WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.360 [SPEAKER_0] Hey everyone, 2 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:01.620 [SPEAKER_0] thank you all for coming. 3 00:00:01.880 --> 00:00:03.800 [SPEAKER_0] Today we're going to be speaking with Maya. 4 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:06.220 [SPEAKER_0] Thank you so much for being with us today. 5 00:00:06.520 --> 00:00:10.500 [SPEAKER_0] It really means a lot for us to spotlight someone who is so active in our community. 6 00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:12.200 [SPEAKER_0] So through this interview, 7 00:00:12.420 --> 00:00:14.420 [SPEAKER_0] we hope to get a sense of your role in the community. 8 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.340 [SPEAKER_0] What and who you define as your community, 9 00:00:17.341 --> 00:00:20.501 [SPEAKER_0] and the ways you see health intersecting with your current work. 10 00:00:20.700 --> 00:00:22.160 [SPEAKER_0] So just to get us started, 11 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:25.800 [SPEAKER_0] could you begin by telling me and us a little bit about yourself? 12 00:00:27.350 --> 00:00:27.690 [SPEAKER_1] Yes, 13 00:00:27.691 --> 00:00:29.451 [SPEAKER_1] thank you so much for having me. 14 00:00:29.530 --> 00:00:31.050 [SPEAKER_1] I'm so excited to be here, 15 00:00:31.370 --> 00:00:36.850 [SPEAKER_1] especially with someone as close as Shane in my life and bringing in 16 00:00:36.851 --> 00:00:40.031 [SPEAKER_1] his academic community is just so meaningful to me. 17 00:00:40.250 --> 00:00:41.290 [SPEAKER_1] I am. 18 00:00:41.860 --> 00:00:42.600 [SPEAKER_1] My name is Maya. 19 00:00:43.410 --> 00:00:43.950 [SPEAKER_1] I use she, 20 00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:44.410 [SPEAKER_1] they pronouns. 21 00:00:45.590 --> 00:00:46.870 [SPEAKER_1] I'm an early childhood educator, 22 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:48.720 [SPEAKER_1] community organizer, 23 00:00:48.721 --> 00:00:51.641 [SPEAKER_1] and cultural worker from New York City. 24 00:00:52.510 --> 00:00:55.070 [SPEAKER_1] Born and raised in the South Street Seaport area. 25 00:00:56.270 --> 00:01:02.830 [SPEAKER_1] I am someone whose work is premised on revolutionary practice and 26 00:01:02.831 --> 00:01:03.911 [SPEAKER_1] collective liberation. 27 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:05.260 [SPEAKER_1] Thank you. 28 00:01:05.261 --> 00:01:07.121 [SPEAKER_1] I graduated last May, 29 00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:12.030 [SPEAKER_1] 2025 with a bachelor's in social and cultural analysis. 30 00:01:13.330 --> 00:01:14.890 [SPEAKER_1] Which is a fancy term for sociology. 31 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.000 [SPEAKER_1] and a minor in child and adolescent mental health studies. 32 00:01:20.830 --> 00:01:21.410 [SPEAKER_1] And. 33 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:28.780 [SPEAKER_1] I aspire in the future to become some form of a curator, 34 00:01:29.160 --> 00:01:29.580 [SPEAKER_1] historian, 35 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:31.060 [SPEAKER_1] archivist, 36 00:01:31.061 --> 00:01:36.041 [SPEAKER_1] understanding personal family histories and the interlinked 37 00:01:36.042 --> 00:01:42.022 [SPEAKER_1] histories of anti-colonial movements on a broader scale is something 38 00:01:42.023 --> 00:01:45.443 [SPEAKER_1] that is super meaningful to me in my research, 39 00:01:45.444 --> 00:01:46.244 [SPEAKER_1] in particular. 40 00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:48.450 [SPEAKER_1] And I. 41 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:51.300 [SPEAKER_1] I'm very happy to keep talking. 42 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:53.580 [SPEAKER_0] That's fantastic. 43 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:54.700 [SPEAKER_0] I was wondering, 44 00:01:54.880 --> 00:01:56.320 [SPEAKER_0] I know you personally, 45 00:01:56.440 --> 00:02:00.400 [SPEAKER_0] so I was wondering if you could speak a little bit about your role 46 00:02:00.401 --> 00:02:04.301 [SPEAKER_0] at the Children's Museum and the research that you're currently 47 00:02:04.302 --> 00:02:06.742 [SPEAKER_0] conducting through the Center for Puerto Rican Studies. 48 00:02:07.980 --> 00:02:10.199 [SPEAKER_1] So at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, 49 00:02:10.600 --> 00:02:13.780 [SPEAKER_1] I am a public programs educator. 50 00:02:14.810 --> 00:02:16.070 [SPEAKER_1] I design, 51 00:02:16.290 --> 00:02:16.890 [SPEAKER_1] teach, 52 00:02:17.070 --> 00:02:20.370 [SPEAKER_1] and facilitate public programs at the museum, 53 00:02:20.450 --> 00:02:25.310 [SPEAKER_1] which look anything from guest artist performances to daily 54 00:02:25.311 --> 00:02:30.871 [SPEAKER_1] programming with our early engineers and messy with art activities. 55 00:02:31.720 --> 00:02:36.890 [SPEAKER_1] I usually will be leading the classroom either in our makerspace 56 00:02:36.891 --> 00:02:41.911 [SPEAKER_1] area on the first floor where we'll be doing a bunch of arts and crafts. 57 00:02:41.912 --> 00:02:45.692 [SPEAKER_1] Here's one in particular: this is Miss Maya. 58 00:02:47.850 --> 00:02:49.830 [SPEAKER_1] I have now accumulated so many crafts. 59 00:02:50.910 --> 00:02:55.570 [SPEAKER_1] I never thought I'd accumulate this many crafts in my life and I 60 00:02:55.571 --> 00:03:03.651 [SPEAKER_1] facilitate anywhere from arts and cultural workshops to off-site activities. 61 00:03:05.910 --> 00:03:11.300 [SPEAKER_1] A great opportunity a couple months ago to go test out some new 62 00:03:11.301 --> 00:03:15.141 [SPEAKER_1] equipment for the new museum that's opening in 2028. 63 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:19.040 [SPEAKER_1] And so we had a few groups of kids. 64 00:03:19.910 --> 00:03:25.490 [SPEAKER_1] And their parents come in and test out some new technology that will 65 00:03:25.491 --> 00:03:27.891 [SPEAKER_1] hopefully be infused in the next model. 66 00:03:28.920 --> 00:03:31.080 [SPEAKER_1] And as a teacher, 67 00:03:31.100 --> 00:03:33.440 [SPEAKER_1] my approach is very play-based. 68 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:42.500 [SPEAKER_1] I love to meet children where they're at and start where their curiosity blooms, 69 00:03:42.501 --> 00:03:49.161 [SPEAKER_1] really emphasizing their interests and where they like to what kinds 70 00:03:49.162 --> 00:03:50.662 [SPEAKER_1] of materials they like to use, 71 00:03:50.880 --> 00:03:53.400 [SPEAKER_1] what kinds of subjects do they like to learn in school. 72 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:58.730 [SPEAKER_1] And using the museum as a school in and of itself, 73 00:03:58.731 --> 00:04:04.651 [SPEAKER_1] in that it functions outside of the classroom but is still fostering 74 00:04:04.652 --> 00:04:10.732 [SPEAKER_1] a learning environment that may approach different topics that they 75 00:04:10.733 --> 00:04:14.353 [SPEAKER_1] were otherwise not exposed to if not coming to the museum. 