone’s inability to do a job. However, discrimination based on those traits are indicators of an employer who cares more about judging their employees personal lives than hiring and valuing qualified individuals. Even on religious grounds, an employer should not have the ability to fire someone because of their sexual orientation.
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia is a landmark Supreme Court case for the queer community. The definition of sex discrimination has now been clarified to include protections for gay, non-binary and transgender individuals. The logic behind this is “Just as sex is necessarily a but-for cause when an employer discriminates against homosexual or transgender employees, an employer who discriminates on these grounds inescapably intends to rely on sex in its decisionmaking.”4 Because sex is the root cause of the intentional differing treatment of a gay, non-binary or transgender individual, the employer is then guilty of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
As The Civil Rights Act did not end discrimination based on race, religion or sex in 1964, this new Supreme Court opinion does not change the fact that homophobia and transphobia exist. While those with sufficient financial resources and support systems can fight for their right to equality in the workplace, the LGBTQIA+ community will still face adversaries. As members and allies of the queer community, we must support employers and organizations that do not discriminate against marginalized groups and furthermore, also support initiatives that acknowledge and use privilege to uplift all people so they can achieve their personal and professional potential.
While these new legal protections exist, not all queer people will equally benefit from this change. There is enormous privilege involved in being able to pursue these kinds of civil rights cases. It takes time, financial “As The Civil Rights Act resources and support from family and friends to fight to be valued for your did not end discrimination talents and skills, and not just be seen your sexuality or gender identity. based on race, religion as Being gay or not identifying with
While the legality of workplace discrimination [on the basis of sexuality] has been addressed by Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, there is still a lot of work to do.True equality of opportunity will only be accessible to all Americans when we stop seeing people as stereotypes based on uncontrollable factors, and instead see the unique value of each person both inside and outside of the workplace. ■
In 2013, Gerald Bostock was an employee of Clayton County and although he had a good performance record at his job, he was fired for “conduct unbecoming a county employee,” shortly after expressing interest in a gay recreational softball 1 Civil Rights Act of 1964 § 7, 42 U.S.C. §2000e et seq (1964). Retrieved from Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/ statutes/titlevii.cfm. 2 Bostock v. Clayton County (Supreme Court of the United States June 15, 2020).
or sex in 1964, this new “Bostock v. Clayton County.” Oyez. Supreme Court opinion Accessed July 17, 2020. https://www.oyez. does not change the factorg/cases/2019/17-1618. 4 Bostock v. Clayton County (Supreme Court of the United States June 15, 2020). that homophobia and transphobia exist.” 3
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MODA
MODERNIZATION OR
BASTARDIZATION?
How has colonization affected the way we interact with diverse food cultures? Written by Allyson Konz, Editor in Chief Illustrated by Channing Smith, Art Director Rachel Nguyen, a sophomore at UWMadison, never brought cold lunch to school. After moving to a new school in sixth grade, Nguyen wanted to bring one of her favorite snacks–Vietnamese sesame rice crackers—to eat at lunch. When lunchtime came, one of her white classmates started making remarks that the crackers were “gross” and looked like “human skin.” Despite Nguyen’s attempts to negate his comments, other students started laughing and agreeing with him. Some remained silent but, as one of the only students of color at her school, no one at the table stuck up for her. “I remember thinking, If he’s going to make fun of my crackers, then imagine how he’s going to react if I bring anything else that’s not ‘American’ or ‘normal’ to school,” Nguyen said. It wasn’t until middle school that Nguyen found a new group of friends (half of which were minorities, she notes) who made her feel comfortable bringing cold lunch again. She noted that they even wanted to try some of her food and often asked how it was made. Although she found a small community of peers who respected, even celebrated, the cultural heritage of the food she brought to school, to this day, she’s frustrated by the hypocrisy of white judgement towards “ethnic” foods. “It bothers me that the food that I would want to bring to school [for which I got made fun of] was the same food those kids would get as takeout for dinner,” Nguyen shared. Ellen Lee, an American-born-Chinese UW-Madison alumna, shared similar experiences. In high school, one of Lee’s friends told her that her spam fried rice was “disgusting” and “smelly.”
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From then on, Lee stopped eating spam and even started to judge her family for eating it because, according to her, she wanted to be “westernized and accepted by society.” Looking back on these moments, Lee reflected on how these lunchroom comments shaped the way she saw herself and her family’s heritage. “If you don’t accept your own cultural identity then these comments made by white peers are going to affect you and change how you do life,” Lee told Moda Magazine. Nguyen and Lee’s experiences go far beyond the lunch room.Through block parties and church potlucks, food is a reason to gather and a celebration of community, yet white Americans are often at fault for ostracizing diverse food cultures. The legacies of colonization, cultural appropriation and bastardization converge and disguise themselves not only through children’s commentary but in the work of majority-white respected media outlets and restaurants.
