Fask masks from artists / businesses of color

This gift-giving season, considering supporting businesses of color and keeping your communities safe at the same time. 

B. Yellowtail - for every mask purchased, one is donated to Native communities in need

Cordillera Masks - one-of-a-kind face masks made in the mountain regions of Abra, in the peaks of the Cordilleras. The Itnegs (or Tingguian) are known for their pre-colonial tradition of hand looming fabric.

Daily Malong - Empowering weavers in the Philippines

DIOP - Detroit-based apparel company founded by a Nigerian American 

Eliaichi Kimaro  - American artist of Tanzanian and Korean heritage. Use Product filter near top left of product list to filter down to face masks.

Face the Future /Fear the Kids - a collaboration between BornxRaised, Seeding Sovereignty, and Suay.  For each mask that you buy,  one is donated to Indigenous youth and the leftover dollars go Seeding Sovereignty’s ongoing mutual aid work.

I AM - by Bruce Franks Jr., community activist in Missouri

Ifugao Nation - The social enterprise arm of the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement. Purchases support the livelihood of craftspeople and farmers in the Ifugao region.

Masks R Us -  Philadelphia-based, Black-owned, Muslim-owned small business

Narra Studio - Filipinx American company bringing  the artistry of the Philippines to the Filipinx diaspora. Proceeds are re-invested into their partner artisan communities.

Nina Made It - Black fiber artist based in the UK

Tufafii - face masks from Nigeria-based luxury brand

Where You Are, Co - mask maker based in Georgia, GA. Standing against the rise in anti-Asian hate by handmaking masks in traditional fabrics.

Zandra - face masks from NY-based bath-and-body line started by 19-year-old entrepreneur Zandra. 

Many thanks to all the friends who helped put this list together. You know who you are. :-)

Disclaimer: Wolfbery Studio LLC does not monitor or review the content of the third party sites listed above and therefore advises you that your access by link to third-party sites is at your own risk. We provide these links solely for convenience, and do not endorse the contents or purposes of any site that we link to. We are not responsible for the accuracy of information on such sites. We are also not responsible for any communications or incidents arising from a reader accessing a 3rd party site through this blog.

Do you know if your voter registration has been purged? (Animation)

Do you know if you have been purged from the voter rolls? from Wolfberry Studio on Vimeo.

13 Names: Sureshbhai Patel, Wangsheng Leng + 11

Content warning: mention of injury or death by violence.

In 2015, Sureshbhai Patel was detained by police while on a walk around his neighborhood. A neighbor called the police on him, describing him as a "black man". Video footage showed that the 57-year-old grandfather from India was NOT resisting police. An officer seriously injured Patel's neck in a needless takedown. Patel was partially paralyzed and had to learn to walk again. In 2017, police broke the neck of Wangsheng Leng, a 66-year-old with Alzheimer's, while restraining him in his own home. Leng was taken to the hospital and died a month later. Both Leng and Patel did not speak English; their unfortunate encounters had been attributed in part to their inability to communicate with police officers. But many other unarmed individuals with no language barrier with police officers have died in similar encounters:

Thirteen Names: Charleena Lyles , Tommy Le + 11

Content warning: mention of violence and death.

Yvette Smith and Charleena Lyles both called the police to their homes. Yvette needed help with resolving a domestic dispute between two other people. Charleena was reporting a burglary. Both were killed by the public servants who were paid by their tax dollars to protect them.

Wolfberry Studio's Mask Collection

Check out these mask designs and more!

Proceeds from mask sales will be donated to POC-led organizations serving their communities' needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I already know of 9 different families within 3 degrees of separation who had lost people to Covid-19: a volunteer in my community died, a friend's relative died, a neighbor's friend's elders passed away...

But I see people getting progressively more careless wrt social distancing and mask wearing. :-(

Hlayisani

Detail from Ndlulamithi Redux.

Akashinga

Detail from Dawn of the Eagle.

Cherry Cat

Available on RedBubble as masks, phone cases and more products!

Sir/Dame Hare: The gender-fluid deity who saved a city from an epidemic

The legend behind a Beijing custom dating back to before the 17th century:

"So it was said, in a certain year, a sudden epidemic swept through Beijing. Almost every household was struck, and there was no cure for the disease. [The moon deity] Chang' E saw what was happening, and being very grieved, she sent her companion the Jade Hare to Earth to heal the people.

Jade Hare transformed into a teenage girl, and went from house to house curing patients. The people, in their gratitude, offered many gifts to them, but Jade Hare wanted none of that. They only took from each household a set of clothing, changing their outfit each time they moved on to a new location. Sometimes they appeared as a man; sometimes they appeared as a woman.

To reach more people, Jade Hare rode on a horse, a deer, a lion and a tiger. They covered all of the capital and its suburbs. Jade Hare returned to the Moon Palace after the epidemic was eradicated.

From then on, people made clay idols of Jade Hare, some riding a deer, some riding a phoenix, some dressed in armor, some dressed as artisans and tradespeople. On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, each household lays offerings of fruit, vegetables and legumes on the deity's altar, to thank them for bringing blessing and happiness to the human world. The people fondly address them as Sir Hare or Dame Hare."

A cartoon retelling of the legend. ("Sometimes it is a man, sometimes it is a woman")

Dalanda

Detail from Circuit.

13 Names: Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Vincent Chin + 11

Inspired by Anirvan Chatterjee's article The $205 million industry that helped murder ‪Srinivas Kuchibhotla.

Content note: mention of death by violence

The rings contain names of Asians in America who were murdered in cases of mistaken ethnic identity - South Asians shot by someone who assumed that they were Arabs, Indians killed by someone who thought that they were Iranians, a Vietnamese American murdered by someone who assumed that they were Japanese... You can find the names of more Asian American hate crime victims at 35 Years After Vincent Chin's Murder, How Has America Changed?.