76 00:04:15.110 --> 00:04:16.029 [SPEAKER_1] So that's Sea Mom. 77 00:04:16.529 --> 00:04:21.850 [SPEAKER_1] My Research at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies comes a lot. 78 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:27.040 [SPEAKER_1] It was May or March of last year, 79 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:27.480 [SPEAKER_1] 25. 80 00:04:28.440 --> 00:04:31.580 [SPEAKER_1] Lots of personal transformations happening at that time. 81 00:04:31.760 --> 00:04:34.000 [SPEAKER_1] I was gearing up to graduate. 82 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:38.480 [SPEAKER_1] I was also on the job search as well. 83 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:40.060 [SPEAKER_1] finishing finals. 84 00:04:40.860 --> 00:04:41.440 [SPEAKER_1] And. 85 00:04:42.770 --> 00:04:46.880 [SPEAKER_1] unexpected happened in that I lost my grandmother. 86 00:04:47.870 --> 00:04:48.430 [SPEAKER_1] And. 87 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:50.970 [SPEAKER_1] that whole kind of world. 88 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:52.500 [SPEAKER_1] shifting experience. 89 00:04:53.770 --> 00:04:57.190 [SPEAKER_1] I was really seeking community and ways to be involved. 90 00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:01.720 [SPEAKER_1] really honor the feelings and grief that I was going through. 91 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:04.900 [SPEAKER_1] And one of my dearest friends, 92 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:05.400 [SPEAKER_1] Sumaya, 93 00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:08.680 [SPEAKER_1] invited me to come to the Islamic Center at NYU. 94 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:10.740 [SPEAKER_1] Where we were learning, 95 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:12.640 [SPEAKER_1] in sister circle, 96 00:05:12.820 --> 00:05:14.880 [SPEAKER_1] the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, 97 00:05:15.080 --> 00:05:18.200 [SPEAKER_1] peace and blessings be upon him. 98 00:05:19.020 --> 00:05:19.500 [SPEAKER_1] And. 99 00:05:20.230 --> 00:05:24.110 [SPEAKER_1] I was so intrigued by all the badass women that we were learning 100 00:05:24.111 --> 00:05:25.251 [SPEAKER_1] about that I was like, 101 00:05:25.330 --> 00:05:27.250 [SPEAKER_1] I just want to learn more about this. 102 00:05:28.200 --> 00:05:33.000 [SPEAKER_1] So coupled with that and a class that I took that semester called 103 00:05:33.001 --> 00:05:35.821 [SPEAKER_1] 'Bad Asians.' an incredible class. 104 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.360 [SPEAKER_1] I had my final with a professor and. 105 00:05:40.820 --> 00:05:44.500 [SPEAKER_1] we talked about this organization called Alianza Islamica. 106 00:05:44.640 --> 00:05:47.340 [SPEAKER_1] And I had no idea who they were and what they were about. 107 00:05:48.130 --> 00:05:51.870 [SPEAKER_1] But he knew that I was exploring Islam at the time. 108 00:05:51.890 --> 00:05:56.810 [SPEAKER_1] And he also knew my background and learning more about anti-colonial 109 00:05:56.811 --> 00:06:00.231 [SPEAKER_1] movements and especially as it relates to New York City, 110 00:06:00.330 --> 00:06:00.950 [SPEAKER_1] where I'm from. 111 00:06:01.930 --> 00:06:02.310 [SPEAKER_1] And. 112 00:06:02.710 --> 00:06:06.140 [SPEAKER_1] So he introduced me to Thanks. 113 00:06:06.470 --> 00:06:07.150 [SPEAKER_1] The group, 114 00:06:07.151 --> 00:06:07.651 [SPEAKER_1] of course, 115 00:06:07.690 --> 00:06:08.690 [SPEAKER_1] in research, 116 00:06:09.170 --> 00:06:09.870 [SPEAKER_1] alhamdulillah, 117 00:06:09.890 --> 00:06:15.210 [SPEAKER_1] now I'm almost in contact with one of the daughters of the founders of that panel. 118 00:06:15.211 --> 00:06:15.671 [SPEAKER_1] Also, 119 00:06:15.672 --> 00:06:17.012 [SPEAKER_1] it's it's really a whole circle. 120 00:06:17.013 --> 00:06:18.233 [SPEAKER_1] I'm just really wow. 121 00:06:19.260 --> 00:06:19.680 [SPEAKER_1] And so. 122 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:21.720 [SPEAKER_1] My research project, 123 00:06:21.721 --> 00:06:27.951 [SPEAKER_1] called 'One Uma One Barrio Alianza Islamica and the Legacy of Muslim 124 00:06:27.952 --> 00:06:32.252 [SPEAKER_1] New Yorican Revolution,' interrogates how Those. 125 00:06:32.780 --> 00:06:33.500 [SPEAKER_1] New Yorican, 126 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:34.740 [SPEAKER_1] New York Puerto Rican, 127 00:06:35.330 --> 00:06:35.930 [SPEAKER_1] Muslim, 128 00:06:35.931 --> 00:06:41.951 [SPEAKER_1] and American identities have interrelations and also tensions with each other. 129 00:06:42.090 --> 00:06:47.270 [SPEAKER_1] The group was made up of former Young Lords members and, 130 00:06:48.020 --> 00:06:48.800 [SPEAKER_1] as Shane knows, 131 00:06:48.801 --> 00:06:51.881 [SPEAKER_1] in my high school through college years, 132 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:55.700 [SPEAKER_1] I was part of an organization called the Young Lords Collective, 133 00:06:55.800 --> 00:07:01.520 [SPEAKER_1] which was a grassroots artist activist collective that primarily 134 00:07:02.260 --> 00:07:06.860 [SPEAKER_1] bolstered the art and activism of young New Yorkers who confronted 135 00:07:06.861 --> 00:07:14.461 [SPEAKER_1] social issues like gentrification and redlining and inequitable school systems. 136 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:15.200 [SPEAKER_1] And so, 137 00:07:16.670 --> 00:07:20.710 [SPEAKER_1] learning about the history of Alianza and that it stemmed from an 138 00:07:20.711 --> 00:07:22.711 [SPEAKER_1] inspiration of the Young Lords, 139 00:07:23.110 --> 00:07:24.570 [SPEAKER_1] the Black Panther Party, 140 00:07:24.670 --> 00:07:31.460 [SPEAKER_1] and other organizations— very similar to my own— radicalization journey, 141 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:33.560 [SPEAKER_1] which was through the Young Lords, 142 00:07:33.640 --> 00:07:34.720 [SPEAKER_1] the Black Panther Party, 143 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:35.800 [SPEAKER_1] and all those. 144 00:07:36.400 --> 00:07:38.660 [SPEAKER_1] Other organizations I found, 145 00:07:38.661 --> 00:07:44.811 [SPEAKER_1] and also now with the alignment of exploring a kind of faith-based, 146 00:07:44.850 --> 00:07:45.370 [SPEAKER_1] spiritual, 147 00:07:45.690 --> 00:07:47.250 [SPEAKER_1] political praxis, 148 00:07:47.270 --> 00:07:52.900 [SPEAKER_1] I found that it was a story that spoke very personally to me. 149 00:07:53.960 --> 00:07:56.220 [SPEAKER_1] And also very personally too, 150 00:07:56.340 --> 00:07:56.780 [SPEAKER_1] I think. 151 00:07:57.190 --> 00:08:00.450 [SPEAKER_1] New Yorkers and Muslims, 152 00:08:00.451 --> 00:08:00.851 [SPEAKER_1] converts, 153 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:02.770 [SPEAKER_1] and those who grow up in the religion. 154 00:08:03.770 --> 00:08:05.270 [SPEAKER_1] Those who are curious, 155 00:08:05.490 --> 00:08:07.230 [SPEAKER_1] those who are radical. 156 00:08:08.270 --> 00:08:08.770 [SPEAKER_1] And. 157 00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:13.820 [SPEAKER_1] So that's what is the premise of my research, 158 00:08:13.821 --> 00:08:21.231 [SPEAKER_1] which will be tracing a historical trajectory of the group from 159 00:08:21.232 --> 00:08:25.442 [SPEAKER_1] their inception in the 1980s, 160 00:08:25.443 --> 00:08:27.583 [SPEAKER_1] about late 1970s, 161 00:08:28.190 --> 00:08:31.090 [SPEAKER_1] to early 2000s in East Harlem. 