EEDA Newsletter Vol 5, Res 15: Mental Health Toolkit, Sticker Mule Alternatives, & USDA Labeling
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends. Holy shit, an entire lifetime of events has happened since the last resource issue. I would be remiss if I did not say how particularly wild it is to be a Black woman right now. Many of us are bracing ourselves for the onslaught of vitriol that has already begun to be slung this election season now that Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee. We have been saying it for years and now perhaps more folks will understand us when we say: this country hates Black women.
Sunday evening, 44,000 Black women gathered on Zoom. The group’s goal to raise $1 million in 100 days was exceeded in just three hours, with more than $1.6 million raised to support the new Democratic nominee.
Two weeks prior, Sonya Massey, a Black woman with mental illness, was murdered in her own home by the cop she had called to help her. In the same breath, white liberals are hoping a Black woman will save this country and with all due respect, this country does not deserve Black women to save it. Personally, I am not saving this country; I am trying to save myself and my loved ones. Saving the country is a by-product.
As most of you know, I was born and raised in the Bay Area, where I still live, and I have some very specific critiques of Kamala Harris that hit close to home on top of the obvious global critiques; however, I would rather be organizing under her than the alternative. Last week, I shared how you can get involved with sending postcards to voters in swing states. Currently it’s on pause while they get through the backlog of requests but sign up for the wait list and they’ll ping you when opportunities open back up.
We cannot depend on people in positions of power to save us. We save ourselves. We must continue to build community, continue to organize, and continue to care for each other, regardless of who is “in charge.” Remember: genocide, book bans, abortion bans, and anti-trans legislation is all happening right now, under the current president.
“For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change." - Audre Lorde
In this week's EEDA Pod episode, “We Need to Talk About Misinformation and Disinformation,” it’s an election year and these internet streets are wild! This week, we give a 101 on misinformation and disinformation. We define the terms and talk about ways we each can identify misinformation and disinformation. We also offer many resources to further learn how to identify misinformation and disinformation and how to talk to friends and family who post misinformation and disinformation.
You can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
Reminder: We have a Patreon for folks who want to support our podcast and we are working on rolling out perks to paid subscribers. We’ve added a tier for folks who want to support both the podcast and subscribe to this newsletter at a discounted rate. You’ll also get access to a couple of the paid benefits we already have on offer and future benefits tbd.
Resource 1: 2024 BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit via Mental Health America
This resource is both a primary resource of information as well as a resource roundup itself which is in commemoration of Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (also known as BIPOC Mental Health Month). This pdf includes lists of things that individuals, organizations, and businesses can do for this month (and beyond) as well as tips on:
Navigating Stigma/Cultural Differences in BIPOC Communities
Generational Differences
Talking About Your Mental Health
Seeking Support
Screening
and tons of further resources and additional reading!
Reminder that I also have a newsletter issue and a podcast episode on finding a therapist!
Resource 2: Sticker printing companies that aren’t Sticker Mule
About a week ago, the co-founder of Sticker Mule sent a wild pro-Trump email that is not the vibe of a lot of their customers. I’ve avoided that site for a while because this is not the first time he’s shown his whole ass. While there are plenty of recommendations for alternatives, David Malki posted on Bluesky a spreadsheet he’s put together and has been maintaining a spreadsheet of pricing and notes about sticker printing companies that are not Sticker Mule. You can see the spreadsheet here.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been working on some EEDA Pod merch (not yet available) and used StickerApp and what I got was pretty cool.
Resource 3: USDA Site on Food Product Labeling
While with certain food, like leftovers or meat products, I lean toward “When in doubt, throw it out,” I find that the USDA site on food product labeling helps put me at ease about some other products, specifically ones that are “past date.” The tl;dr is that the date labeling isn’t a safety date except for on infant formula. I want to call out this particular bit, but the whole page is incredibly helpful:
“There are no uniform or universally accepted descriptions used on food labels for open dating in the United States. As a result, there are a wide variety of phrases used on labels to describe quality dates.
Examples of commonly used phrases:
A "Best if Used By/Before" date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
A "Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
A “Use-By" date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula as described below.
A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.”
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t necessarily be added to my Bookshop.
Recently Read:
The Witches: The Graphic Novel by Pénélope Bagieu and Roald Dahl
Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary by Major Griffin-Gracy and edited by Toshio Meronek
Our Subway Baby by Peter Mercurio and Leo Espinosa [note from The Infophile: I cried my eyes out]
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
The Kite Runner: Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini, Fabio Celoni (Illustrator), Mirka Andolfo (Illustrator), Tommaso Valsecchi (Script) [note from The Infophile: I cried my eyes out]
Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel by Gabby Rivera, Celia Moscote
Currently Reading:
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
I'll Have What He's Having by Adib Khorram (out 8/27)
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown
Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook: A Cookbook by Sohla El-Waylly and a forward by Samin Nosrat
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams (Yes, I am still working on this. I got through one particular story and it thoroughly creeped me out so I’ve set it aside)
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.