Aisha B.
@aishatb.bsky.social
Trying hard to maintain my imagination in this world. she/her #socialwork ✨Ohio
Reposted by Aisha B.
Folks are really grabbing up my time for book chats this winter. That availability will be all booked up soon. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I get into it in a section of this edition of my newsletter.
Must-Reads and Some Notes on Taking Action and Staying Whole in 2026
As we close out a year of crisis and courage, I’m thinking about what sustains us — and what comes next.
organizingmythoughts.org
December 15, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Folks are really grabbing up my time for book chats this winter. That availability will be all booked up soon. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I get into it in a section of this edition of my newsletter.
Reposted by Aisha B.
A massive thread of resources, history, information, and material to help you not only fight and understand book censorship but protect the incredible democratic institutions of public libraries and public education.
This is updated regularly!
This is updated regularly!
November 10, 2024 at 7:30 PM
A massive thread of resources, history, information, and material to help you not only fight and understand book censorship but protect the incredible democratic institutions of public libraries and public education.
This is updated regularly!
This is updated regularly!
Reposted by Aisha B.
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Aisha B.
After 232 years, the U.S. Mint has produced its last-ever penny
U.S. Mint In Philadelphia Presses Final Pennies As The 1-Cent Coin Gets Canceled
The Treasury Department expects to save $56 million per year on materials by ceasing to make them.
www.huffpost.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:54 PM
After 232 years, the U.S. Mint has produced its last-ever penny
Reposted by Aisha B.
“…the construction of class and race, and racial prejudice, have created a system that keeps members of the lower classes precisely where they are.” www.theatlantic.com/business/arc...
Escaping Poverty Requires Almost 20 Years With Nearly Nothing Going Wrong
The MIT economist Peter Temin argues that economic inequality results in two distinct classes. And only one of them has any power.
www.theatlantic.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:18 PM
“…the construction of class and race, and racial prejudice, have created a system that keeps members of the lower classes precisely where they are.” www.theatlantic.com/business/arc...
Reposted by Aisha B.
Needing multiple streams of income to stay afloat is a societal failure not a personal one. You should be able to afford a comfortable lifestyle with one job. You are not lazy.
October 9, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Needing multiple streams of income to stay afloat is a societal failure not a personal one. You should be able to afford a comfortable lifestyle with one job. You are not lazy.
Reposted by Aisha B.
I'm excited to be back in the world talking to readers about my book BLACK WOMEN TAUGHT US with the Dayton Metro Library on Nov 6 at 6pm ET.
This event aligns with Shirley Chisholm becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in Nov 1968.
dayton.bibliocommons.com/events/67f81...
#booksky
This event aligns with Shirley Chisholm becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in Nov 1968.
dayton.bibliocommons.com/events/67f81...
#booksky
October 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I'm excited to be back in the world talking to readers about my book BLACK WOMEN TAUGHT US with the Dayton Metro Library on Nov 6 at 6pm ET.
This event aligns with Shirley Chisholm becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in Nov 1968.
dayton.bibliocommons.com/events/67f81...
#booksky
This event aligns with Shirley Chisholm becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in Nov 1968.
dayton.bibliocommons.com/events/67f81...
#booksky
Reposted by Aisha B.
I wrote this piece about 7th anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
On the costs of speaking the truth in today's world.
And how Jamal's memory still stalks Saudi Arabia--- and the Washington Post.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
On the costs of speaking the truth in today's world.
And how Jamal's memory still stalks Saudi Arabia--- and the Washington Post.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post, and the Cost of Speaking Out
As Saudi Arabia hosts comedians and courts gamers, the silenced voice of Jamal Khashoggi still echoes.
open.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I wrote this piece about 7th anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
On the costs of speaking the truth in today's world.
And how Jamal's memory still stalks Saudi Arabia--- and the Washington Post.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
On the costs of speaking the truth in today's world.
And how Jamal's memory still stalks Saudi Arabia--- and the Washington Post.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
Reposted by Aisha B.
