T.G.I.F.: One Laptop Per Child

About a year ago I wrote a post called "Making a Difference--Part II" in which I talked about the XO laptop or as the program is called "One Laptop Per Child" or OLPC for short.

And I got a message from OLPC asking me to share this video by a girl in South Africa, Zimi:

One Laptop per Child : Zimi's Story FULL
Uploaded by olpcfoundation

I have to confess that I haven't played around with my xo laptop lately, although when I first got it, I would take it to cafes in my hometown and I got a lot of people asking about the laptop and it gave me a chance to talk about the OLPC program and to direct people to the website (click here).

And really, when you think about this concept--that this organization is making laptops for children--making them affordable and kid user-friendly and more importantly, making them in a way that people living in developing countries can actually use the laptop--providing solar power, hand cranks, and community support--all to allow kids to learn, to educate themselves, to have access to global technology, that is an astounding feat.

Which is why I believe the OLPC gets a T.G.I.F. award--because it is a great and impossible feat to have the imagination to give kids laptop computers in rural areas in developing countries.


Please consider going to Amazon.com and making a contribution. I know times are tight, but if you decide not to eat out once a month or you give up your starbucks coffee once a week, you can afford to change someone's life. And how often can you make that claim?

T.G.I.F.: Democracy in action

A few months back I started a sporadic Friday series called T.G.I.F.: The Great Impossible Feat award.

And it strikes me that this Friday of all Fridays deserves a T.G.I.F. But it's not for Barack Obama and his campaign, although his election this past Tuesday to become our 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009 is, indeed, great and impossible. And I still feel choked up when I imagine this picture below as our First Family:


But the really Great and Impossible Feat is actually something we take for granted. That every four years, U.S. citizens who qualify to vote (age, felony record, mental competency, etc are potential barriers) are able to cast a ballot for the person they want to be their next President.


And during this election, people turned out in record numbers to vote. For the first time in a long time, people worked hard on behalf of the candidate of their choice--they CARED about WHO was elected. And even for those who didn't donate money or knock on doors or called people, they still did something that is really special: they voted.


[Look at these lines! When was the last time people lined up to vote like this? Or when was the last time record number of people showed up to vote early?]

People voted. And yes, the majority of American citizens voted for the candidate that I supported. And that makes me happy. But the thing is, this was a vote that was historic not just because it resulted in the election of our first visibly non-white, mixed-race, African American President--this was an election that also signaled that people COULD make a difference, that grassroots organizing DOES work, and that every vote COUNTS.


November 4, 2008 was democracy in action. It was historic. It was awe inspiring. And it was simple. People showed up to vote.


And THAT is the Great, Impossible Feat.

New Year Appreciations and Predictions

Happy 2008 everyone. I was trying to think of something inspirational or uplifting or profound to share for 2008. But the truth is, I mostly just feel pretty thankful for the past year and happy for being in a good place entering into 2008. So I thought I'd start the new year with a list of 10 appreciations and some hopeful (if fantastical) predictions.

Things I am thankful for:

1) That there are people who actually read this blog (I mean really, I figured it'd only be a handful of people I know but that there are actually people I have never met who tune in from time to time and leave comments, that's more than I ever expected when I started writing this).

2) Good writing. Seriously, I've read some pretty fantastic contemporary literature this past year--some titles that come to mind are FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES, STEALING BUDDHA'S DINNER, and HANDBOOK TO LUCK.

3) Fellow travelers. This includes the people who read this blog, but I guess what I really mean is that I appreciate the conversations I've had with people about race and U.S. culture and American politics and ethnicity and culture and Asian American literature. I'm lucky to have colleagues/friends who are interested in similar topics and who also feel a sense of passion for these issues.

4) Good health--for myself but also for the people in my life I care about. I think in a very real way, my Uncle's death this past year really brought to light that what does count at the end of the day is your health.