HISTORY OF COLONIZATION Colonization of Indigenous foods is nothing new. When Columbus first arrived in Mesoamerica, the food space was entirely different from that of Europe. While crops such as avocados, tomatoes, cacao and corn grew fruitfully, the colonizers found this food to be substandard to the traditional diet they were familiar with back in Europe. To colonizers, eating native food was seen as “lesser” and “unhealthy.” Columbus believed that in order to keep European colonizers healthy (and socially elite) he would need to restructure the land with European agriculture.1
The introduction of European agriculture brought not only new crops, but livestock such as cows, pigs, goats and sheep. Livestock flourished due to large pasture lands and no natural predators, resulting in an abundance of meat and dairy which was an expensive luxury in Europe. Left to graze wherever they pleased, livestock degraded and destroyed the Indigenous agricultural land that had not already been uprooted with European crops.2 As Dr. Linda Alverez wrote for the Food Empowerment Project, “Food has always been a fundamental tool in the process of colonization. Through food, social and cultural norms are conveyed, and also violated.” 3
CULTURal appropriation of food today Colonization of food has continued beyond Columbus, occurring today as the cultural appropriation of food. Cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture adopts the cultural customs of a nondominant culture without understanding or respecting the original context.4 Cultural appropriation happens with food, clothing, hair, art and so much more. In 2019, a white couple opened a Chinese restaurant called Lucky Lee’s in Greenwich Village, NY. They marketed themselves as a “clean” Chinese eatery that made food with healthy ingredients in order to reduce feeling “bloating and icky the next day.” The restaurant was shut down within the year. The owners of Lucky Lee’s failed to recognize a few things, the first being that opening a Chinese restaurant Ibid Ibid 4 McCann, S., 2020. The Cultural Appropriation Of Food. Solid Ground. 2
Choices, O. and Colonization, a., 2020. Colonization, Food, And The Practice Of Eating.Food Empowerment Project. 1
3
as a white couple was wrong—they were monetizing and profiting off of a culture they shared no heritage to. This is especially problematic because chefs of nondominant cultures are not often presented with the same opportunities that white chefs are. The couple also should have critically examined and considered that white Americans do not have a monopoly on determining what is “healthy” and “clean.” A racialized definition of health assumes that food from white cultures and diets is “healthier” than food dishes from other cultures.5 These ideas reinforce the notions of eurocentrism that Columbus brought to the “New World” over 500 years ago. Consider the last time you saw a photo of someone eating an acai bowl or promoting a cold-press juice brand on social media. Not only are many of these foods economically exclusive to those who do have the disposable income to buy a $9 pressed kale juice, but it is unfair to individuals and groups that do not identify with these types of food. There are a multitude of ways to eat healthy, and goji berries and salads are not the only way to do so. However, normalizing eating “clean” by altering traditional food (like Lucky Lee’s did) in order to fit the palettes of white consumers is a blatant form of cultural appropriation and racism. What is bastardization and how does it relate to colonization? Bastardization occurs when something is changed in a way that it fails to represent the values and qualities that it is intended to represent.6 Similar to appropriation, bastardization lacks both cultural respect and understanding. The popular food magazine, and now online video juggernaut, Bon Appétit made headlines in 2016 after bastardizing a traditional Filipino refresher called “Halo-Halo.” According to Wilma B. Consul, the dish is traditionally made of shaved ice topped with beans, fruit preserves, evaporated milk and sometimes icecream, flan and ubeng halaya (purple yam jam).
gummy bears and popcorn.7 In this instance, their ode to “Halo-Halo” was modified so far beyond its original recipe that it was disrespectful to the original dish. You may be thinking, Bon Appétit was just trying to make the dish fun and accessible to its viewers, what is the harm in that? Herein lies the difference between experimenting with Tikka Masala in your kitchen and Bon Appétit chef Chris Morocco adding gummy bears to “Halo-Halo” in a national print magazine. Bon Appétit and other gatekeepers of the food industry have a platform (and the means) to bring on chefs and guests to prepare traditional recipes correctly, or with small twists. White chefs have the responsibility to critically examine how their “modernization” on a traditional dish can in fact be offensive or sacrilegious. Modernization becomes bastardization when chefs of dominant cultures “discover” a new recipe from a different food culture and make it their “own” by adding non-traditional ingredients. While one could assume that there was no ill-intent in Bon Appétit’s Ode to “Halo-Halo,” it doesn’t mitigate the impact on a recipe that many Filipino’s hold closely. There is nothing wrong with eating or making different types of food— you should expand your horizons and challenge yourself to try different cooking styles and flavors unlike your own. However, it’s important to remain cognizant—whether you are cooking at home or eating out—of the food you are consuming, who made that food and if it is a fair representation of the culture at hand. ■ 7
NOW WHAT? There is still a long way to go to make substantial change to the way white people view, cook and consume diverse food cultures. However, as a customer, you have the ability to empower and support businesses that are owned by people of color in your own community.