162 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:36.890 [SPEAKER_1] and kind of bridging that with my own experiences in the Young Lords 163 00:08:36.891 --> 00:08:41.511 [SPEAKER_1] Collective and the legacy that these faith-based organizations and 164 00:08:41.512 --> 00:08:46.322 [SPEAKER_1] their political orientation and their approach towards to. 165 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.840 [SPEAKER_1] confronting these social problems. 166 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:52.210 [SPEAKER_1] with in mind, 167 00:08:52.211 --> 00:08:57.501 [SPEAKER_1] their faith is something that Young Lords Collective also kept in 168 00:08:57.502 --> 00:09:00.522 [SPEAKER_1] mind at certain points during our organization history. 169 00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:05.680 [SPEAKER_1] hot meals and groceries to community fridges during Ramadan. 170 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:11.060 [SPEAKER_1] being a space where our own members, 171 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:12.940 [SPEAKER_1] myself and Soumeya included, 172 00:09:13.280 --> 00:09:14.500 [SPEAKER_1] are proudly Muslim. 173 00:09:15.490 --> 00:09:17.390 [SPEAKER_1] Caribbean woman of the diaspora. 174 00:09:18.030 --> 00:09:18.490 [SPEAKER_1] And so, 175 00:09:19.490 --> 00:09:20.070 [SPEAKER_1] Inshallah, 176 00:09:20.071 --> 00:09:24.911 [SPEAKER_1] this will result in an archival research-based exhibition in August. 177 00:09:25.680 --> 00:09:26.820 [SPEAKER_1] Some venues pending. 178 00:09:27.520 --> 00:09:28.540 [SPEAKER_1] I'm really excited. 179 00:09:28.740 --> 00:09:30.020 [SPEAKER_1] I'm combing through the archives. 180 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:34.220 [SPEAKER_1] I'm looking at some really cool documents that are older than me. 181 00:09:36.020 --> 00:09:39.940 [SPEAKER_1] I'm just really grateful to be here and to also share this with you guys. 182 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:43.060 [SPEAKER_0] We will be sure to advertise One Uma, 183 00:09:43.180 --> 00:09:44.700 [SPEAKER_0] One Barrio when the time comes. 184 00:09:46.030 --> 00:09:46.410 [SPEAKER_0] In the works. 185 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:48.260 [SPEAKER_3] So thank you so much for sharing, 186 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:48.580 [SPEAKER_3] Maya. 187 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.120 [SPEAKER_3] Sounds like you're super involved in the community through the Arts 188 00:09:52.121 --> 00:09:54.681 [SPEAKER_3] Museum and the research that you're working on. 189 00:09:54.780 --> 00:09:56.640 [SPEAKER_3] So I would like to ask, 190 00:09:56.660 --> 00:09:58.560 [SPEAKER_3] when you think about the word community, 191 00:09:58.680 --> 00:09:59.940 [SPEAKER_3] what comes to mind? 192 00:10:01.270 --> 00:10:01.810 [SPEAKER_3] How do culture, 193 00:10:01.950 --> 00:10:02.270 [SPEAKER_3] identity, 194 00:10:02.430 --> 00:10:04.790 [SPEAKER_3] or place shape your understanding of the community? 195 00:10:05.690 --> 00:10:09.070 [SPEAKER_3] And are there specific communities you feel most connected through 196 00:10:09.071 --> 00:10:10.751 [SPEAKER_3] your work or personal life? 197 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:13.080 [SPEAKER_1] That's a good question. 198 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:19.290 [SPEAKER_1] I think community is the foundation upon which I center my work. 199 00:10:19.291 --> 00:10:23.471 [SPEAKER_1] If it were not for the community of people who have supported me and 200 00:10:23.472 --> 00:10:24.832 [SPEAKER_1] who have also come before me, 201 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:29.800 [SPEAKER_1] I would not have the interests and alignments that I have today. 202 00:10:30.730 --> 00:10:32.170 [SPEAKER_1] I even have a tattoo. 203 00:10:32.310 --> 00:10:36.730 [SPEAKER_1] My pretty much only one and only tattoo says, 'Our community is our 204 00:10:36.731 --> 00:10:38.551 [SPEAKER_1] strength.' So if that tells you anything. 205 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:43.820 [SPEAKER_1] I think I resonate most with place-based belonging as something 206 00:10:43.821 --> 00:10:45.061 [SPEAKER_1] super important to me. 207 00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:46.040 [SPEAKER_1] And. 208 00:10:46.580 --> 00:10:46.860 [SPEAKER_1] Also, 209 00:10:46.900 --> 00:10:48.900 [SPEAKER_1] in my research for CENTRO, 210 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:50.480 [SPEAKER_1] the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, 211 00:10:51.830 --> 00:10:52.830 [SPEAKER_1] and also honoring that. 212 00:10:53.400 --> 00:10:56.260 [SPEAKER_1] The land on which it was formed and conceptualized. 213 00:10:56.840 --> 00:10:58.880 [SPEAKER_1] Not only being indigenous Lenape land, 214 00:10:59.020 --> 00:11:02.942 [SPEAKER_1] but also through the migration of Puerto Ricans, 215 00:11:02.943 --> 00:11:04.176 [SPEAKER_1] Cubans, 216 00:11:04.177 --> 00:11:05.409 [SPEAKER_1] Haitians, 217 00:11:05.410 --> 00:11:06.643 [SPEAKER_1] Venezuelans, 218 00:11:06.644 --> 00:11:07.404 [SPEAKER_1] and Dominicans. 219 00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:10.900 [SPEAKER_1] All of those reading this diaspora in New York City, 220 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:11.420 [SPEAKER_1] I think, 221 00:11:11.421 --> 00:11:12.941 [SPEAKER_1] is important to acknowledge. 222 00:11:14.050 --> 00:11:14.870 [SPEAKER_1] For me personally, 223 00:11:15.070 --> 00:11:15.590 [SPEAKER_1] I think, 224 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:18.130 [SPEAKER_1] growing up in lower Manhattan, 225 00:11:18.550 --> 00:11:19.610 [SPEAKER_1] Chinatown, 226 00:11:19.611 --> 00:11:19.971 [SPEAKER_1] area, 227 00:11:21.190 --> 00:11:26.450 [SPEAKER_1] that landscape has definitely informed my political orientation in that. 228 00:11:27.130 --> 00:11:28.710 [SPEAKER_1] Shane and I will often have conversations. 229 00:11:28.930 --> 00:11:32.130 [SPEAKER_1] Conversations that the neighborhood in which we live now is 230 00:11:32.131 --> 00:11:37.851 [SPEAKER_1] unrecognizable from when we grew up and from that initial exposure to. 231 00:11:38.690 --> 00:11:43.960 [SPEAKER_1] What are streets used to look like and also former mom and pop shops 232 00:11:43.961 --> 00:11:45.101 [SPEAKER_1] that are no longer here. 233 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:49.620 [SPEAKER_1] I think we naturally come to the conclusion that there are these 234 00:11:49.621 --> 00:11:55.741 [SPEAKER_1] systemic issues and systems that have green-lighted these 235 00:11:55.742 --> 00:12:01.382 [SPEAKER_1] gentrification projects and raise the rent in our neighborhoods and so Living in. 236 00:12:02.660 --> 00:12:03.220 [SPEAKER_1] Arguably, 237 00:12:03.221 --> 00:12:07.661 [SPEAKER_1] the greatest city in the world has also allowed us to see these very 238 00:12:07.662 --> 00:12:12.592 [SPEAKER_1] stark social contradictions of what it means to live here. 239 00:12:12.810 --> 00:12:13.710 [SPEAKER_1] And so, 240 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:17.390 [SPEAKER_1] also in relating to Chinatown in particular, 241 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:19.730 [SPEAKER_1] with the Young Lords Collective, 242 00:12:19.770 --> 00:12:26.370 [SPEAKER_1] I was involved in researching and also understanding the ongoing jail scraper. 