Math is cultural

and friendship is political

Hello Beloved Friends

the photo shows a 100 year old korea town apartment building. There is a deck and someone is eating breakfast, while someone on the sidewalk wearing an orange shirt looks up at them.

I am in Los Angeles right now, and everything is in bloom!

A few days ago I was in Arizona for the Arizona Department of Health Integrated Symposium on HIV, Hep-C and STIs

If I met you at the conference, hello again!

Arizona is soo beautiful this time of year, I really had no idea.

At the conference I facilitated two sessions with the help of my cofacilitator, Zumi. We did one session on Conflict Navigation and another session on De-Escalation!

Here is some of the feedback I received about my workshops:

I’m teaching a somatics class next week called : Embracing Anger

We are going to tapping into and releasing our anger!!

would you attend something like that?

Math is cultural

a poster of an ice cream cone with two scoops of ice cream in it that have orange ripples. the poster says “Marigold Dreamsicle”

I’ve been stomping around koreatown with my exceptionally cool best friend Paradise.

two light brown skinned people with dark hair and facial hair smile into the camera

Paradise, in addition to being a graphic artist, is a musician. You can listen to their music here

When we stomp around K-town we make lots of jokes, gossip, sing songs, and talk at length about math and science. Recently we were talking about the legacy of Islamic scientists and mathematicians, and the deep tie between Islam and science.

Through our conversation, we came to the conclusion that math, while useful and an integral part of our daily life, is not culture neutral, but a cultural biproduct.

And Friendship is political

I have been thinking a lot about my friend Banah’s Black/Palestinian Feminist Solidarity timeline.

a variety of underwear with betty boop screenprinted on them. The betty boop screenprints depict two betty boops with top surgery, looking buff, doing sexual things together.

So many of the key events on the timeline are bi products of radical friendships, where two revolutionary people built trust in each other , and in inevitably change the game through their connection. There are also moments on the timeline of radical honesty and accountability. It has really helped me validate that strong friendships can change the world.

a fruit platter I made some beloved friends

Thank u for reading love u guyz

I go to Japan on Saturday! Maybe you’ll hear for me again before then. If not…see you on the otherside!!!