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Honoring the lives lost in the Atlanta shooting

Xiaojie 'Emily' Tan, 49

Tan, 49, was the mother of Jami Webb, a recent graduate from the University of Georgia. She was a licensed massage therapist and the owner of Young’s Asian Massage, along with other businesses in the area, including another spa and a tanning salon, according to state records. She was “the sweetest, most kind-hearted, giving, never-met-a-stranger person,” a friend told Atlanta’s WSB-TV. Just one day away from her 50th birthday when she was killed, according to USA Today, Tan was described by her daughter as thoughtful, devoted to her family, and looking forward to traveling in her retirement.

Hyun Jung Grant, 51

Hyun Jung Grant was a Korean immigrant who worked at Atlanta’s Gold Spa. Her son Randy Park, 23, shared a tribute to his mother on GoFundMe: He said his mother was a single parent who “dedicated her whole life to providing for my brother and I.” She loved dancing and sushi, according to Park, who told The Daily Beast, “She wasn’t just my mother. She was my friend.” Park, who now has to raise his brother alone, is not buying law-enforcement officials’ suggestion that the attack was motivated by a supposed sex addiction, not racism. “That’s bullshit,” he said.

Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez, 33

Yaun Gonzalez, 33, was a mother of two — 13-year-old Mayson and 8-month-old Mia. She had worked all day on Tuesday at the Waffle House a few shops down from Tan’s spa business. She had been looking forward to having a relaxing night out with her husband, Mario Gonzalez, whom she married only last year, and the couple had reportedly never been to Young’s Asian Massage before. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, family members say that Mario Gonzalez, who survived the shooting, is “taking [the situation] hard.” Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez’s friends and family have set up a GoFundMe to address her funeral costs.

Paul Andre Michels, 54

Michels, 54, was a handyman at Young’s Asian Massage and the owner of an electric company. He was only recently hired for the role and excited to take it on after looking for more work during the pandemic, according to a friend who spoke with CBS46. An army veteran originally from Detroit, Michels is one of nine siblings and is survived by his wife of more than two decades. In an interview with the Guardian, his brother John Michels emphasized his kindness. “He was just a regular guy, very good-hearted, very soft-natured,” he said, while noting that Michels had expressed an interest in getting involved in the massage business.

Yong Ae Yue, 63

A licensed massage therapist, she was laid off at the start of the pandemic last year and was excited to finally start shifts at the spa again, her son Elliott Peterson, 42, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday morning. Yue’s youngest child, Robert Peterson, 38, agreed, recalling their mother as a kind and deeply caring woman. If you stopped by her house, she’d sit you down, ask if you’d eaten, and then insist on a trip to H Mart grocery store so she could make a meal.

Daoyou Feng, 44

Daoyou Feng, 44, began working at Young’s Asian Massage in recent months, according to Tan’s friend Hynson. She was kind and quiet, he said. Her relatives could not be reached for comment.

Soon Chung Park, 74

Soon Chung Park, 74, was also a worker at an Atlanta spa. Her family didn’t respond when reached for comment. Park previously lived in New York, where she has relatives, her son-in-law, Scott Lee, told the New York Times. “She got along with her family so well,” Lee told the newspaper.

Suncha Kim, 69

Suncha Kim, 69, worked at one of the spas in Atlanta. Her family could not be reached for comment. Kim, a grandmother, was married for more than 50 years, a family member told the Times. She enjoyed line dancing and worked hard, the relative said.

Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, 30

Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was the only survivor of the victims who were shot on Tuesday, and he remains hospitalized for multiple gunshot wounds in his “forehead, throat, lungs and stomach,” according to the Washington Post. He was shot while standing outside in the shopping center where Young’s Asian Massage is located. “He came from nothing and has come a long way; that is why I have faith he will survive this,” his wife Flor Gonzalez told the Washington Post. Gonzalez has also set up a GoFundMe to help with the costs of Hernandez-Ortiz’s medical care.

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Carboniferous vegetation.  An Introduction to geology. 1907. 

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Screw it. It’s Out.

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Inspiring photos from the anti-police brutality protests that swept McKinney 

More than 1,000 people converged Monday evening at McKinney’s Comstock Elementary School before marching to the pool where the police incident took place. They hoped to send a message to law enforcement and the national media.

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a late #melaninmonday

[lately, i’ve been thinking about the struggle between trying to love this body that is being constantly reminded of it’s low worth (daily street harassment, #mckinney, always feeling scrutinized and sexualized and like a target) it’s such a heavy journey]

III.

you wear the blood of your ancestors on your lips to bring the diaspora closer to your tongue.

here, you can keep it hidden

but it has its own ways of creeping out

in ragtime rhythms between the gaps in your teeth.

you’ll forget to use “am” and start using “be”

you’ll forget to use “be” and start using “am”

so you will fit on tongues far pinker than yours–

this will make you easier to swallow.

keep that mouth closed,

lips too full for your own good,

lips like hips     lips that spread    lips are red   lips that said

you are too

much ugly

for one girl

to swallow.

-from ”On Beauty,” Kiki Nicole

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FEDUPFEST IS LOOKING FOR A VENUE

Do you know a performance space in Chicago that is accessible (wheelchair ramps/elevators/etc), legal (can post address/cops won’t kick us out), lgbtqia friendly, okay with a lot of noise, and really affordable? Shoot us a message or reply to this cuz we’re lookin!

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“Black women don’t look like that.”

“She didn’t darken her skin.”

“It’s just lighting.”

“She’s the same skin tone with a black light.”

I’ll just leave this here. 

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The Signs as Battery Percentages

Aries: 18% Taurus: 92% Gemini: 22% Cancer: 30% Leo: 64% Virgo: 150% carries charger everywhere Libra: 50% Scorpio: 69% Sagittarius: dead Capricorn: 88% Aquarius: 7% Pisces: 3%

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#Art Kathleen Neal Cleaver #BlackHistory Art Series 2k15 (Day 6)

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Preach it. #BlackLivesMatter

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apply for workshops + readings + tabling now!

Do you rock a good workshop on anything from zine making to radical childcare to challenging white supremacy in the punk scene? Have some rad self-made zines or books or pieces of paper to read from? Part of a badass organization you want people to join or distro you want people to know about? Applications to do these very things at Fed Up Fest this year are now available!! Tell everyone you know and apply today!

Workshops/Readings: http://fedupfestchicago.com/workshopapplication.html

Tabling: http://fedupfestchicago.com/tableapplication.html