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Posts Tagged: justice

THE HISTORY HOUSE

the-history-house

The struggle has always been inner, and is played out in outer terrains. Awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing happens in the “real” world unless it first happens in the images in our heads.

-Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera

I created this piece as part of a racial justice poster project. When coming up with ideas for the design, I knew that I wanted to create something that speaks to and pays tribute to the personal, internal growth from which movements for justice are born.

In the 23 years of my little life, I’ve been blessed to have walked alongside crazy cool people with wild, contradictory, profound stories. What I’ve gathered is that we’ve all come to understand and work for racial justice in different ways. Sometimes they mesh, other times they clash. At the same time, activism is changing. In this age of information, good PR is reality, something that every powerful institution is utilizing with deadening precision. Glossy commodified justice is circulated and consumed, while everyday struggles are left unreported, ridiculed, or tokenized.

For me at this point in time, this means taking it back to basics. Even as an artist, it would be stupid to think that one poster I make or even a lifetime of work could herald a movement or a better world. There are too many creative and dedicated people out there for it to be that easy. What I can do is share the things that have affected and inspired me: to learn, to be a better person, to do more for the people I know and would like to know.

I really like this quote by José Rizal cos it sums up something so simple yet easy to forget:

He who does not know how to look back at the place from which he came will never arrive at his destination.

Or in everyday speak:

No history, no self. Know history, know self.

This has been a root and guiding principle in my own life. It’s also been a sort of restorative when shit gets complicated or overwhelming. I like to think that racial justice isn’t a fight but a part of who I am. This piece is an effort to visualize the natural and restorative core of racial justice: a retreat into the elements, the mind, and one’s own trek through life.

But enough with the cheese! To show my appreciation for the zombies stoners good people who visit my bloggy, I am giving away a few prints. Yes yes… free stuff!! They are full-color digital prints (17 x 11″) via Autumn Express in San Francisco. Just email me at dnm.choi (at) gmail (dot) com and mention the blog, we’ll talk.

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1
Jan 10

Hello 2010.

i am oscar grant

gone but not forgotten

Top artwork by Elliot Johnson, from the Oscar Grant Memorial Art Project.

From Oakland Local:

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of Oscar Grant’s death at the hands of BART police officer Johannes Mehserle and the case is far from over. Grant’s family has a lawsuit pending against BART, Mehserle is set to face trial in Los Angeles in 2010 and there are still cases against 3 activists that allegedly participated in the January 14th protests in downtown Oakland.

It’s the dawn of a new decade and emotions in Oakland are running high-from renewed anger over police brutality, to BART announcing increased police patrols for the night to the collective hope that this tragedy will be the catalyst to address some of our most pressing issues.

And as Susan states in her essay, the Oscar Grant case was essentially the spark that stoked Oakland Local’s fire. Frustration over with the way the media coverage unfolded and the lack of diversity in the coverage sparked its creation. Oakland Local was formed with the goal of providing a platform for the city’s diverse voices across race, class, gender and political lines, a starting-place we lacked.

In recognition of Oscar’s death–and the impact his killing has had on our city, Oakland Local has asked local leaders and just plain folks to look back at Oscar and the year. We’ve also collected compelling coverage from the past year, including testimonials, community news reports, essays, poetry, and video. This is our attempt to honor those opinions. This gallery is a collaborative effort by a wide range of individuals and we thank them all for their passion and participation.

As the new year rolls in let’s take this time to reflect and ask ourselves how we can all do better in 2010. Not just for ourselves, but for the community, the city and our collective well being. There’s a lot of work to be done. Let’s make those 1st steps together.

Check out Oakland Local for more essays, photos, and artwork from the New Year’s vigil.

For now, artistry in and around the bay. Graf by GATS and stencil lifted from Endless Canvas. Bottom poster by Paul Barron, photographed by Gordon Gekkoh.

keep the trial local

oscar grant art

It’s a new decade. With the past at heart and eyes toward the future, lets make it a good one.

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24
Nov 09

What’s nail polish got to do with climate change?

seed

Up until very recently, it’s unlikely that I would have put “reproductive justice,” “immigrant women,” and “climate change” in the same sentence. I’m happy to report that this is no longer the case, thanks to the ladies at Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ) and cool folks at orgs. like Grind for the Green and the Ella Baker Center.

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the San Francisco Green Festival, a 3-day extravaganza of workshops, performances, and enough green products to make you shit green the rest of your life. Not in a bad way. Some notables include aquaponics (crazy urban gardening system) and granola bars made out of grass (uh… not so tasty). I also met the venerable Amy Goodman for 5 seconds (an amazing 5 seconds it was!). There we are below, gloating evilly while she’s looking a bit uncomfortable.

gloating with goodman

But back to the actual event. Living in the Bay for almost 5 years now, I know I’m not the only one that can find the rhetoric typically surrounding the green movement to be really fucking obnoxious, hypocritical and snooty culturally alienating and economically unviable for most of the world not that convincing. So it was great to hear from a perspective that connects the health of the environment with the dismantling of systemic inequality, specifically as it relates to nail salon workers in Oakland.

According to an ACRJ report, nail care is the fastest growing sector in the beauty industry. It’s a critical job source for over 300,000 people in California, and approximately 80% of the nail salons here are owned and staffed by Vietnamese women. Due to the largely unregulated chemicals in nail and cleaning products, manicurists and cosmetologists experience disproportionate rates of stomach cancer, spontaneous abortion, birth defects, reproductive problems, and asthma. These same chemicals release greenhouse gases and contribute significantly to global warming.

