Hello Autumn, my old friend
On my mind
It’s officially autumn. I want to cry. This is my favorite season. It’s still been warm this week in D.C. but the few days or hours when I got to feel that crisp air was heaven.
Does it feel like autumn where you are?
And yes, I’m going to keep saying autumn instead of fall, because it’s the proper name and also I think it sounds so much cooler. I mean that’s why we name people Autumn not Fall. Did a baby rename the season and make that popular in America? I have questions.
Anyways, I’m excited for the change and the upcoming travel and projects I have planned. Summer is a strange stretch of time that becomes meaningless since I’m not usually on vacation like I was when I was in school. I enjoy taking more breaks once the weather gets cooler and also to check in with myself as the year wraps up (!!).
What I’m noting
How TikTok Holds Our Attention // I really don’t need to be spending anymore time on social media so I have refused to download TikTok. But I enjoy watching the popular ones that end up on Twitter and reading the discourse around the latest, bite-sized time-sucking creative platform.
100 Female Journalists We Admire // If you’re looking to support and follow more women in journalists, check out this crowdsourced list. I’d love to hear who you recommend.
The Healthy Way to Scroll Through Instagram // Instagram is usually terrible for your mental health, unless you use it right.
A Roadmap for Equitable Inclusion in Journalism // “Building relationships with communities that have not been historically prioritized by most of the journalism industry is not simply a decision on the part of newsrooms to begin to show up, but a process of reconciliation, repair, service and inclusion.” This is pretty much my philosophy and why I believe in audience engagement (for those of you wondering what exactly I want to do in journalism.)
How to be an Antiracist // This week was The Atlantic Festival, which brought together Atlantic staffers in conversation with leaders, writers, artists and thinkers from around the world. You can check out the full agenda online and watch the events that were live-streamed, but one of my favorites was a conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi on his new book, How to be an Antiracist. I love everything he writes for The Atlantic and the way he breaks down the difference between being antiracist and racist, and how “not racist” has been turned into a pejorative that everyone from white nationalists to liberals hide behind to avoid dealing with the outcomes of the policies they promote.
How women in poverty are supplying America’s market for hair // I first came across this issue while watching Chris Rock’s documentary, “Good Hair,” but this story dives much deeper into how countries like Cambodia export human hair from women, often donate during religious ceremonies, and pay them very little. Many women sell their hair because they need the money but they don’t often know the value it has in the American market when it turns into weaves and extensions.
EVENT: If you’re in the Bay Area, I’ll be joining several journalists and keynote speaker, Mehdi Hasan, for the Islamic Scholarship Fund annual banquet on Saturday, October 5. I appreciate all of you who have been sending me emails and screenshots of my face plastered all over the place lol. Me on a roundtable is wild, but it’s happening! Get a ticket if you’re free that night before the event is sold out.
That’s it for me. Hope you have a good weekend!
— Nesima