[angel johnson update: shot 6 times & evicted] trigger warning- transphobia.

Angel Johnson is the Indianapolis trans woman I posted about who was shot six times during a home invasion, survived it and is now recovering from her injuries.  

But according to Diamond Stylz,  the apartment complex she was living in just added insult to her injuries. 

Citing that she was ‘a danger to other residents’, they evicted her from her apartment.    WTF?

I’m about to go Maya Wilkes now.   She’s the one who was shot, her sister jumped from her third floor apartment window and broke her ankle trying to escape the gunman, and Angel is a ‘danger to other residents’?  


Diamond gives more details about Angel and the ugly situation

if you don't listen to me, than listen to Racialicious: WHEN NON NATIVE PARTICIPATION IN POWWOWS GOES TERRIBLY WRONG

supernaturallady:

herzundseele:

cdangt:

herzundseele:

That photo infuriated me.  Cultural appropriation by folks who should know better!

Excerpt:

«Why did these girls think it was ok to dress up like ridiculous “Indians” to come to a Native community event? Would these girls have dressed in blackface to go to a African American community gathering? Wear a sombrero, poncho, and drawn on mustache to a Ballet Folklorico concert? No.

But powwows, at least in areas that are not majority-Native, tend to invite non-Native spectators, encourage their participation in things like intertribal dances, and allow time and space for education about Native history and powwow traditions. I think that’s a great thing. Powwows show the vibrancy and currency of our cultures and evolving traditions; they show we are still here, that traditions are strong, that our communities exist and will continue to exist. They expose thousands of people to Native cultures that they may not ever encounter otherwise. They allow for Native artists and craftspeople to make a living selling their jewelry and art.

However, this openness and encouragement of non-Native participation creates a fine line–we want you to come, to learn, to watch, to engage; but that doesn’t mean it’s ok to mock our cultures in your attempts at participation.»

I’m not sure if crosses the line or not. Others would disagree. It’s not their purpose to arrive at the powwows to discriminate or mock the culture it seems like. Especially if it was a community event that invited different cultures and races to participate. It’s not in a hateful manner that they arrived but more so in ignorance. They associate Native Americans with those articles of clothing largely due to the new and latest hipster fashion trends, and popular culture. I wouldn’t be offended if a non-Asian American showed up to an Asian festival wearing a rice bowl hat. I would use it as an opportunity to explain to them the significance of the rice bowl hat in Asian culture.

That’s exactly what they did. They pulled the girls aside and told them [gently] why their attire was offensive/stereotypical/cultural appropriation.  

Also: It is incredibly offensive and callous to appropriate the fashions, traditions and culture of a people who have had their sovereignty severely undermined, endured genocide, rape and assimilation.  I don’t care intentions of “well-meaning” people who appropriate aspects of Indigenous American cultures.  Their intentions mean little when their actions speak so much more.