5) Mentors and role models. I mean literal ones but also the writers and teachers and scholars I admire. Especially the ones who manage to be scholar-activists. Because as grandiose as it sounds, I also want to make a difference in the world.

OK, on to Predictions, which may just be fantasies, but you know, you have to have something positive to think about, right?

6) A Democratic win! (I'd like it to be Obama, but truly, ANY Democratic win in Nov. 2008 would make me deliriously happy).

7) People will stop equating an attention to race with racism. This is something I've noticed in a couple of the snarky (nasty) blog comments I've read--that anytime someone draws attention to racial issues or racial differences the "snark" will snarl and say that those comments/opinions that focus on race mean that the person is "racist" because they are paying attention to race. WRONG! It truly would be a fantastic day when we could all get on the same page with a working definition of racism--that it's systemic/institutional more than just individual. But more importantly, paying attention to an aspect (race) of the problem (racism) doesn't make someone racist--it makes that someone a person who is attempting to be anti-racist (at least that's my idealistic spin).

8) More attention to climate change issues! Please, we really do only have one planet--it's like the health thing. We really do need to take care of our health and the health of the planet first! Remember: reuse, reduce, recycle.

9) Tiger wins grand slam in golf this year! (Yes, I'm a, somewhat abashed, Tiger Woods fan. It's like eating meat, sometimes I feel guilty about it and wish I could be a vegetarian. But then I eat a great ribeye and just feel happy).

10) Teachers are treated with the same respect and paycheck as doctors/lawyers/financial traders/computer techs. Wouldn't that be a great day? For teachers to actually be compensated for their worth? And I don't mean university/college professors (although they are teachers and deserve respect) I mean the K-12 teachers who are there in the trenches. If you haven't written a thank you letter to that one teacher who made a difference in your life--who said the encouraging thing or who took some extra time with you, even if it was in the 2nd grade, think about doing that today or tomorrow. I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Mrs. Hansen (2nd & 3rd grade teacher), Ms. Bennett (Sophomore English teacher) and Ms. Kindle (9th, 11th, and 12th grade English). They gave me, and so many others, so much. So I'm glad that I end with both an appreciation and a prediction, because here's to the teachers of the world, wherever you are, getting the recognition you richly and rightly deserve.

Happy New Year and here's hoping for these predictions to come true in 2008!

Making a Difference--Part II

I have never written 2 blog entries in one day--but there's a first for everything. In the last paragraph of the blog post below I encouraged everyone to try to do something that will make the world a better place, even just as small as writing an email message to someone.

Now, I wanted to share something really cool that I found through one of David Pogue's technology videos on The New York Times website:


The $100 Laptop

Actually, it currently costs about $200 (and I'm not certain how much of that is subsidized) but they are hoping that as production increases and word about the laptop spreads, that it will be get down to $100--and this is an important figure for affordability because these laptops are designed for children in developing nations. It's not meant for a U.S. or Western market. The creators of this laptop are trying to address the widening information and educational gap between the first and third worlds and this is part of the solution.

I won't be able to do this justice, so I recommend going to the David Pogue article (where you can see one of his videos on the laptop--which gives a great demonstration of how it works) -- click here.

And please visit the "One Laptop Per Child" website. Because this is where you can make a difference. From now until November 26 (that's next week Monday I believe) you can buy one of these laptops. Or more importantly, you can donate $400, which means that you get a laptop but you also donate money to have a laptop shipped to a child who needs one. $200 of that $400 is tax deductible. And this is the only time (as far as the website states) that these laptops will be available for purchase in the U.S. And honestly, as much as I love the altruism and the spirit of the "One Laptop Per Child" movement--the laptop itself just seems SO COOL and so I'm curious to see what it does. Also, T-Mobile is donating a years wifi in their "hot spot" zones to anyone who donates in this 2 week window (the laptops were available starting Nov. 12).