BIPOC OWNED RESTAURANTS IN MADISON: Savi Cafe Buraka, Pa Pa’s BBQ Cafe Costa Rica Marie’s Soul Food Just Veggiez Anointed One (catering) Melly Mels Deli McGee’s Chicken Kingdom Restaurant Naty’s Fast Food David Jamican’s Madistan Ha Long Bay Sa Bai Thong Little Tibet Mirch Masala Himal Chuli.
Npr.org. 2020. NPR Choice Page.
Bon Appétit’s tutorial, however, included mashed blueberries and blackberries, lime juice, coconut milk, 5 Huffpost.com. 2020. ‘White People Food’ Is Creating An Unattainable Picture Of Health. 6 Dictionary.cambridge.org. 2020. BASTARDIZE | Definition In The Cambridge English Dictionary.
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MODA
A new voice in
Arts Activism
Interview by Channing Smith, Art Director Photo contributed by Brooklyn Doby Since the murder of George Floyd, protesters have taken to State Street to demand racial justice and equality. This activism has come in all shapes and colors– literally. State Street got a major makeover when Karin Wolf, Madison Arts Administrator, recruited dozens of Black artists to turn the boarded up storefronts into plywood murals. Moda spoke to one of the mural artists, Brooklyn Doby, about her process, inspiration and future as an artist.
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Q&A
with
Brooklyn Doby Moda Magazine: What attracts you to the format of murals? What about it can be challenging? Brooklyn Doby: To be honest, I never saw myself painting murals. I had always limited myself to canvas. It was not until recently that I have taken an interest in them. I have a love-hate relationship with murals. I love that it allows me to showcase my artwork on a larger platform and reaches more people. However, it can be challenging to paint them alone and very time consuming. I like to think of murals as a way of utilizing my voice. When words fail, art speaks. Especially now, during such uncertain times, I really want to be a part of something bigger than me. The State Street mural project gave me the opportunity to use my talents for the greater good-protest through paint, advocate for change, spark challenging conversations. I have discovered that murals are an efficient way to get a message across and be recognized as an artist. MM: “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.” Can you tell me why you chose the quote for your State Street mural and what it means to you. BD: The mural is a nature scene of seeds that have grown into strong standing flowers (people). The flowers are made of Ciara (my collaborator) and I’s handprints to represent Black lives leaving their mark. In the center of the mural is a huge sun with a quote that reads “they tried to bury us, they didn’t know that we were seeds.” I’m not sure who said it exactly. But it was such a powerful quote to us that we wanted to include it as a reminder that for centuries, the world has been trying to tear us down but we will continue to rise. Black lives are extraordinary. Black lives are beautiful. Black lives are irreplaceable. The storm that we are in is only watering our roots. MM: You are an aspiring art therapist; how and why did you choose this occupation? BD: I have been passionate about art since I was a little girl. I always knew that I wanted to be more than just an
art teacher, I wanted to help save lives by way of creative expression. Additionally I am kind of combining both of my parents’ traits into one. My father is very creative with music and graphic design, while my mother is a drug and alcohol counselor. Too often, people experience things in life that are difficult to process on their own. Art can be a great starter pack to helping someone become comfortable with themselves and to have a conversation about their inner traumas. I want to use art therapy to inspire, uplift, and spread healing in communities of color. I want to change the narrative and stigmas about therapy, provide healthy coping mechanisms, and offer positive outlets. MM: Why do you think art is a vehicle for change? BD: I think art is a vehicle for change because it makes people stop and think. If more people stopped and thought, there would be less problems today. Art is not only resourceful, it is powerful. When you look at someone’s artwork, you are seeing a glimpse of the world from their perspective -or better yet, a life they wish existed.The more positive images that are accessible to the media of people of color or different backgrounds united, the more kids that will grow up with less biases and misconceptions. Art makes the world a more beautiful experience. Example: walking down State Street and seeing hundreds of representations of Black beauty. That should be normalized. Think of the children who just see an amazing painting and want to take a picture next to it, not even knowing why it had to be done in the first place. We have a long way to go but it’s a start-one that begins with a paintbrush. MM: Who or what inspires you to create art? BD: I believe that the most impactful aspect about art is that it can be shared amongst others-both the product and the process. My artwork is my legacy that I can leave behind. I am not sure exactly who or what inspires me to do art. I just know that God gave me a gift and I have a calling to create. Art is how I connect to those around me, how I explore myself, and how I make sense of my environment. ■
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EMMIE EMMIE While live music venues remain empty, the nation unites to demand racial justice and equality for all minority groups. We actively recognize artists who make actionable change an important part of their careers. EMMIE magazine decided to shed light upon those artists who are involved in activism, fundraising, and bettering their communities. Below are five artists who impact their communities in a positive way through various acts of kindness and advocacy. Illustrations by Morgan Dooley I Love You Restaurant - Jaden Smith By Kayla Chung Jaden Smith, an American rapper and actor, launched a pop-up food truck that serves free vegan food to one of the largest homeless populations: Skid Row in Los Angeles. He stated that the @ILoveYouRestaurant is a movement that is centered on giving people what they deserve, health-conscious meals for free. The food truck is also handing out cases of JUST Water, a company that he and Will Smith co-founded that transforms the idea of single-use bottled water by packaging it in a more sustainable and recyclable bottle. The first truck opened on July 7th of last year, and Jaden has yet to announce further information on the next truck, but he states that there are greater plans that are in order that continue to give back to his community one meal at a time.
