Mask Up and Protect our Communites!

Covid vaccine rollouts bring us hope, but it's still a good idea to keep our masks on. (See PBS's 5 reasons to wear a mask even after you’re vaccinated.) And check out the new fitted 3-layer masks in Wolfberry Studio's RedBubble Store!

Jade Hare manifests as genderfluid healer to battle epidemic

Last April, when I posted the old Beijing legend of Sir/Dame Hare stopping an epidemic, I didn't think that the pandemic would still be with us now. This illustration is dedicated to the non-binary and transgender healthcare workers, health officials, community organizers and frontline workers who are working hard to support our communities during this pandemic, often in the face of prejudice from an unappreciative society. Here are a few of them:

• Chennai's hijra community organized to distribute relief during COVID-19 lockdown
• Lorena Borjas, a community activist who spent decades advocating for immigrant transgender women in NYC, passed away from Covid 19 in March 2020. Before her passing, Lorena Borjas had started a fundraising campaign to support transgender people who had lost their incomes during the pandemic.
• Dr Rachel Levine, as Health Secretary of Pennsylvania, led the state's COVID-19 response.

Cloud Programmer

Bringing together inspirations from fashions of the Baganda people of Uganda and the anime "Summer Wars."

Happy New Year, my beloved friends! May your creative dreams and your hopes for a better world come to fruition.

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.