Meanwhile, policy efforts often address climate change and worker health in isolation. For example, the city of Santa Cruz recently adopted Green Business rules in order to regulate the types of products used in nail salons. However, it set no minimum standards for working conditions or any regulations on the health and safety of workers. This relates to growing stories about the shitty means and conditions under which we get our “green” products. So the question becomes… will the green movement be a movement for equity and inclusion? Or same old BS coming from an increasingly powerful, shrinking minority?

Luckily, there are some dedicated people working hard to make sure its the first. Thanks to mobilized community action, Oakland has emerged as a leader in setting climate change goals. Oakland City Council has unanimously approved the reduction of emissions to 36% below 2005 levels by 2020 and to 85% below 2005 levels by 2050. It’ll take a lot of hard work in the years to come to make these goals into reality– but for now, major props to the people who pushed it that far.

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17
Nov 09

Richard Aoki: the man behind the myth

solidarity

Last Thursday, I managed to drag my lazy ass all the way to Oakland in time to see the premiere of the documentary AOKI– based on the life and times of the late, great Richard Aoki. He was, among other things, a third-generation Japanese American, a founding member of the Black Panther Party and the UC Berkeley Asian American Political Alliance, and an all-around bad ass with a disarmingly squeaky voice. From his rearing in the WWII internment camps and West Oakland to his involvement with the BPP, AAPA, and the Third World Liberation Front, the man continues to be an iconic leader for students and organizers today. Below is an excerpt from an interview with Kathleen Cleaver, on Richard’s role in the early years of the BPP.

All in all, though, the man Richard Aoki– as opposed to the icon– remains a bit elusive. My favorite parts of the film were the rare moments in which the sunglasses came off (literally and figuratively) and we got a glimpse of the man behind the myth: what compels him, what holds him back, what keeps him going. The parts where he described his childhood in the camps and his more recent struggle to align his physical capacity and age with the tireless radical within.

Other favorites include: interviews with Harvey Dong (so huggable), Bryant Fong (he looks like my dad), and Richard’s assessment of reform, which goes something like this: “if you take shit and mold it into a square, its still shit!”

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19
Oct 09

What others called a crime, I called justice.

Lifted from Just Seeds Artist Cooperative.

This post isn’t about Phoolan Devi, but I liked the poster cos– unlike most of our Western portrayals of poor Asian women who experience sexual violence– it actually looks at (and honors) one of the many women who’ve fought back. And not by killing herself or falling into someone else’s protective embrace, as the movies might have us believe.

I recently came across this photography blog, and needless to say its disgusting. There’s probably a more tactful way to put it, but really, I think that’s the most appropriate description.

Some background: this guy lives in Thailand and he takes photos, mostly of women, most of whom are sex workers. His work has been featured in the Telegraph. He posts pics and shares his thoughts on the lives of his subjects, sex tourists, Thai culture, women… you get the idea. While he does exhibit a certain sympathy for the women he photographs, let’s not give him too much credit. His stance is typically patronizing and goes something like this: these poor girls have to sell their bodies, sex tourists are creepy assholes, but I, I respect and understand these women… which is why I take many, many pictures of them and comment on their every thought and move.

But this isn’t even about one guy, cos he’s not that unique. This alternately pitying and condemning yet lusty fascination with sex workers is well documented by like, every guy that’s visited Asia with a camera and access to the internet. Discussion ranges from unabashedly idiotic (THESE SLUTS ARE FUCKIN CRAZY!!!!!) to high-minded bitching (these poor, desensitized souls..) to a stealthy combination of both (see above example). There are also some critical voices in the mix, but they’re vastly outnumbered by the more obnoxious ones with racy photographs.

So what’s up with this (one-way) voyeuristic love affair? Somehow the Asian sex worker is there for endless consumption: to fuck, analyze and/or save (all at the same time, if you’re feeling ambitious). Conveniently, she’s downtrodden or driven only by money– and accepts her fate graciously. There’s also the favorite villain for everything that’s wrong with our people, The Asian Man.

And can I just say that my point isn’t that sex work should be kept on the DL, or that Asian men haven’t taken part in the exploitation and subjugation of the ladies. My issue is with the selective portrayal of women in this profession and the societies that they live in. It pities, preaches, and cops a feel–but doesn’t go so far as to respect the women and the work that they do. It focuses on the crimes of her countrymen, but fails to recognize that it’s the crimes of Western powers (I believe “globalization” is the fashionable word) that have led to the creation of such extreme gaps in power and wealth in the rest of the world. It loves to save, but doesn’t notice that women have been saving themselves ever since the need arose.

So on that note… I’ll end this really long entry with a quote from Empower Foundation, a coalition of sex workers in Thailand who are infinitely more worthy of time and respect than the assholes that clog up the Internet with their “observations”…

“We are sex workers. We are workers who use our brains and our skill to earn an income. We are proud to support ourselves and our extended families. We look after each other at work; we fight for safe & fair standards in our industry and equal rights within society. We are a major part of the Thai economy, bringing in lots of tourist dollars. We are active citizens on every issue…politics, economics, environment, laws, rights etc. We try and find the space in society to stand up and be heard. Some see us as problem makers but actually we are part of the solution.”