243 00:12:27.050 --> 00:12:28.190 [SPEAKER_1] Which they're calling it, 244 00:12:28.250 --> 00:12:33.330 [SPEAKER_1] which was the building of the Chinatown Mega Jail on Center Street, 245 00:12:33.331 --> 00:12:33.951 [SPEAKER_1] right now, 246 00:12:34.090 --> 00:12:42.170 [SPEAKER_1] which has been ongoing since de Blasio's mayoral term since 2018 and 247 00:12:42.171 --> 00:12:43.151 [SPEAKER_1] is still in construction. 248 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:46.210 [SPEAKER_1] But being Thank you. 249 00:12:46.630 --> 00:12:46.890 [SPEAKER_1] Very. 250 00:12:47.540 --> 00:12:52.280 [SPEAKER_1] tactfully positioned within the neighborhood in which I would go to 251 00:12:53.020 --> 00:12:54.640 [SPEAKER_1] eat out with my family, 252 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:56.200 [SPEAKER_1] my neighborhood playground. 253 00:12:57.310 --> 00:12:58.270 [SPEAKER_1] And for many others, 254 00:12:58.550 --> 00:12:59.830 [SPEAKER_1] their mom and pop businesses, 255 00:13:00.190 --> 00:13:01.890 [SPEAKER_1] their pharmacies. 256 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:08.220 [SPEAKER_1] All of the social services that have given them life are at risk, 257 00:13:08.280 --> 00:13:10.720 [SPEAKER_1] not only in terms of physical displacement, 258 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.680 [SPEAKER_1] but also when we're talking about health, 259 00:13:14.681 --> 00:13:19.001 [SPEAKER_1] ecological devastation of construction in in the area, 260 00:13:19.002 --> 00:13:21.562 [SPEAKER_1] and that there's constant noise pollution. 261 00:13:21.780 --> 00:13:25.760 [SPEAKER_1] There's also constant air pollution in the chemicals and materials 262 00:13:25.761 --> 00:13:31.841 [SPEAKER_1] being used in such close proximity to these public schools and children's centers. 263 00:13:32.020 --> 00:13:33.560 [SPEAKER_1] And so in that vein, 264 00:13:33.760 --> 00:13:39.450 [SPEAKER_1] the health of children is also centered in my practice. 265 00:13:39.451 --> 00:13:44.751 [SPEAKER_1] It is wild that there's you go down the street, 266 00:13:44.850 --> 00:13:49.030 [SPEAKER_1] you see your playground and your go-to dumpling spot. 267 00:13:49.150 --> 00:13:51.090 [SPEAKER_1] And then right across the street, 268 00:13:51.190 --> 00:13:52.590 [SPEAKER_1] you see the NYPD. 269 00:13:53.770 --> 00:13:57.830 [SPEAKER_1] them taking someone into their courts and it's just such a stark 270 00:13:57.831 --> 00:14:02.191 [SPEAKER_1] experience that I think one can only respond to with. 271 00:14:03.170 --> 00:14:05.840 [SPEAKER_1] A political orientation in mind, 272 00:14:05.841 --> 00:14:08.961 [SPEAKER_1] because it is inherently a political. 273 00:14:09.630 --> 00:14:14.650 [SPEAKER_1] Back to not only bear witness to these slow deaths of the neighborhood, 274 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:20.190 [SPEAKER_1] but also confronted in a way that leverages our voices and takes 275 00:14:20.191 --> 00:14:24.821 [SPEAKER_1] into account the lived experiences of people who have grown up here 276 00:14:24.822 --> 00:14:27.892 [SPEAKER_1] and know the neighborhood and continue to want to live here. 277 00:14:29.160 --> 00:14:33.210 [SPEAKER_1] And so that I appreciate that question because community is 278 00:14:33.211 --> 00:14:37.111 [SPEAKER_1] certainly based upon I think not only social relationships, 279 00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:38.950 [SPEAKER_1] but relationships with the land. 280 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:43.010 [SPEAKER_3] Thank you so much for sharing and also raising awareness on what's 281 00:14:43.011 --> 00:14:44.231 [SPEAKER_3] happening in your community. 282 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:45.760 [SPEAKER_4] All right, 283 00:14:45.800 --> 00:14:47.540 [SPEAKER_4] so we're going to pivot a little bit. 284 00:14:47.660 --> 00:14:50.620 [SPEAKER_4] And thank you so much for sharing your beautiful answers so far. 285 00:14:50.680 --> 00:14:52.420 [SPEAKER_4] They've been so well thought out. 286 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:53.480 [SPEAKER_4] We love hearing about your work. 287 00:14:53.700 --> 00:14:54.960 [SPEAKER_4] So as public health students, 288 00:14:55.060 --> 00:14:57.960 [SPEAKER_4] we spend a lot of time thinking about health and well-being, 289 00:14:58.060 --> 00:15:02.480 [SPEAKER_4] but I think we'd love to hear a little bit about how you see health or public health, 290 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:04.240 [SPEAKER_4] even if it's not labeled as explicitly. 291 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:05.720 [SPEAKER_4] Show up in your work. 292 00:15:06.270 --> 00:15:11.210 [SPEAKER_1] I think health is that in the same way that housing, 293 00:15:11.490 --> 00:15:11.990 [SPEAKER_1] health. 294 00:15:13.540 --> 00:15:17.040 [SPEAKER_1] affordable access to food, 295 00:15:17.520 --> 00:15:17.940 [SPEAKER_1] shelter, 296 00:15:18.160 --> 00:15:19.740 [SPEAKER_1] all these social services, 297 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:24.420 [SPEAKER_1] their political orientations are intertwined. 298 00:15:24.421 --> 00:15:25.381 [SPEAKER_1] In that. 299 00:15:26.260 --> 00:15:27.720 [SPEAKER_1] When you're fighting for free housing, 300 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.640 [SPEAKER_1] you're also fighting for a healthier future. 301 00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:35.240 [SPEAKER_1] And a lot of that is rooted in, 302 00:15:35.900 --> 00:15:41.820 [SPEAKER_1] in my own anti-colonial understanding of movements in New York City. 303 00:15:42.670 --> 00:15:42.990 [SPEAKER_1] So. 304 00:15:43.660 --> 00:15:44.220 [SPEAKER_1] There's, 305 00:15:44.221 --> 00:15:44.981 [SPEAKER_1] for example, 306 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:46.330 [SPEAKER_1] the Young Lords, 307 00:15:46.331 --> 00:15:48.581 [SPEAKER_1] whose pillars were based upon. 308 00:15:49.380 --> 00:15:49.720 [SPEAKER_1] health. 309 00:15:50.210 --> 00:15:50.630 [SPEAKER_1] housing. 310 00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:54.530 [SPEAKER_1] accessibility to their local hospital. 311 00:15:55.490 --> 00:15:55.810 [SPEAKER_1] I think, 312 00:15:55.811 --> 00:15:55.951 [SPEAKER_1] oh, 313 00:15:55.970 --> 00:15:56.350 [SPEAKER_1] sovereignty, 314 00:15:56.590 --> 00:15:58.710 [SPEAKER_1] the local and that it was for. 315 00:15:59.340 --> 00:15:59.960 [SPEAKER_1] in New York City, 316 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:04.620 [SPEAKER_1] but then the last it was thinking globally in the sovereignty and 317 00:16:04.621 --> 00:16:06.701 [SPEAKER_1] freedom of Puerto Rico and its independence. 