The week of October 15, 2016 was Muslims reporting stuff; drinking pickle juice; and taking stock of the only really relevant thing from Hillary’s hacked emails: risotto advice. Also, reminder: There are good people in the world.

This weekend, we’re taking a cue from the Japanese and forest bathing. Happy weekends, Mash-Ups

Mash-Ups In The News:

Yale Names Classroom After First Black Student

This is legacy. Yale’s first Black student, James Pennington, was a former slave who went to Yale in 1837 and wasn’t allowed to speak, read, or even officially earn a degree. Now, Yale is naming a classroom after him.

via NBC

How America Outlawed Adolescence

Keeping your phone out in class, burping too loud, throwing paper airplanes — most people would consider these typical teenage behaviors, but they’re also acts that could get kids arrested straight out of their desks. Across the country, police officers are replacing guidance counselors and are arresting (mostly Black) students for “school disturbances,” an outlaw so vague it allowed high-schooler Niya Kenny to be arrested. Her crime? Recording the video of an officer flipping her classmate out of her desk and slamming her across the floor.

via Atlantic

The Power Of Protest Music

From Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield to Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce, protest music is the soundtrack to the fight for justice in America. As DeRay McKesson, a Black Lives Matter activist says in this fascinating interview: “Especially in blackness, liberation music has been key to our understanding of the current state and has helped imbue a sense of hope even in the most trying times.” We shall overcome.

via Pitchfork

Food, Our Way To Connect To A Heritage Lost

This beautiful story shares how Devi Lockwood uses her love of Armenian food to reconnect with her Syrian-Armenian family and reclaim her heritage, which had been lost in the wake of her father’s domestic violence.

via NPR

Why Saying “The” African Americans Sounds Racist

According to linguists, we cringe whenever Donald Trump says “The African Americans” because of the “the.” That simple three-letter word lumps all African Americans into an undifferentiated whole, and separates “them” from “us.” Or, rather, him.

via Quartz

Louisiana Makes It Illegal For Immigrants To Get Married

You can’t make this up. After losing the fight against gay marriage, Louisiana seems determined to remain the worst place in America to fall in love by making it illegal for immigrants to get married. Hey, Louisiana — love’s gonna find a way.

via The Washington Post

Janet Mock Interviews Nicki Minaj

Janet Mock, author, television star, fashion icon and trans activist, has written a story about our Trinidadian-American savior Nicki Minaj and our mind basically exploded at these two incredible women coming together. Nikki’s advice to ladies? Be your own boss and own your life, your art, your brains, and who you are, without apology. Just like Janet.

via Marie Claire

The Secret Immigrant History of The Spiedie

A guide to unsung food destinations in Upstate New York, a.k.a. Our next road trip. From buffalo wings in Buffalo to spiedies in Binghamton, the signature food of these towns is deeply rooted in their culture.

via The New York Times

Constance Wu on Taking Action for Asian-American Visibility in Hollywood

Fresh Off the Boat star Constance Wu is our hero this week, as she continues her campaign against Hollywood whitewashing, calling out Hollywood’s conflation Asian roles with Asian-American roles and pushing for better representation of Asians on screen. Meanwhile, Lucy Liu is tired being called an “Asian American actress.” It’s a fascinating juxtaposition of perspectives between two women role models, at a time when our identities are at the apex of every conversation. When does inclusion become tokenization?

via Variety