Join #BannedBooksWeek and prepare for the #AmericanRevolution250 by participating in the @ncacensorship.bsky.social read-ins of historical fiction "Chains" by @halseanderson.bsky.social
Host an event or find one near you. Read: www.righttoreadnight.com
www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ch...
Host an event or find one near you. Read: www.righttoreadnight.com
www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ch...
Chains
Book — Historical fiction. By Laurie Halse Anderson. 2010. 336 pages. Historical fiction based on the life of an enslaved teenager during the Revolutionary War.
www.zinnedproject.org
October 2, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Join #BannedBooksWeek and prepare for the #AmericanRevolution250 by participating in the @ncacensorship.bsky.social read-ins of historical fiction "Chains" by @halseanderson.bsky.social
Host an event or find one near you. Read: www.righttoreadnight.com
www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ch...
Host an event or find one near you. Read: www.righttoreadnight.com
www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ch...
Reposted by Aisha B.
#tdih 1850, U.S. Congress passed draconian Fugitive Slave Act which required that people who'd escaped from slavery to anywhere in U.S. be captured & returned. 💔 Punished those who did not comply.
Undoes claim of concern for "states rights."
Lessons + more ⬇️
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/fu...
Undoes claim of concern for "states rights."
Lessons + more ⬇️
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/fu...
Sept. 18, 1850: Fugitive Slave Act Passed
The U.S. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
www.zinnedproject.org
September 18, 2025 at 11:53 AM
#tdih 1850, U.S. Congress passed draconian Fugitive Slave Act which required that people who'd escaped from slavery to anywhere in U.S. be captured & returned. 💔 Punished those who did not comply.
Undoes claim of concern for "states rights."
Lessons + more ⬇️
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/fu...
Undoes claim of concern for "states rights."
Lessons + more ⬇️
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/fu...
Reposted by Aisha B.
RIP writer Alice Dunbar Nelson, died today 1935, part of the Harlem Renaissance.
"I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire—
That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire
On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things
Once men. My soul in pity flings...
"I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire—
That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire
On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things
Once men. My soul in pity flings...
September 18, 2025 at 12:20 PM
RIP writer Alice Dunbar Nelson, died today 1935, part of the Harlem Renaissance.
"I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire—
That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire
On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things
Once men. My soul in pity flings...
"I sit and sew—my heart aches with desire—
That pageant terrible, that fiercely pouring fire
On wasted fields, and writhing grotesque things
Once men. My soul in pity flings...
Reposted by Aisha B.
People missing an important point about folks getting fired for whatever they said about Charlie Kirk: Americans are being conditioned to be snitches on their fellow citizens who don’t toe a party line on what is “allowed” to be expressed. And employers are going along. It’s the new secret police
September 14, 2025 at 3:32 AM
People missing an important point about folks getting fired for whatever they said about Charlie Kirk: Americans are being conditioned to be snitches on their fellow citizens who don’t toe a party line on what is “allowed” to be expressed. And employers are going along. It’s the new secret police
Reposted by Aisha B.
Reading Liberation Psychology will start a new book on November 15th. New members welcome
We meet 1x monthly, 3rd Saturdays
We'll be reading "We've Had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and the World is Getting Worse" by James Hillman
We meet 1x monthly, 3rd Saturdays
We'll be reading "We've Had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and the World is Getting Worse" by James Hillman
Reading Liberation Psychology — What A Shrink Thinks
www.whatashrinkthinks.com
September 4, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reading Liberation Psychology will start a new book on November 15th. New members welcome
We meet 1x monthly, 3rd Saturdays
We'll be reading "We've Had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and the World is Getting Worse" by James Hillman
We meet 1x monthly, 3rd Saturdays
We'll be reading "We've Had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and the World is Getting Worse" by James Hillman
Reposted by Aisha B.
Sympathy: feeling emotion based on your perception of someone else's situation. Empathy understands the other person's *own* perception of their situation.
Sympathy without empathy = you can be the sole judge of who deserves compassion; you can dismiss certain people, groups or situations at will.
