this is my blog @gabrielaquezadabloomgarden - Tumblr Blog

Hi, who's your favourite model? Is there anyone you'd like to work with?

The Target dog and the Target dog.

I am voting for Biden because I value justice, humanity, and science. Biden is committed to not just rebuilding America but rebuilding a better America - one that is safer, sustainable, and inclusive. We desperately need a leader we can trust, someone who posseses empathy and is committed to bettering the lives of all Americans and not just a select few at the top. A leader who doesn’t spend his days golfing while COVID-19 infections continue to surge and millions of people struggle to make ends meet. I am voting for Biden because I am tired of fearing what the future holds. Being the daughter of a first generation Guatemalan mother, Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and blatant racism hits close to home for me. Biden pledges to immediately reverse Trump’s cruel policies that separate parents from their children at the border and reform the asylum system so that immigrants and asylum seekers are treated as human beings and welcomed into the country. I am voting for Biden because my future depends on it and yours does too! ...and also because fuck Trump! 🥳 (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFzpogfBytt/?igshid=10tha3joib8nw

gonna keep it simple- register to vote. make calls this weekend if you can, get the word out, hold your friends accountable. (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFm26JUhxWC/?igshid=1vn1384gffoh9

@kosas ❤️ and my babiesss (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFFWS3ojNqq/?igshid=12tln6tmbkd4y

The Guest House - shot, directed, edited, and scored by @aaronalanmitchell (at Silver Lake) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEzbWbrDjfJ/?igshid=il5jwnq8ydkj

Let's talk about convict leasing. Convict leasing is a disguised form of slavery that began in the South post emancipation. After slaves were "freed" there came a shortage of laborers. As a result Southern states passed Black Codes that would selectively incarcerate freed slaves. These codes, which only applied to Black people of course, made loitering, homelessness, the inability to show proof of unemployment, amongst other ridiculous "offenses" illegal. Those who could not pay their fines were incarcerated. With a shortage of free labor (aka slaves) states began leasing out incarcerated Black bodies to plantations and corporations. Leased out convicts were subject to harsh working conditions and inhumane treatment while, surprise surprise, the state and employers profited greatly. Sounds like slavery right? Guess what? This still exists today. In fact, STATES ARE LEASING PRISONERS TO HARVEST FOOD FOR AMERICAN CONSUMERS AT A RATE NOT SEEN SINCE JIM CROW. Yeah, take a moment and read that again... Why? With recent immigration "reform" there has been a decrease in migrant farm workers. With a lack of cheap migrant labor (which is a whole issue in itself) the question becomes: Who can we exploit next? The Answer: Prisoners of course! Incarcerated people are excluded from the Fair Labor Act. As a result, wages are extremely low to non-existent, working conditions are harsh, and hours are laboriously long. Prisons and private corporations are gaining substantial profits at the cost of human lives. This is the capitalist dream. Slavery is still very much a thing. So, when we talk about the ways in which deliberate racism built our nation this is what we are talking about, when we talk about how capitalism puts profit over people this is what we are talking about, when we talk about why our incarceration system needs drastic radical change this is what we are talking about. I of course don't know the answer but I do know that awareness and working towards a #carenotcages approach is a good start. Swipe for a book rec 😉 (at Big Sur, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDzcz4Ij-hX/?igshid=nvfv119v1i1l

#carenotcages

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a little something I was a part of.. The Wretched, on Hulu now 😘 (at Traverse City, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDXNKjmDA_D/?igshid=53731keb9fmd

The fight for racial justice is a marathon, not a sprint and for this reason I do not want to personally lose sight or momentum of the BLM movement. I want to continue to hold myself accountable for continuing to stay engaged. For this reason I have had trouble deciding whether or not I feel right going back to posting vapid photos of myself. Now, with that being said, images of myself are tied with my livelihood. So I am planning to go back to posting images (of myself) tied with what I am reading and continuing to learn about racism in America in the hopes of continuing to spread awareness through my small platform. If this is icky/ self-gratifying bs please tell me 😬 Food DESERT vs Food APARTHEID The USDA refers to neighborhoods that lack quality food as being “food deserts” with the solution simply being that dropping a grocery store in one of these areas would solve the food access issue. Don’t be fooled. This is insufficient and does nothing when it comes to getting to the root of a complex issue. Food justice activist Karen Washington wants us to move away from the term “food desert” as the term implies a natural eco-system. NOPE. Food deserts are far from natural and instead man made. Food deserts are a result of deliberate segregation policies that ensure that some people have an over abundant access to food while others are left with food scarcity. What I am describing is FOOD APARTHEID. Policies including housing discrimination through redlining and zoning that excludes Black people and other POC from land ownership contribute to this problem. Policies like these are intentionally used as a weapon against BIPOC people. This is not a sensationalist statement. Disparity in access to quality food means health disparities as well. BIPOC are much more likely to suffer from chronic diet related illnesses which puts them far more at risk during this COVID pandemic and is partly to blame for the racial disparity in COVID casualties. REMEMBER this is not a result of individual food choice but a result of institutionalized racism that dictates choice. **look up Karen Washington to read more about her work in fighting for Food Sovereign (at Silver Lake) https://www.instagram.com/p/CChMfdlDK7n/?igshid=sgxk77bd1r27

I was privileged to receive my college degree where I chose to focus primarily on food studies. I had always been interested in the food system from a sustainability and health perspective but never did I realize the depth of systemic racism that occurs within our food system. As I delved deeper into my studies I began to learn just how much food sits at the intersection between health, culture, education, politics, the environment, and social sustainability. I also learned that "food racism" extends far beyond the notion of food deserts- simply bringing a supermarket into a lower socioeconomic area is a bandaid fix and does nothing to address the vast barriers that Black people and other people of color face when it comes to being able to access "good quality" food. This relates to the band-aid fix of "reforming" the police without ever acknowledging the root of the problem (hint: the police system itself) and why abolishment is important. When it comes to the food system, a holistic approach is necessary that looks at the system as a whole. This means that instead of looking at individuals and individual choices we need to recognize that the way society is set up is in such a way that the choices of oppressed people are often pre-determined and not really "free" choices. This is what institutional racism is- a system designed to ensure that Black people and other people of color remain oppressed. Dismantling oppressive systems like the food system or the police system involves change on the macro-level. It is not an easy task but it is something we must continue to fight for. I am sharing this because I believe awareness is the first step in pushing for change and it is important that we look at other areas in society where systemic racism is so deeply rooted. Because we all need food to live, food has the capacity to be a great unifier. This is something that I have always been passionate about and I am hoping to continue to use my small platform here to keep the conversation going. **swipe to read an excerpt from an article titled "Food Justice: What's Race Got to Do with It?" written by David Billings and Lila Cabbil (at Silver Lake) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBq2ul3jUb4/?igshid=1hoiwhtit89mx