Happy Hippie Foundation - Miley Cyrus By Bailey Griffin When the name Miley Cyrus is mentioned, most people think of the iconic blonde Hannah Montana wig or her controversial performance with Robin Thicke at the 2013 VMAs. However, many people don’t know that Cyrus uses her fame for philanthropy. Five years ago, Cyrus founded the Happy Hippie Foundation, a non-profit organization with the mission of supporting homeless youth, LGBTQ+ youth and other vulnerable populations. As a gender-fluid and pansexual individual, Cyrus has expressed immense support for the LGBTQ+ community and Happy Hippie has allowed her to expand this support in meaningful ways. The foundation not only provides support services to vulnerable populations but also rallies youth to fight against the injustices these communities face. Cyrus has engaged in several projects to fundraise for Happy Hippie, including the creation of a pride-themed Converse collection and release of the song “Inspired,” with proceeds from both going to the foundation. Most recently, Cyrus has used her social media to spotlight various non-profit organizers, politicians, and community leaders who are doing work to support vulnerable communities during this pandemic.
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2 A Billion - Bon Iver By Riley Younger Communities, citizens and businesses have come together to support each other during the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, civil rights movement and political changes. The music industry as a whole has done a lot to support the BLM movement by organizing protests with BLM support groups around different cities. Artists like Bon Iver (Né Justin Vernon) have teamed up with organizations and started their own programs to provide relief and learning communities to those less fortunate and disproportionately affected by the given climate. Vernon created a campaign called 2 A Billion to raise awareness “to end gender inequality, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.” This campaign has teamed up with The National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition to end discrimination and foster inclusion for all people. This coalition is staffed and supported all by Black Trans people and focuses on empowerment among members of this community. Vernon uses his platform to donate to education and policy initiatives, enhance creative action, and to speak up on gender equity. By bringing different programs to light like the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition and the Trevor Project, Vernon is taking steps to foster diversity and change systemic problems in our society.
Tegan & Sara - The Tegan & Sara Foundation By Ashley Evers Canadian born sisters Tegan and Sara launched a self-titled organization to raise awareness and funds to address the inequalities LGBTQ+ women and girls face compared to other communities. As the two musicians navigated the overwhelming about of sexism and homophobia in the music industry, they leaned on their LGBTQ+ fanbase for support. In an attempt to give back, the Tegan and Sara Foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ women and girls by providing summer camps, inclusive literature and queer health access. Their most recent initiative involved raising funds for Community Grants given to non-profits, youth leaders, and others assisting the LGBTQ+ community through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two are deeply committed to dismantling the injurious systems that prevent LGBTQ+ women and girls and from reaching their full potential and are profoundly inspired by the fans, non-profit leaders and activists they meet on tour. While touring is currently not an option, the women will continue to advocate for gender justice and work towards building progressive social change.
Noname Book Club - Noname By Izzi Bavis After nearly eight years in the music industry, Chicago rapper, Noname (née Fatimah Nyeema Warner) stepped off of the stage and into the library. In July 2019, she created what is now known as Noname’s Book Club which focuses on facilitating conversations about the injustices in America and creates a community that stems from education through communication. Each month Noname and a special guest choose two books to read. Typically the books focus on people of color and their narratives. Some examples of past readings are “Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis, “Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop” by Dr. Guthrie Ramsey and “As Black As Resistance” by William Anderson. These pieces aim to educate and spark conversation. What I admire about the book selections is the wide range of topics the books cover, Noname and her guest make sure to bring relative and informative material to the table. A large part of Noname’s Book Club prior to the pandemic was to hold monthly in-person meetings around the country, however now in light of COVID-19 all in-person meetups have been canceled. Despite the setbacks, Noname has maintained her commitment to educating the people and continues to provide a space to learn and grow.