Sympathy without empathy = you can be the sole judge of who deserves compassion; you can dismiss certain people, groups or situations at will.
September 14, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Sympathy: feeling emotion based on your perception of someone else's situation. Empathy understands the other person's *own* perception of their situation.
Sympathy without empathy = you can be the sole judge of who deserves compassion; you can dismiss certain people, groups or situations at will.
Sympathy without empathy = you can be the sole judge of who deserves compassion; you can dismiss certain people, groups or situations at will.
Reposted by Aisha B.
For no reason at all, here is the website listing every Mass Shooting in the US in just 2025. About 240 people dead since January. www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass...
Gun Violence Archive
Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is a not for profit corporation formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States. GVA will collect...
www.gunviolencearchive.org
September 10, 2025 at 10:18 PM
For no reason at all, here is the website listing every Mass Shooting in the US in just 2025. About 240 people dead since January. www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass...
Reposted by Aisha B.
🎙️ON AIR:
It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina struck. We're speaking to New Orleans-born poet and Atlantic staff writer @clintsmithiii.bsky.social about the destruction of his hometown and its recovery.
❓ What was returning home from a natural disaster like for you?
📻 Listen:
It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina struck. We're speaking to New Orleans-born poet and Atlantic staff writer @clintsmithiii.bsky.social about the destruction of his hometown and its recovery.
❓ What was returning home from a natural disaster like for you?
📻 Listen:
Remembering Hurricane Katrina With Clint Smith, 20 Years After the Storm | KQED
We talk to Clint Smith about his new piece for the Atlantic called "Twenty Years After the Storm." And we'll hear from you: what was returning home from a natural disaster like for you?
www.kqed.org
August 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
🎙️ON AIR:
It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina struck. We're speaking to New Orleans-born poet and Atlantic staff writer @clintsmithiii.bsky.social about the destruction of his hometown and its recovery.
❓ What was returning home from a natural disaster like for you?
📻 Listen:
It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina struck. We're speaking to New Orleans-born poet and Atlantic staff writer @clintsmithiii.bsky.social about the destruction of his hometown and its recovery.
❓ What was returning home from a natural disaster like for you?
📻 Listen:
Reposted by Aisha B.
Offering 3 resources for people seeking ideas for what they might do in this moment:
1. We made a short workbook to help people narrow down or discover their areas of interest and focus. It's been downloaded thousands of times. Hope it's useful to you: millionexperiments.com/zines/making...
1. We made a short workbook to help people narrow down or discover their areas of interest and focus. It's been downloaded thousands of times. Hope it's useful to you: millionexperiments.com/zines/making...
Making A Plan
"It is my hope that this tool in process, which benefited from the input of many seasoned activists, helps you to connect the personal to the political. I hope that this offers the beginning of a brid...
millionexperiments.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Offering 3 resources for people seeking ideas for what they might do in this moment:
1. We made a short workbook to help people narrow down or discover their areas of interest and focus. It's been downloaded thousands of times. Hope it's useful to you: millionexperiments.com/zines/making...
1. We made a short workbook to help people narrow down or discover their areas of interest and focus. It's been downloaded thousands of times. Hope it's useful to you: millionexperiments.com/zines/making...
Reposted by Aisha B.
One thing that being in the USA is teaching us, perhaps more than anything else, is how easy it is to break down a society when people don't think about collectivity. Selfishness and hubris are contributing to this country's descent into deeper destruction every day.
August 27, 2025 at 7:37 PM
One thing that being in the USA is teaching us, perhaps more than anything else, is how easy it is to break down a society when people don't think about collectivity. Selfishness and hubris are contributing to this country's descent into deeper destruction every day.
Reposted by Aisha B.
A federal court ruled that ANTHROPIC illegally copied MILLIONS of books to train its AI.
All authors and publishers whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirate websites are subject to receiving compensation. This could involve your work.
For more info: authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...
All authors and publishers whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirate websites are subject to receiving compensation. This could involve your work.
For more info: authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...