318 00:16:07.910 --> 00:16:10.390 [SPEAKER_1] When we think about our health of our children. 319 00:16:11.690 --> 00:16:13.130 [SPEAKER_1] since I'm with kids all the time. 320 00:16:14.610 --> 00:16:19.470 [SPEAKER_1] It's imperative that we maintain the health standards and go above 321 00:16:19.471 --> 00:16:22.491 [SPEAKER_1] and beyond in ensuring that not only our guests, 322 00:16:22.510 --> 00:16:27.330 [SPEAKER_1] but community members around the museum who not necessarily come in 323 00:16:27.331 --> 00:16:28.211 [SPEAKER_1] and out of our doors. 324 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:35.240 [SPEAKER_1] also have privilege and right to a healthy living environment. 325 00:16:36.140 --> 00:16:40.060 [SPEAKER_1] There is it's interesting because oftentimes now, 326 00:16:40.061 --> 00:16:41.281 [SPEAKER_1] with my work at the museum, 327 00:16:42.590 --> 00:16:46.710 [SPEAKER_1] I'm faced with health problems that seem like common sense at first, 328 00:16:46.910 --> 00:16:53.110 [SPEAKER_1] but need to truly be reiterated and also a learning lesson and a 329 00:16:53.111 --> 00:16:57.521 [SPEAKER_1] educational moment too and not A lot of the people, 330 00:16:57.540 --> 00:17:01.320 [SPEAKER_1] since we're a museum that focuses a lot on early childhood education, 331 00:17:02.540 --> 00:17:05.280 [SPEAKER_1] we're often thinking a lot about the babies in mind. 332 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:10.440 [SPEAKER_1] There's babies crawling around and learning how to walk and stand. 333 00:17:11.829 --> 00:17:14.510 [SPEAKER_1] develop those fine and gross motor skills. 334 00:17:15.280 --> 00:17:16.540 [SPEAKER_1] So in the museum, 335 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:19.490 [SPEAKER_1] there's changing tables available in all the bathrooms. 336 00:17:20.910 --> 00:17:21.329 [SPEAKER_1] And. 337 00:17:21.990 --> 00:17:22.410 [SPEAKER_1] Oftentimes, 338 00:17:23.329 --> 00:17:23.950 [SPEAKER_1] Believe it or not, 339 00:17:24.069 --> 00:17:30.720 [SPEAKER_1] I'm asking either caregivers or parents or guardians to go use the 340 00:17:30.721 --> 00:17:32.361 [SPEAKER_1] bathroom to use the changing table. 341 00:17:33.930 --> 00:17:35.850 [SPEAKER_1] Because the caregiver notices, 342 00:17:35.970 --> 00:17:36.230 [SPEAKER_1] oh, 343 00:17:36.250 --> 00:17:37.210 [SPEAKER_1] they need their diaper changed, 344 00:17:37.450 --> 00:17:38.230 [SPEAKER_1] and then we'll do it. 345 00:17:38.290 --> 00:17:39.210 [SPEAKER_1] Not all of them, 346 00:17:39.270 --> 00:17:39.890 [SPEAKER_1] I'm not saying, 347 00:17:39.930 --> 00:17:40.130 [SPEAKER_1] but. 348 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:43.260 [SPEAKER_1] There has been instances where on the spot I'll see, 349 00:17:43.340 --> 00:17:43.660 [SPEAKER_1] I'm like, 350 00:17:44.120 --> 00:17:46.320 [SPEAKER_1] that they'll start trying to change. 351 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:47.140 [SPEAKER_1] I'm like, 352 00:17:47.690 --> 00:17:48.170 [SPEAKER_1] Hi! 353 00:17:49.050 --> 00:17:49.730 [SPEAKER_1] Hi! 354 00:17:50.350 --> 00:17:54.710 [SPEAKER_1] We actually have changing tables available in every bathroom because 355 00:17:54.711 --> 00:17:57.591 [SPEAKER_1] it is a health hazard for you to change your child. 356 00:17:58.120 --> 00:17:59.660 [SPEAKER_1] Here in the public exhibit. 357 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:06.010 [SPEAKER_1] And the spread of germs and our clean team at the museum is also incredibly amazing. 358 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:07.710 [SPEAKER_1] They do such a good job. 359 00:18:08.590 --> 00:18:09.310 [SPEAKER_1] Responding to. 360 00:18:10.320 --> 00:18:11.080 [SPEAKER_1] Code Yellows. 361 00:18:12.210 --> 00:18:12.310 [SPEAKER_1] P. 362 00:18:13.120 --> 00:18:13.360 [SPEAKER_1] So. 363 00:18:14.060 --> 00:18:15.600 [SPEAKER_1] That's for the museum and that. 364 00:18:16.360 --> 00:18:21.800 [SPEAKER_1] A lot of the daily issues that I see is raising awareness to the 365 00:18:21.801 --> 00:18:26.361 [SPEAKER_1] guardians that we have to not only keep in mind the health of our own children, 366 00:18:26.540 --> 00:18:29.860 [SPEAKER_1] but all of the children that enter the building at all times. 367 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:31.420 [SPEAKER_1] And. 368 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:36.070 [SPEAKER_1] In relation to my more explicitly political work. 369 00:18:36.870 --> 00:18:43.230 [SPEAKER_1] I understand health sovereignty as intersectional with food sovereignty, 370 00:18:43.410 --> 00:18:44.330 [SPEAKER_1] with housing sovereignty. 371 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:46.180 [SPEAKER_1] And that's. 372 00:18:46.620 --> 00:18:52.780 [SPEAKER_1] Dedicated and drawn from the Black feminists who I've learned from. 373 00:18:53.760 --> 00:18:56.720 [SPEAKER_1] Who have certainly I didn't mind. 374 00:18:57.340 --> 00:18:57.960 [SPEAKER_1] Revolutionary. 375 00:18:58.770 --> 00:18:59.110 [SPEAKER_1] Journey, 376 00:18:59.150 --> 00:19:00.410 [SPEAKER_1] the way I understand health. 377 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:03.840 [SPEAKER_1] And understanding how we build. 378 00:19:04.320 --> 00:19:12.080 [SPEAKER_1] More livable futures is responding to health in ways that may not be explicitly linked. 379 00:19:12.081 --> 00:19:13.921 [SPEAKER_1] For example, 380 00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:15.900 [SPEAKER_1] in affordable and free housing. 381 00:19:16.860 --> 00:19:20.070 [SPEAKER_1] We need to have stable infrastructure for our buildings. 382 00:19:20.270 --> 00:19:25.680 [SPEAKER_1] It's not unheard of to hear stories of buildings in the Bronx 383 00:19:25.681 --> 00:19:30.991 [SPEAKER_1] collapse because the internal infrastructure is so weak. 384 00:19:31.780 --> 00:19:35.870 [SPEAKER_1] And you will also not— it's not unheard of to hear— Even today, 385 00:19:35.871 --> 00:19:37.111 [SPEAKER_1] in 2026, 386 00:19:37.112 --> 00:19:38.392 [SPEAKER_1] of lead poisoning. 387 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:44.700 [SPEAKER_1] Because these buildings are so inadequately maintained and that 388 00:19:44.701 --> 00:19:49.321 [SPEAKER_1] there is a very clear political line drawn. 389 00:19:50.040 --> 00:19:54.330 [SPEAKER_1] That when you don't take care of the homes in certain neighborhoods, 390 00:19:54.470 --> 00:19:57.190 [SPEAKER_1] you're telling that neighborhood that their lives do not matter. 391 00:19:57.330 --> 00:19:58.750 [SPEAKER_1] To my previous point, 392 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:01.920 [SPEAKER_1] from talking about the Local. 393 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:06.750 [SPEAKER_1] effects and implications of what health means. 394 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:09.080 [SPEAKER_1] from an intersectional perspective. 