https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg A few things about me... en-us 2020-09-06 14:16:36 UTC 2023-03-16 02:50:39 UTC hello@padlet.com smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723403523 My name is Shani Mahotiere. 
I'm a senior, and I'm an Environmental Studies major and Black Studies minor. (She/They)]]> 2020-09-06 14:29:12 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723403523 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723405726 I was born and raised in Newark, NJ, but I will be zooming from Swat in the barn.]]> 2020-09-06 14:32:52 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723405726 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723408514 Well I've wanted to take Race, Gender, Class, and the Environment since my sophomore spring after deciding that ENVS was what I want to study. Also, I've read almost no course material by black women during my time at Swat, so I want to take a class that looks at the work of different black women and their experiences with their environments.]]> 2020-09-06 14:36:39 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723408514 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723419096 I love music, and I have a pretty diverse music taste. I'd say that hip-hop/rap is my favorite genre by a wide margin. During quarantine, I started listening to more 90s G Funk. The most recent album that I'm currently listening to is The Chronic by Dr. Dre]]> 2020-09-06 14:52:45 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723419096 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723433737 I'm a big fan of anime, and that's ~90% of what I usually watch. I've watched a total of 164 anime shows and movies. I spent the majority of quarantine watching Hunter x Hunter, and I still haven't finished it yet.. ]]> 2020-09-06 15:16:46 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/723433737 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/976079459 "[La mestiza] has discovered that she can't hold concepts or ideas in rigid boundaries. The borders and walls that are supposed to keep the undesirable ideas out are entrenched habits and patterns of behavior; these habits and patters are the enemy within. Rigidity means death." (Anzaldua 1987/2012: 101)
"It wouldn't be LA without Mexicans//Black love, Brown Pride in the sets again." (Shakur 1996)

As I discussed in the teach in from a few weeks ago, I didn't know Haiti was a part of Latin America until my freshman year. So in my upbringing, I believed that being Black and being Latinx were often two completely separate identities, completely separate struggles. A part of my college experience was understanding what being Afro-Latina means to me, which resulted in the following: 

1) I felt even closer and more connected to my other Latinx friends of different races/ethnicities. "Black Love, Brown Pride" is just big facts to me, and I feel that everyday.
2) I felt more compelled to expand my knowledge on Latin America and contemporary issues affecting Latinx communities both in and outside of the U.S. I also felt more obligated to have discussions on both sides to actually mend fences. because we will never be liberated if anti-blackness continues to be rampant in the Latinx community or if all Latinx issues are constantly seen as irrelevant in the Black community. "Rigidity means death," and this very well can happen if we continue to be held back by external differences.]]> 2020-12-01 15:41:42 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/976079459 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/976637213 "The girls with whom I went to school also wore their share of flannel and denim, but when it came time to learn how to dress like 'women,' they turned to Vogue and Glamour ... the boys on the other hand never thought to dress like anyone except the working-class men around them. For me, Vogue and Glamour held non of the appeal that Walt Maya did, dressed in his checked shirt, cowboy boots, and wide-brimmed hat. I joined the boys in their emulation." (Clare 1999: 157)

Similar to how Clare and the boys he grew up with emulated the men around him, my fashion has been heavily influenced by the boys/men I grew up around in my black, urban environment, specifically my older brother. I remember how, as a child, I didn't gravitate towards feminine clothing, but I always thought that the clothes and shoes that my brother wore were dope. So growing up, I more often wore gender neutral, but subtly masculine leaning clothes. And once I got to college, I felt more free to express myself and wear the clothes that I felt most comfortable and looked best in, which often times is "men's clothing". 
I feel that the picture below best demonstrates the results of my fashion journey, and how the urban   (sometimes 90s inspired) masculine look has become a staple in my wardrobe.  ]]> 2020-12-01 17:23:29 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/976637213 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/981231222 A little over a month ago, I got my first tattoo, which is a personalized rendition of Newark street art that I saw spray painted on different buildings/abandoned houses growing up. (I included a reddit link below w/ a thorough explanation of what the tag symbolizes)
I wanted my tattoo to be special, so I got this as I self-tribute to my city and a permanent reminder of where I come. As my time at Swat starts to come to an end, I think about my plans for the near future, which includes moving out of Newark. And while I love my community, I believe that it's important to leave home in order to have new experiences and gain new perspectives that I most likely wouldn't have if I stay. So regardless of where I go or decide to settle, I will never forget or be ashamed of where I come from.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/comments/1z1vam/essex_county_nj_poor_kingz_poverty_writing/]]> 2020-12-02 18:52:20 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/981231222 smahoti1 https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/981537598 Translation: In Unity, There is Strength!]]> 2020-12-02 20:02:59 UTC https://padlet.com/smahoti1/sq8sqsu8s3v171mg/wish/981537598