The Sun Rises Over Earth In A Postcard Illustrated By Soviet Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, Recalling The 1965

The Sun rises over Earth in a postcard illustrated by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, recalling the 1965 mission when he became the first human to walk in space.

race.undark.org

The Complicated Quest to Decipher Human Difference

Racial categories are crude maps imposed on human biological variation. How do scientists square them with genetics?

Consider hair. Looked at from one angle, it defies racial categories: tightly coiled curls can signal recent ancestry in Africa, or in Papua New Guinea; a blonde could trace their light hair to northern Europe, or the South Pacific. From another angle, though, hair can seem like proof that there’s something biological about race. Tell an American about a random person’s racial or ethnic identity, and they can make an educated guess, at least, about the color or texture of their hair. It may be more helpful to put it like this: Race is one crude, fraught way of describing biological variation among humans. “The way I come at it is, the variation exists,” said Jada Benn Torres, a genetic anthropologist at Vanderbilt University. “It’s the cultural meanings that we attach to that variation that will create the different racial categories.” Those categories, she added, are fluid. A person who identifies as White in the United States of 2022 may not have been considered White in 1922. Someone’s who’s called Black in the U.S. today may not be understood as Black in Brazil. In that sense, race is a social construct. 

Once a little boy went to school. One morning The teacher said: “Today we are going to make a picture.” “Good!” thought the little boy. He liked to make all kinds; Lions and tigers, Chickens and cows, Trains and boats; And he took out his box of crayons And began to draw.

But the teacher said, “Wait!” “It is not time to begin!” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now,” said the teacher, “We are going to make flowers.” “Good!” thought the little boy, He liked to make beautiful ones With his pink and orange and blue crayons. But the teacher said “Wait!” “And I will show you how.” And it was red, with a green stem. “There,” said the teacher, “Now you may begin.”

The little boy looked at his teacher’s flower Then he looked at his own flower. He liked his flower better than the teacher’s But he did not say this. He just turned his paper over, And made a flower like the teacher’s. It was red, with a green stem.

On another day The teacher said: “Today we are going to make something with clay.” “Good!” thought the little boy; He liked clay. He could make all kinds of things with clay: Snakes and snowmen, Elephants and mice, Cars and trucks And he began to pull and pinch His ball of clay.

But the teacher said, “Wait!” “It is not time to begin!” And she waited until everyone looked ready. “Now,” said the teacher, “We are going to make a dish.” “Good!” thought the little boy, He liked to make dishes. And he began to make some That were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said “Wait!” “And I will show you how.” And she showed everyone how to make One deep dish. “There,” said the teacher, “Now you may begin.”

The little boy looked at the teacher’s dish; Then he looked at his own. He liked his better than the teacher’s But he did not say this. He just rolled his clay into a big ball again And made a dish like the teacher’s. It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon The little boy learned to wait, And to watch And to make things just like the teacher. And pretty soon He didn’t make things of his own anymore.

Then it happened That the little boy and his family Moved to another house, In another city, And the little boy Had to go to another school.

The teacher said: “Today we are going to make a picture.” “Good!” thought the little boy. And he waited for the teacher To tell what to do. But the teacher didn’t say anything. She just walked around the room.

When she came to the little boy She asked, “Don’t you want to make a picture?” “Yes,” said the little boy. “What are we going to make?” “I don’t know until you make it,” said the teacher. “How shall I make it?” asked the little boy. “Why, anyway you like,” said the teacher. “And any color?” asked the little boy. “Any color,” said the teacher. And he began to make a red flower with a green stem.

~Helen Buckley, The Little Boy

I made an art/anatomy tutorial about birds! I hope people will find it helpful!

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib submits to the Congressional Record the entire South African genocide case against Israel and makes an impassioned call to Congress to stop funding the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

You know, America's about dreams. And I don't say that lovingly.