OK, so to recap. $400 means that you help to support a really innovative and important philanthropic project to help children in developing nations become better educated as global citizens or simply to have the same access to education that children in the U.S. take for granted (and I know there are huge problems in public education, but seriously, if you start to look at conditions in certain regions of India and Burma and Burundi then you start to realize how privileged we are in the U.S.). You also get to have a pretty innovative computer--albeit one that won't rival Macintosh or Dell for quantity and quality, but for what it was designed to do--it is absolutely amazing. Click here to see for yourself: ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD.

Making a Difference--Part I

Two weeks ago, at my uncle's memorial service, I got up to speak towards the end of the evening--to be one of the "family voices" to commemorate his life. I had actually been asked, by my eldest uncle, to represent the family, and even before he asked me to do this, I had been thinking about what I wanted to share about my uncle--things along the lines of what I wrote a few blog entries back when I first learned that he had died (my own on-line tribute to his life). I ended up being an incoherent mess, which is disappointing both because I tend to be fairly articulate (I do teach for a living) and don't have a problem speaking to large crowds, yet for some reason, this was entirely different--probably the emotional aspect. I also relied on reading the last 2 pages of a freshman composition essay I wrote about an Annie Dillard essay, "The Deer at Providencia" because my uncle features prominently in my essay, and I thought that given the message of Dillard's essay--to understand that there is suffering and pain in the world--to understand that life isn't fair but not to be blind to that unfairness--well, I believed it spoke to the end of my uncle's battle with cancer as well as his own attitude in life. Because in the freshmen composition essay I wrote about how he interrogated me about race at UC Santa Barbara (late 80s) and when I said I didn't think race was a problem (HA! How naiive my younger self was!) he told me that I was choosing not to see that racism existed and that things are far more complicated than their surfaces suggested.

I'm not sure that my remembrances and commemoration of my uncle were well received; in fact, one aunt actually asked me why I chose to talk about racism at the memorial--subtly suggesting (or am I being oversensitive...) that it was an inappropriate topic. But even if she hadn't said this, I could tell.

But here's the thing. Maybe this is not how people wanted to think about my uncle, but for me, he was someone who helped me to understand race and racism in the U.S. and, more importantly, he was someone who wanted to make a difference in the world. He was constantly seeing inequities and injustice and commenting on these issues. And in his own way, I think he also tried to act -- I certainly think he donated to causes and supported people he believed were working to make a difference.

And so, in that spirit, I wanted to invite everyone to think about how they can make a difference in the world. Although this blog is focused on issues of race, and more specifically "mixed race" (although I know I haven't written specifically about mixed race issues in a while, but don't worry--I'll return to this soon!) I also think this blog is about trying to make a difference. It sounds cliche and grandiose to say that I want to make the world a better place. But I think that's the reason my interests led me here. Although big gestures are important for big problems (and we have A TON of those), doing something as small as writing an email message to someone out of the blue to tell them that they are in your thoughts is also about making a difference. We hear so much bad news and feel so powerless to stop the evil of the world. But I think that when we can act, we should--even if it's just to send an email.

Baby Steps

Recently I received an email from a former Mount Holyoke student who wanted to get me caught up on her life and to share an anecdote with me. A few years ago she was working for a Fortune 500 company and found herself in a board room with about a dozen people (mostly men in their 40s and 50s) to review a brochure that would advertise the "diversity" and "global influence" of their company. The image they selected for the brochure was of a geisha. The student, who had taken an introduction to Asian American literature class with me, as well as an independent study on Asian American literature, realized, immediately, how problematic this image was, took a deep breath, and told them what her concerns were and made suggestions for more appropriate images to convey the message of diversity and global awareness. Her suggestions were both heard and taken seriously, they got rid of the geisha, and they implemented the new images.

Baby steps, but important ones. And I'm really proud that she was able to speak truth to power, to make her concerns heard, and to be taken seriously. She attributes a lot of her core convictions to being a Mount Holyoke alum, and I have to say that after teaching there for 3 years I am a convert to single-sex education. So here's to all of us taking small steps to try to enact social justice, one brochure at a time.