395 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:10.440 [SPEAKER_1] through housing, 396 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.280 [SPEAKER_1] through food, 397 00:20:11.320 --> 00:20:15.600 [SPEAKER_1] through sovereignty for one's own life, 398 00:20:15.800 --> 00:20:21.540 [SPEAKER_1] I'm thinking also a lot about empire too and how we live within 399 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.080 [SPEAKER_1] The-global north where all clap capital flows through, 400 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:29.940 [SPEAKER_1] especially here in New York City as its epicenter. 401 00:20:30.770 --> 00:20:35.100 [SPEAKER_1] And so we also have to recognize Even with the disenfranchised 402 00:20:35.101 --> 00:20:40.121 [SPEAKER_1] health outcomes that we see in Predict predominantly black and brown 403 00:20:40.122 --> 00:20:41.542 [SPEAKER_1] neighborhoods in New York City. 404 00:20:42.320 --> 00:20:48.720 [SPEAKER_1] We also have to recognize that the mass production that is is being 405 00:20:48.721 --> 00:20:50.561 [SPEAKER_1] made here in New York City. 406 00:20:51.020 --> 00:20:57.190 [SPEAKER_1] Is also at the expense of people globally in global south, 407 00:20:57.191 --> 00:21:02.731 [SPEAKER_1] and that there's a lot of there's a lot of labor and time in. 408 00:21:03.210 --> 00:21:05.670 [SPEAKER_1] Just being mindful that we live within. 409 00:21:06.650 --> 00:21:09.920 [SPEAKER_1] quote the belly of the beast and not There's. 410 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:13.360 [SPEAKER_1] even despite the poor health outcomes in certain neighborhoods. 411 00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:17.300 [SPEAKER_1] which are direct result of that systemic inequality. 412 00:21:18.230 --> 00:21:23.690 [SPEAKER_1] There's also It must be an acknowledgement of the global 413 00:21:23.691 --> 00:21:25.031 [SPEAKER_1] ramifications of that. 414 00:21:25.800 --> 00:21:26.680 [SPEAKER_1] And that we do. 415 00:21:27.470 --> 00:21:32.330 [SPEAKER_1] privilege living here in the benefit from living here in the global 416 00:21:32.331 --> 00:21:37.121 [SPEAKER_1] north and that There are a lot of unfortunate health outcomes that 417 00:21:37.610 --> 00:21:40.250 [SPEAKER_1] result from living elsewhere in the diaspora. 418 00:21:40.940 --> 00:21:44.080 [SPEAKER_5] Thank you for your perspective on public health. 419 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:50.520 [SPEAKER_5] The intersectionality of health is very much in line with what we study as well. 420 00:21:51.330 --> 00:21:54.530 [SPEAKER_5] So it's cool to hear about how that intersects with your work. 421 00:21:55.050 --> 00:21:56.310 [SPEAKER_5] How public health shows up, 422 00:21:56.390 --> 00:21:58.710 [SPEAKER_5] as well as more of this global perspective. 423 00:21:59.490 --> 00:22:01.210 [SPEAKER_5] We also do study global health. 424 00:22:01.760 --> 00:22:05.360 [SPEAKER_5] And I think that the themes that you mentioned— of us living in the 425 00:22:05.361 --> 00:22:09.841 [SPEAKER_5] global north and the power dynamics with how that affects things 426 00:22:09.842 --> 00:22:12.952 [SPEAKER_5] like foreign aid and global public health programs—interest me as well. 427 00:22:13.350 --> 00:22:15.770 [SPEAKER_5] It's interesting to hear your perspective on that as well. 428 00:22:16.360 --> 00:22:18.960 [SPEAKER_5] But I think moving on to the next question, 429 00:22:19.060 --> 00:22:22.420 [SPEAKER_5] which I hope will be a little more positive. 430 00:22:23.330 --> 00:22:27.490 [SPEAKER_5] I just wanted to ask if you've seen any changes or impacts that you 431 00:22:27.491 --> 00:22:30.251 [SPEAKER_5] personally feel proud of as a result of your work. 432 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:31.880 [SPEAKER_1] Oh, 433 00:22:31.881 --> 00:22:33.281 [SPEAKER_1] that's such a nice question. 434 00:22:33.600 --> 00:22:40.800 [SPEAKER_1] It's really moving when working at the museum and over time building 435 00:22:40.801 --> 00:22:43.361 [SPEAKER_1] the meaningful relationships I have. 436 00:22:44.310 --> 00:22:47.590 [SPEAKER_1] been making with regulars who come every week. 437 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:48.860 [SPEAKER_1] And. 438 00:22:49.790 --> 00:22:53.470 [SPEAKER_1] I started saying, 'you can call me Miss Maya' as a joke. 439 00:22:54.060 --> 00:22:56.000 [SPEAKER_1] And now they call me Miss Maya all the time. 440 00:22:56.020 --> 00:22:56.560 [SPEAKER_1] I'm like, 'ooh, 441 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:59.840 [SPEAKER_1] you guys believed me.' But it is Miss Maya. 442 00:23:00.080 --> 00:23:02.520 [SPEAKER_1] And so it's really sweet. 443 00:23:03.290 --> 00:23:07.230 [SPEAKER_1] Building relationships with them and seeing their aha moments in real time. 444 00:23:08.100 --> 00:23:13.900 [SPEAKER_1] They're discovering and learning so much on a daily basis from how 445 00:23:13.901 --> 00:23:16.501 [SPEAKER_1] to be able to use scissors for the first time, 446 00:23:16.502 --> 00:23:20.662 [SPEAKER_1] to connecting with different materials that they may have been 447 00:23:20.663 --> 00:23:22.103 [SPEAKER_1] introduced to at school, 448 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:24.880 [SPEAKER_1] but now they're using it in a different way at the museum. 449 00:23:25.890 --> 00:23:31.390 [SPEAKER_1] And they're—you see the light show up and spark in their faces that 450 00:23:32.110 --> 00:23:35.720 [SPEAKER_1] you're a part of their early development learning journey. 451 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:38.760 [SPEAKER_1] And so that I think is what is most rewarding. 452 00:23:39.770 --> 00:23:41.130 [SPEAKER_1] Working there right now, 453 00:23:41.131 --> 00:23:43.761 [SPEAKER_1] in that I hope. 454 00:23:44.080 --> 00:23:51.178 [SPEAKER_1] And pray that these kids remember me when they're— in their older teens, 455 00:23:51.179 --> 00:23:51.371 [SPEAKER_1] in their teens, 456 00:23:51.372 --> 00:23:58.242 [SPEAKER_1] maybe young adulthood— and that hopefully I made a positive impact on them. 457 00:23:58.760 --> 00:24:03.300 [SPEAKER_1] Noticing if they were interested in using paint sticks one time. 458 00:24:04.110 --> 00:24:04.590 [SPEAKER_1] Oh, 459 00:24:04.890 --> 00:24:06.410 [SPEAKER_1] I actually have a really cute story. 460 00:24:07.280 --> 00:24:07.720 [SPEAKER_1] It's brief, 461 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:08.100 [SPEAKER_1] but. 462 00:24:08.870 --> 00:24:10.870 [SPEAKER_1] There was one time a kid came in. 463 00:24:11.670 --> 00:24:12.170 [SPEAKER_1] And. 464 00:24:12.810 --> 00:24:16.790 [SPEAKER_1] he said he was so honestly Shane he reminds me of a little you to be 465 00:24:16.791 --> 00:24:18.951 [SPEAKER_1] honest he was so sweet. 466 00:24:19.560 --> 00:24:20.600 [SPEAKER_1] We're doing a project, 467 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:22.800 [SPEAKER_1] making our own little mini me portraits, 468 00:24:23.100 --> 00:24:23.300 [SPEAKER_1] right? 469 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:24.200 [SPEAKER_1] And. 470 00:24:25.180 --> 00:24:26.920 [SPEAKER_1] We're using these acrylic paint pens, 471 00:24:27.120 --> 00:24:32.600 [SPEAKER_1] which a lot of the kids in their schools don't necessarily see as 472 00:24:32.601 --> 00:24:36.181 [SPEAKER_1] writing or art utensil because sometimes it stains, 473 00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:37.040 [SPEAKER_1] it gets messy. 