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I have 3 free designs for you today, all #BlackLivesMatter related. Check back for other designs to come, and if you have suggestions, please put them in the comments. The primary uses for these designs are for crafters using vinyl cutting machines such as Silhouette Curio, Silhouette Cameo, Cricut or Brother craft vinyl cutters, or plotters. For any of those, you will need to reverse the designs if using them with heat transfer vinyl (HTV). For other vinyl applications, such as car decals, do not reverse them. You can also use them to print iron-on transfers for t-shirts or bags or printable vinyl or temporary tattoos (usually need to reverse those as well), window signs, or whatever you can think of.
SVG files contain the text as text and as paths, so that you can edit it or change fonts if you like. They are in Zip archives for security reasons. PNG files are 200 dpi for good results when printing. Right-click or long-press the link (depending on your operating system) under each image where it says ‘here’ to get the file type you prefer. Images below are not full size.
Washington DC activists appear to have collected enough validated signatures to get Initiative 81 on the November ballot, which would decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi within the District. Specifically, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020 if passed would do the following (from initiative link):
Make the investigation and arrest of adults for non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, possessing, and/or engaging in practices with entheogenic plants and fungi among the Metropolitan Police Department’s lowest law enforcement priorities; and
Codify that the people of the District of Columbia call upon the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia to cease prosecution of residents of the District of Columbia for these activities.
Dr. Stella Immanuel has stirred up controversy this week with a Facebook video making unscientific claims about covid-19, the corona virus causing the pandemic which has been wreaking havoc on the world since late 2019, and which has to date caused at least 4 million cases of the illness in the United States. The video, shared by the Clown Prince of Darkness and his autonymic son, was pulled by Facebook (after being shared millions of times, not a good look for them) and caused Junior to get a 12-hour account suspension on Twitter. In it, she claimed that hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug which has proved both ineffective and dangerous as a treatment for the virus, was actually a cure and that Dr. Anthony Fauci, US lead infectious disease doctor, and the entire Senate were taking the drug and that masks were unnecessary, although she is requiring their use for people wishing to visit her clinic.
Yes, I realize that title is ridiculously long. It is crucial we—the collective cultural “we”—understand the relevance of chattel slavery to where we find ourselves now in America in a cultural sense, because all that we have is built on all that has been, and many Americans from every part of the country, every economic class, and every color have not been taught relevant facts about our history (alternate link).
Our history curricula have neglected and whitewashed critical elements of the context in which events happened, people became notorious or famous, and legislation and court decisions have shaped what was allowed by whom and against whom. This project, by The New York Times Magazine in collaboration with the Smithsonian—the lead essay of which, by project director Nikole Hannah-Jones, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary—aims to help correct that by filling in gaps in knowledge and understanding of adults and providing new free curriculum for students at all levels, co-developed with the Pulitzer Center, which hosts it.
In response to criticism from historians, The Times updated a sentence in Hannah-Jones’ essay to clarify that, while fear that England was headed toward outlawing slavery was a primary factor driving support for the American Revolution among some colonists, it was not for all colonists. In fact, throughout American history there has been conflict between those Whites who supported slavery, racialized castes, and White supremacy and those who have ardently resisted them.
If you’re a subscriber to the Times, you can read the essays in the 1619 Project and explore its interactive elements here. If not, you can download a PDF file of the full issue of The New York Times Magazine issue containing all the essays from the Pulitzer Center.
The August 18th cover of Times Magazine. Cover by Dannielle Bowman.
Not only have the protesters for Black lives in Portland been consistent in showing up, but they are demonstrating effective ways for people to come together and resist authoritarian clampdowns on free speech as well as how White people can be good allies, showing up and using White privilege to protect protesters of color and center their voices. They’re not the first, of course, and many of the strategies they’ve been using—including using leaf blowers to return tear gas to the senders—have come from Hong Kong, in particular, where pro-democracy protesters have been demonstrating in recent years against the might of China.
Surely any visitor here is familiar with the infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where state troopers notoriously beat Civil Rights protesters on Bloody Sunday, March 7th, 1965, including the recently deceased John Lewis, conscience of Congress for the 17 terms he served, representing us Georgians in the House. Lewis was the first to be beaten on Bloody Sunday, suffering a fractured skull,
Now there is a movement to rename the bridge in Lewis’ honor, amidst a larger movement to rethink and rename public honors, such as statues, streets, schools, and mascots. There are two petitions in support of this movement.
Call to action: I ask that you sign both petitions to rename the bridge. The first is at https://johnlewisbridge.com/, which also provides information on the current namesake, Edmund Pettus, a hateful racist, avid defender of slavery, opponent of Reconstruction, and KKK “Grand Wizard”, as well as history of the bridge itself.
American conservatives this week are up in arms about a graphic shared by the National Museum of African American History and Culture which addresses some of the ways in which white culture is dominant and has become the default cultural setting in the US. They made such an uproar about it that the museum removed the graphic, rather than engaging in conversation about it and perhaps learning something. White culture is so much the American default that we often don’t see it, just as fish don’t see water until they’re taken from it.
Today we are grieving the loss of longtime member of Congress and personal hero Representative John Lewis of Georgia, as well as celebrating his life and tremendous contributions to American civil rights. I’m sure most of you are well aware of his work both in the Civil Rights Movement and in Congress, where he served as a conscience for the body, speaking to colleagues about the effects legislation and policy could and did have on Americans, especially his constituents in Atlanta. Continue reading RIP John Lewis→
Truth, justice, and the American walrus
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