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STRIVE The Shortcomings of the American Criminal Justice System and How Your Vote Can Fix it By David Lummis
As a nation we are once again faced with the uncomfortable truth that our criminal justice system is deeply
flawed. On May 25th, then-officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis while his fellow officers restrained concerned onlookers. Shortly thereafter, videos of the event swept across the internet and the backlash was immediate. Chauvin and the three other officers involved were arrested and criminally charged, an estimated 15 to 26 million people have participated in Black Lives Matter protests, and even more Americans have called for changes in policing.1 And for good reason. The United States has a real problem of police officers committing acts of violence against civilians. Police officers kill over 1,000 civilians every year. In fact, according to The Washington Post, 5,437 people have been shot to death by police officers since tracking began on January 1, 2015.2 Keep in mind that this total does not include non-shooting deaths. The killings of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, and Eric Garner will not appear there. Nor does this statistic include non-fatal shootings, beatings, and other forms of violence against civilians. Of course, a certain amount of violence against civilian populations will be committed by police officers. In effect, that is what the criminal justice system is- state sponsored violence against civilians who break the laws to maintain the common good. Those who are suspected of breaking the law are detained against their will, tried and, if found guilty, punished. The rationale of the system is that punishment will dissuade future transgressions by both the person being tried and other potential offenders. Since police officers are tasked with apprehending suspected criminals and suspects occasionally appear to resist or resist arrest with force, police officers sometimes will need to engage in acts of violence against citizens. Since police officers are tasked with apprehending suspected criminals and since occasionally those about to be apprehended resist or appear to resist with extreme force, there will be times where police officers will have to engage in acts of violence against citizens. That said, the rate of police violence in America is truly staggering. In European countries like France and Germany, only 26 and 11 people are killed by police annually, respectively.34 It would be unfair to cite these statistics without first acknowledging that each country is unique and simply comparing the number of civilians killed by police officers is an imperfect metric. Yet, even when adjusted for population and crime rate differences (the United States is among the world leaders in rates of theft, simple assault, and rape) American police officers kill more civilians than their European counterparts. 5Are these killings justified? My grandfather, who served in law enforcement, recently told me of an instance where he nearly fired his gun at a drunk park-goer who attempted to reach into his glove compartment after resisting arrest and injuring another officer. Thankfully, the man complied and both he and my grandfather walked away alive. Many police officers can recall similar situations where seconds and inches have meant the difference between life and death but situations like the killing of Elijah McClain are most certainly not. When police officers do commit acts of violence against civilians, one would assume that officer’s department would fully investigate if the level of force used was warranted. If not, then the offending officer having just engaged in criminal activity, would be subject to internal and criminal punishment. In reality, this rarely happens. Instances of violence against civilians are routinely covered up by the offending officers police departments. They are rarely punished internally, charged criminally, and almost never convicted. They are rarely 1 Larry Buchanan, Quoctung Bui and Jugal Patel, “Black Lives Matter May be the Largest Movement in U.S. History,” The New York Times, July 3, 2020. 2 “Fatal Force,” The Washington Post, January 1, 2015- July 18, 2020. 3 “Polizisten in Deutschland erschossen bei Einsätzen elf Menschen,” Spiegel, July 24, 2019. 4 Ivan Du Roy and Ludovic Simbille, “Vingt-six personnes sont décédées à la suite d’une intervention des forces de l’ordre en 2018,” Bastamag, Februaru 8, 2018. 5 European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, “International Statistics on Crime and Justice,” ed. Harrendorf, Stefan, Markku Heiskanen and Steven Malby, 2010.
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punished internally. They are rarely charged criminally, and they are almost never convicted. By failing to hold law enforcement officials accountable, this cycle of excessive police brutality will continue indefinitely. Within the criminal justice system, prosecutors wield an immense power. They have sole discretion as to whether an individual will face charges and little oversight when negotiating plea deals with the defendant. When a prosecutor declines to press charges, that is the end of the discussion. From the prosecutor’s perspective, charging police officers for their misdeeds is rather unappealing. Prosecutors work closely with police departments and are often reluctant to pursue cases against their friends and associates. Admittedly, the data that we have on police misconduct is incomplete. There is no national system for reporting police misconduct, no official database of complaints of misconduct, and state agencies rarely release details about investigations into police wrongdoing. This dearth of information makes it impossible to ascertain how many instances of police misconduct are left unprosecuted. In lieu of official statistics, journalists, researchers, activists, and scholars- groups severely limited in funding and timeare the ones who compile data sets on police misconduct. Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University, found that between 2005 and 2014, 8,495 law enforcement officers were arrested in 10,287 different criminal cases involving an on-duty shooting.6 Of those only 110 law enforcement officers nationwide have ever been charged with murder or manslaughter in an on duty-shooting.7 Trials are expensive and time-consuming affairs. Lawyers present their sides of the case, experts are called upon, evidence is presented, and juries and judges decide the fate of the accused. However, due to a backlog of criminal charges, plea bargaining was introduced in order to expedite the criminal justice system. According to a study compiled by the U.S. 6 Likhitha Butchireddygari, Nathaniel Rakich and Amelia Thompson-DeVeaux, “Why It’s So Rare For Police Officers to Face Legal Consequences,” FiveThirtyEight, June 4, 2020. 7 Ibid
Department of Justice, plea bargaining has become, “a defining -if not the defining- feature of the federal criminal justice system.”8 In plea bargaining, rather than pursuing the highest possible charge against a defendant, the prosecutor in charge of the case will present the defendant with an opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge or the original charge with less than the maximum sentence. It is estimated that between 90 to 95 percent of all criminal cases are resolved through this process, with very little oversight over the plea deals that prosecutors are able to offer.9 In effect, prosecutors control the criminal justice sentencing system. Predictably, this system has led to the vast majority of police officers accused of misconduct getting off with little more than a slap on the wrist. Of the 110 law enforcement officials charged with murder or manslaughter, only 42 were convicted of any crimes, most on reduced sentences. Despite their near total control over criminal prosecution and sentencing, prosecutors face penalties for their misdeeds even less often than police officers. In their 1976 decision in Imbler v. Pachtman, the Supreme Court granted prosecutors absolute immunity for acts committed in their prosecutorial role. At that time, the Court held that prosecutors required immunity from civil repercussions if they were to function truly independently as their job required. The effects of this decision have been problematic. Even in instances where prosecutors intentionally falsified or failed to turn over evidence, forced confessions, or violated a defendant’s constitutional rights in other ways, courts have applied absolute immunity to shield them from civil suits.10 In a fair justice system, one would expect that if one were to be sentenced to prison because of the criminal actions of a prosecutor, one should be entitled to some sort of compensation. But in our judicial system, that is not the case. Thanks to absolute immunity, there is no remedy for the criminal activities of prosecutors. In fact, there is a good chance a prosecutor will not face any punishment for their 8 Lindsey Devers, “Plea and Charge Bargaining,” Bureau of Justice Assistance U.S. Department of Justice, January 24, 2011, 1. 9 Ibid, 3. 10 Clark Neily, “America’s Criminal Justice System is Rotten to the Core,” CATO Institute, June 7, 2020.
Photos provided by Joshua Mitchell
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crimes. In its ruling in Imbler v. Pachtman, the Supreme Court argued that internal discipline would serve as the best way to hold prosecuting attorneys accountable for their actions. This has clearly not been true. A nationwide study put forward by the North Carolina Law Review found that in six years, only eight instances of prosecutor misconduct were ever reported.11 The data for that study only included cases in which prosecutors were found to have withheld or falsified evidence in on order to win convictions. It is even more difficult to hold prosecutors accountable for failing to charge someone. In fact, without substantial change to our current system, it may be impossible. There is no avenue for redress when a prosecutor declines to charge an officer for their misdeeds, as evidenced by the fact that Elijah McClain’s killers - and more recently Breonna Taylor’s killers - have not been charged. Our criminal justice system simply does not hold law enforcement officials accountable. Officers who violate constitutional rights are rarely punished by their departments or charged by the people tasked with prosecuting alleged crimes. Those same individuals who fail to prosecute the police officers who engage in criminal activity are unable to be punished in almost any capacity. The predictable result of failing to punish law enforcement officials has been the perpetuation of police orchestrated violence against civilians. This is not an isolated problem. Complaints of police brutality can be found all across the country and affect every age group and race. The video of the elderly man in Buffalo, New York who was peacefully protesting police brutality being shoved to the pavement is one of the more jarring glimpses into how pervasive the problem is. There was no need for the police officers to shove that man and yet they did. Thankfully, the officers involved were fired. Unfortunately, most incidents of police brutality are not as public and the majority of officers who engage in similar behaviors will not be punished. In America, anyone can be 11 Riachrd Rosen, “Disciplinary Sanctions against Prosecutors for Brady Violations: A Paper Tiger,” North Carolina Law Review 65, No. 4 (1987), 731.