474 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:42.830 [SPEAKER_1] He starts using it and he goes, 'Wow,' he's like, 'This is so cool.' I love the color. 475 00:24:42.890 --> 00:24:44.530 [SPEAKER_1] I love the way it moves on the page. 476 00:24:44.790 --> 00:24:46.310 [SPEAKER_1] I'm so glad that you like it. 477 00:24:48.100 --> 00:24:48.980 [SPEAKER_1] Go do my rounds. 478 00:24:49.020 --> 00:24:51.120 [SPEAKER_1] I come back and he's drawing. 479 00:24:51.910 --> 00:24:55.050 [SPEAKER_1] So many different species of different animals. 480 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:56.860 [SPEAKER_1] And like, 481 00:24:56.861 --> 00:24:57.261 [SPEAKER_1] wow, 482 00:24:57.262 --> 00:24:58.122 [SPEAKER_1] this looks great. 483 00:24:58.123 --> 00:24:58.543 [SPEAKER_1] He's like, 484 00:24:58.544 --> 00:24:59.764 [SPEAKER_1] when I grow up, 485 00:24:59.765 --> 00:25:01.745 [SPEAKER_1] I want to be a biological artist, 486 00:25:01.746 --> 00:25:04.306 [SPEAKER_1] like a biological artist, 487 00:25:04.307 --> 00:25:06.427 [SPEAKER_1] you can be a biological artist. 488 00:25:07.120 --> 00:25:07.280 [SPEAKER_2] Again, 489 00:25:07.360 --> 00:25:07.680 [SPEAKER_2] thank you. 490 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:09.720 [SPEAKER_2] I think being a transplant in New York. 491 00:25:10.190 --> 00:25:14.010 [SPEAKER_2] You don't really get the community sense and you're not as in touch 492 00:25:14.011 --> 00:25:15.411 [SPEAKER_2] with the environment you're living in. 493 00:25:16.310 --> 00:25:19.930 [SPEAKER_2] And I think that is something that's very important for public health. 494 00:25:20.010 --> 00:25:22.710 [SPEAKER_2] And that's something that we've been told over and over again in the court, 495 00:25:22.790 --> 00:25:24.350 [SPEAKER_2] connecting with your community, 496 00:25:24.510 --> 00:25:26.490 [SPEAKER_2] whether that's when you're doing research, 497 00:25:26.670 --> 00:25:27.510 [SPEAKER_2] talking with the community, 498 00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:30.310 [SPEAKER_2] making sure that they are aware of what you're doing and making sure 499 00:25:30.311 --> 00:25:32.091 [SPEAKER_2] that everything is being done ethically. 500 00:25:32.350 --> 00:25:34.170 [SPEAKER_2] And then publishing your results. 501 00:25:34.230 --> 00:25:36.490 [SPEAKER_2] How do you create programs that the community understands? 502 00:25:36.910 --> 00:25:38.950 [SPEAKER_2] And I guess the root of the question is, 503 00:25:39.210 --> 00:25:41.510 [SPEAKER_2] as someone who is so in touch with the community, 504 00:25:41.610 --> 00:25:43.510 [SPEAKER_2] is working to really improve their community. 505 00:25:44.290 --> 00:25:47.910 [SPEAKER_2] What can we as students or young professionals do to tap into the 506 00:25:47.911 --> 00:25:50.651 [SPEAKER_2] community and ensure that the work we're doing is community focused? 507 00:25:51.050 --> 00:25:54.970 [SPEAKER_2] And then how do we go from just being a part of the community to 508 00:25:54.971 --> 00:25:56.351 [SPEAKER_2] being a leader within the community? 509 00:25:57.150 --> 00:26:02.890 [SPEAKER_1] I really love that question because I've been asked it in different forms. 510 00:26:04.320 --> 00:26:04.900 [SPEAKER_1] My answer. 511 00:26:05.760 --> 00:26:08.980 [SPEAKER_1] Always stays the same and that Get to know your neighbors. 512 00:26:09.280 --> 00:26:15.680 [SPEAKER_1] There's so few New Yorkers who actually know who live in their building, 513 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:17.300 [SPEAKER_1] live next door to them. 514 00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:21.420 [SPEAKER_1] I think what's really important to solidify those long-lasting 515 00:26:21.990 --> 00:26:28.530 [SPEAKER_1] coalitions within your own community is to be a helping hand in service. 516 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:31.920 [SPEAKER_1] If you see your neighbor struggling with carrying groceries, 517 00:26:32.260 --> 00:26:33.440 [SPEAKER_1] help them carry it. 518 00:26:33.540 --> 00:26:35.680 [SPEAKER_1] It doesn't have to be spectacular. 519 00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:38.230 [SPEAKER_1] The work doesn't have to be. 520 00:26:38.950 --> 00:26:41.270 [SPEAKER_1] Something that goes on a plaque. 521 00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:46.880 [SPEAKER_1] I think that's what really confused it or obscured the optics of 522 00:26:46.881 --> 00:26:53.251 [SPEAKER_1] community organizing right now in the late 21st century and that everything also. 523 00:26:54.040 --> 00:26:54.960 [SPEAKER_1] Seems hyper, 524 00:26:55.910 --> 00:26:56.250 [SPEAKER_1] I don't know, 525 00:26:56.310 --> 00:26:58.690 [SPEAKER_1] hyper exaggerated and that. 526 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.340 [SPEAKER_1] We see from our phones the types of meaningful work that people do, 527 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:09.660 [SPEAKER_1] but it also sets an unrealistic standard for what we can offer on a daily basis. 528 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:11.260 [SPEAKER_1] And so I think, 529 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:16.940 [SPEAKER_1] especially as someone who's coming outside of the state and living here too. 530 00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:21.920 [SPEAKER_1] And I have so many friends who I've grown so close to who are also 531 00:27:22.780 --> 00:27:23.700 [SPEAKER_1] transplants in New York. 532 00:27:24.750 --> 00:27:30.880 [SPEAKER_1] I think recognizing—not only that—but that you're most likely living 533 00:27:30.881 --> 00:27:37.111 [SPEAKER_1] on land that someone has been displaced from and has had 534 00:27:37.112 --> 00:27:39.032 [SPEAKER_1] intergenerational connections to. 535 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:42.000 [SPEAKER_1] And for those who are. 536 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:45.340 [SPEAKER_1] Still living there because it's far and few between, 537 00:27:45.341 --> 00:27:49.891 [SPEAKER_1] but there are still families who live in the neighborhoods in which 538 00:27:49.892 --> 00:27:51.882 [SPEAKER_1] they're grandfathers or great-grandfathers. 539 00:27:51.883 --> 00:27:54.283 [SPEAKER_1] They came and settled. 540 00:27:55.970 --> 00:28:00.140 [SPEAKER_1] I think also there needs to be not only conversations and in 541 00:28:00.141 --> 00:28:02.951 [SPEAKER_1] building that social connection, 542 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:09.570 [SPEAKER_1] but also even myself as someone whose parents have my grandfather 543 00:28:09.571 --> 00:28:13.821 [SPEAKER_1] came here in 19-56 or something like that. 544 00:28:14.450 --> 00:28:18.770 [SPEAKER_1] And he came in lower Manhattan as a dishwasher at first. 545 00:28:18.990 --> 00:28:26.350 [SPEAKER_1] Also recognizing that he too and us as well as his descendants are settlers, 546 00:28:26.370 --> 00:28:26.690 [SPEAKER_1] too, 547 00:28:26.850 --> 00:28:27.690 [SPEAKER_1] on this land. 548 00:28:28.030 --> 00:28:28.590 [SPEAKER_1] And so. 549 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:32.260 [SPEAKER_1] Although I'll rep myself as a native New Yorker, 550 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:36.640 [SPEAKER_1] I'm not native to this land in particular. 