EEDA Newsletter Vol 5, Res 16: Voting, Book Bans, & Expecting Black Women to Save the U.S.
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! I’m going to share the exciting thing first: There is now a search function in my newsletter! Go to the newsletter at https://www.theinfophile.com/ and when you go into the archive, there is a search bar up top. I’ve been asking for this for quite a while and I’m so happy it’s finally available. None of the resource issues are behind a paywall so you can search and share with abandon.
I have finished reading what I think is perhaps one of the most important books of the last 10 years, Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz. I rarely say this about books but you need to drop everything and read this book right now. Read it as far before the election as you can. I’m sure I will do a full write-up of it in the near future. In other news, I’m trying not to be too tin-foil-hattie about our podcast episode on misinformation and disinformation getting zero plays on YouTube. All of our other shows have at least a handful of plays and I find it interesting (and worrying?) that the one where we try to teach people about misinformation and disinformation doesn’t seem to be crossing any paths.
Speaking of mis/disinformation, there’s a thing going around about Rebeca Andrade, Brazilian gymnast, and Simone Biles being friends even though “Rebeca doesn’t speak English and Simone doesn’t speak Portuguese.” But, Rebeca does speak English! It’s right there in her Olympian profile: “Languages Spoken: English, Portuguese.” It’s weird and xenophobic to say she doesn’t.
Meanwhile, yes, Covid-19 is still a thing and many people are getting really sick right now. Nicole and I still mask indoors everywhere. Here’s a photo of me at a recent work retreat:
Something that has become evident for me in the past three weeks, but especially this week as Kamala Harris has selected Tim Walz to be her running mate, is that liberals are absolutely starving for some semblance of kindness and humanity. It’s evident by the way folks have already done the feel-good memeing that goes along with parasocial relationships formed with politicians and the like. Though this situation is helping me get more comfortable on TikTok, there is still a lot of deep work and dismantling to be done. Having just come off reading this book, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the right probably won’t just give up the fight. They’re already trying to purge voter records.
This week's EEDA Pod episode is titled, “Should We Expect Black Women to Save the U.S.?” Many of our fellow left-leaning folks have been shouting phrases like, “Black women will save us” and “Listen to Black women.” In today’s show, we dig in and discuss some of the many issues of these well-intended phrases. We also talk about the unique way in which we aim to disrupt self-help in a way that can connect activism to the self-help space.
You can find our show, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
It’s a resource week so let’s get to it!
Resource 1: These Are the Only Voting Sites You Should Be Using
Just because Biden stepped down doesn’t mean that shit won’t continue to be fuckin’ bonkers. This article talks about how there is already potentially illegal activity going on, tricking people into thinking they’re registering to vote but actually just collecting their data. While there are different places to check your voter registration status for each state, I want to point to the two starting places you should be using:
The links out of these sites will take you to the correct, accurate, legal places to register and check your registration. Even if you think you are registered, please check again. Like I said, people are trying to purge registrations.
Resource 2: More on Book Bans Including Action Items
Last November, I included the 5 Calls App in a resource issue. Authors Against Book Bans has partnered with 5 Calls to be included in the app. Here is an Instagram post from AABB on how to use it, complete with pictures (I’m sorry, I do not know about image descriptions or how accessible this is).
Also last November, I included the Literary Activism newsletter in a resource issue. My Book Riot colleague Kelly Jensen has been doing amazing work. I want to share the recent list she posted of all of the Moms For Liberty endorsed/aligned candidates for school boards and other elected offices in the upcoming elections as of July 25, 2024. If you are in a “blue” state like California or New York and think your state isn't on this list, think again.
Last week, Book Riot posted a guest post by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author and cofounder of Authors Against Book Bans. You should really read this, even if you don’t think book bans affect you (I promise, they do). “Firstly, we stop kidding ourselves. This is a fight we’re losing.”
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:
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz [note: this book is an absolute MUST-READ IMMEDIATELY. Right now. In this election year.]
Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin
Full Shift by Jennifer Dugan, illustrated by Kit Seaton (out 8/27)
The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel by Antonio Iturbe (Author), Salva Rubio (Adapted by), Loreto Aroca (Illustrator), Lilit Thwaites (Translator)
Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Currently Reading:
I'll Have What He's Having by Adib Khorram (out 8/27)
Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better by Woo-Kyoung Ahn [reread]
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.