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a victim of excessive police violence and far too many Americans are. That being said, the effects of police violence are not distributed evenly. It is Black Americans who are the most likely to be victims of police violence. Of the 5,437 people shot to death by police officers in this country since 2014, 2,485 were white, while 1,298 were black.12Yet if one accounts for the total population makeup of both groups, Black Americans are killed by police at twice the rate than white Americans are. Considering America’s lengthy history with racism, the fact that Blacks make up only 13% of the total U.S. population, yet account for 40% of the total number of people incarcerated in America and are far more likely to be the victims of fatal police shootings, it seems reasonable to assume they are also the most likely to be killed in non-shooting incidents, receive non-fatal beatings, and receive the most attention from police. If our country truly wishes to embody the spirit of our constitution that all people are created equally and entitled to fair treatment under the law, the criminal justice system needs to be fixed. I have some good news. We can do it through voting. Our criminal justice system is the result of policies enacted at the local, state, and federal levels. There are currently several pieces of proposed legislation at the federal level that could alter our criminal justice system for the better. The Ending Qualified Immunity Act, introduced by Justin Amash (L-Michigan) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) seeks to end qualified immunity for police officers. Qualified immunity shields police officers from civil lawsuits by their victims in the event that their constitutional rights were violated. In most criminal cases, it is widely accepted that victims of crime are entitled to file a civil suit against their perpetrators in order to secure compensation for their damages as well as to discourage future criminal activity. That right does not exist for victims of law enforcement officials. By ending qualified immunity, police officers may still be held accountable even if they are not charged criminally with the hope being that those penalties discourage police criminal activity. It is not a perfect solution, but it is a start. On June 24, Senate Democrats blocked the Republican-backed ‘Justice Act’, which sought to use 12
“Fatal Force,” The Washington Post.
federal funding to encourage local police departments to adopt less violent policies on the grounds that the bill wasn’t progressive enough, causing dismay among Republicans who called for immediate action. In some respects, both parties are right. We need legislation that will address police brutality around the country now. Law enforcement officers are almost never penalized for breaking the law. We need legislation without further delay to address the well-documented fact that law enforcement officers are rarely penalized for breaking the laws they are sworn to uphold and to hold both prosecutors and police officers alike accountable for their actions. The means to accomplish this goal should be determined by thoughtful public discussion. If you are as concerned with this issue as I am, contact your Congressional, state, and local representatives and urge them to act. Make criminal justice issues a priority when you go to the polls in November: find out each of the candidate’s position and vote for the ones who make judicial reform a priority. After the elections, keep up the pressure. Do not allow yourself to become discouraged- a united call for change can be powerful and the lives of American citizens are on the line. Finally, it is well past the time to address the racial inequalities within the prosecutorial offices. In every state, most criminal cases are tried at the county level and are brought forth by the county’s District Attorney. In most states, including Wisconsin, this is an elected position. Like most other states, Wisconsin falls short in providing a racially diverse collection of prosecutors. Out of 73 counties, only Dane County has a non-white District
Attorney. Many states do not even have a single non-white District Attorney. Considering the power prosecutors have over the criminal justice system and the fact that a study published by the Boston College Law Review found numerous discrepancies in plea bargaining based on the race of the prosecutor and defendant, electing more non-white chief prosecutors may alleviate some of these discrepancies.13 If the deciding factor between having charges reduced or not is a common skin color between the prosecutor and defendant, electing more minority prosecutors could make criminal sentencing less skewed in favor of whites. It is by no means a perfect solution, but it is a start. Addressing the shortcomings of the criminal justice system is a difficult and uncomfortable topic. However, we must have that conversation. There is a culture of violence and silence within our law enforcement departments. It is time to change that. Each and everyone one of you reading this needs to make your voice heard, stay politically active, and help bring about the change you want to see. Until the criminal justice is corrected - until there is justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and the countless other victims of excessive police violence. It is time we demand change.
13 Carlos Berdejó, “Criminalizing Race: Racial Disparities in Plea Bargaining,” Boston College Law Review, vol. 59, (2017), 1187.
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Souvenirs Wow, what a time to be a traveller! This world pandemic dares my fellow vagabonds to travel with limits we may never thought we would encounter. Does this limitation stop us? Maybe, physically. But this crisis also helps me realize how lucky I am to have the privilege to see how far my passport can take me. Despite the restrictions placed on my travel-itching self, the longing for new experiences and fresh scenery engulfs me and I simply cannot stop dreaming of where my next adventure will take me. I feel that combining traveling with the idea of community is open to interpretation. Reflecting on this issue, I started wondering, why do I travel in the first place? On one end, I travel to learn from and be exposed to other cultures and communities, because recognizing our differences is the key to understanding humanity. By meeting people who grew up in cultures unlike our own, we learn to embrace their unique traits and recognize strengths that each individual brings to the table. By