551 00:28:36.860 --> 00:28:38.600 [SPEAKER_1] And so also situating, 552 00:28:38.601 --> 00:28:39.221 [SPEAKER_1] I think the. 553 00:28:40.110 --> 00:28:42.290 [SPEAKER_1] Place and when we're talking about place-based belonging, 554 00:28:42.291 --> 00:28:43.371 [SPEAKER_1] and how. 555 00:28:44.350 --> 00:28:49.540 [SPEAKER_1] We not only have a duty to serve our neighbors and for the people 556 00:28:49.541 --> 00:28:50.481 [SPEAKER_1] who have been living here, 557 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:52.200 [SPEAKER_1] but also for the people that, 558 00:28:52.970 --> 00:28:55.330 [SPEAKER_1] in the thousands and millions of people, 559 00:28:55.331 --> 00:28:59.331 [SPEAKER_1] who are unnamed and unknown to us, 560 00:28:59.332 --> 00:29:00.912 [SPEAKER_1] who came before us. 561 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:06.200 [SPEAKER_1] And have a physical connection to that land to understand the 562 00:29:06.201 --> 00:29:07.861 [SPEAKER_1] history of where you're residing, 563 00:29:07.862 --> 00:29:12.682 [SPEAKER_1] and trying your best to also reach out to your local mutual aid 564 00:29:12.683 --> 00:29:18.043 [SPEAKER_1] initiative or community organization that you find personal alignment with. 565 00:29:19.080 --> 00:29:20.280 [SPEAKER_1] And show up to a meeting. 566 00:29:20.320 --> 00:29:22.910 [SPEAKER_1] And if there's no organization, 567 00:29:22.911 --> 00:29:25.431 [SPEAKER_1] I guess— near you— freaking make your own. 568 00:29:25.432 --> 00:29:26.272 [SPEAKER_1] That's what I did. 569 00:29:26.273 --> 00:29:32.113 [SPEAKER_1] I'm like, 'Make your own.' It doesn't have to already exist for you to make a change. 570 00:29:32.114 --> 00:29:37.334 [SPEAKER_1] There's no prerequisite to wanting to help other people. 571 00:29:37.370 --> 00:29:41.430 [SPEAKER_1] The prerequisite is that you have sincerity and wanting to do it, 572 00:29:41.470 --> 00:29:46.865 [SPEAKER_1] not as a gesture of superiority and saviorism. 573 00:29:46.866 --> 00:29:51.531 [SPEAKER_1] That's what I'm doing this because I'm better than you and I have more resources. 574 00:29:51.532 --> 00:29:56.012 [SPEAKER_1] So I'm kindly doing this and reminding you that I'm doing this for you. 575 00:29:56.013 --> 00:29:56.573 [SPEAKER_1] No, 576 00:29:56.574 --> 00:30:01.514 [SPEAKER_1] I think it's: Asking yourself those internal questions and leading 577 00:30:01.515 --> 00:30:04.245 [SPEAKER_1] with as much humility as possible. 578 00:30:04.760 --> 00:30:06.400 [SPEAKER_1] And getting to know people for people, 579 00:30:06.401 --> 00:30:09.241 [SPEAKER_1] because There's the—oh, 580 00:30:09.242 --> 00:30:12.222 [SPEAKER_1] I'm not gonna get too deep into this— but I just sensed myself 581 00:30:12.223 --> 00:30:13.483 [SPEAKER_1] leaning into it more. 582 00:30:14.140 --> 00:30:14.480 [SPEAKER_1] And that. 583 00:30:14.990 --> 00:30:19.230 [SPEAKER_1] There's a very real violence when we are walking down the street. 584 00:30:19.800 --> 00:30:20.720 [SPEAKER_1] And we don't. 585 00:30:20.930 --> 00:30:23.050 [SPEAKER_1] Say hello to our unhoused neighbors. 586 00:30:23.330 --> 00:30:27.110 [SPEAKER_1] That's a very real violence that we're enacting on a daily basis. 587 00:30:27.350 --> 00:30:29.690 [SPEAKER_1] And I'm saying this first and foremost to myself, 588 00:30:29.890 --> 00:30:30.170 [SPEAKER_1] too. 589 00:30:30.540 --> 00:30:35.460 [SPEAKER_1] And that when I cross the street and I notice that someone is 590 00:30:35.461 --> 00:30:40.981 [SPEAKER_1] begging for help and I don't consider them as not only my neighbor, 591 00:30:41.040 --> 00:30:42.600 [SPEAKER_1] but as a fellow human being. 592 00:30:44.040 --> 00:30:44.620 [SPEAKER_1] That's where. 593 00:30:45.040 --> 00:30:46.120 [SPEAKER_1] the internal work. 594 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:47.400 [SPEAKER_1] begins. 595 00:30:48.010 --> 00:30:50.290 [SPEAKER_1] What is stopping me from saying hello? 596 00:30:50.350 --> 00:30:52.510 [SPEAKER_1] Or even in Islam, 597 00:30:52.830 --> 00:30:56.470 [SPEAKER_1] the Prophet Muhammad said that smiling is a form of charity. 598 00:30:57.120 --> 00:30:57.880 [SPEAKER_1] even a smile. 599 00:30:58.860 --> 00:31:00.940 [SPEAKER_1] is an act of generosity. 600 00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:02.300 [SPEAKER_1] And so, 601 00:31:02.301 --> 00:31:06.001 [SPEAKER_1] rethinking and restructuring those Social. 602 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:11.800 [SPEAKER_1] relations and behaviors that we have— with not only people in our buildings, 603 00:31:11.860 --> 00:31:16.010 [SPEAKER_1] but people who don't even have a place to call home— is something 604 00:31:16.011 --> 00:31:22.091 [SPEAKER_1] that I think starts to move the wheels a little bit in bridging it from a very theory. 605 00:31:23.130 --> 00:31:24.790 [SPEAKER_1] intellectually motivated. 606 00:31:25.910 --> 00:31:30.810 [SPEAKER_1] source to something that is being lived and felt in real time. 607 00:31:31.450 --> 00:31:32.210 [SPEAKER_1] So feed your neighbor. 608 00:31:32.390 --> 00:31:34.490 [SPEAKER_0] That was so beautifully said. 609 00:31:34.690 --> 00:31:38.270 [SPEAKER_0] Just wanted to thank you so much again for speaking with us today. 610 00:31:38.710 --> 00:31:40.850 [SPEAKER_0] Do you have any questions for us? 611 00:31:41.340 --> 00:31:47.120 [SPEAKER_1] I just want to say a big fat thank you to Shane and to all of you guys, 612 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:49.700 [SPEAKER_1] because when Shane told me about this. 613 00:31:50.460 --> 00:31:53.700 [SPEAKER_1] We were in our local park and he suggested, 614 00:31:53.701 --> 00:31:57.751 [SPEAKER_1] and I was like, 'I would love to do this.' Thank you. 615 00:31:57.752 --> 00:31:58.492 [SPEAKER_1] I think it was, 616 00:31:58.493 --> 00:31:58.853 [SPEAKER_1] like, 617 00:31:58.854 --> 00:32:03.984 [SPEAKER_1] I got so giddy because I like to think that there is a lot of 618 00:32:03.985 --> 00:32:06.285 [SPEAKER_1] knowledge that can be shared and reciprocated. 619 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:07.100 [SPEAKER_1] And. 620 00:32:07.690 --> 00:32:14.050 [SPEAKER_1] It's also just so awesome seeing Shane rise in his own field and discipline. 621 00:32:14.430 --> 00:32:18.690 [SPEAKER_1] And so seeing also the community that he's supported by and 622 00:32:18.691 --> 00:32:20.991 [SPEAKER_1] producing the knowledge with is. 623 00:32:21.670 --> 00:32:28.060 [SPEAKER_1] is really cool to see not only as in a community organizer spotlight vibe, 624 00:32:28.120 --> 00:32:29.640 [SPEAKER_1] but also just as a friend. 625 00:32:29.760 --> 00:32:30.700 [SPEAKER_1] So I think that's awesome. 626 00:32:31.490 --> 00:32:31.870 [SPEAKER_1] And. 627 00:32:32.970 --> 00:32:34.470 [SPEAKER_1] I wish you guys the best of luck. 628 00:32:35.080 --> 00:32:35.600 [SPEAKER_0] Thanks so much, 629 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:35.860 [SPEAKER_0] Maya.