August 19, 2025 at 9:58 PM
A federal court ruled that ANTHROPIC illegally copied MILLIONS of books to train its AI.
All authors and publishers whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirate websites are subject to receiving compensation. This could involve your work.
For more info: authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...
All authors and publishers whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirate websites are subject to receiving compensation. This could involve your work.
For more info: authorsguild.org/news/anthrop...
Reposted by Aisha B.
NEW WRITING:
"What will you stay curious about, even when authoritarians try to shape your reality by telling you not to think, not to read, not to ask questions, not to dare consider the possibility that there’s more to life than this?" 🧪
"What will you stay curious about, even when authoritarians try to shape your reality by telling you not to think, not to read, not to ask questions, not to dare consider the possibility that there’s more to life than this?" 🧪
Feed Your Head
Even now, especially now, your curiosity is powerful.
news.chanda.science
August 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
NEW WRITING:
"What will you stay curious about, even when authoritarians try to shape your reality by telling you not to think, not to read, not to ask questions, not to dare consider the possibility that there’s more to life than this?" 🧪
"What will you stay curious about, even when authoritarians try to shape your reality by telling you not to think, not to read, not to ask questions, not to dare consider the possibility that there’s more to life than this?" 🧪
Reposted by Aisha B.
And if we don’t learn from that lesson (and I mean at all levels, especially the highest ones), we are making a big mistake.
Link here for all the details, and an example of who’s doing it right: open.substack.com/pub/davidpep...
Link here for all the details, and an example of who’s doing it right: open.substack.com/pub/davidpep...
Lesson: Public Schools Are a Winning Issue, Everywhere
Recent Decision To Unfreeze Education Funds Part of a Clear, Consistent Pattern
open.substack.com
July 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
And if we don’t learn from that lesson (and I mean at all levels, especially the highest ones), we are making a big mistake.
Link here for all the details, and an example of who’s doing it right: open.substack.com/pub/davidpep...
Link here for all the details, and an example of who’s doing it right: open.substack.com/pub/davidpep...
Reposted by Aisha B.
It’s impossible to watch this without getting emotional
July 23, 2025 at 1:21 AM
It’s impossible to watch this without getting emotional
Reposted by Aisha B.
I can confirm the PBS Passport is a very good deal for $5/month or $2.50/month if you do yearly.
Thousands of hours of top notch content. NOVA is great. The new Ken Burns doc on Leonardo da Vinci is excellent.
You can sign up at the link below!
www.pbs.org/passport/lea...
Thousands of hours of top notch content. NOVA is great. The new Ken Burns doc on Leonardo da Vinci is excellent.
You can sign up at the link below!
www.pbs.org/passport/lea...
July 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I can confirm the PBS Passport is a very good deal for $5/month or $2.50/month if you do yearly.
Thousands of hours of top notch content. NOVA is great. The new Ken Burns doc on Leonardo da Vinci is excellent.
You can sign up at the link below!
www.pbs.org/passport/lea...
Thousands of hours of top notch content. NOVA is great. The new Ken Burns doc on Leonardo da Vinci is excellent.
You can sign up at the link below!
www.pbs.org/passport/lea...
Reposted by Aisha B.
I like this workshop, it allows me to engage in dialogue not only with those who attend, but with teachers, theorists and thinkers that I find interesting.
I try to sit in the spot where wisdom teachings, bodies, biology and emotion meet
For grown ups who have feelings.
I try to sit in the spot where wisdom teachings, bodies, biology and emotion meet
For grown ups who have feelings.
Riding the Roller Coaster -Emotional Wisdom Workshop; — What A Shrink Thinks
Psychoeducation and wisdom teachings for grown-ups who have feelings
www.whatashrinkthinks.com
July 13, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I like this workshop, it allows me to engage in dialogue not only with those who attend, but with teachers, theorists and thinkers that I find interesting.
I try to sit in the spot where wisdom teachings, bodies, biology and emotion meet
For grown ups who have feelings.
I try to sit in the spot where wisdom teachings, bodies, biology and emotion meet
For grown ups who have feelings.