exploring this world, I became a part of the community of culture connoisseurs who have also had similar experiences. You’ve been to Poland? I’m sure you’ve had a taste of their traditional pierogi! You saw Niagara Falls? Which side, the Canadian or New York side, did you like better? These experiences are what spark conversations among travelers, and therefore form a community based on the interpretation of their trips. Lastly, a long period away from home helps me to appreciate the community that grounds me. My wonderfully large and rambunctious family, the middle-of-nowhere small town I grew up in, the local food hut that is open only for the summer - these are all aspects of my home community that I would never have learned to appreciate had I not visited other communities. Being far from home gives me time to miss the parts I take for granted, and therefore I appreciate them much more when I have them within reach again. When I think of the sense behind leaving my comfort zone to explore, I do this to learn more about myself and to find what I look for in a community. To help you find inspiration for your next destination, Souvenirs Magazine put together a gallery of photos from various communities around the world. Join Souvenirs in traveling through five continents in three pages, all within the comfort of your own seat. Happy traveling! Maya Fidziukiewicz Editor in Chief
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Africa Gaborone, Botswana Savannah Austin
Gaborone, Botswana Savannah Austin
Americas
New York, USA Sara SHeibani
Hawaii, USA PMadelyn Vilker
Valle Del Corra, Columbia Mindy Navarro
California, USA Yeji Kwon
California, USA Yeji Kwon
Nevada, USA Yeji Kwon
California, USA Yeji Kwon
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Asia Hongcheon, Korea Photo: Yeji Kwon
Rameshwaram, India Asha Jain
Seoul, Korea Yeji Kwon
Munnar,India Asha Jain
Mumbai, India Evanka Annyapu
Kumarakom, India Asha Jain
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Wat Pho, Thailand Savannah Austin
Bangkok, Thailand Savannah Austin
Europe
Venice, Italy Photo: Samantha Bonilla
Venice, Italy Samantha Bonilla
Kilkenny, Ireland Maya Fidziukiewicz
Faro, Portugal Maya Fidziukiewicz
Venice, Italy Samantha Bonilla
Kilkwnny,Ireland Maya Fidziukiewicz
Ronda, Spain Asha Jain
Warsaw, Poland Maya Fidziukiewicz
Gibraltor, UK Asha Jain
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Quarantine Poetry ILLUMINATION
by Tyler Moore
As the world whirs around us in these strange and dire times, I’ve often found myself reflecting inwards. Due to the prevalent 24 hour news cycle, the opposite seems like it would be true, but something about my stillness reflected against the chaos of the outside world gives me the desire to think more personally. And more specifically to think about my or an individual’s role in the world. So, here are two poems I’ve written under quarantine the past few months that I think exemplify this internalized view of the outside world.
W
hen watching is all you have It will be at night milk dark and wild the grey slipping off the grass. I resent that I’ve become cold to those spoon eyes My bent face reflected. Day is not the friend of change camera flash: plastic seal and the sighed rotation, cool release. Bugs begin to sizzle and hiss fireflies blink, they rain, they rise chanting: we’re alive, we’re alive.
T
his poem was written as I’ve been thinking more about the future; the times after quarantine. I was thinking about personal desires, societal desires, etc., and how I plan to attack them. The world is in a dark place right now and doing almost anything seems like a lot for most people, but what we can all do is plan or visualize the future. To see what we want, attack under night, and take it.
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ILLUMINATION
Matthew Charles, The Weeping
collection might be a better format. When he isn’t writing, Charles works with a local nonprofit and is a budding businessman. “You Cannot Burn the Sun”, self-published, has already met and exceeded its funding goal. When discussing his decision to publish a book, Charles observes, “The cultural moment is seeking Black voices.” Indeed, the pre-order demand for “You Cannot Burn the Sun” has been so successful as to be logistically difficult, the best kind of difficult.
Charles has a great deal with the logistically difficult. He began his creative journey as a performer, rapping at age thirteen, until he literally lost his voice, due to several complications, and began writing. This period of silence was a difficult time for him; he shares that for about two months after losing his voice, he didn’t write anything. He was ready to give up on art, but the poems wouldn’t stop, and since then, neither has he.
Prophet By Dave Riser he past weeks have been characterized by civil disruption, from COVID-19’s effect on day-to-day living, to the Black Lives Matter protests being brutalized by police. The world is a changing, difficult to navigate place. Change is possible, although the news cycle and the powers-that-be want us to stay demoralized and separate. When considering the future, listening to the voices of others is an important way to stay connected, and to dream of a better world. Poetry has long been a protest medium, and even more than that, a way to share resilience, pain, and perspective with a wider community.
T
A frequent theme in Charles’ work is theology. He grew up in a small, intensely Christian (and intensely white) town in the state of Oregon. His father was a pastor father his mother was a nun. It’s not surprising that Charles incorporates themes of faith and Christian imagery. He tells me about having to find his own relationship to Christianity outside of and different from predominantly white cultural Christianity. In this discovery, Charles states that he is
Matthew Charles’ upcoming book, “You Cannot Burn the Sun” is a collection of poems focusing on the city of Madison in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. While it does cover the protests, with several poems taking place on State Street and Library Mall, the book overall focuses on the Black experience in Madison in all forms, both rest and unrest. Charles, who graciously agreed to be interviewed, describes his rate of creation as “overflowing”. He shares, “I wrote 24 poems in one sitting.” The book started out as part of a smaller collection, bLACK, on his Instagram, @matthewcharlespoet, until the sheer volume of poems suggested that a Issue 26 26 Summer issue
Photographs By Ian Kpachavi
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